[Nilesh5417]

Originally Posted by Carz77

I am just answering to someone who was asking whether this is value for money in BLR for 23L and hence is my opinion.

1) proving mettle - is mainly to a new product (which is publicly not tested and proven and NCAP is not yet available) and not assigning largely to a company. Personally, I will wait for reviews & thorough testing before spending 23L without clarity

2) DSG failure: I agree that there is no guarantee of failure and I never questioned its driving pleasure. There are enough DSG failure stories in our T-bhp forum + GTO quotes on DSG + CrAzY dRiVeR has just quoted that "It's only a matter of when, not if,". With these references that a customer should tread cautiously

4) Dimensions: I agree with you and I don't mind as long as it meets my requirements. But majority of Indian customers look for it, and remember this is a mass market product, unlike mini-cooper which is for select few

To add to that - we need to consider if a Diesel comes in.

Are we willing to pay 23lakhs for the petrol only Style 1.5DSG? I mean the Creta top end (Diesel & Petrol) seem to cost 22.3l OTR in Bangalore as per Zigwheels. We need to consider how Skoda will position the Kushaq diesel (hypothetically if it is coming).

But car prices have escalated a lot in the past few years across the board and Skoda has positioned itself at the premium side of the segment so a lakh sounds like a decent premium.

[RPM1706]

Originally Posted by Nilesh5417

To add to that - we need to consider if a Diesel comes in.

Are we willing to pay 23lakhs for the petrol only Style 1.5DSG? I mean the Creta top end (Diesel & Petrol) seem to cost 22.3l OTR in Bangalore as per Zigwheels. We need to consider how Skoda will position the Kushaq diesel (hypothetically if it is coming)

From all that we have heard from Skoda, they seem to have ruled out reintroduction of diesel engines for the entry level/smaller capacity segment. Both Thomas Schafer and Zac Hollis have shared this in multiple interviews. They are going to have the petrol TSI engines as their mainstay, especially, for the likes of the Kushaq, as part of the VW India 2.0 plans.

They may have their reasons but looking at the significant demand for diesel cars in India, especially the SUV space, this is somewhat inexplicable. Guess they know this better than anyone else as they take on the Korean twins and offer competition.

[volkman10]

Skoda's take on Kushaq's Global NCAP test:

[anto1212]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

For long term reliability - it will be better to avoid DCT / DSG gearboxes all together, be it from Hyundai or VW. It's only a matter of when, not if, the gearbox fails.

That's a scary quote. I'm actually considering DSG variant. Is DQ200 that unreliable these days?

Many people said complaints significantly reduced after 2016-17?!

[abhishek_hch]

Personally, think that Kushaq will play in the 11-18 lacs range. The price expectations of Rs. 8.99 lacs as starting price look completely fancy and are not going to be met. To be fair to Kushaq, it's much better loaded than the base version of Creta which doesn't have a music system also and sells for Rs. 9.99 lacs. Its base version is comparable more to the next version in terms of features and has comparable power output. That version sells for Rs. 11 lacs. A starting price of Rs. 9.99 lacs will be very aggressive and Rs. 10.5 lacs will be aggressive. Seeing what Skoda has done till date with pricing, I would expect them to start at Rs. 11-11.5 lacs but would be happy to be surprised. They will most likely outdo the top end version of Creta & Seltos by a few thousand bucks.

I not sure how much of the sale of these cars comes from the base variant, guess not much. It's how they price the variants in the mid range is what is going to determine the cars fate. Creta has auto options upwards of 15 lacs and Seltos has it at 14 lacs but these models leave much to be desired in terms of safety and comfort. If Kushaq can fit a good auto version in 13 lac range or near about, I guess it will meet its own expectations which are pretty modest at 2,500 units a month.

[Vin_Redline]

Called EVM Kochi to enquire about the pricing, He said he wasn't sure but it would be 10-18ish. Even though I wish Skoda price it lower, I honestly feel it's a fair price for the package. It wouldn't be a VFM in general but if Ambition AT undercuts City V CVT then it might even bring more numbers accross the segment as well.

Now talking about hype, don't remember a time in recent past where there has been so much speculation on the price. Is it because deep down we all want the "last standing talisman" of driver's car manufacturers to succeed?

Us to Skoda on pricing : "if you mess this up, we are done!!"

[headbanger]

I see a lot of comments which state that Hyundai twins are charging a premium for the entry level automatic for Creta and Seltos. And Kushaq will attempt to make case for this segment. The likes of Hyundai and Marutis guard their territory very aggressively and it will take a new variant from Hyundai which can undercut Kushaq to take this segment away.

While the new Octavia launch may have its share of discerning enthusiasts, Kushaq cannot just rely on enthusiasts alone. It's going against mainstream behemoths and coexistence cannot be a long term strategy.

Unless Skoda itself wants to sell 1k-2k per month against 15k-20k of Hyundai twins, pricing is going to be the defacto deciding factor for Kushaq's fortune.

[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by headbanger

Unless Skoda itself wants to sell 1k-2k per month against 15k-20k of Hyundai twins, pricing is going to be the defacto deciding factor for Kushaq's fortune.

Well, the figure that Skoda publicly claims to be aiming for is 2500 per month. Don't see Skoda going very aggressive with the pricing & frankly a lot of price expectations going around are ludicrous.

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by abhishek_hch

To be fair to Kushaq, it's much better loaded than the base version of Creta which doesn't have a music system also and sells for Rs. 9.99 lacs. Its base version is comparable more to the next version in terms of features and has comparable power output. That version sells for Rs. 11 lacs. A starting price of Rs. 9.99 lacs will be very aggressive and Rs. 10.5 lacs will be aggressive.

Current second variant of Creta (EX) was selling for 9.9L few months ago. Hyundai slowly increased the price of EX to 11L recently due to crazy demand. That is exactly what Skoda has to do if they want to sell Kushaq in big numbers.

For base variant
9.5-9.99L - very good price
10-10.5 - good
Above 10.5L - average
Above 11L - Honda City V variant says hi

[abhishek_hch]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

.
For base variant
9.5-9.99L - very good price
10-10.5 - good
Above 10.5L - average
Above 11L - Honda City V variant says hi

Mostly agree with the above but:
- Rs. 9.5 lacs : probability of 0, an impossible event
- Rs. 9.99 : very limited probability, almost insignificant
- Rs. 10.5 lacs : significant probability
- Rs. 11 lacs : most likely
- Upwards of Rs. 11 lacs : significant probability, more probable than 9.99 or 10.5 lacs

[JishD]

Originally Posted by headbanger

it will take a new variant from Hyundai which can undercut Kushaq to take this segment away.
.

The Koreans are prepared - they are already testing the waters with the Seltos IMT at 13.12 lakhs. While not a true automatic , the hybrid nature of IMT meets a key urban need - no clutch in stop go traffic. Fuel efficiency is a bonus.

By the way Hyundai DCT's are very poor on FE when ripped (compared to DSG). I ripped a Revv Venue over a weekend ( lead foot but below 100 always) and came back with 5.6 kpl tank to tank !

[CarNerd]

One True King? Why do they come up with such ridiculous slogans? If such small cars call themselves the Kings, I wonder how Hulks like Endeavour, Fortuner, Land cruiser would feel.

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by CarNerd

One True King? Why do they come up with such ridiculous slogans? If such small cars call themselves the Kings, I wonder how Hulks like Endeavour, Fortuner, Land cruiser would feel.

The Kushaq is derived from ‘Kushak’ in Sanskrit which means ‘King’ nothing to do with the size of the car

[octane_100]

I feel Skoda is stretching the theme of King/Emperor a bit too much. Whatever happened to the classy subtle messaging from them?

[ridehard]

A king doesn't necessarily have to be beefy/bulky/huge, or do they?
But yeah, one true king, does sound a bit cheesy
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I was looking at the Kamiq base model video, and it doesn't seem to have steering mounted controls. I sincerely hope, the Kushaq has some basic controls. Has this been revealed/confirmed in any of the road test videos?