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Replaced my Ford EcoSport diesel with a Skoda Kushaq

21st January 2022, 12:23 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

Although I had already made up my mind for the VW Taigun, I felt it looks more car-ish. On the other hand, the Kushaq looks bigger & more masculine, like it's a smaller Karoq.

BHPian njaustin123 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

First of all, let me thank everyone for helping me in this decision process.

The selection process

I sold my 5-year-old Ecosport (Diesel) in Sep 2021 as the company lease just got over by then. Was looking at an upgrade in the 15L price range.

Options considered

XUV 700 - I was one of the first 25k people who booked it in the first hour of booking. I don't really need that big a car, but the launch pricing made me greedy for it, but finally, the estimated delivery date in Jul 2022 drove me away from it.
Creta/Seltos - Somehow I am not a big fan of the Koreans. I know they offer the best VFM and feature set, but still.
Taigun - For my budget, I have to go for the 1.0 TSI here. Initially, I was worried about whether this will be an underpowered car. But on taking a test drive it felt better than Creta's 1.5 NA in both dynamics and power.

The Kushaq twist

So I made my mind for Taigun and was waiting for the delivery of the Highline variant. But there was something I felt missing in Taigun - the looks. Both Kushaq/Taigun are a little bit smaller than Creta/Seltos in all dimensions. But both Koreans have a good road presence. After making up my mind for Taigun, I started observing Taiguns and Kushaqs on the road. Most of the time Taigun felt more car-ish than an SUV. Mainly the front look, which makes it look like a bigger Polo. The backside too though youthful with a full LED strip, didn't appeal to me much (Sorry all current and future owners of Taigun, no offense meant - just my taste).

But with the exact same dimensions and most parts shared, Kushaq looked bigger and more masculine - mainly with the typical Skoda grill. It looks like a smaller Karoq or so. Back side also is more classy than Taigun. Though not as butchy as the Koreans, Kushaq seemed good to me. And while I was undergoing this great confusion between Taigun and Kushaq, Skoda dealer (EVM Kochi) came up with an irresistible offer for me - a discount of 50K+15K (Corporate) plus some discounts on Insurance. So I went through a heated-up set of discussions with my family, called up my friends - some who are Skoda owners and others who are auto experts. Finally made the decision to go for Kushaq and an Ambition MT 1.0 was available in Carbon Steel immediately.

My quick review

So after the usual wait time for registration and some painting/de-chroming/coating work, I got delivery of the Kushaq last Friday. On the next day, made a weekend trip to Kanthalloor. My current review is fully based on that. ODO is at 400 KM after the trip.

Coming from Ecosport, I was kind of spoilt with its dynamics and ride quality. Luckily Kushaq feels like a worthy upgrade with similar qualities in terms of comfort and rolling a much better car. It really feels very stable and rooted to the road. Things like braking and cornering are really good too. I am also happy with the features that I get as part of Ambition trim. The nice display and audio, ambient light, projector HL etc. I even liked the MID with the way it displays gear status and recommendations on gear up/down, song details, call details etc. The two spoke steering simply feels superb. Wireless Android Auto worked fine too.

Small niggles

Yes, the ORVMs are small. They should have been longer or more square-ish.
AC Temp and Fan controls look fancy with the touch controls. But practically not so great. You can't accurately control it without spending at least 10 secs of looking at it. So better off with a one-time temp setting and putting it on Auto rather than trying to adjust the fan, air suction etc. on the go.
Jio Dongle says provisioned but shows an error saying device not connected. Hence wasn't able to use the connectivity feature. Need to take it to Skoda once and probably needs a re-insertion of the device.

Overall

Very Happy! Need to try some more road trips to evaluate, but overall looks like a nice upgrade. Old Skoda owners might call it only 75% Skoda due to localization. But still better than many other cars in the price range, I would say, in terms of both build and ride quality.

FE shows 12.3 after the Kanthalloor trip. 5.5 hours one side and half of its high range. Yet to check with full tank method. So expecting some 10-11 in the city and 14-15 on highways which is pretty much OK. Overtaking in 3rd gear is fun. Accelerating more in 2nd and 3rd gear produces some good amount of sound thanks to 3-cyl and no sealing of hood. But it is not disturbing and in fact a sporty vroom sound.

Now some pics of my 'Graphene Dark Edition' Kushaq.