THE relentless march of the compact SUV shows no signs of slowing down with this week's reveal of yet another newcomer to the sector in the shape of the Skoda Karoq.

In fact, it seems clear that the only thing that might stop the onslaught could be if manufacturers run out of names.

Clearly, however, Skoda's marketing people are pretty good at making up new monikers for their cars.

The Karoq, which will be launched later this year, comes hot on the heels of the recently launched Kodiaq - Skoda's first large SUV.

And the Czech maker has no intention of stopping there. The company says its range expansion strategy will primarily focus on broadening its SUV range over the next few years.

The newcomer will benefit from all the latest solutions crafted by the Volkswagen Group which can also be found in SUVs from sister companies including VW itself and SEAT.

That translates into five engine variants - two petrol and three diesels - four of which are new inthe Skoda line-up. All powertrains feature turbo-charged direct injection as well as stop-start technology and brake energy recovery.

With the exception of the most powerful diesel, all engines can be ordered with a six-speed manual gearbox or seven-speed DSG auto. The top of the range 190PS, 2.0 TDI will come as standard with all-wheel drive and the seven-speed DSG box.

The Karoq range will come with state-of-the-art infotainment functions and interfaces through touch displays with the premium systems featuring a Wi-Fi hotspot. Other equipment will include LED headlights and a programmable digital instrument panel.

There will also be a raft of driver assistance systems including Park Assist, Lane Assist and Traffic Jam Assist. Blind Spot Detect, Front Assist with predictive pedestrian protection and Emergency Assist, all of which serve to increase safety.