[The21st]

The basic variant is having a decent price. The issue is with higher variants
Also the transition from one variant to another is steep and not like Creta and Seltos with lot of options which makes one tempting for upgrade.

It's safe and fun to drive, so people will be ready to pay more.
But how much will people pay more for a small car with less SUV looks compared to Seltos, with less features and maybe low resale value?
People are more aware of safety now, so that may help Skoda.

[84.monsoon]

This is definitely going to bust the bubble of expectations for a lot of people. Many who hoped for a 12.5 Lakh starting price for a 1.0 TSI AT Ambition are going to be very disappointed. The 1.0 TSI MT is overpriced by 50K. The step up from the Active to Ambition is too much ! I do not understand how the additional equipment can be worth 2.3 Lakhs! The pricing strategy is definitely not going to get them the volumes that are hoping for.

The pricing strategy is squarely aimed at premium customers, who truly understand the safety, driving excitement, and attention to detail and would like to be a bit exclusive and do not mind paying more for all this. This segment is not going to bring high volumes, I would be surprised if they achieve the 2500 units per month they are aiming for with this kind of pricing.

My theory now is that VW Taigun will aim for the volume route with much more attractive pricing, hopefully starting under 10 lakhs and having a wide range the GT trim priced much higher. The 10 lakh point is a psychological barrier and also a major road tax barrier in many states, where one pays disproportionately more road tax. My theory is also that Skoda is pricing the Kushaq higher intentionally to make rom for the VW Taigun. The group cannot afford to throw away volumes, they need to achieve a level of scale for the MQB-A0-IN platform, which is critical to long term survival for VW in Idnia.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

• Ambition carries a 2.3L ex-showroom premium over the Active
• Style carries a 1.8 L ex-showroom premium over Ambition
• The 6 speed torque converter carries a premium of 1.4 lakhs over MT in the Ambition variant, but only 1.2 lakhs in the Style variant!
• 1.5 TSi engine carries a premium of 1.6 lakhs over the 1.0!
• 1.5 TSI DSG carries a premium of 1.8 lakhs over the 1.0 TSI AT.

Damn you Skoda. Why are so many vehicles suddenly being overpriced? You look at all desirable vehicles and they're kind of overpriced. We were considering the 1.0L AT but now, may wait considering that you pay a premium for Kushaq and God forbid if you get into a Skoda horror story yourself, you can only curse yourself. I know that in today's scenario, you can come across horror stories of any manufacturer but then, Skoda ones are too many to omit.

[any23]

Can anyone confirm if the sunroof is standard across all variants? can't find any info on this

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by any23

Can anyone confirm if the sunroof is standard across all variants? can't find any info on this

Sunroof is only available on the Style variant. And Skoda calls it a panoramic sunroof -

[aeyjay]

It is a Kushock after the price reveal (although was expecting Skoda to price it premium given how they have been trying to harp on safety and build quality). Despite localisation they are trying to maintain brand premium, while review videos highlight compromise on material quality, so initial sales figures will be interesting. Waiting for discounts after initial excitement settles and new launches eat away sales. But an overall disappointment on price after this long hype .

[Raghu M]

Originally Posted by karanddd

I am curious as to why people go around claiming "solid build quality" and "European finesse" or "European build" to refer to the most unreliable (and unsolid, in a sense) cars in the Indian market? Is there any objective basis to claiming that made-in-India Volkswagen and Skoda cars are somehow superior in build quality to Hyundai, Kia, Maruti, Tata etc.? Or is it just anti-Indian, anti-Asian prejudice? Just from my experience, I have felt most Indian cars under Rs. 20 lakh that I've sat in or driven to feel more or less similar in how "solid" they feel, i.e. they feel solid enough, nothing fantastic, but nothing horrendous either. I am inclined to think it's a purely psychological thing, and if this very same car came with an MG or Ssangyong badge, the reviewers would use terms like "solid" and "well built" with less abandon.

Can't agree more with you. I have seen this bias in numerous reviews on YouTube too. The 'thud feeling' when you close the door gives you no impression of how solid a car is built. I don't get it as to how people feel that if a door closes with a thud it is well built. On the contrary, they do not mention the GNCAP ratings of these 'EUROPEAN' cars at all during the review. I test drove the Venue and chose the XUV3OO, trust me, I have not seen any other car in the segment which is more well built and has better crash ratings. The Sonet sells in thousands every month, the car doesn't have a crash rating score yet. No offence to anybody here. The Nexon and the XUV are the most underrated cars in the segment. I see reviewers focusing on DRLs rather than the weight of the car/no. of airbags/safety features. The size of the infotainment screen matters more now than the actual performance and safety of a car.

Coming to the Kushaq, I observed the driver and rear seats closely and they look like after market finish. The fit and finish is no where near to perfect fit. The seats also do not feel/look premium. The dimensions make it a narrow car.

[Sahilrai166]

Top end Style 1.0AT\1.5 DSG misses out on
Panaromic sunroof
Adaptive guidelines for reverse parking camera
Side airbags
Rear disc brakes
When compared with the Creta SX O 1.5IVT/1.4DCT.
Skoda should have atlest given 6 airbags for the top end automatic variants.

[rahulcmoulee]

Skoda is having a laugh not providing 6 airbags on the Auto variants. After all the talk about safety, this is completely unreasonable on their part. At 19.87 lakh OTR in BLR for the 1.0 AT, it is just not acceptable to give only 2 airbags.

[curiousnewbie]

Summing up the difference between style and ambition automatic variants:

1. Alloy Wheels (17" vs 16"), spare (16" vs 15")
2. Door handle (body coloured) with vs without chrome accents
3. Chrome highlights on front bumper air intake vs none
4. Glossy black plastic cover on B & C Pillar vs Mattle black
5. windows & Trunk chrome garnish vs none
6. Chrome dashboard line vs black gloss dashboard line
7. Chrome gear shift stick & handbrake inserts vs plastic
8. Full LED Tail lamps vs LED tail lamp with reflective reflective lamp
9. Auto headlamp & home lights vs none
10. Auto front wiper & auto dimming rear view mirror vs none
11. Anti theft alarm vs none
12. keyless entry vs remote
13. leather upholstery & ventilated seats vs fabric
14. subwoofer (6 speakers for both variants) vs none
15. sunroof vs none
16. wireless charging vs none
17. none vs sunglass holder

I can do without above features. Going for 1.0 TSI ambition AT

Note: comparison between auto variants only

[aa1997]

How is this the best Skoda could offer after 5 years, 95% localization levels, 1 billion investment, IN platform and sharing with VW Taigun. If they were targeting the Korean twins they could have offered a similar sized car and charged the premium that Skoda is known for. This whole Developed for India exercise seems futile and made for the boardroom first rather than the market like we have seen with Kia or MG.

It could still make a case when considering the VAG build, drive & powertrains but the smaller size, lower resale and poor service will be hard to ignore.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Sunroof is only available on the Style variant. And Skoda calls it a panoramic sunroof -

Attachment 2172220

So Skoda prices the Kushaq at some premium. And then justifies it by calling regular features as premium ones.

I hope that's a human error and not intentional.

Kushaq deserved a base model priced below 10L. The success of the Rapid Rider was the lesson to be learnt from. A launch/introductory price of 9-16L was the call of the day to bring in the bookings first. Then Skoda could have raised them to the current level.

All those attention to Zac, over Twitter, probably got to their head.

[hareshjethwani]

The premium over the competition would have been justified if they had not compromised on a lot of things mentioned above. In a real world out there with very few enthusiasts only the "thud" and a good engine is not good enough.

[purb_du]

Overpriced by a fair amount considering its a petrol only 4 seater (for adults). With skyrocketing petrol prices coupled with low fuel economy, there are better options from 2 SUV segments above.

No doubt it has got a pair of nice engines and is a much safer vehicle compared to its rivals but then when you have such a tiny dealership network(just one new Skoda dealer in the entire north-east of India), you cant just expect it to be a good alternative.

[giri1.8]

Originally Posted by karanddd

I am curious as to why people go around claiming "solid build quality" and "European finesse" or "European build" to refer to the most unreliable (and unsolid, in a sense) cars in the Indian market? Is there any objective basis to claiming that made-in-India Volkswagen and Skoda cars are somehow superior in build quality to Hyundai, Kia, Maruti, Tata etc.? Or is it just anti-Indian, anti-Asian prejudice?

let's be clear, build quality and reliability are not interrelated. Honda City for example, is an reliable sedan, but that doesn't make it the most solid offering in its segment, Skoda rapid feels like a tank in comparison.

Coming to our experience, between VW and Tata, major difference is how well the parts are put together and how well they work together. Tata had plenty of rough edges, misaligned interior trims and rattles.