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My Skoda Kushaq 1.0 AT: Buying & first drive experience

Based on our requirements, we had multiple options such as the new Honda City, Hyundai Creta, MG Astor, and Volkswagen Taigun.

BHPian mohankarthik recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Got my Carbon Steel 1.0 AT Style 6 Airbags yesterday.

History

  • I've had a 17-year-old Alto (2005) model that has lasted exceptionally well so far.
  • With FC expired, I thought it was a good time to get a new car. I really wanted an EV, but after a lot of deliberations, thought that's a bridge that can be crossed later once more infra pops up.

Research Process

Requirements

Safety

  • Good ground clearance for Bangalore roads. But at the same time did not want the car to be too high so my parents/in-laws find it difficult to ingress/egress.
  • Highway and ride comfort (mostly going to be Work from home).
  • Automatic (so it's less of a barrier for my wife to take the car).

Options

Seltos

  • Got ruled out right away thanks to 3-star.

All new City

  • Even though GC was lower, I had to try it out. And it was heaven. The car + CVT made for one of the smoothest rides of my life.
  • The interiors are premium and make you feel amazingly special.
  • But even during the TD, I was so worried about hitting bumps/potholes and after some reflection decided that Sedan wasn't the fit for us.

Creta

  • The rear seats were really awkward to sit and both me and my wife started getting back discomforts during a 30min test drive. This was the big red alert.
  • The car didn't feel responsive enough (DCT). Although wanted to try the Turbo Torque Converter, but never did.
  • The interiors looked a little meh.
  • 6AB was very pricy (22L+).

Astor

  • This was close. We really liked the interiors and the drive (CVT).
  • The ADAS was a big hit and a miss.
  • The AI assistant sort of freaked out my wife.
  • Music system was fantastic!

Taigun

  • The DSG drive was OK, but the 1.0 TC's drive was amazing. The car responded beautifully to any throttle inputs.
  • The interiors were very rustic and solid.
  • The exterior was OK. Both I and my wife didn't feel too connected with it.
  • The music system was meh without the sub-woofer.

Kushaq

  • The drive feel was the same as the Taigun (duh!).
  • The interiors with the analog cluster were amazing. Both I and my wife are a fan of retro, so this sort of clicked for us.
  • Even the A/C vents look gorgeous, and the chrome inserts around the touch screen.
  • Music system was out of the world.
  • The interior work was blowing us away.

Buying Process

Booked the Kushaq at Raja Skoda, Whitefield, Bangalore and surprisingly the vehicle was ready in 3-4 days. This is big thanks to the SA (Naresh). He recommended and suggested ways to cost cut and choose cheaper / effective options where possible. Another interesting story was that the car was at the Mysore showroom and the Raja Skoda manager wanted to drive the car to Bangalore. I was very hesitant about this and requested Naresh to help. He pushed hard and got a flatbed arranged to get the car to Bangalore. I got the car with 10km on the Odometer. Got a 37k discount at Insurance by sharing quotes from other vendors like Acko / HDFC Ergo. Took the 4-year service plan at 15,999, but did not opt for an extended warranty as I could take it up later at the end of 4 years. The PDI / PRI checklist from Team-BHP was a huge boon and the SA was amused and impressed with the detail of checks. Also learnt a lot in terms of how to jump-start, etc.

Drive Experience

Already have driven 100km in one day. Some observations:

  • No door rattles or A/C whines / ventilated seat noises so far. It's been silent and cool.
  • The car jumps off as soon as the brake is off which may be a little tricky for my wife, and in 2nd is a lot slower since its RPM is sitting lower than 1800. But on any gear, once it hit 1800, it's a smooth smooth ride. I've been keeping it around 2k RPM now since it's running in, so haven't tried out higher yet.
  • The suspension/tire pressure is on the harder side right now, so I can feel all the potholes on the road. Looked at upgrading to UC6, but thought let me try it out for some time and then decide.
  • Seats are super comfy and relaxed.
  • Steering is a little too light (excellent for the city, but at higher speeds, a little more weight would have been nicer).
  • Driving in the middle of the night with the sunroof open, AC/DC blasting off the speakers with cruise control on is godly good.
  • The music system is amazing and so is Android Auto. The infotainment screen is really slick and Google assistant gets my commands pretty well.
  • More than adequate seating space all over.
  • Reverse cameras could have been better and guidance could have been added. It's such a silly miss.

Thanks again to BHPians for all the good discussions, without which this whole process would have been a lot tougher.

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