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New Skoda Karoq vs used Volvo XC40: costs
Both of these family SUVs come highly recommended and can be had for well under £30,000. But should you go for a new Skoda Karoq or a used Volvo XC40?...
Buying and owning
Costs, equipment, reliability, safety and security
A D4 R-Design Volvo XC40 that’s two years old and has covered less than 20,000 miles can be bought for around £27,000 – a useful saving over the £37,575 it cost when new. You can’t buy a new one any longer, because Volvo has dropped diesels in the XC40 line-up in favour of mild hybrid petrols, plug-in hybrids (PHEVs) and the fully electric Recharge P8 variant.
The list price of a 1.5 SE L Skoda Karoq is slightly lower, at £26,770, and if you buy through our online New Car Deals service you’ll get a discount of at least £1424 – the saving our Target Price mystery shoppers secured. However, equipping the Karoq to the same level as the XC40 would add £2440 to the invoice, bringing it back in line with what you’d pay for its more upmarket used rival.
If you’re looking at buying on PCP finance, you’ll be better off with the Karoq. Go for a four-year deal with a £4000 deposit and a limit of 10,000 miles per year, and you’ll pay £242 per month for the Karoq and £360 for the XC40. This is due to the better APR you can get with the new deal (4.9%, versus 10.9% for the XC40).
Although you might expect the diesel XC40 to be more economical, the Karoq’s clever cylinder deactivation technology means it’ll actually use less fuel, returning an impressive 44.2mpg in our real-world True MPG test to the XC40’s 35.4mpg. You’ll also have to spend less insuring and servicing the Karoq. However, those savings are wiped out by its faster rate of depreciation. Overall, the XC40 will end up costing you less to own over three years.
Every new Skoda comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty, with the option to extend it for a fee. The XC40 also had a three-year warranty from new, so there’ll be one year left on our 2018 example. Again, you can pay extra (£457 per year) to extend it.
The petrol Karoq is more dependable than the diesel XC40, according to the latest What Car? Reliability Survey. Meanwhile, Skoda ranked fifth in the brand league table (out of 31), whereas Volvo was down in 16th place.
Both of our contenders come well equipped, but Skoda demands extra for lane-keeping assistance (£930) and traffic sign recognition (£75), whereas these safety systems are included on the XC40. Also, many used XC40s have the optional Climate Pack fitted, adding the luxury of not only heated front seats but also a heated windscreen, which would add £370 to the Karoq.
As for the Euro NCAP safety ratings we mentioned earlier, the XC40 betters the Karoq in the adult, child and safety assist categories. The Karoq was marginally better for pedestrian impacts, providing better protection to the pelvis.
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