Skoda Karoq goes with the moniker VW Tharu in China

ABU DHABI: Skoda has been selling the Karoq in the Middle East market for a while now. Considering the good response it got here, and the growing compact SUV market in China, the VW group decided to launch the Karoq in China too. However, there it will be sold as VW Tharu and not as Skoda Karoq.

A couple of months ago, VW revealed the ‘big family SUV’ concept. The Tharu is the production-ready model of that concept. It borrows various design cues and elements from VW’s larger SUVs like the Tiguan and Atlas. In fact, it is a mini Atlas, targeting the younger audience.

There will be a few variants of the Tharu in China. The top-end variant will get an exclusive Beats Audio System. And to make it stand out from the other lower-end variants, VW has given a Beats logo on the B-pillar.

Even though the Tharu is a compact SUV, its dimensions are larger than that of the Skoda Karoq. It measures 4453 mm in length, 1841 mm in width, and 1632 mm in height. It is longer than the Karoq by 71 mm, and wider by 27 mm. It has got a wheelbase of 2688 mm, which is 50 mm more than what you get in the Karoq. All these numbers suggest that there will be ample amount of space inside the Tharu’s cabin.

VW Tharu will be available in China in two engine options - a 1.2-litre turbocharged petrol unit that produces 116 bhp of maximum power, and a 1.6-litre turbocharged petrol engine that has got 150 bhp. There’s only a single option when it comes to transmission, and that is a 7-speed dual-clutch unit.

The Tharu will be manufactured in China only by the Shanghai-Volkswagen joint venture. It should go up on sale by the 3rd quarter of the year. When launched, the Tharu will compete against the Hyundai ix25, Acura CDX, and the likes. VW is also planning to introduce the Tharu in the South American market shortly. However, as of now, there are no details whether it will hit the Middle East market or not.