[ABHI_1512]

Wonderful review of a car that will help Skoda selling some good numbers. The car looks pretty good and going by what GTO said about both engines, it drives pretty good as well. It’s a pity that there is no diesel version since the Koreans have been getting some solid numbers selling them.

The famed Skoda reliability will be put to test now and so will the service guys. I hope they are prepared for the volume that this car is going to generate. Skoda has invested heavily in this car to come good and it has somewhat succeeded in generating interest in the same. What remains to be seen is whether they can sustain the interest once the sale starts or not !!

Most of the creature comforts have been provided and some nifty touches like putting reflectors on the doors is a smart idea. One thing that rankles, will the absence of a diesel mill come back to haunt Skoda or not, time will tell but then if Maruti Suzuki can make the mistake and rue it enough to come back with it, what were the folks in Skoda thinking ??

P.S- Rated 5 stars, thanks guys for the wonderful review

[Shreyas_H]

Thanks for the detailed review!

Would be good to see a comparison between the two available automatics as well - I'm keen to see how the 1L torque converter unit performs in this car.

Skoda have a winner on their hands, I do hope they price it right and give the Koreans a much needed fight in their current free reign in this segment!

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by GTO

The Alcazar left me underwhelmed, but the Kushaq left me overwhelmed! Absolutely loved the 1.5L TSI motor, fantastic 6-speed MT (best manual I've shifted in a long time), solid build and perfect suspension tune. You should've seen us flying down the Lonavla ghats. Everyone knows how I love the Seltos and this car also goes straight to the top of my recommendations list. The main downsides are the lack of that terrific 1.5L diesel & other Skoda-related stuff = DQ200's pathetic reliability and the fact that Skoda's long-term ownership is never trouble-free (patchy reliability, bad dealers, expensive spares). Are you willing to forego some peace-of-the-mind and endure some nonsense for driving pleasure & European finesse? Are you willing to suffer headaches for a couple of days a year, to enjoy the rest? That's a question you have to answer yourself.

Skoda is going to see volumes now that it's never seen before. From a 1500 cars / month company, it's just become a 6000 cars / month organisation. Hope the company & its dealers can handle the sales increase. As they say in the industry, there really is no problem that a good car cannot solve.

Sucks that they didn't make their brilliant 1.5L Diesel BS6-compliant when everyone else did. With a Diesel MT & AT, this is easily a 8000 cars / month model (subject to good pricing of course!).

Monday is the launch and I am excited as well as worried! In recent times, Skoda has shown an inclination toward profitability above all else (Octavia + Kodiaq were both overpriced by a few lakhs, as was the Karoq & RS245). I expect Skoda to charge a premium for what is truly a great package, but they shouldn't go overboard and make it overpriced. Competition is fierce in the segment.

Great to see the Kushaq review out! This is one of the most promising cars of this year and we enthusiasts were really looking forward to it! Thanks for a great review done by you and Aditya. It does cover most of the essentials - a few questions may still remain unanswered as you did not have access to the different engine and gearbox combos for the review and had only the 1.5 TSI Manual car. I do hope that SKoda is able to give you the other variants too soon for the testing.
As I shared on the other thread, I have made a booking for the Kushaq, but now I am confused between the 1.0 Style AT variant or the 1.5 TSI Style DSG! Almost all reviewers in video reviews are praising the 1.5 TSI DSG and dissing the 1.0 TSI AT (whereas they had praised the same gearbox combo in the Rapid). So I am in a dilemma now on whether to go for the 1.0 or the 1.5 AT.
On one hand the !.5 TSI DSG is more spirited and also more frugal to run that the 1.0 TSI AT, I am still worried about the DSG Gearbox reliability issues and can't make up my mind. Having owned two Skodas in the past - the Yeti as well as the Laura, I always bought manuals as I knew DSGs were a problem. Now I am faced with this unique problem with the Kushaq!
Would request Mods to guide me on this!
Budget is not an issue and I would not mid spending the extra 2 lacs for the 1.5 TSI DSG combo, but reliability is a big big question mark!

I only wish that they would have also launched the phenomenal 1.5 TDI engine with Auto gearbox and that would have really hit the ball out of the park! Looking forward to the expert guidance from the Mods!

[CEF_Beasts]

Excellent and well-detailed review like always! The carbon steel colour really suits the Kushaq very well.

And I believe the timings for both manual 1L and 1.5L TSI 0-100kmph runs claimed by Skoda are a bit conservative (typical VAG trait) which can be easily beaten. I am pretty sure the 1.5L TSI MT can do the run between 8-8.5s and the 1L TSI MT in 10s flat-out.

Personally I would buy this just for the 1.5L TSI + MT combination! The engines were bound to give results because they power a lot of VAG cars from not one but two classes above as well!!

[C300]

Wonderful Review. Thanks GTO, Chirag and Aditya. We finally have a massmarket product from Skoda which ticks most of the boxes. Safety and build quality is paramount for me and Kushaq should score better than Korean twins. Love the clean ageless design. The legroom is ample. Overall a great product. Pricing is the key.

[NevGin]

Thank you for a very comprehensive review. It has just the right equipment and has not gone overboard at the same time. They have tried to balance things out to a large extent.

A few things to call out:

1. Underbody protection has been missed. However I recall the same when I bought the 1.2 GT TSI Polo (First batch of cars). On a very initial inspection they had offered it to me for some 3.5K or so and I had it put on. Maybe they can do the same.

2. So much for the discussion on disks and drums. If you guys say the braking is good, then its stamped and sealed. Glad this is the case as this would be important.

3. Some how I like that rolled up took kit. Looks old school and appeals to me

4. Are the map lights LED as well? Not sure if I missed that

5. If one were to look at the rear of the front seat, they are not as well as they could have been. The internal structure can clearly be seen through it and if I was a rear bench passenger, I would keep glaring at it.

6. The recess on the top of the dashboard. Skoda is. "simply clever" saying its for Idols of God but they offer this recess in Europe as well on the Kamiq. I guess different uses in different demographics and hence marketing as well.

7. Honestly to me, the package is just adequate but that alone won't be the decision maker. People will be ok to compromise on a few things depending on the moolah.

Cant wait for Monday. Thank you gentlemen once again for bringing this to us.

[androdev]

If these two things happen in the immediate short term, this car will have a great run:

1. Improved warranty claim experience
2. Easy and cost effective repairability of DSG by private garages (seeing a lot of promise off late)

Overall a long awaited crossover from VW group and I hope they back it up with excellent after sales support.

[vishy76]

Thanks for the detailed review!

This car marks the dawn of a new era for Skoda in the mass market. They have been dormant for far too long now and this sort of a product was genuinely needed. If priced well enough, the Kushaq could be to Skoda what the Jeep Compass was to FCA. Having said that, I hope the former holds sales over the longer term unlike the latter, and this will purely be down to the pricing only. A few points I have noted:

- Variant allocation is simple and straightforward. There's absolutely no ambiguity in deciphering them unlike the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos, where you literally need to go over the variants numerous times to understand what has what and which tranny options are available with which variant

- Hope VAG has done due diligence and localised the Kushaq well. The 95 percent localisation figure is very good to look at but it's also equally important to ensure quality. The Polo/Rapid/Vento have had issues with the cheap Gabriel dampers leaking and the TVS Apache rotors warping very early on in their lives. Hope the localisation done this time has been done with more stringent QC

- The infamous DQ200 has been improved is what Zac Hollis says. Uses a new PCB, better solenoids and a better pressure valve (don't quite understand what a pressure valve here is. I think he means the pressure accumulator). Having said this, I hope the valve body itself has been strengthened. This is also a weak point on the DQ200 mechatronics. Lastly, warranty claims (if any) should be honoured without hiccups. The forum has been flooded with cases where owners were asked to cough up the entire amount for the clutch pack and flywheel replacement and those don't come cheap. Hope VAG shoulders atleast a fraction of the amount and provides relief.

- Even if someone is opting for the manuals, I would strongly recommend extended warranty. Skoda and VWs extended warranty cost peanuts in the face of what certain replacement parts cost in these cutting edge turbo petrol engines and even certain electronic components.

- I would definitely be keeping a close eye on the long term reliability of both the engines. Direct injection petrols are susceptible to carbon buildup around the intake valves as they age which can be very difficult to get rid of and cause misfires on a cold engine. Will be interesting to see if this issue occurs and when it occurs now that these engines are running on Indian fuel

- The lack of a TDI is going to hurt, no two ways about it. Turbo petrols are very sensitive to throttle inputs and driving styles. The 1.5 TDI would have been an excellent engine to have in the Kushaq. Not surprising that they dropped it though, considering its elder sibling (2.0 TDI) itself isn't making a comeback

- Skoda is trying to do a Ford with the service and maintenance costs. A Rapid 1.0 TSI owner on the FB group had a bill of 3.8K for in total for the first free engine oil change (no labour charges). That is dirt cheap. For comparison, the engine oil alone would cost close to 4K for a TDI at one point.

Finally, it's good to see a European competitor to the Koreans. Every enthusiast has been yearning for a well engineered, proper fun to drive and solidly built car in this segment ever since the D-segment sedans left. The Kushaq might just be that car.

[ankitbhutoria]

Very in depth review as expected from the Team. Overall seems a good package and should spice the segment further up. Just love the carbon steel colour.

[Dr.Naren]

Originally Posted by CEF_Beasts

And I believe the timings for both manual 1L and 1.5L TSI 0-100kmph runs claimed by Skoda are a bit conservative (typical VAG trait) which can be easily beaten. I am pretty sure the 1.5L TSI MT can do the run between 8-8.5s and the 1L TSI MT in 10s flat-out.

I doubt it. Autocar has got the numbers slower than Skoda claim for 1.0 MT

EVO India says the 0-100 timing of 8.6s for 1.5 TSI MT is doubtful, they haven't tested on VBOX yet.

What does it feel like? Well its punchy, for sure. Once the turbo lights up, it has a strong, solid shove and this is an engine that likes to be revved. It doesn’t sound riveting but it is effective, though I must add that it doesn’t seem to have the performance to match Skoda’s claimed 0-100kmph time of 8.6 seconds in the sensations it delivers. We haven’t VBOX tested it yet though, and will be able to confirm our impressions only after we do.

https://www.evoindia.com/features/ca...t-drive-review

[Hayek]

Was waiting for this review and am glad to note that this car seems great to drive. Ultimately, it is a compact cross over (like the Seltos and Creta), but seems to tick all boxes - adequate leg room in the rear seat, enough space for 4+1 (even my X3 is actually good for just 2 adults plus someone super slim), half way decent boot space, and great to drive (if GTO says it is much better than the Seltos, it is as good as it gets). Hopefully they have not made it a death trap by taking away safety parts, and service improves a bit - and this will help turn around the VAG businesses in India. I am certainly rooting for this car to succeed - I have a selfish reason to do so with a new Tiguan Allspace whose long term service quality will depend on VAG staying invested in India. The 1.5 TSI DSG would be my pick if I were in the market for one.

[divyadeeptsi]

As per motorbeam 0-100 for 1.5 TSI MT is 10.46 secs on vbox. That’s pretty slow, even polo 1.0 tsi MT does 0-100 in 10.22 secs as per motorbeam.

Even Evo India wrote 0-100 isn’t close to the claimed 8.5 secs.

[Eshan Joshi]

The 1.5 TSI with the manual , would be my drivetrain preference.

The Kushaq overall seems to be a good package. The Style variant even gets ventilated seats and a sunroof (Not that I really care about or need them).Something that the Octavia does not get.

About the DSG gearbox. Yes ,it is infamous for it's reliability. But if you really need the automatic, you might as well create a backup fund of 2.5 lacs as advised by many members over here. But the best thing is to avoid the automatic.

And I don't know about the others but the boot space looks pretty good to me.

Overall the kushaq seems to be a nice package for a sensible person who values quality.

Hopefully this gets the success it deserves.

[Col Mehta]

Great review. Thank you!

The car looks absolutely gorgeous in that carbon steel color.

My biggest complain - the seat covers and rear armrest don't seem to have a good fit and finish. At some places they look like a bad aftermarket fit with some unnecessary creases, sort of eyesore really. Very unlike of VW/Skoda cars.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by GTO

Monday is the launch and I am excited as well as worried! In recent times, Skoda has shown an inclination toward profitability above all else (Octavia + Kodiaq were both overpriced by a few lakhs, as was the Karoq & RS245). I expect Skoda to charge a premium for what is truly a great package, but they shouldn't go overboard and make it overpriced. Competition is fierce in the segment.

My sense on pricing is that they will be cautiously optimistic here. The Octavia does not really have a bang on comparable competitor whereas like you said, for the Creta / Seltos segment, competition is fierce. A large chunk of the 2021 market also perceives Hyundai as being "premium enough" - its a very different brand today than in 2011.

The cautiously optimistic prices will be cautiously optimistic with perhaps more caution in the lower variants (builds positive price perception too) and on the more optimistic end of the curve at the top end where I expect it to go toe to toe with the Creta DCT top end. For this variant, I expect the Skoda to match it very closely, with not more than a 30 - 45k difference on either side of it. I more likely expect it to edge a little beyond the Creta to subtly underscore that its the more premium brand, without the premium being so much that customers get confused choosing. That's my two cents of prediction anyway - lets see on Monday what Skoda has in store.