Why I booked the Skoda Kushaq Style 1.0L AT

We even considered the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLA as a possible replacement for our ageing Honda Brio.

BHPian msnarain recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

TLDR: Booked the Kushaq Style 1.0AT (Carbon steel)

It looks like our search for a new car is finally coming to an end. We have driven (and loved) the Brio VMT for a long, long time (me for 9 years and my wife for 6 years). We felt the need for a bigger car back in 2018. Back then, we test-drove the old Creta, the new Verna, VW Vento and the Jeep Compass. We didn't really feel the emotional connection with the Hyundais and the Vento. We loved the way the Jeep drove and wanted to book it, but the interiors felt underwhelming and the whole package, a little overpriced.

We booked the Kia Seltos (GTX 1.4M) in 2020 mid-pandemic, but we moved to Chennai from Mumbai once it became apparent that we would be working remotely. The Kia never happened.

We test drove the Compass facelift again in Chennai, but a 35L OTR for the automatic with 6 airbags felt like a LOT of money. We both love the Compass and it's a shame we will not be able to buy it. Maybe a pre-owned one in a couple of years.

I was keenly looking at the Harrier and Safari - it was hard to convince the wife. Plus the Safari stories and allegedly unresponsive management were hard to swallow.

We also paid the Korean showrooms a visit - a super long waiting period (Creta, Seltos, Sonet) was hard to digest. Plus we didn't feel any emotional connection with the Hyundais though the interiors were super luxurious!

We had an open budget and were also willing to move segments. We test drove the X3 and GLA a couple of months back. Both drove fantastic and was a MASSIVE upgrade from our humble Brio, but the overall package felt underwhelming - I guess it's either X5/GLC or nothing. The 3 was beautiful, but a sedan was out of the picture because one of the reasons we want to get a CSUV/crossover was because parents were struggling with ingress and egress in the Brio.

The Brio has been struggling a lot over the last few days - the i-Vtec is still a gem, but the car will be a decade old next October. So no point extending the misery - we still plan to retain the Brio for grocery runs and the occasional cross-city breakfast drives. We knew we had to find a middle ground - buy a car that didn't feel overpriced and we were okay to skimp on a few creature comfort features.

We test-drove the Taigun and Kushaq on Sunday - 1.0 auto. The Kushaq was marginally better inside purely thanks to the digital cockpit, but the Kushaq felt were more inviting for some reason. Kushaq also scored better on looks and some additional goodies.

Here are some observations from the test drives:

1. Both showrooms let us drive randomly with no pre-defined route - the only other such experience was with the big Germans. Surprising as many showrooms had a prefixed route. Is this common these days?
2. Both salespeople acknowledged and addressed my wife equally - a super rare occurrence - our experiences with Kia, BMW and Merc left a lot to be desired in this department. They would literally ignore her presence as if she was invisible. It is also refreshing to see women sales reps (VW and Merc both had knowledgeable and passionate women sales reps)
3. The 1.0 auto was super punchy and fun to drive - I have never driven the TSI before and was expecting a little more than sedate driving experience much similar to the Creta 1.5 CVT. But this little motor was a joy to the floor!
4. Some sore spots like the exposed sunroof mechanicals. I hadn't noticed that in other cars, so was a little surprised. Is that a regular thing?
5. Both had a couple of cars in stock - Skoda has the 6 airbags version in stock too, only two colours though. (I wonder how/why though)
6. The dealer claimed there is going to be no Montecarlo version coming out for the made in India cars. Pinch of salt - he probably wanted to close the sale. I didn't mind. I wouldn't have any regrets if there were a facelift or a higher variant in the next few months - the only improvements it could possibly have would be a panoramic sunroof and the digital cockpit from Taigun/Slavia. I can live without either.
7. They offered a cash discount of 20k for the 2 airbag version, but absolutely no discounts on the 6 airbag version since it was less than a month old. Understandable.
8. They did offer a discount on insurance add-ons - economy (b2b, consumables etc) and elite (return to the invoice) - seems like a decent offer. Haven't read through the fine print yet. Any thoughts on this?
9. There is a discount on the service pack too (16k against 25k) for the month of Nov.

Dealer has promised delivery within three days of making the payment. He assured me I could visit the yard for PDI before they send the car for registration.

We mentioned the A.S.S horror stories and the dealer was open about it - he said there were issues in the past, and they have come a long way in terms of service pricing transparency and training. It was probably part of the Skoda 2.0 training script, but the honesty was refreshing.

The service packs and extended warranty makes the giant leap of faith to the Skoda brand a little easier to justify.

We are looking to wrap up financing in the next few days - negotiating with Kotak and HDFC. We are hoping to drive out a brand new carbon silver Skoda Kushaq next week!

Will keep you guys posted.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.