[EmpyreanKnight]

Why a new car?

I read in an ownership review; The gentleman very accurately described the reason for buying his new car, Khudak – a north Indian slang for any unnecessary itch to do something.
(link to his beautiful ownership report here (American beauty from Italian parents | My Grey Arrow | Jeep Compass 1.4 Multiair DCT Review)

In my case, in addition to Khudak, it was also a Chul - the kind of feeling when you want something desperately and cannot wait any longer.

It started at the end of 2020 when I got a new job in Mumbai; here is how it went -

Impatient Me: “Since Mumbai is only 350 km from our hometown, and we plan to come home every weekend. We should get a new car! We can keep the Elite i20 Asta at home for the family use and have another car for Mumbai; it totally makes sense, right?”

Wise Me: “We still need to go and join the office, find a place to live, and set ourselves up in Mumbai, and you are already thinking about a car; just do the basics first, and then we will decide on the car?”

Impatient Me - Still keeps looking for options and visiting showrooms for discounts on to be discontinued Creta, waiting for new Seltos, as if I had to buy it in a week.

Basically, I had all the symptoms of a person in possession of Chul.

When I traveled to Mumbai and joined the new office, all my thoughts about the car went away because instead of Chul now I was possessed by a stronger feeling called Home-sickness

I never stayed away from my family, except when I traveled for short work-related trips. But now, moving to Mumbai and staying there most of the time and only going to home on weekends suddenly seemed too hard to live with. Driven by this homesickness, I got into the following routine - Monday to Wednesdays in Mumbai > Overnight travel to home town > Thursday to Sunday in hometown > Return to Mumbai on Sunday night.

This continued till March 2020, and then as you are all aware, COVID struck. Fast-forward to Sep 2021.

Impatient Me: “It has been years since we thought of purchasing a new car, let alone even buying one; let us at least see what options do we have. We can get an SUV this time.”

Wise Me: “No! we do not need a new car, the i20 works like a charm, and there is no logic in buying a new car; an SUV does not add value to our use case at the moment.”

Impatient Me: “This wise guy is so stringent; let me trick him.” “Listen, wise guy. We are paying so much in income tax. We can save a lot with the car lease policy. Don’t you think it will be a win-win!”

Wise Me: “Yea, that makes sense; let’s see what options we have and what budget we are okay with.”

Once this argument was settled in my brain, I started to shortlist the would-be cars. Please read on to the next section for the selection process.

Which new car?

Since I did not have any specific need to upgrade to a new car, all I wanted was an SUV, and at least it should have all other features that were already part of the elite i20. So you may find some reasons illogical for rejecting a car.

• Kia Seltos - Seltos was my first choice; it had all the bells and whistles that one cloud ask for. It also had a diesel automatic, which was definitely a plus point. I instantly made the booking, and the wait started, but the long waiting periods and uncertainty of the delivery date made me cancel the booking.

• Jeep Compass - The compass had everything I wanted in a car. The facelift made it more desirable, but the top-of-line variant was costing above 30 Lac, and it was too much to spend on a car. I could not justify the cost to my family. They are so practical that thought, why it was so expensive when it does not carry any more passengers than our humble i20. I did consider the preowned options but did not find a well-maintained example, except for one car whose owner was a Jeep India employee; his car was in pristine condition, but we could not agree on a price and that was end of Jeep compass.

• Tata Nexon EV - I considered this seriously. I wanted to be a part of the “Reducing your own carbon footprint movement,” but Mom disliked the design, and I saw some discouraging youtube videos. That was the end of Nexon EV. (on a lighter note, It does pop into my head when visiting fuel stations, hehe ).

• MG Hector - Hector felt like most value for money. It gave me a sense of Luxury. It also had the road presence, but all these didn’t add up after I test drove it. It lacked handling, and maybe its big size makes it more perceptible.

• MG Astor - I didn’t feel like I was upgrading from i20, don’t get me wrong. It is an upgrade in every sense, be it interiors, features, or overall size, but maybe the hatchback-like shape put my heart off this one.

• Tata Safari - I did consider safari for a short period, primarily due to the OMEGARC platform and its benefits; also, it was a seven-seater, that could make it future proof for when I am traveling with complete family but again, it was getting too expensive, and I had to drop the idea.

• Hyundai Creta - Following ownership report made me consider it. In spite of my disliking about its looks. https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...000-km-up.html (Our First Car - 2020 Hyundai Creta SX(O) 1.5 Diesel Automatic Review. EDIT: 10,000 km up) Dropped it due to primarily long waiting periods.

• Honda City - I know one of the essential criteria of the new car was to be an SUV, but after reading this review https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...xperience.html (5th-gen Honda City | One year ownership review & 1st major service experience), I Had to consider Honda city. I loved it in its Radiant red metallic color, but it was rejected by my wife, saying, “After one year, you will again desire an SUV; better buy an SUV right now.”

• Volkswagen Taigun - I had to check this car out. With so much buzz around its launch and chic-looking European design, it demanded an audience. I was mesmerized by the legroom available for rear passengers. I thought this was it, Volkswagen, please take my money. I booked the car, but I was not happy with the showroom staff. It felt like they were doing me a favor by selling me the car. For example, they told me it was compulsory to buy Insurance from them. I had to purchase the accessories pack from them. I had to buy the maintenance pack right at the time of car purchase, and on top of it, they didn’t give me a receipt of the booking amount and told me to collect it the next day. I thought let’s not reject the car due to these reasons and went home, but I had a tough time sleeping that night, thinking about all the bad things that could happen to me. The next day I called the sales executive three times to collect the receipt of the booking amount and every time he said: “Sir, sending you in 15 mins.” My next call to him was to cancel the booking. I could not trust them; I thought it was better safe than sorry.

• Skoda Kushaq - By this time, I was fed up with the long waiting times and unable to come to a decision. I thought, let’s buy something available off the shelf. My next call was to Skoda because I knew they would have a car available, considering their problems with EPC and fuel pumps, and no surprises there, they had a white color available with them. I again made the booking by paying 25k. I was completely aware of the issues with Kushaq, but I still went ahead with the booking for the following reasons. (First two reasons are in case I face a problem and the third reason is purely for my heart.)
  • My City is the home of Skoda in India, which means I know a few people who work there.
  • The workshop manager at the Skoda showroom is my cousin’s friend.
  • I worked at Skoda in my early years, so I always have a soft corner for the brand. Although I worked on the assembly line and was responsible for wheel balancing. It still made me feel proud back then!

[EmpyreanKnight]

How did I get a new car?

To continue on the journey of my car purchase, things were still not settled. As you know, I booked the car, and they had white color available. I requested them a PDI, and they agreed. Upon checking the VIN, I realized it was an August 2021 manufactured car, and this was November. I simply no to that car. During my PDI visit, I saw the demo car in Tornado red color, and I could not take my eyes off it; it looked so sexy! I told my sales executive to change my booking to Tornado Red, he did show his regular tantrums, but I didn’t budge, and the wait started for a Tornado Red Skoda Kushaq 1.0 AT Style.

I got a call on 29th Nov Monday, and my sales executive said they could deliver the car before the end of the week if I could make the complete payment. I agreed and got into arranging the finance. I told my sales executive to expect the payment by the next day, and the delivery date was agreed as 3rd December.

Picture Abhi Baki Hai Mere Dost (There is more to the story)...I purchased one more Skoda.

My humble elite i20 was sold at cars 24, and we were without a car for almost a month. That was one of the reasons to get a car as soon as possible. During my visits to the showroom and test drives, sometimes dad accompanied me, and he somehow developed a phobia that he won’t be comfortable driving such big cars in the city. Mom and I decided that maybe, we buy a small preowned car for him that could also be used for small city runs. we told our plan to Dad, and he agreed, thus began a search for a small car; I will not go into details about the purchase process but will describe in short what happened. I looked at numerous Honda brio and swift, but no one could pull the heartstrings. I then came across a 2010 Skoda Fabia, which did look good in pictures and was claimed to be used only for 35,000 Km. I did not believe it, but then I thought, what’s the harm in checking it out. When I test drove it, I was mesmerized by the silent cabin and the way it pulled. I found what I was looking for.
The next steps followed :

• Dad test drove it and loved it.
• We got it checked by our local mechanic, and he gave his nod.
• I checked the car’s service history, and the mileage of 35k km was genuine.
• We bought the car.

This way, I ended up having two Skodas in two months.

Finance

If you remember, I originally planned to buy a car on the car lease policy for tax-saving purposes, but that did not work out due to multiple reasons, and I ended up financing from SBI, which was hassle-free and quick. I got the loan at a 7.25% interest rate, with no foreclosure or part payment charges.

Discounts

I did get a discount of 10k on insurance, but that is it, nothing more. I am not a good money negotiator.

Onroad Price

• ₹1,089,654 - Ex-Factory cost
• ₹152,552 - CGST @ 14%
• ₹152,552 - SGST @ 14%
• ₹185,241 - CESS @ 17%
• ₹195,942 - Road Tax
• ₹15,800 - Tax collected at source @ 1%
• ₹59,860 - Skoda Insurance with 0% dep ( after ₹ 9,941 of discount)
• ₹18,799 - Essential Accessories kit
• ₹600 - Fasttag
• ₹1,871,000 - On road price (sum of above)

Additional purchases/Expenses

• ₹7,500 - RTO charges for choice number
• ₹2,500 - Agent fees for choice number
• ₹6,670 - Loan Franking Charges
• ₹24,999 - 4 yrs Maintenance pack
• ₹29,498 - 2 yrs Extended warranty
• ₹71,167 - Total (sum of above)

Total Charges paid up until delivery - ₹ 1,942,167

I have requested a refund on the maintenance pack, as Skoda was offering the maintenance pack at 16k when I purchased the car. I have assurance from the regional customer relationship manager of Skoda that they will credit my Skoda service account with the difference amount.

Delivery day

Finally, the delivery day arrived. I took the day off and planned to visit the showroom early. I intended to call the family members when everything was ready at the showroom. On my way, I picked up three boxes of Cham Cham sweets, one for the showroom, one for the sales executive, and one for home.

I saw my car getting cleaned and prepared for delivery upon reaching the showroom. I completed the paperwork and downloaded the My Skoda and Skoda Connect apps. They took my mobile number for Skoda connect and told me activation would happen by the next day. They warned me if I had ever downloaded the Skoda connect earlier and logged in to it with my current mobile number; if so, I would need a different mobile number for activation. I told them I did play with the app some days ago and used my mobile number, but still, I insisted they go ahead and try my current mobile number for activation. (More on this later)

Once everything was ready, I called my family, and they were at the showroom within a half hour. The celebration began, with all the showroom staff gathered near the car. We clicked photos and made a short video when they pulled the car cover and showered the confetti; then, the sales executive handed the car keys to my father. The sales executive offered to show all the car features, to which I politely said no since I knew everything about it from the detailed Team-BHP review. Then he showed me all the car accessories that I received in the accessories pack, and all the things were kept in the car boot. The sales executive told me to bring the car the next day to fix the number plates, and then we all left the showroom happily.

Everyone gets something & everyone is happy


Happy moments


Parked at home with elder sibling, our Fabia

What happened in the first few weeks of owning the car?

I will write my likes and dislikes in a separate section below; here is what happened in the first few weeks.

What Paint protection?

I originally planned to get a ppf coating from Brotomotive Pune; I got in touch with them and asked for a quote; here is what I got

• Option 1 - Garware ppf at ₹650 / sq ft (5 yrs life & warranty) approximate cost of an entire car was quoted to be ₹1,62,000/-
• Option 2 - Xpel ppf at ₹900 / sq ft (10 yrs life & warranty) approximate cost of an entire car was quoted to be ₹2,25,000/-
• Irrespective of option 1 or 2, ceramic coating charges ₹9,000/- for coating all glasses, alloy wheels, and exterior trims.

They also shared the ceramic coating quotes with me at various price points; please see the details below.

• Option 1 - Gtechniq crystal serum Ultra - ₹48,000 that includes (10H Ultra base coat + 2*Exo topcoat ceramic coating with nine years warranty.
• Option 2 - Gtechniq crystal serum Light - ₹36,000 that includes (9H light base coat +2 * Exo topcoat ceramic coating with five years warranty.
• Option 3 - Eco-Ceramic coating - ₹22,000 that includes 1*9H Mafra base coat + topcoat ceramic coating with two years warranty.

After receiving the quotes, ppf was out of the question due to budget constraints. I was tempted to get the ceramic coating done from them. From their YouTube videos, they seem entirely professional & knowledgeable in what they do, but traveling to Pune and staying there for two days would easily add 10 to 15k to the expenses. So Brotomotive was put on hold


I called up the 3M showroom in my city and fixed an appointment with them. Upon visiting the showroom, I asked them about ppf charges, but they plainly said: “Sir, we won’t be able to ppf on the complete car.” For ceramic, they quoted me ₹32,450/- which included ceramic coating and ppf at essential places like door handle cups, door edges, ORVM, and door sills. It also included one free car wash and maintenance check after six months. I agreed and left the car with them to take delivery the next day. Let some pictures do the talking.







Sibling Taigun was also getting ceramic coat




Have I said it earlier I love this Tornado Red color



Overall they did a pretty decent job. Recently I got scratches on the bonnet due to a dog trying to be playful with my car; I tried rubbing the scratches to check how deep they were and found that they may be removable after a good wash and rubbing. I took the car to 3M and showed the scratches to them; upon inspection, they told me they could get rid of them; I took a sigh of relief! They informed me that I would get a call from them whenever they get another car in-house for ceramic coating. I got this done after a few weeks at no extra charges. I liked their service and would happily refer them to other people.

All the fuss with Skoda Connect

Skoda connect did not work for me. When I visited the showroom to fix the number plates, I told my sales executive to get it checked, and he promptly called a mechanic from the workshop. The mechanic unplugged the jio dongle and plugged it back again. I was told it would work within 4 hours (I knew it won’t, but I didn’t say anything).


After a few weeks, I got a call from the showroom, asking me to visit the showroom for Skoda connect issue. When I visited there, I met one of the supervisors who exclusively handled the cases related to Skoda connect issues. He made me sit next to his chair and showed me the interface that they have to check the data about all the cars; he showed me a few examples where he could see the live data of the cars, for example, the current speed of Kushaq. (I wonder how Skoda handles topics like privacy and misuse of data). He then tried activating the Jio dongle of my car again, but it was in vain. Then he wrote an email to the Jio team informing them about my problem. He told me he would call me as soon as he got a solution from Jio.


Again after a few weeks, I got a call from the supervisor himself; He told me to provide another mobile number to register with the Skoda connect. I promptly gave my wife’s number. He called again after a few minutes and asked me if I could visit the workshop for 10 minutes. Since it was a Saturday, I said why not. When I reached the workshop, the supervisor and a mechanic greeted me at the gate, and the mechanic again unplugged and plugged in the Jio dongle. The supervisor told me the try to register on the app again, and Voila! It worked this time. So, the issue was maybe with the mobile number; if I had not played with the app and per-registered it before activation from Skoda’s end, this could have all been avoided. My cousin, mechanic, and the supervisor went for a short drive to test the app, and I stayed back at the workshop. I could easily track the location of the car. Although it was not as smooth as GPS tracking, it was okay. It shows the data approximately 2 mins late.

[EmpyreanKnight]

What do I feel about the new car?

I have covered around 3300 Km since the purchase. It includes a 1200 km road trip to Hyderabad. My usage is limited to long trips and weekends, as you may have guessed.

Why the name Loki?

If you are familiar with Marvel Superheroes and Avengers, you are well aware of the God of Mischief *Loki.* When you first get to know him, he comes off as a villain; he is unreliable and not to be trusted, but then when you start seeing more of him, you realize that he may not be that bad at heart. Maybe he could even be a hero despite all the bad image and mischief, and then you slowly start to like him and finally love him for what he is.


The above paragraph sums up all my feelings for Kushaq.

What do I love/like about Loki?

• Looks! I love the way it looks, especially in that Tornado red color.
• Build quality, I know it’s not up to the usual Skoda standards (I know from my Fabia), but it’s still better than what I have owned earlier (Swift, i20).
• Steering wheel, I love it! nothing else to say.
• Rear legroom space. It’s ample.
• The baby TSI engine pulls when needed, and it pulls like crazy! I never felt I was driving a 1-liter engine, and It sounds sweet too.
• Gearbox - It’s smooth, and gear changes are not noticeable; also, peace of mind compared to DSG.
• Wireless Apple car play spoils you.
• Comfortable seats - I drove for 550 km without feeling fatigued, I am 6ft tall, and I used to feel some rigidness in my legs in my previous car after driving for long periods. This is not the case in Kushaq. (this may also be due to AT gearbox, as one leg is always resting)
• I know people bashed the rearview camera for poor quality, and I agree with them, but the angle it covers is helpful in tight parking spots, and it has helped me.

What do I hate/dislike about Loki?

• Air conditioning! It’s not powerful enough. You need to change the temperature setting to 18 or 20 degrees for a comfortable temperature. I kept my i20 at 24 degrees every time. One good feature I like about the automatic AC is that it will sense the outside temperature and try to set the inside temperature accordingly. It was blowing warm air at 24 degrees in winter when outside was 17 degrees. i20 always blew cold air, no matter the temperature outside, except when you manually turned it to warm.
• The knob quality of AC vents feels cheap.
• Only two airbags instead of being the top-end variant.
• The power windows are slow and noisy. (Driver side window is not working correctly, it keeps on going down in the middle of the going up process, I will visit the workshop for this).
• I’m not too fond of the wipers used on this. Functionally, they are okay, but my Fabia has frameless wipers!
• I wouldn’t say I like the horn. Again the horn of Fabia seems so soothing to hear. I requested my sales executive to change it, but he denied it, warning me about the extended warranty being void.
• The instrument cluster works perfectly, but I wanted my next car to have a digital cluster like Creta, and I miss it in Kushaq.

What do I feel about all the other things?

• I am still making up my mind about the paint quality, as I feel that it may not be up to the usual Skoda standards. I will update here what I finally think.
• Panels gaps are consistent, and nothing to complain about.
• I find the size of the wheels is proportionate to the overall size of the vehicle.
• There is ample headroom on offer. Although there is ample legroom for the rear passenger, the width is comfortable for two adults and a kid.
• The sound quality from the audio system is excellent to satisfy the music craver in my friends and me.
• The cabin is silent, and you don’t hear the outside sounds at a disturbing level; with some light music, you won’t even notice anything. But you will be able to listen to that sweet engine sound within the cabin when you are revving it hard.
• Braking is as expected, and the car comes to a halt without tantrums.
• The headlights have a decent throw. Especially the high beam has a lengthy throw. I find the cornering lamps useful.
• The ground clearance has not been an issue, but I have not tried to put it to the test.
• The car’s overall size is small, but I like it small, and I do not have to think twice about taking it around in the city. A seven-seater or bigger SUV may not have given this feeling.

During my trip to Hyderabad, we were four adults and three kids aged 10, 8, and 2 years. Along with luggage and additional shopping bags while returning. The air conditioning was always on, and here are my observations.(read them keeping in mind these conditions of my travel.)

• There was no shortage of power at any point in time. You have it whenever you need it. You are cruising into three digits in no time.
• Cruise control helps on long highway runs; consider this feature if you frequently travel on highways.
• Handling on highways is confidence-inspiring, and you won’t feel out of control.
• Kushaq is stable at high speeds and has no complaints from passengers at higher speeds. Coming from i20, I don’t feel any noticeable body roll.
• The sense of speed is different when compared to i20. In my i20, my wife used to realize that we were at high speeds, even at 80kmph. In kushaq, I don’t hear any complaints even at 110kmph.
• I recorded a fuel efficiency of 12.5 to 13 Kmpl during the trip, with conditions mentioned above, and driving enthusiastically but within allowed speed limits.
• The boot space feels small but practical and will accommodate luggage for a trip such as this.

View from my hotel room in Hyderabad, Loki can be seen parked below.

What else?

Fuel Efficiency

I have kept a record of fuel efficiency since the start. Please see the below images for details.








Recommendation

I would not recommend this car to anyone looking for a car with a road presence. This car will not stand out in the crowd, although the red does give it an edge but nothing like a jeep compass or even a Seltos.

Other than the above mentioned point, I think the Kushaq is as practical as it gets. I know there are other very good options available in this price range and what ever you choose will satisfy the basic need of transportation, but I feel it should also be the one that pulls your heartstrings and whenever you park it, it should make you turn around one more time, while you walk away from it. I may sound stupid but sometimes I miss my Loki and It will make me open my phone and have a look at it images. I found my happiness in form of Kushaq and I hope with the help of this review, you do too!


Vote of thanks!

Writing this review has made me realise, how time consuming and detail oriented this task is and our Team-BHP moderators and members are doing this for us since years, Hats off to all of them!. I want to thank Team-BHP for its detailed and unbiased reviews and all the members who have shared their ownership reviews to help people like us make decisions. I am happy to be part of this wonderful community.

If I may have mistakenly hurt someone while expressing my thoughts in this review, please don’t take it to heart, this is just my opinion, and you are free to have your own.

I will try to keep this thread updated whenever there are valuable events / updates to pen down.

Concluding this review with some pictures of Loki, that I keep watching again and again, whenever I can't drive it. (forgive the editing efforts, just a beginner)

Went for a longdrive with wife to celebrate our Anniversary






Another Kushaq can be seen in white colour


Standing next to bigger sibling








Samruddhi expressway can be spotted in the background (near green color cloths)


Finally got Team-BHP stickers

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Going to our homepage today

[FAIAAA]

Congratulations on your twin Skoda acquisitions and wish you atleast a 100K kms of hassle free ownership, road trips and memorable experiences.
The car looks a stunner in red !
VW-Skoda do hold the flags for value luxury and driving pleasure but it's the other factors ( drop in perceived quality, DSG woes, ASS etc ) that makes many of us think twice before buying one of their cars.
Will be following your thread for more updates. All the best.

[EmpyreanKnight]

Originally Posted by FAIAAA

Congratulations on your twin Skoda acquisitions and wish you atleast a 100K kms of hassle free ownership, road trips and memorable experiences.
The car looks a stunner in red !
VW-Skoda do hold the flags for value luxury and driving pleasure but it's the other factors ( drop in perceived quality, DSG woes, ASS etc ) that makes many of us think twice before buying one of their cars.
Will be following your thread for more updates. All the best.

Thank you for the wishes!
I do agree with lack of trust these two brands are prone to, and I think one of the solutions that they could implement is showing proactiveness in addressing the issues. Acknowledging the problem and trying to workout a solution to solve that problem will earn them reputation of good customer service.

I really like how MG have established an image of customer oriented brand in service department. I saw a video on YouTube (or may be I read it here on Team-BHP) where a ZS EV owner was visiting his village due to a medical emergency and he had issue with charging. MG gave him a backup car and helped him navigate through that tough time. I know there will also be few cases were customer are unhappy with MG service but the general feeling they are emitting is of positiveness. Same can’t be said about VW group.

VW group had a golden chance to deliver solid products with India 2.0 strategy, but somehow they ended up with products made half heartedly.

But to end on a positive note, not everything is perfect and we can try to be thankful for what we have and hope for good things to happen.

I plan to visit the workshop on Saturday for driver side power window issue, will update what happens.

Also, I forgot to add it to the review above, but I got the 3M CR series sun film installed mainly due to poor AC of kushaq and I must say the result is exceptional. I am experiencing this first hand during the excruciating hot summer (41 degrees already breached). If anyone is interested in details please let me know and I will post the cost and other details.