[headbanger]

Spent a little time with Kushaq whilst not driving it. The showroom in Gurgaon got its display Kushaq today evening. I along with my wife reached the showroom before the display car arrived. Had to wait for 20 minutes. The display model was a white Ambition trim with manual transmission.

1. The looks of the car are typical Skoda. Graceful but nothing in your face and I like that.

2. The car has a resemblance to S cross in stance. It's no way as butch as even a Sonet. But it has a personality of its own. Make no mistake about that.

3. Sizewise it's not a Seltos nor a Sonet either. It's a car that looks small on outside but is impressive on space inside.

4. Unlike Koreans where one can immediately see the differences between mid and top variants, even the Ambition variant looks good in isolation.

5. The external build quality is top notch, at least from the touch and general feel perspective. If this car doesn't manage to score on crash testing, that will be a serious surprise. You can immediately make out the heft on all panels, paint quality is impressive as well.

6. Boot is usable for the layout but for a family which travels with luggage like movers and packers, this ain't the car. You need to be intelligent while packing.

7. My first hunch was if the car tires are a shade narrower. I need to confirm it again. But I like how Sonet's tires are.

8. Coming to interior, it's a strict 4 seater. The good part is that the rear seat offers very good under thigh support. If suspension is good, this seat could give a nice ride for long distances.

9. There is claustrophobic feeling on the rear though.

10. The dashboard layout is very impressive. It's minimalist and doesn't look cluttered. I loved this part.

11.I didn't like the seat covers or the color pattern on the car. Even Rapid wears better clothes inside. Give some life to the colors Skoda.

12. I will be driving the car with family in a week or two. I am eyeing 1 litre automatic transmission. The idea is to have Sonet and Seltos with me on the test drive day. Both the existing cars have diesel automatic. I have to see how logistically I get all 3 cars in the same time frame. The idea is to see what compromise I need to make should I opt for Kushaq.

13. Howsoever paradoxical it may sound, I still stand by my initial assessment of the car being overpriced even though the car is impressive on many counts.

14. The fact that my wife loved this car to bits is a serious factor for the purchase. Since she is going to drive this car, the choice has to be hers. All I desire is to ensure that she is in a safe car. Had either of Kias be proven safe, the purchase would have been made 6 months back. The back up purchase in case Skoda doesn't make the cut will be either of Kias.

After all the noise and shouting I did when the prices were shared, if I end up purchasing this car, it will be like season of eggs on my face. I made my family wait for half an year for this car and my assumption on the budget was off the mark.

But hey, I won't be doing justice to the forum if I didn't share the other side of the coin. After all, it's almost an extended family to our tribe.

Looking forward to the test drive now.

[JishD]

Originally Posted by 07CR

I mean this is what we have come to expect from Skoda's Octavia (pre facelift) and Superb where the tagline really suited the cars- BEST IN NEXT CLASS!.

Oh , but the Kushaq indeed stays true to the "Best in next class" philosophy - it has better performance, more interior space and features than many versions of the Jeep Compass

Unfortunately it's not the best in it's own class !

[curiousnewbie]

I booked 1L AT ambition online on 28th June and the expected date of delivery was 29th July.
Then I test drove the car and liked it a lot and upgraded my booking to 1.5 DSG. Now I don’t have any expected delivery date. Showroom executive didn’t know how to change the booking which has been done online. Asked me to write an email, which I did immediately right there in front of him but since then haven’t received any confirmation.
Anyone here booked 1.5 DSG at JMD skoda Thane ? What’s your expected delivery date ?

[Pancham]

Can someone give a reliable feedback on the refinement and NVH levels of the 1.0 AT variant? And by reliable I do not mean people referring to their experiences of the Polo or Rapid 1.0. I intend to hear from folks who have actually driven the Kushaq 1.0 AT variant. Thanks in advance!

[PetrolHead2272]

Originally Posted by headbanger

The display model was a white Ambition trim with manual transmission.

Hi,
Could you please share pictures of the Ambition variant if you have taken any? I haven't seen the Ambition variant yet, couldn't even find it on YouTube.
Thanks in advance,
-Namit S.

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by PetrolHead2272

Hi,
Could you please share pictures of the Ambition variant if you have taken any? I haven't seen the Ambition variant yet, couldn't even find it on YouTube.
Thanks in advance,
-Namit S.

Here you go. The only video on Youtube right now showing the Ambition trim. Quite well spec'ed I think. Looks very nice in my view.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2KHgXtpgsQ

This version in 1.0 AT comes to INR 15.58 OTR with TCS in Kolkata and misses out on the following key features:

1. Better speakers
2. Leather Seats
3. Keyless entry and push start
4. Sunroof

For a fuss free ownership, I think this variant is perfect.

[Latheesh]

Ambition variant looks decent and at least one dealer got it. Looks like Active variant exists only in Skoda brochure. Not even a picture is available!

[pannags]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

Yes, it looks pretty close to S-Cross especially in white. One way to solve this is to select orange or red which are not available in S-Cross.

Haha. Frankly, the looks department failed to impress me. While this is not the biggest consideration, I don't see any standout design elements in the Kushaq that appeal to me. Again, it may just be the colours. The Silver appears better, but that would be the third Silver in four cars. Would've been nice to have a shade of Black or Blue.

Originally Posted by nitkel

I'm surprised that the car is available for immediate delivery in Bangalore as compared to 1-2 month waiting period in Mumbai! Has Skoda messed up their allocations?

It was clear when I spoke to the dealership last week that deliveries would be immediate. I presume this would be for the initial lot, and guessing may have something to do with the impending launch of the Taigun, especially since the booking amount of 35,000 is completely refundable!

My inference is that the counters haven't moved as much as they perhaps expected.

Originally Posted by headbanger

The fact that my wife loved this car to bits is a serious factor for the purchase. Since she is going to drive this car, the choice has to be hers.

Good luck and do keep us posted!

One of the reasons we're looking at the VW twins is because my wife drives an automatic. We've decided to wait for the Taigun to make its formal appearance before we evaluate both options further.

[headbanger]

Originally Posted by Pancham

Can someone give a reliable feedback on the refinement and NVH levels of the 1.0 AT variant?

For my 10 minute stay with the car, I can tell you that it is a notch noisier than any NA engine on the outside - if you compare with the likes of City or even the humble 1.2K series from Maruti.

Originally Posted by PetrolHead2272

Hi,
Could you please share pictures of the Ambition variant if you have taken any? I haven't seen the Ambition variant yet, couldn't even find it on YouTube.
Thanks in advance,
-Namit S.

Sorry Namit. I was in and out of the car within a small time frame. Wasn't comfortable with so many folks trying to seek the car in showroom. All I was trying to get was an understanding of the size of the car and a first look reaction from wifey. I will try to share an extended feedback once I get to test drive the vehicle. But my first reaction nevertheless for the Ambition variant was not like I am missing this, this and that. Save for the extra 4 airbags, I actually liked for what it offers in isolation.

[maverickNerd]

There is already around 2 months waiting showing up on skoda website as estimated delivery date

This depends on city though. But seems like it is getting quite a good response, if people don't cancel.

[TokyoDrifter]

Got a chance to sit inside the Style version, demo MT a few hours ago.

1. The interior space is quite impressive I must say.
2. The sunroof seems quite a functional one - the quality of the roof is worse than Polo for sure.
3. The drivers seat felt comfortable.
4. The rear seat has ample space.
5. The steering wheel felt new (2-spoke).
6. For someone buying their 1st car, this might be a good buy.
7. For someone wanting to upgrade, depends on what’s their present/current car.
8. Red looks smashing for sure.

[revmaxx]

So from reading all the posts till date, it is apparent that Skoda may have missed a chance to benchmark the car against its primary opposition in terms of size. Some sub 4m crossovers have bigger boot than the Kushaq. A 50 mm extra in length and width would have helped the Kushaq's cause on the price to size ratio.

[John316_WRC]

Since the prices have been announced, I've felt that the Kushaq was overpriced, but if you dig deeper the Style variant does seem well kitted. A YouTube channel has compared the Kushaq 1.0 Style variant (14.59L) vs Creta 1.5 Sx (13.96L)

Additional 63k gives you these important & useful safety & functional features:

1. Side & Curtain Airbags
2. Auto Dimming IRVM
3. Telescopic steering adjustment
4. Rain sensing wipers
5. Cornering Lamps
6. Wireless Android auto/carplay
7. Ventilated seats
8. Sunroof (not panoramic)
9. Leather upholstery
10. Subwoofer

Surely all these 10 features are well worth the extra 63k.

Of course the Creta 1.5 sx has some features too that are not found on the Kushaq like:

1. Rear disc brakes
2. Rear view monitor
3. Arkamys sound mood
4. Panoramic sunroof

There are more features like reclining rear seats, sunglass holder etc too in the Creta.

Hope this will help prospective buyers in this price segment. Here's the link.

https://youtu.be/9uh6DDHIF5w

[car_guy1998]

Originally Posted by avira_tk

Build quality, a completely arbitrary opinion, the Creta and the Seltos don't feel like tin cans at all, they're the direct competition.

I agree with you in this regard! I drove both the Creta and the Seltos and I didn't get that tin can feel in both of the cars and some people say that the Seltos's body is delicate, but I felt the overall build quality of the Seltos is decent but not in the leagues of VW/Skoda! In fact, I felt the Creta has the heavier feel when compared to the Seltos!

Some say that Seltos is a tin can but never felt like a tin can nor gave a tin can feeling while driving, at least for me, despite scoring 3 stars in the GNCAP safety rating!

I hope Kia will listen to the feedback given by its wannabe customers and up the game by improving the body structure or structural integrity of the Seltos and add additional safety features like ESP, TC, VSM, HA from the base model itself (now those above-mentioned safety features are offered from HTX onwards in Seltos 2021 version) in order to give a tough fight to the Kushaq!

The only thing where the Seltos/Creta lacks when compared to the Kushaq is the build quality and ride and handling!

Note: I'm not a Hyundai/Kia fanboy and not bashing the Skoda here!

[chautob0t]

I'm not sure if this has been shared anywhere on the forum before, but a quick look around makes me think this post has not been shared. Dear mods, please delete/move this post if required.

It's an article about some Skoda dealers forcing people to buy accessory packs or over priced insurance else denying the bookings entirely. News and experiences like these really damage a brand's reputation.

I am assuming this wont be an issue tier 1 cities generally. For the mass market segment Kushaq sits in, these kind news really dissuade a potential buyer.

https://www.carblogindia.com/skoda-k...d-malpractice/