[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by fhdowntheline

At end of the day, its about volume, no matter whether its a Kia or a Bentley.

If volume is all that you chase then you also run the risk of becoming a Maruti or a Hyundai after which however hard you try, you aren't able to sell beyond a specific segment or a price point. No matter how good a product you come up with. It is understandable if some brands do not aspire to enter that space. Skoda still has a certain aspirational value attached to it.

[motorworks]

Even though i was also apprehensive about the dimensions of the Kushaq, I think we need to wait and watch on how usable the given space ends up being. The Kushaq has the longest wheel base, so rear seating space should not be an issue at all. The overall stance of the Car is very SUV-like and with projected roof rails it surely does look reasonably good.

Now coming to other dimensions, first up the width. When I see the dimensions of other cars, say for example the Duster, Im a little surprised. For some reason the duster seems to be one of the widest, but when you sit inside, it really feels narrow. My dad owns a duster and I have always felt that the car is quite narrow and I assumed that the car which I drive, a 2018 Creta is wider than the duster. Well, turns out its not! So point being that the way the width is measured and also the actual usable area within the car may be down to the way the car is packaged.

Lastly, the boot space, here again when I saw the Kushaq, it had a deep boot rather than flat boot layouts we see in cars like the Creta etc. Someone in this thread mentioned about how good and usable the boot space in a Vento is, I second that since I owned a Rapid earlier and I remember easily fitting in my sons 20 inch cycle in the boot with ease. With the Creta I dont see that ease, I have to fold down both seats and the only advantage in the large flat boot layout is when you are carrying regular luggage like suitcases and bags.

So, again, we need to really see how usable the boot space of the Kushaq is.

Lastly, I had mentioned this before, and I keep wondering about this again, Skoda and VW had all the time in the world, so why did they have to keep the dimensions the smallest? I mean, they need not have had the widest, tallest or the car with the biggest boot space, but they could have avoided having the car that is the smallest in all aspects, how much ever the car may be practical. You dont want to lose out on paper to start with!

[fhdowntheline]

Originally Posted by motorworks

Now coming to other dimensions, first up the width. When I see the dimensions of other cars, say for example the Duster, Im a little surprised. For some reason the duster seems to be one of the widest, but when you sit inside, it really feels narrow. My dad owns a duster and I have always felt that the car is quite narrow.
Lastly, I had mentioned this before, and I keep wondering about this again, Skoda and VW had all the time in the world, so why did they have to keep the dimensions the smallest?

The Dusters seats dont exactly wrap the contours of your body, hence you dont feel its space. Plus rear legroom is not its strong point. In any case, it would be difficult to imagine the Kushaq will beat its competitors when it comes to perceived comfort in the rear. Yes, like the others it will essentially a 2 adult +1 sub-adult level comfort and here's where pricing becomes key. If Skoda charges 17 lac for a car that is perceptibly smaller in dimensions, what is the USP ? What does it offer more than say a Magnite or a Kiger with a similar 1.0 engine ?

[VeluM]

Originally Posted by motorworks

Lastly, I had mentioned this before, and I keep wondering about this again, Skoda and VW had all the time in the world, so why did they have to keep the dimensions the smallest?

As far as I can tell, this is just an “Indianised” Skoda Kamiq. The design has been minimally modified, and they have removed high cost items to keep the price competitive.

Kamiq internationally comes with a soft dashboard, virtual cockpit, electric boot operation, full LED lights with the DRLs doubling as indicators, and directional indicators at the front and back - all of which have been removed or modified in the Kushaq. They have also shopped from their parts bin for the steering wheel (coming in the Octavia), and touch HVAC controls (seen in the international 2021 Tiguan, rumoured to be coming to India later this year).

Kamiq is reported to have a 400L boot, which is reduced to 385L in the Kushaq, most likely only in the Style variant because it will have a sub woofer in the space within the spare wheel instead. We’ve seen the little tool bag lying awkwardly in the boot.

What I am apprehensive about is absolute quality of parts, and whether Kushaq will feel like enough of an upgrade for current Rapid owners.

[Carz77]

Originally Posted by VeluM

As far as I can tell, this is just an “Indianised” Skoda Kamiq. The design has been minimally modified, and they have removed high cost items to keep the price competitive.

Kamiq internationally comes with a soft dashboard, virtual cockpit, electric boot operation, full LED lights with the DRLs doubling as indicators, and directional indicators at the front and back - all of which have been removed or modified in the Kushaq. They have also shopped from their parts bin for the steering wheel (coming in the Octavia), and touch HVAC controls (seen in the international 2021 Tiguan, rumoured to be coming to India later this year).

Exactly. I was earlier asking about restriction in the MQB platform and wondering why would Skoda-VW plan and use a platform which cannot accommodate anything more than 4.22 M length. Aren't they planning anything bigger in the future for India / export market ? For Kushaq, it looks like they have re-used max parts bin from Kamiq and Indianize it as you rightly said. Again, they are on a tricky wicket as the perception now is that Kushaq is the smallest in this segment.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by VeluM

Kamiq is reported to have a 400L boot, which is reduced to 385L in the Kushaq, most likely only in the Style variant because it will have a sub woofer in the space within the spare wheel instead. We’ve seen the little tool bag lying awkwardly in the boot.

This could be because the Kamiq probably comes with a space saver and on the Kushaq, they had to provide a full size spare.

[viscosity]

Could another reference car to compare against Kushaq be Honda BR-V ? Is this a fair comparison ? Would be interesting to hear about this from fellow BHPians. BR-V had a similar wheelbase as Kushaq, was better on length, height, ground clearance but shorter on width. It was also priced at ex-showroom price of 9.53L, but as we know it was stopped in 2020.

No matter what Mr Zac or Skoda says, accepting Kushaq as the smallest car in its segment would be difficult thing for people to come to terms with.

Why test the limits of your fanbase, who is already taking a leap of faith by buying your product based on positives of safety, driving dynamics (leaving aside quality aspect for now, as we never know what has really happened with their India 2.0 plan and I hope it doesn't mean it is a "do number ka quality" as in Hindi i.e. #2 in quality now ) inspite of ASS, Maintenance cost, limited dealership network, by giving them one more reason to reject you

[museycal]

Kushaq's got 9" more over the sub 4m crossovers. Who knows, maybe for the price, buying public may like its extra length! Let's wait and see.

[Gizmokid]

Originally Posted by Lalitha Venkat

I test drove the Jeep Compass Petrol Automatic today. I have booked a diesel but wanted to check the Petrol automatic to get a first hand view. I got a good 30 minute test drive. When compare to Vento TSI DSG, the only place this DCT is different is when you are trying to launch the car say from a signal and you have open road ahead of you. If it was the Vento, I would have had the satisfaction of seeing the cars behind by a mile on my rear view mirror. Thats the only area, where there is a noticeable difference. Once the car picks up speed there is no issue and its driving well at higher speeds. The real issue is lack of S mode which is a boon when overtaking on the high ways on the Vento. Since there are no paddle shifters on my Vento really did not miss the same. The engine was refined as compared to Vento.

Me too, did the test drive of the 2.0Diesel. Absolutely fell in love with the engine, now I know why it's earned the moniker of the NATIONAL ENGINE. The anniversary edition interiors are gorgeous and solid build quality. Sorry, coming back to the Kushaq, it's becoming a comparison of what the heart says and the brain justifies.
Exclusivity, and class of the Jeep or the value luxury of the Kushaq. If only it was a tad wider, came with virtual cockpit and a panoramic sunroof

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by Gizmokid

Me too, did the test drive of the 2.0Diesel. Absolutely fell in love with the engine, now I know why it's earned the moniker of the NATIONAL ENGINE. The anniversary edition interiors are gorgeous and solid build quality. Sorry, coming back to the Kushaq, it's becoming a comparison of what the heart says and the brain justifies.
Exclusivity, and class of the Jeep or the value luxury of the Kushaq. If only it was a tad wider, came with virtual cockpit and a panoramic sunroof

Well two of your wishes will be answered with the VW Taigun - it is coming with a virtual Driver Cockpit and also a Panoramic sunroof! So you could consider the Taigun instead of the Kushaq. Drive wise and engine wise they would be similar.
I feel Kushaq is targeting a lower price segment hence they have omitted some features while VW will gun for a higher price (2 lacs higher) and will have these addons on the higher variants of the car.
But still neither of these cars will have a Diesel engine and they will come only with 1L TSI or 1.5 L TSI with manual and Auto options in both.

[gasinveins]

Originally Posted by Carz77

Exactly. I was earlier asking about restriction in the MQB platform and wondering why would Skoda-VW plan and use a platform which cannot accommodate anything more than 4.22 M length. Aren't they planning anything bigger in the future for India / export market ?

The current Rapid/Vento is 4.4M and the upcoming MQB A0 IN-based VW-Skoda notchback twins are going to be longer and wider than the current ones. The current decision might be something to do with Wheelbase length to accommodate parts from other similar sized cards. I may be wrong here.

[chetancm7]

No idea why they have to reduce the boot space when the Koreans are offering in ample quantity. To add to that is the width which also is lesser compared to its rivals. So if you are giving a lesser boot space then it needs to be compensated with an adequate provision of decent rear cabin space is a must IMHO.

[Lalitha Venkat]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Well two of your wishes will be answered with the VW Taigun - it is coming with a virtual Driver Cockpit and also a Panoramic sunroof! So you could consider the Taigun instead of the Kushaq. Drive wise and engine wise they would be similar.
I feel Kushaq is targeting a lower price segment hence they have omitted some features while VW will gun for a higher price (2 lacs higher) and will have these addons on the higher variants of the car.
But still neither of these cars will have a Diesel engine and they will come only with 1L TSI or 1.5 L TSI with manual and Auto options in both.

Read an article on team BHP, that Tiguan 5 seater may come in this year with 2LTSI. What is your take on it. I am holding a Jeep Compass Anniversary diesel automatic booking. 2L petrol is confusing. If it was 1.5TSI, I would have ignored. Cost wise dont know what is the pricing going to be for the Tiguan.

[aniketi]

Isn't 1.0 L engine small for this car? Though it is turbo engine, considering size of the car, it will be less for sure. Performance will be strictly average for 1.0 avatar considering it will be heavy car as it's a Skoda. 1.5 L will be good for sure, looks promising for this car.

This looks more like S-cross type car to me. It's only me or somebody else also think so? It's competition to cars like S-cross, Ecosport, Nexon etc. more than cars like Harrier, Creta, Seltos etc. Hope Skoda price it well, else it will have very very few takers for sure.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by Lalitha Venkat

Read an article on team BHP, that Tiguan 5 seater may come in this year with 2LTSI. What is your take on it. I am holding a Jeep Compass Anniversary diesel automatic booking. 2L petrol is confusing. If it was 1.5TSI, I would have ignored. Cost wise dont know what is the pricing going to be for the Tiguan.

Stay with your Jeep Compass booking. The 2 L diesel is quite delightful to drive (in manual version) and also has a decent mileage of 13-14 kmpl. A 2L Tsi will hardly give you 7-8kmpl on petrol. Also between the Tiguan and new Compass I would rate the Compass higher as I found the Tiguan quite spartan in design and the design hasn't changed much over the past 5-6 years. Tiguan will be a bit higher in price than the Compass too as it continues as a CBU and is not locally assembled. Also there is little visual differentiation between Taigun and Tiguan and people will easily confuse the two inspite of them being over 10 Lac apart in price.