If you read our recent road test of the Skoda Karoq, you will appreciate that it is a car possessing a personality that grows with every mile. Naturally, FCD is delighted to represent the Skoda brand, as it has continued to bust preconceptions and demonstrate that it has an inherent character that lifts it someway above many of its immediate rivals, despite offering tremendous value for money, made especially keen after FCD discounts are applied.

Set to debut at the Paris Motor Show, in October 2018, the Sportline variant will be powered by a choice of four efficient engines, two diesel and two petrol. While three of them are familiar fayre in the Karoq line-up, the 2.0TSi unit driving through a 7-speed DSG automated-manual transmission offers, for the first time, a genuinely punchy 187bhp, for a respectable turn of brisker acceleration and a raised top speed.

Of course, it needs to look the part, so it also gains sportier bumpers front and rear and 19.0-inch diameter, black polished alloy wheels. The interior is finished in sporty trim, with ventilated material on the seat bolsters and silver thread used on the upholstery and leather-wrapped, multi-function steering wheel. All of the usual Skoda ‘made smarter’ convenience features are also incorporated.

Naturally, some Karoq owners appreciate a more beefed-up appearance befitting of a multi-surface vehicle, which will suit the other new specification, Scout. As a member of that branch of the Skoda family, four-wheel-drive comes as standard, complete with the enhanced engine range that features in the Sportline.

Following the off-road theme, there are both chrome and silvered elements to the bodywork, with extra body cladding (on the wheelarches) to provide valuable protection, when coursing through bush-lined narrow tracks, or bouncing across sand dunes. Comfier seating, featuring brown and black inserts, complete the interior offering in Scout trim.