[any23]

No matter how many number of videos you watch on youtube, nothing beats the fun and excitement reading out the reviews posted on this forum.. A great review of a great car.

I would again hope Skoda to start the pricing around 8.99Ex-showroom, this will for sure ensure Kushaq as the true King of SUV market, a King who is ruling both the territories(Sub-4 meter & the little bigger Koreans). and my gut feeling says Skoda is trying to make a new segment & a true KING who can challenge the above mentioned segments single handedly.

As I watch the carwale review of the Kushaq they stressed on the fact that Skoda must give a chance to Kushaq to capture the nerve of the market by pricing it at 9L Ex-showroom instead of 10L Ex-showroom and let it sell in numbers to increase brands road presence. & I feel the way Kushaq dimensions are placed between the two segments they will price the 1.0LTSI's accordingly.

[GTO]

Guys, please ignore all the 0 - 100 tests by others as almost all of them have been done on wet / damp roads. The early part of this week had continuous rains in the Mumbai area.

[Latheesh]

Thanks for the review!
They have the car which can take them to the required volume but sales and service is still a weak area. All their India 2.0 strategy looks good on paper but there is no action.

Let me give an example - I am from a tier 2 city that have almost all major auto brand showrooms (some have multiple showrooms). I took the local skoda dealer's number from Skoda's website and gave a call to check the booking details. I visited the showroom on the same day afternoon to book the Kushaq. What I saw was a small empty 2 room shop with no sign boards, just 2 staffs, couple of tables and chairs, no display car, and they do not accept card payments. There is no service center either. This is one of the major markets for VAG cars and this is how Skoda is prepared for their do or die product launch in India. I booked it anyway.

Worst second hand car dealer I visited had better facility than our local Skoda showroom.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Excellent review. But contrary to popular opinion - I'm not getting positive vibes about this Skoda from the review. Sure it looks to be an enthusiast favourite - and that's really evident from the engine and driving dynamics posts.

But the interiors doesn't seem the place to be - at least looking at the pictures. And that alone will mean a lot will depend on the pricing now, IMHO.

• Several plastics and dashboard colours give a budget feel in these pics - especially that grey on the lower portion of the dashboard and on the seats.
• I see many fit issues on the seats - very evident at the backside of the front seats. Almost like an aftermarket seat cover has been pulled on - not expected of Skoda, not in this price bracket! Along with the colour scheme - I feel like looking at the review of a car in the sub-4m class (even then more Brezza than XUV 3OO)!
• The dimensions clearly have taken it's toll - with the width and boot space especially! Even with healthy and fit Aditya in the backseat, looks like he is intruding into the space for the center armrest. That's a narrow cabin!
• Zero standout features - many misses too! No height adjustable seatbelts, no lights for the vanity mirror, that instrument console MID and that plastic for closing the boot - all seems a from a segment or two below.

I feel Skoda has to play it smart with the pricing of the 1.0 TSi and position it between the sub-4m class and the Korean siblings. Else this may go the Compass way - enthusiast favourite and not a sales chart hit!

[AnnaRocks]

Thank you for the in depth review.
I saw in one of the video reviews uploaded today that the Top variant 1.5 DSG will get only 2 airbags instead of 6. Is that the case with the 1.0 Automatic Top variant too?

[riturajsharma19]

Wonderful review of a seemingly wonderful car. The lack of underbody protection is disappointing though. Hopefully its sibling Taigun gets it.

[nitkel]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Excellent review. But contrary to popular opinion - I'm not getting positive vibes about this Skoda from the review. Sure it looks to be an enthusiast favourite - and that's really evident from the engine and driving dynamics posts.

I feel Skoda has to play it smart with the pricing of the 1.0 TSi and position it between the sub-4m class and the Korean siblings. Else this may go the Compass way - enthusiast favourite and not a sales chart hit!

I echo your thoughts. It just doesn't wow you even by Skoda's conservative (but elegant) standards! Sure, the dynamics are sorted and better than the Koreans, and the engines are strong enough which would appeal to the enthusiasts. But, as a family car it is underwhelming.

[vb-saan]

Wonderful review! I like what I read – good set of safety features (including proper seat belts for all occupants), good ride and handling, straightforward variant distribution, and they have not made it look cheap with localization (or ‘India-specific’ feature-set). I feel Skoda has finally got a car that can do some good numbers, provided they price it competitively. A solid European option is indeed a welcome addition to its segment.

[abhishek46]

Personally, I did not expect this puny 1.0 liter to perform as good as it has been reported.

The roll-on tests are quite decent, and are comparable to others in the segment.
In fact, the roll-on timings of this puny 1.0 are better than the 2.0 Alcazar!

Not sure what others want, but, there is a certain charm to the simple, understated, hard-wearing interiors of VAG Vehicles, which is simply absent in the flashy digital loaded interiors of other vehicles.

Everything now rests, on the pricing.

[Emvi]

Fantastic review as always!
I have always loved the way Skoda cars look. Neat and elegant, typical Skoda design, nothing extravagant.

Pricing is the key. Even with the shortcomings in comparison with the competition, if priced right, Kushaq might bring in decent numbers, if not what Skoda is aiming for. The big question is, will they be able to step up the after sales service in accordance? I am skeptical in this regard. While opting for extended warranty for Skoda cars is good, not many dealerships are happy to honour it. We have all heard horror stories about this. Having to fight for a warranty claim is the last thing a car owner wants after spending a million and half rupees or thereabouts.

[Carz77]

Thanks GTO & Aditya for a wonderful and early review of KUSHAQ...!!!
I was tracking the progress of this SUV from quite some time. In fact, it comes very close to my requirements / expectations.

I have few Qs, pls respond:

• You mentioned about changing tyres. Are you referring to other brand or even upsizing ? If so, can you pls recommend

• Will you be doing a detailed review of 1.5 DSG as well ? I am inclined to this variant (provided priced well) even after knowing DSG failures.

• Also, pls let me know how Style 1.0 AT is in terms of drive and also in terms of features. Is SKODA deleting some features in the Style 1.0 AT ?

[One]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

[*]The dimensions clearly have taken it's toll - with the width and boot space especially! Even with healthy and fit Aditya in the backseat, looks like he is intruding into the space for the center armrest. That's a narrow cabin!

I feel Skoda has to play it smart with the pricing of the 1.0 TSi and position it between the sub-4m class and the Korean siblings. Else this may go the Compass way - enthusiast favourite and not a sales chart hit!

Been thinking about this - why is the Kushaq been spoken of as a competitor to Creta/ Seltos even though we don't know about its pricing. It is because the company alluded to it since the beginning. And with the pricing, that's roughly where it will get positioned.

But this is a car which is probably in the Venue/ Sonet category, and if positioned as such, it changes the value proposition completely. An analogy is the Magnite which is positioned in such a place that people think it is over-delivering for its segment.

Pricing :

• like Creta-Seltos--> Least Sales
• Between Venue/ Sonet-Creta/Seltos--> Should do decently if positioned differently via marketing and not just pricing
• Same as Venue/Sonet-->Massive hit

[DVK]

Brilliant review and a big thank you to the team for all the hard work put into it!

About the car itself, I think there are three major cons which would prevent a lot of people for buying it. There will be an initial uptick for sure as is with any of the new launches.

• The Size! with the way it is positioned, I think it would be a neither here, nor there kind of offering. Someone looking at the Creta/Seltos would not consider this for the smaller boot space and the overall lack of imposing character. While those looking at a Venue/Sonet would not be too enticed about paying more taxes for not a bigger vehicle.

• The Lack of Diesel! The ever so increasing prices combined with in general higher running of cars compared to other modes of public transport means that the people will feel the pinch when at the petrol bunks. The VAG group has excellent diesel mills and not offering them in India at least, despite their global commitments is akin to digging their own grave.

• The 1.5 AT! Even after Ignoring all the cons, the concerns over the infamous gearbox on the gem of an engine is the final straw for me to stay away from this offering. With most people preferring Automatics day by day, the 1.0 will be the way to go, but those wanting for more power would have to deal with the added anxiety.

Do note, my point of view is from that of a highway cruiser with occasional city usage. But I cannot make sense of it even when it would be the other way around as it would sip more fuel, have just enough/not enough boot space and finally not a lot of people readily giving way or in the worst case, cutting in your lane while driving.

I think it is indeed a fresh offering in the mix and adds to the confusion while going car shopping in this segment (in a good way). And there will for sure be takers for this who see a use case in their lives. But this one is definitely not for me regardless of the pricing.

[JithinR]

An amazing review as always. Hope Skoda provides the other drivetrain combinations for review soon.

I am interested in the 1.0 TSI AT provided it's priced well. However, the only review I have seen till now on this combo is from Overdrive. For some reason, the host seems unimpressed with it and even goes as far to mention that it's not as good as the Rapid AT.

My impressions from the reviews is that it's not as premium as it's competitors and actually misses out on a lot of features. This is not what I am concerned about.

What concerns me is that Skoda knew that the Kushaq would be on the backfoot with respect to its competitors in a lot of aspects then why didn't they highlight its advantages. The premium quotient has been highlighted well enough but it's not really that convincing looking at the fit of the seat covers and reported low rent plastics in the cabin.

But what about its safety? They have highlighted the features but don't have GNCAP rating to back it up. What I suspect is that Skoda thinks that the Kushaq will get a four star rating. That might sound good compared to the Seltos but when you compare it to the Nexon and XUV300 it will fall short.

Forget these compact SUVs, if people start comparing this rating to the decade old Polo then it would cause further embarrassment for Skoda.

I really hope (selfishly I admit) that they price this well. As for the top end variant (even though I can't afford it), I hope they undercut the rivals, build up the image of Skoda amongst the non-enthusiast crowd and then introduce the Monte Carlo variant to go toe to toe with the Koreans in features and pricing.

[GeeTee TSI]

A lot riding on this model, the enthusiasm and anxiety (pricing!) is palpable

I think we are being critical about the USB C ports, which in the world of gadgets and charging performance is actually contemporary. Both Apple as well as modern Android phones have embraced it, the rest can get an adaptor or will soon join the bandwagon

Interiors seem hard-wearing and the design should age well, although nothing spectacular. The bluff nose and the grille somehow gives X3 vibes