Team-BHP - Skoda Kushaq Review

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Originally Posted by andymehta (Post 5090278)

Thank you for sharing the comparison. Have a question on the rear seat comparison? Is Kushaq rear seat smaller than even Ecosport? Have you looked at the dimensions of both cars? If so, pls share.

I don't have the interior figures, but the exterior width of Ecosport @ 1765 mm is tangibly larger than Kushaq @ 1760 mm.

We have travelled three at the back, many times. IMO, from whatever video reviews of Kushaq I have seen, the back seat in Ecosport appears much more wider for three, compared to Kushaq.

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Originally Posted by Hayek (Post 5090142)

Do wonder which world folks cribbing about the pricing are living in! Skoda will not undercut Hyundai on price. And the Kushaq is a car in the same segment - even if marginally narrower and shorter. The pricing, which is in line with the Creta and Seltos has come out exactly where I expected it to be.

So it is priced right just because you thought it matched your expectations? Also, I would like to understand why would a Skoda or VW command a premium over the already overpriced Koreans when it has neither the interiors, nor the features and space to match them? The safety factor has also been taken for a ride with the AT variants. Really, what is the USP of this car to command such a price list? Just because you believe it's priced right doesn't mean others are living in lala land!

Well today has been a big disappointment, if only could skoda have priced sensibly, today would have a remarkable day for many Skoda fanyboys including me. After tracking the progression of the project for nearly 2 years, I finally felt like Skoda was going to hit it straight out of the park, but it happened otherwise. I personally felt Kushaq was going to the successor of my dad’s ageing swift, but can’t see that happening. At present there are no options to choose from , as my father is very peculiar in his choices . Skoda really messed up with the pricing .

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Originally Posted by pocketaces (Post 5090057)

OTR Pricing details in Bengaluru

Notice the variant name in the price list of this Skoda Dealer.
They are selling the Kushaq 'ACTIVA' rl:

While this is not the kind of thing which will result in a lost sale, but I'd judge them on their attention to detail and be overly careful while dealing with them keeping my fingers crossed that they don't screw up spellings in registrations and insurance.

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Originally Posted by Vid6639 (Post 5090265)

I think your sheet needs a few updates and is showing the Ford in much better light than in reality.

I have an Ecosport and have driven many of them so this is from a fellow Ecosport owner.

1. The build quality of the Skoda will be far better than Ecosport. The Ecosport has poor plastics, that are not even fitted properly. Open up the plastics on pillars and dash and you will find really poorly made stuff. It will rattle within a year or 2 which has driven me nuts. Going by the review here as well as knowing the Ecosport inside out, I can assure after 2 years that even a cut cost Skoda will fare better than the Ford.

2. The Ford is equally bad in 3rd passenger and I would not give additional marks to Ford for 3rd passenger at the rear.

3. The Kushaq does have a reversing camera with static guidelines like the Ecosport.

4. Also ride and handling while the Ford is good, the setup was by no means comfortable. It was too stiff and even after 2 rounds of softening, it is still firm. The Ecosport has a shorter wheelbase and will nowhere be as composed with the larger Kushaq. Again if you read the review, the Kushaq will have more mature handling vs the Ecosport which was fun but by no means perfect.

5. Another huge negative against the Ecosport is performance. The 100BHP Diesel is very old school, doesn't like to be revved and the absolute biggest gripe I have is that it is a 5 speed unit with sort ratios. The Kushaq 1.0L if anything like the Rapid, is exact opposite. Supremely revv happy, brilliant mid range and an effortless cruiser with 6 gears.

Personally, if I didn't have so many cars already, I would sell my Corolla Altis and Ecosport and get a Kushaq 1.0L AT which replaces both into 1 car. My only gripe is that damn stupidity of Skoda to give only 2 airbags in the Kushaq AT!

Also the comparison is between SUVs/Crossovers in different segments altogether

You should note number of folks on this thread who are opting for Sonet because Kushaq has got few things wrong. I am another one added to this list.

I agree that this doesn't sound obvious but that how humans end up decisioning.

I dont need a large car (we are 5.2-5.6 height range family), Sonet is big enough, I was prepared to spend extra buck on Kushaq for the ride quality and had zeroed on 1.5DSG. I am not prepared to spend 21 lakhs on Korean built. Will save 7 lakhs and put in HDFC stock, to look for Sonnet replacement in 3 years :D

I was unhappy about digital cockpit in Kushaq, but it was not a deal breaker, absence 6 Airbags and TMPS nailed it.

I will wait for a month to see what Taigun has to offer else will go ahead with Sonet.

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Originally Posted by S15 (Post 5090169)

Did you just compare the 1.5 DSG to a 1.0 Sonet?

The VW 1.0 is superior to the Kia 1.0 in every way, and the 1.5 is actually a 1.4 turbo-petrol Seltos competitor.

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Originally Posted by nitkel (Post 5090324)

It is priced exactly where anyone with any reasonable estimation of costs, positioning and pricing would have expected it to be priced. The Koreans ARE NOT overpriced - they have 4-6 month waiting lists which suggests they are probably under priced relative to what the laws of demand and supply would dictate. And while I have not driven the Kushaq, if you drive any other Skoda/VW back to back with its mass market rivals, you would see why I would happily pay a premium for the same. And I have done that thrice - having bought a Superb instead of an Accord, a Vento instead of a City or Verna and most recently a Tiguan Allspace.

If Skoda has messed up on driving dynamics (which does not seem to be the case based on what our review says), it would be a different story. Agree fully that the 2 airbags for ATs was an inexcusable miss - hopefully they correct that soon.

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Originally Posted by Hayek (Post 5090348)

Well, will you agree that it is overpriced when there are no waiting periods on the Kushaq 6 months down the line and the discounts or price corrections roll in? It seems to be headed that way! Also, I do own a Vento and have owned a Fiesta before it. So, I have a good benchmark w.r.t driving dynamics, and the Sonet and the Seltos which I have driven didn't disappoint me considering that they are crossovers. The interiors also seemed really good for the price. Honestly, I only bought a Vento because it was significantly cheaper than it's rivals in 2017. So, let's not generalize.

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Originally Posted by fiat_tarun (Post 5090219)

On another note, I was going through Twitter posts with the #kushaq and it looks like there are a lot of fake posts with exactly the same sentences praising the product and pricing - e.g. "ŠKODA you’ve done it again. What a beauty! Kushaq looks fantastic. The TSI engines are promising, the features extensive and the price is very very wallet friendly." :coldsweat

Hyundai beats all of this rl:, check any official Hyundai post on any social media platform and all you will find in the comment section is people praising the Hyundai service centres :disappointed.

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Originally Posted by Hayek (Post 5090348)

As per this very forum's official review, the mass market Seltos in 1.4DCT and 1.5 diesel AT rank high in driving and handling. Only after the GNCAP ratings came out, the otherwise loud thud sound gave way to a rude and inexplicable unstable shell.

Since Kushaq in AT doesn't have 6 airbags and hasn't been crash tested yet, we don't know about how safe it is. And I will love to understand from the mods about the difference on handling and drive in the discerning Kushaq vis a vis mass market Seltos.

And if within a year, we have lower stripped versions and/or discounts start rolling in, will the theory about niche and discerning Skoda still hold?

Right or wrong, a manufacturer may price a product as per his own interests. And we may have different takes on pricing. But what I am not able to fathom is how can lesser sales due to optimistic pricing and lesser than exclusive features lead to this idea of "Skoda versus mass market" brand proposition. Brand loyalty is one thing but this is just stretching a generalized theory.

Price aside, I am happy to be enlightened to understand that apart from safety, where does the mass market Seltos lag behind the suave and niche Kushaq and by how much.