Pulman ŠKODA Showroom turns one!

It’s been a full year since Pulman ŠKODA opened its flagship £2-million-pound showroom at Belmont, Durham just off the A690.

It’s been a whirlwind 12 months for Pulman ŠKODA with numerous events which have included, the launch of their in-house Café Dafté; open to the public, authorised repairer accreditation for Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, the introduction of a Yoga and Pilates Studio in partnership with MyBody Studio’s, welcoming three brand new ŠKODA models including the Superb, Octavia and the award winning Kodiaq and even the expansion of the used vehicle forecourt to showcase used commercial vehicles.

Growing from only 4 members of staff to over 44 Pulman have retained their title as the ŠKODA UK New Car Retailer of the year for 2016, as well as receiving awards for best Motability retailer and Fleet Excellence performance. Pulman SKODA have truly achieved a lot in such a short period priding themselves on delivering a fantastic customer experience.

Ian Jarvis, Pulman ŠKODA Sales Manager comments: “It’s been a fantastic year! We’ve made this amazing showroom our new home and have welcomed many new customers into the business and our staff together have continued to delivere that fantastic customer experience. Winning awards for new car, Motability and fleet performances is a credit to each member of the team. More importantly we want to thank all our customers, followers and fans for their support and of course for choosing Pulman.”

The state-of-the-art showroom is home to the Café Dafté, an in-house Café that serves fresh and restaurant quality food. Café Dafté is also celebrating its one-year anniversary by launching a brand new menu in the coming weeks. Sam Gilholm, Café Manager comments: “We are very excited to launch our new menu. The feedback and customer support over the last 12 months has really helped us develop our menu ensuring we provide high quality freshly made dishes made from locally produced ingredients.”

Of course, you don’t have to be a Pulman ŠKODA customer to enjoy the Café Dafté menu, they’re open to the public for both takeaways or to dine in; and for summer 2017 the new outdoor seating area caters for al-fresco dining. Many customers have enjoyed Café Dafté so far with over an astonishing 93,000 cups of coffee and tea served since opened!

Pulman ŠKODA are certainly a unique car retailer, with its solar energy showroom (saving 22,000 KW of energy last year no less), courtesy bikes, cars and vans, in-house Café and Yoga studio and of course delivering that fantastic customer experience. We look forward to seeing what the next year holds – happy birthday Pulman ŠKODA. 

www.pulmanskoda.co.uk 

Introducing the all new ŠKODA Karoq

The ŠKODA Karoq is the new compact SUV, confirmed as the current ŠKODA Yeti replacement. The new Karoq will share designs and technology with the latest ŠKODA range, notable positioned as the ŠKODA Kadiaq’s little brother – from the classic ‘cradle’ of the ŠKODA badge on the bonnet, to the crystalised signature lines throughout, the new LED ‘eyelash’ design and ‘C’ shaped taillights. 
Built on the current Volkswagen Group MQB platform, the new Karoq will likely be similar to the current SEAT Ateca and Volkswagen Tiguan. The new ŠKODA Karoq, officially revealed on 18th May, will likely go on sale late 2017 for deliveries early 2018.

Bernhard Maier, ŠKODA’s CEO insists that the ŠKODA Karoq will impress with its unique brand identity alongside the typical ŠKODA strengths”. With the introduction of the Karoq, ŠKODA is now setting the next SUV milestone and we can’t wait to see it in our showroom! 

Determined to ensure the Karoq has the distinct ŠKODA identity, the design team have created an interior which is visually impressive, practical and Simply Clever. The boot, which can be opened hands-free using the virtual pedal, has a capacity of 521 litres with the back seats in place. With the rear seats folded down, this volume increases to 1,630 litres. Need to carry more? In typical ŠKODA fashion the seats can be completely removed, effectively transforming the SUV into a van with a maximum loading capacity of 1,810 litres. 

The Karoq also offers state-of-the-art functions and interfaces. It sports infotainment online services (used for information and navigation) and CareConnect services, including Emergency Call (for emergency/breakdown assistance), and - for the first time in a ŠKODA - a digital instrument panel. This display panel shows key driving, sat-nav and infotainment information in the instrument binnacle. And the revolutionary technology does not stop there, the Karoq also features the popular SmartLink interface which is compatible with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto and MirrorLink.

The Karoq is also packed with driver assistance systems. With Parking Assistant, Lane Assistant, Traffic-jam Assist and Blind Spot Detect to name a few, the Karoq is right at the sharp end of whats on offer in the SUV segment. 

With a choice of five engines - two petrol and three diesels -  it is difficult to pick a fault with the Karoq’s range.  All feature start/stop technology, break recovery and comes with driving profile selection (with a choice or Normal, Sport, Eco, Individual and Snow available on some trims). According to TopGear, the driving profiles are a welcome addition. The Karoq performs well on the road and comfortably deals with the rough when you venture off the beaten track. 

This new compact SUV will be celebrating its world premiere on the 18th of May in Stockholm, with its launch rumored to follow in the second half of 2017. Although ŠKODA have not yet confirmed pricing, it is through to be close to the current Yeti’s £17,000 starting price (Top Gear). While the UK specifications have not been announced yet, the ŠKODA Karoq has the potential to set a new benchmark for the compact SUV segment. Whether it is down to its dramatic looks, revolutionary technology or the creation of a new class, the Karoq is more certainly a game-changer. 

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