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-   -   The Skoda Kushaq crossover, now unveiled! (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/228799-skoda-kushaq-crossover-now-unveiled-20.html)

Size wise its definitely not in the same bracket as Seltos/Creta. As rightly pointed out above, its between the Sonet/Venue and Creta/Seltos. In fact, its presence is more like Sonet than that of Seltos/Creta.

Hope Skoda gets the pricing right on this one. A few journos mentioned about 9 to 15L, but looking at the camouflaged cars; I guess a 8.3-8.5L would be apt for its entry level version ex-showroom.

Pricing it closer to base variants of Creta/Seltos would be a huge risk. Zac was over optimistic about the sales of Octavia VRS; and we saw the reponse from Indian enthusiasts. There are still quite a few cars and no takers at the premium price point. (Despite dealers offering 2-3L discounts or more)

Additionally, build quality is very subjective. This is a first product on the new MQB IN platform. So there's no assurance of typical german built.

Just to clarify, guys. Team-BHP was also invited for this drive and Skoda insisted on my presence. However, I'm not comfortable taking a flight and / or living in a hotel because of my 77-year old Mum and her vulnerability to Covid. Hence, avoiding any & all travel in the foreseeable future.

https://www.autocarindia.com/car-rev...t-drive-419745

Even better ride than the Duster coupled with 90% localisation & premium interiors? Sounds like a winner to me.

The all-new Skoda Kushaq midsize SUV will make its world premiere in March 2021, ahead of its launch in India. Deliveries of the Kushaq are expected to start by mid-2021. (June)

ACI image :



1.0TSI is the pick of the lot ( from the proto type drive reviews)

Link

As proto type media drive completes in India, the KUSHAQ is spied testing in Czech Republic.














Link1

I hope they would've learnt their lessons after the amount of good press they received for the pricing of the Rapid Rider. With the high degree of localisation, I am optimistic that they will price it competitively.

Absolutely correct decision GTO.. huge :thumbs up

I was wondering about this, thought that the initial feedback & reviews (which Skoda claims it will also work on) would not be complete without TeamBHP. With so many test mules in Mumbai, Skoda would do better to work out a modality for a thorough test inside the city, else it will be their loss!

Quite agree with you. They have the rapid starting at 8.15L. So for them to really penetrate the market, if they price the base variant at 8L, they can compete with almost every other car. Compact sedans, compact SUVs and even the premium hatchbacks. I just hope they maintain the safety standards which I feel they will. And finally the top model with all bells and whistles can compete with harrier and others as well. So with this one car they can compete with every other segment.

The skoda brand, the focus, attention and criticality of this car for VAG, all indicate it to be a very worthy competitor to the Korean siblings.
The only issue is it's height, looks max at a Wagan r/ S-Cross height to me, which is good for driveability, but would seem underwhelming in its road presence. My Ecosport looks taller. I do hope they get it with a slightly taller stance with 200mm ground clearance

We are talking here about Skoda which is a premium mass market brand and not a cost concious mass market brand.

Expecting Skoda to price at 8L or 8.15L or 8.50 L or even 8.90L is a severe erosion of brand premiumness. Moreover, a customer buying Skoda or VW is not primarily price conscious. He/She is investing in top notch safety, best dynamics and build quality and already aware of high cost of ownership. Skoda and VW know their customers priorities and will be costly always. Any person who values price over safety, dynamics and build quality should not look at these brands.

What Apple is to mobiles, VW and Skoda are to mass market brands. If anyone wants to own their products, the idea of price conciousness needs to be in recycle bin.

Finally someone who understands stuff here, i don't know how can people expect the Kushaq to start from 8.5 lakhs, the creta and Seltos doesn't start at 8.5, why should skoda do that, they have developed a new platform, a new car specially for India, there are so many costs involved, moreover the car is going to be premium, have better engines and Gearboxes, rides better and dynamically better than the Koreans.

And i don't understand the obsession of size, the wheelbase of kushaq is 2650 mm whereas the Koreans have 2610mm, the lengths are going to approximately same as well, that means plenty of space inside! Going by that mentality a fortuner and an endeavour is bigger than Q3, X1 and other premium suvs(taking about the cheapest models of the luxury brands) but there's a whole lot of difference, the ride quality, Interiors, dynamics, ergonomics, quality of interiors and whole other things.

I am not saying that kushaq is going to be that better, but it will match or it will be better. Where it will excell is safety(abs, 4 airbags(top variant 6), esp, traction control standard) dynamics, engine-gearbox combo, overall quality and fit-finish of the vehicle. Being bigger is not always better, it's the overall package that matters. lol:

I have mentioned it before and i'm mentioning it again, the base variant of kushaq will compete with 2nd to base variant of Creta and Seltos, i.e. EX and HTK features wise and price wise. The base variant price is going to be 10.5 lakhs ex showroom
Don't change your plans now, wait for the car to launch, take test drives and then decide. But if you're expecting some magic to happen and Kushaq to launch at 8 to 9 lakhs then i am sorry, go ahead with your choice of car. :thumbs up

The Tata Nexon XE variant starts at 7.10 ex-showroom, which is a sub-4 metre car and doesn't get rear power windows, steering mounted controls and comes with manually adjustable orvms. Expecting a mid-size suv from Skoda with essential features coupled with 4-airbags, ESP, TC as standard for the base trim for 8 lakhs would be a bit optimistic.

Well Skoda eroded its Premium with the Rapid rider priced below the segment. Secondly, Kushaq is a segment lower than Creta and Seltos. The height, Length and overall stance won’t justify the price of 10.5L

Top notch quality of VW, Skoda is also shadowed by the poor ownership experience due to service centre.

If Kushaq is launched at 10.5L - it will be another failure in Skoda’s strategy.’

comparing Endy and Audi could be crazy, but Skoda Doesn’t command that kind of premium over the Koreans.

In fact the YouTube reviewers also mentioned that Kushaq could be priced at around 9L and other mentioned that if it undercuts the Koreans in price then it’s a compelling option

Skoda can chose to ignore the sentiment and waste all the effort being put in regaining its base in India

That's exactly my point. If they can start rapid at 8.15 L why can't kushaq? It's not that they compromised on built or safety standards there. Those who are on budget can go for the base variant and as per Skoda it was already sold out. Personally am in the process of buying a new car and rapid is on my mind. I am getting a 2020 manufactured ambition model for the current price of rapid rider plus. And I don't mind going for it because I keep my cars really long. After owning an mpv I seem to have issues seating in a sedan because of the lowseating.That's where am anticipating kushaq impressing me to go for it. But if they start with a base variant itself at 10L I would think of other options. I own a Korean car top end with all features . Needless is what I can say. Am just looking for a good engine,decent music system, good space at the back and good AC. Rest is irrelevant. I almost zeroed on Nexon but am still waiting. If kushaq is priced well I will be the first to book because I still have the dream to own a Skoda.

First off, great choice of name - picking a Sanskrit word meaning "Emperor", rather than a convoluted one named after a polar bear or iguana!:)

I think the right place to start for pricing would be 9.99 lakhs for a base variant with a 1.0 TSI manual gearbox, and basic safety and comfort features. That will give them the ability to reach a much wider audience given the price sensitivity at the bottom end of the range. Both Creta and Seltos have decently equipped base petrol variants below the 10 lakh mark and Creta even has a base diesel variant at 9.99 lakhs.

The 1.0 TSI equipped Kushaq will compete with 1.5 NA engine of the Creta and Seltos and the Korean brands' sales guys will make unfavorable comparisons on how small the engine is on the Skoda. So, it would be a risk to over-price the base variants and miss the volumes in that end of the price spectrum.

On the other hand, the 1.5 TSI with DSG should be priced significantly higher than the Creta/Seltos top end. This will give the car brand some allure and premium positioning.

Have you heard about the term
"Economies of Scale"? Do you know Rapid is a 10 yr old car? Do you know accounting depreciation of asset?

Do you think Skoda or VW are now milking their 10 yr old assembly line, would have already achieved their costs of investment from the assembly line and can afford the Rapid at 8.15 L due to this ?

I think if you have answers to above questions, you might automatically get the answers to why can't Skoda do this or that ? No one on the forum would need to answer your questions then. All answers will be self understood.