New Skoda Kamiq: Australian details

The Skoda Kamiq small SUV will tread on the toes of its bigger brother, the Skoda Karoq, when it arrives in Australia early in the third quarter of 2020.

But Skoda Australia has a plan in place to avoid too much crossover and cannibalisation between its all-new baby SUV, which has just been launched in Europe, and the mid-size Karoq (the Kodiaq tops Skoda’s SUV range and we’ve just driven the stove-hot RS version).

The Skoda Kamiq is expected to be offered with just one powertrain option in Australia, the Volkswagen Group’s ubiquitous 110kW/250Nm 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine allied with a dual-clutch automatic transmission and front-wheel drive.

In other words, what the Karoq offers now.

But to avoid too much internal competition, Skoda looks set to introduce a 140kW 2.0-litre turbo-petrol version of the Karoq, complete with dual-clutch, all-wheel drive and more upmarket Sportline trim.

The Karoq Sportline was first shown off at the Paris motor show in 2018.

A 140kW turbo-diesel engine is also offered with this pack but looks less probable for Australia.

“There’s no definite answer yet but it looks increasingly likely we will be able to offer the [140kW] petrol engine,” Skoda Australia brand director Michael Irmer told carsales.com.au.

“Feedback from customers is a lot of them ask for 140kW TSI engine, which would be top of the range for Karoq and then also come in Sportline and all-wheel drive, which we don’t have at the moment.”

There is only one Karoq trim on offer at the moment, priced at $35,290 drive-away.

A more luxurious Sportline 2.0-litre AWD model would push that toward -- if not over -- $40,000. That would certainly leave room for the Kamiq to fit if Karoq demand gravitated to that model.

“It’s OK, overlapping between the ranges is normal,” said Irmer. “Not 100 per cent, but a certain amount is acceptable.”

The Kamiq measures 4241mm long, 1793mm wide and 1531mm high. It has a 2651mm wheelbase and is based on the MQB-A0 architecture that debuted under the latest Volkswagen Polo and also underpins the upcoming Skoda Scala small car and VW T-Roc.

The Karoq, which has been on sale in Australia since mid-2018, is 4382mm long, 1841mm wide and 1603mm high. It has a 2638mm wheelbase and is based on the same MQB architecture as many other VW Group vehicles including its big brother, the Kodiaq.

Despite supply restrictions, the Karoq has become Skoda’s number three seller in Australia behind the Octavia passenger car and Kodiaq.

Irmer said the similar measurements of Kamiq and Karoq were misleading because the latter has a very flexible interior concept that allows the rear seats to be removed to liberate up to 1810 litres of luggage space.

“It is a deceiving car,” said Irmer. “On the outside it is small but on the inside it has more space than Hyundai Tucson or Mazda CX-5. So what matters to you?”

The Skoda Kamiq is offered in Europe with a 1.0-litre triple-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, a 1.6-litre turbo-diesel and manual transmission. None of these options are under consideration for Australia.

Irmer said there were no set expectations for Kamiq, which is Skoda’s third SUV: “This is all new terrain for us. But we do know that at the beginning the demand is going to be more than the supply.”