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Replaced my 8-year-old Swift Dzire with a new Skoda Kushaq

I had shortlisted cars like the Honda City, Skoda Rapid and VW Polo GT TSI but eventually bought the Kushaq.

BHPian ramgkulkarni recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

My brother bought a Rapid in January this year. In September, after an inspired session with my friends, I decided to sell my 8-year-old Swift Dzire. After a quick checkup with Cars24 and OLX autos, I sold it for way more than I expected.

Suzuki Swift Dzire

  • Model - 2013 September
  • OTR price - INR 6,85,000
  • Odo - 83000
  • Sold - 2021 September
  • Sale price - INR 4,15,000

Honestly, If I had got 3 lakhs, I was willing to give it away. The price offered by these platforms and the huge demand for used cars ensured I received a very compelling offer. I was bummed when the car was inspected on Sunday and sold/retrieved on Wednesday. Bittersweet though!

Now off to buy a new car. The excitement was off the charts but short-lived though. The details of my requirements have been documented in the What Car section (sedan).

Here is a brief explanation of my confusion:

My requirements were so simple, yet I couldn't find a car to my satisfaction. In fact, I abandoned every one of my requirements to buy the Skoda Kushaq.

  • 4 cylinders and nothing less.
  • Also if possible, only naturally-aspirated.
  • Petrol engine.
  • Sedan, no 4-meter cars and a false sense of SUV styling (sorry don’t mean to offend anyone, I am not a fan of small/compact SUVs).
  • 4 stars or above safety ratings.
  • Budget ~12 lacs with not really looking to extend.

Must have features:

  • Apple car play.
  • Climate control.
  • Nothing else really. I can live with lesser creature comforts.

Good to have features:

  • Keyless entry.
  • Automatic wipers, they are a boon in Bangalore weather.
  • Climate control with analog controls.

It doesn't come as a surprise that Kushaq pretty much fails in all of my requirement specifications. It’s a 3-pot turbo petrol and a crossover. The AC controls are obviously not analog. No keyless entry or Auto wipers/headlamps either.

You must be thinking what made me choose a car which doesn't match any of my requirements, glad you asked! I was specifically looking for a sedan and a proper one at that. Below are the cars that made the final list:

Honda City 4th and 5th Gen

The latter was above my budget but had decided to extend it if it came to it. I did a longish test drive of the car and was thoroughly disappointed with the interior quality of the test drive car. The car had done 10/11K on the odo and the piano black was scratched all over. The interior had kind of faded! We took our Rapid to the test drive and it felt as though the City was a downgrade in terms of the quality. There was no heft to the doors or the finesse I had expected in the car. The LED headlamps were also exclusive on the top trim. The space on offer and that engine are the best parts of the car. However, it was not meant to be. After the 5th gen, I really didn’t think 4th gen would be any different and didn’t want to take a test drive and neither was it available in Dakshin Honda at the time I visited the showroom.

Skoda Rapid/VW Vento

Rapid was pretty much ruled out immediately since brother had one and only Matte edition was available. I really didn't like that colour. I received some good offers on Vento but the Comfortline variant (similar to Skoda's Ambition variant) was unnecessarily expensive compared to Skoda. The fact that VW charges more for the same part in VW cars and Skoda was also not something I liked. Vento did pull at the heart and the torque converter 1.0 TSI was very likeable. I had actually made a deposit of 25k on the car before seeing the Taigun and Kushaq.

Polo GT TSI

This was simply trying to stick to the budget and be happy with the best hot hatch in the country. There was no denying that the TC with 1.0 TSI is a gem of a combination. Obviously not as great as the 1.2 TSI with DSG but this is a lot more trouble-free experience. The only downside to this car was the huge waiting period. I was promptly told that it would be at least 6 months before I can get a car. One of the dealers was not ready to take the booking and was pushing me to buy a Vento which was a showroom display car (2 lakhs flat discount and the car had apparently 60 kms on the odo). It was in this brown colour that I was not a fan of either.

Some of the honorable mentions that made it to the list were:

  • Hyundai Verna - the car had poor rear space and the facelifted version was not to my liking.
  • VW Taigun - The car is basically a clone of Kushaq except for the front and rear panels. This was also due to a 2-month waiting period and was offering lower features compared to the Kushaq Ambition variant.
  • S Cross/Ciaz - Fellow BHPians suggested looking at these but I had owned 2 MS cars already and really wanted to look outside the family for a change. Besides, the build quality was a real concern despite both being GNCAP 4-star rated.

Back to my question, how I bought a crossover instead of a sedan. Simply put, the market doesn't offer a good one, yet! The Skoda Slavia is yet to be unveiled but I didn't have the patience to wait for it and second, I was sure that the car would be more expensive than Kushaq. I had already stretched the budget to 16 lakhs and I was sure the Rapid replacement would be more expensive.

Here’s a quick look at my Skoda Kushaq (RedBull, totally pun intended!):

Likes

  • Build quality - Compared to all the cars on my list, this really is built solid.
  • Interior - I like how the interior is dark and to my liking. There are some parts that could have been better but overall, it’s a great place to be in.
  • Rear space - The rear bench is equally a good place to be and is very comfortable.
  • 1.0 TSI - It’s a slightly tuned version of the same engine in our Rapid. This feels a little more controlled compared to the Rapid. I think the weight might be a difference but it feels very slightly different in the Kushaq. Nonetheless, the engine is surely fun to drive.

Dislikes

  • Absolutely no analog controls anywhere. There is no rotary knob on the dash for volume control. There is no button on the steering to pick up an incoming call! Didn't realize this until I bought the car.
  • Clutch - It is slightly heavier than most cars. It’s not a dealbreaker but something people need to be aware of. It does get cumbersome in stop/go traffic.
  • Skoda's limited service centers - Bangalore has only 2 service centers.

I have had the car for roughly 12 days now. I have done around 200 kms and yet to take it on a proper drive. Here are a few pictures to do the remaining!

The day I visited the showroom, I was floored by the colour and the lighting did the rest. We had a carbon steel Rapid, so that colour was out of the contention. Plus I wanted something bright this time around.

PDI in TAFE stockyard:

Day of delivery with my father.

We only have a single car garage, so got the canopy installed to ensure the car is protected from the elements.

Below pictures are post-ceramic coating.

That's all folks! I will update the thread with more details once I have had more time behind the wheel.

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