Welcome to the forum.
Ian W posted while I was waffling!
I have owned 3 Karoqs. All 1.5L DSG*. 2 SEL, 1 Sport.
Taking your questions in order.
KESSY, What is not to like, Makes getting in and out easier specially if you are carrying things.
Leather seats. I will always go for leather if I have a choice, (as standard fitment but won't pay silly money for 'optional' leather.)
Some say they are too hot in the summer and too cold in the winter....I have never found this to be a problem. If anything IS spilt on them, far easier to clean.
Low profile tyres .
HATE THEM! very uncomfortable ride (for my old back!) serious risk of 'curbing' . Crashes into pot holes with risk of rim damage. My thinking is that 'skinny' tyres are for sports cars. SUVs should have FAT tyres. My SPORT had 40 aspect and they were so awful I spent £300 on some 15 inch alloy wheels with 60 aspect rubber. Blissful ride with no affect on road holding .(I still have them but no longer need them if anybody is interested in buying them CHEAP!)
I will probably get lambasted for my following comments, but here goes.
I suggest you read this forum from top to bottom and see how many complaints there are about faults.
VAG is now earning a reputation decline from the once high reliability record that used to have. A lot of the problems seem to electrical around the infotainment system, which often affects things other than the radio.
So saying, I have owned 8 Skodas*(all DSG) in 13 years . Fabia Estate, faultless, two Yetis, faultless, 1 Yeti, wonky rear wiper (common fault) Kodiaq, I had the 6th one to be registered in the U.K. So VERY early adopter, SOS button would not link up. Dealer tried three times to no avail & I told him to give up.
Electric tailgate decided it had a mind of it's own and would open halfway and jam, had to be opened manually, often same problem trying to close. Pop out door edge protector didn't retract and got decapitated on closing the door. (Skoda gave them up eventually as they were a pain in the *rse.
There have also been faults reported on the Enyaq.
MY Three Karoqs all faultless.
*DSG depends on which model it is, see here.
https://www.honestjohn.co.uk/advice/dsg ... %20avoided.
I was forum moderator on the Kodiaq forum since it's inception (resigned when a Canadian company bought the web site and ruined it!) and also moderator here since inception.
I decided to leave Skoda due to the increasing number of complaints.
But the main thing that made me decide to leave Skoda was a friend of mine who bought an Octavia estate PHEV, he had nothing but trouble with it. Mainly the 12v battery going flat constantly & other electrical problems (Which my dealer agreed was a common problem with the Octavia PHEVs) which of course made the car unusable until it was charged up.
Frankly I would have demanded my money back after three attempts by the dealer to put it right all to no avail. He persisted, but eventually gave up and now drives a Toyota (10 year warranty!)
I went to Honda HR-V Hybrid then CR-V hybrid. ( I previously had owned 6 Hondas) (3 year warranty . SKODA THREE YEAR warranty! ). I was then bitten by the pure EV bug and now own a Kia eNiro. KIA SEVEN year warranty. My first Kia . Brilliant in ever way. Everything works! including the connection app & all the electrics.
I have owned. 79 cars and have always found the Japanese (I have owned multiple Mitsubishi, Mazda & Honda) and now Korean make, to be far more reliable than others.
As far as long lead times for garage service , I think it is now common place as, due to the 'chip' shortage therefore lack of new cars. The sales of secondhand cars has rocketed and therefore need more servicing than new ones.
I had to wait a month to have the Niro serviced recently.
If you are sold on Skoda, then in my experience the Karoq is probably your best bet.
Whatever you decide,
I wish you happy motoring.
Colin Lambert.
Poole, Dorset.
Diploma Auto Eng.
Moderator Karoq & HR-V Fora.
(Kodiaq Forum Moderator, resigned!)