27,000 km with my Skoda Kushaq 1.5L DSG: Likes, dislikes & issues faced

Service has improved in comparison to before but it still needs significant improvement in comparison to Hyundai, Honda, and Toyota.

BHPian _piyush_ recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Due to ongoing exams and other personal work, I was not getting the time to write a thread.

The Odometer was at 25,309 Km on 15th October 2022. Installed the Sporty Pedals of Monte Carlo for Rs. 549 from Zedex Skoda, Sahibabad. Got Graphene 9H coating done from Ekaa Detailing Hub, Indirapuram. Will update you on the same in a later thread with pictures attached.

I was quoted 18K for the coating for one car. As I and my friends decided to go for the ceramic coating almost at the same time, it allowed us to get a very good bargain. A discount of INR 4500 per car.

Likes and Dislikes post one year of ownership are mentioned here:

Likes:

• The engine performance and the driving dynamics are the same as they were on day 1
• The Paint quality is just amazing in comparison to other cars in the same segment. No dullness in the factory paint.
• The DSG has adapted to my driving behavior and tends to hold the gears for a while near 1850 RPM before upshifting.
• The newly built expressway and national highways just make it feel that the car is finally being driven where it was meant to be.
• Overtaking is a breeze, no downshifts or upshifts are required.
• The FE (what we Indians Love), the FE purely depends on how the car is driven and what kind of throttle inputs have been used. I generally get 13.5 - 14.1 (tank to tank) in 70:30 city: highway usage with AC on, with the AC off the mileage increases by 0.5-0.7. On pure highway usage, the FE never goes under 18KMPL. The ACT helps in increasing the FE of this fuel thirsty 1.5 TSI
• The Touchscreen response is by far the best I have used.
• Being a 2021 model, it came with the 340 watt Skoda Sound System, which I would not say is the best in the segment but is decent enough for the dimension which Kushaq has. One thing which I have noticed is the sound increases exponentially once you cross the volume of 15 and at 20, the whole car is dancing with the bass.
• The double pull to unlock never fails to amaze anyone who sits in the car and most of my friends say "yaar yeh feature sab gaadi mai hona chaiye". How this works is on the first pull, the doors get unlocked and on the second pull, the door opens. (NOTE: the driver door would unlock and open on the first pull itself.)
• Noise rarely finds its way into the cabin, and if it does it is more wind noise and some minor squeaks of the dashboard trim.
• Using 95 Octane has resulted in better performance and fuel efficiency.
• Service has improved in comparison to before but it still needs significant improvement in comparison to Hyundai, Honda, and Toyota.
• The sound of the engine and the Turbo post 2500+ rpm is soothing to the ears.
• LED headlamps have a good throw, however, I feel that they are a bit more angled in the left direction. I know it is to avoid HighBeam glaring at the oncoming traffic but I feel a bit more center-oriented light would work like a charm.

Dislikes:

• The odd 205/55 R 17 sized tyre is one of the biggest dislikes I have. Michelin does not make tyres of that size and changing the tyres to a different dimension would void the suspension and associated components warranty.
• Why can't a car costing upwards of 20Lac not come with led foglamps? Even bigger trouble, the headlamp, and the foglamp are one single unit, if by any chance you crack the glass of the headlamp or foglamp it is the complete unit that will have to be replaced, The price on boodmo for one headlight is INR 25K.
• Lack of a digital driver's display in the car feels annoying at times but the analog cluster gives a good old-school vibe.
• No electric adjustment available.
• The one-touch auto window is a hit or miss (already replaced once under warranty)
• DSG DQ200 is jerky in lower gears and tends to engage D1 on bad patches of road.
• The rear seats cannot accommodate three adults comfortably.
• There should have been some hood insulation to reduce the noise level a bit.
• The window motors are noisy.
• AC performance is just okay, have not gotten any software updates done, and did not feel the need as well. Note (I found the controls and the performance in manual mode is better in comparison to auto)

Above mentioned are my likes and dislikes based on one year of ownership

Issues faced:

1. One-touch window motor replaced under warranty.
2. Contacts fail to sync over AA and Bluetooth
3. In August this year, my parents were on their way to Mathura and somewhere near Jewar I received an alert stating SKODA diagnosed a Fault, the Error code was P0440 which was EVAP failure. (reason for this was the monsoon season and some amount of moisture entering the Fuel tank during the fillup)

The current Odometer reading is at 27,387 KM

Will post updates after the Second service due at 30,000 Km.

Till then, Happy Motoring !!

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.