[AbidIqbalShaik]

Skoda Kushaq's product flyer is out.

Skoda Kushaq brochure.pdf

[purb_du]

I hope this new product offering from scratch and especially for the Indian market is a success for the new VW/Skoda market strategy.

While the exterior/interior design looks a bit understated compared to both the Seltos and the Creta when they were launched in their new avatars, something just tells its solidly built to last considering their 1500000 kms of test as mentioned.

And it is indeed loaded with features and that equipment list is at par with the competition.

Being a recent owner of the 1L Polo Tsi, I can certainly vouch for that nice powerful engine in the Polo but wonder about its performance in the heavier Kushaq. Still it will be better than the 1.5 L NA that powers the Korean competitors in my opinion. I would have also liked the torque converter in the 1.5 Tsi as well to make it more practical in terms of price and long term reliability.

I wish Skoda lots of good luck and appreciation for their hard work. It does feel nice to see good quality products on our roads.

[sramanat]

Quick impressions
1. The Steve Jobs in a Skoda exec strikes. What's the point of a Skoda app store? Apart from draining company resources to hire a bunch of software engineers for its upkeep?
2. The photo of a tall white guy slouching next to the orange car is unfortunate. Makes the car look smaller, which may be the case.
3. I've travelled in a rapid once and the roof was touching my head in the rear seat. This car's sloping roof reminds of that journey.
4. 2 spoke steering wheel will likely be polarizing. Some will swear by it and others will look to change it.

Overall first impression - looks smaller than on paper. If the missing inches have been used by the rear seat or engine bay, definitely worth considering.

[pavanmadhini]

Wow, the Carbon Steel color looks really nice!

If they can price the top-end 1.5L DSG for less than 18-19L OTR, I think they'll have a winner on their hands.

[volkman10]

ŠKODA Kushaq now appears in the product range of Skoda India:

[MSJ]

Looks very promising, at least from the pictures now let's hope Skoda will price it competitively.

Also Received a brochure/ leaflet from the dealership.

[Bibendum90949]

More pictures of Kushaq

[adimicra]

Unless Skoda is planning to undercut the Creta and Seltos by a decent margin, I don't see the Kushaq making any big inroads into the market dominated by the Korean twins.

Here are my reasons -
No WOW features. No panoramic sunroof, no Electronic parking brake, no 360 camera, no digital cockpit, no air purifier. paddle shifters (??). I have a Vento TSI and the speedo console is one of the things I hate the most in my car. It just looks so outdated. Seems like Skoda is using a similar console for a car released in 2021, which is pathetic to say the least.
No rear disc brakes. Given that Skoda is shouting so much about safety, this is unacceptable I hope I am proven wrong and the 1.5 TSI comes with rear discs.
Dimensionally, it is slightly smaller and even the boot space is less.

It seems to me that Skoda has really worked hard to keep the costs in check and hopefully it should result in a very aggressive price. I am confident that it will undercut Creta/Seltos by 50K - 1L (from lower to higher variants). And by no means this can be called King of the segment, which Skoda wants us to believe.

[VJ05]

Originally Posted by volkman10

ŠKODA Kushaq now appears in the product range of Skoda India:

Attachment 2134307

It's listed before the Rapid, so does that mean its base variant will be priced lower than Rapid? or it's listed first because it's a new product. Hope the former is true.

[headbanger]

Originally Posted by VJ05

It's listed before the Rapid, so does that mean its base variant will be priced lower than Rapid? or it's listed first because it's a new product. Hope the former is true.

Nothing like that. It's just that the code for website has been enhanced by a rookie.

Someone needs to give the clichéd "new requirement".

[EightSix]

List of features from my previous post -

Originally Posted by EightSix

Some more details -

◘ Comes with six airbags.
◘ Two spoke steering wheel
◘ Ambient lighting system
◘ Ventilated leather front seats
◘ Easy open mat
◘ Reflective door strips
◘ Škoda Sound = Subwoofer 2x50W, Tweeter 2x 20W, Bass 2x 50W, Full Range 2x50W
◘ Utility Recess on Dashboard
◘ Wireless Smartlink Tech
◘ Apple CarPlay + Android Auto
◘ Touchscreen Climatronic
◘ MySkoda Connect.
◘ Electric Sunroof, Silver Roof Rails
◘ R 17 Dual Tone Alloys
◘ Hill Hold Control
◘ Automatic Rain and Light Sensors
◘ Cooled Glove Box
◘ ESC Standard - Across Range
◘ Skoda AppStore
◘ 3 point seatbelts
◘ Wireless Charging
◘ Smartphone pocket
◘ 385-1405L bootspace

Dimensions

Length - 4225mm
Width - 1760mm
Height - 1612mm
Wheelbase - 2651mm
GC=188mm

Features video -

https://vimeo.com/525522395

A shortened video of the event which covers all features of the Kushaq.

Small yet Significant observations

◘ The Kushaq’s keynote was amazing! Škoda has got some class!
◘ The press kit contains pictures of the Skoda in an MH 14 license plate. Pretty cool to see an Indian plate on a global product - shows Skoda’s commitment to India.
◘ “The KUSHAQ unites typical ŠKODA qualities with the requirements of Indian customers” - True to its word, Skoda has introduced some ‘Simply Clever’ features to provide convenience to the Indian Buyer.
◘ Orders will be taken from June with the first KUSHAQs to be delivered in July. I think, the buyer would have already forgotten the Kushaq by then - if there is such a big delay — like the Citroën C5.
◘ Skoda have nailed it with the looks - a great thing, since looks matter most in India.
◘ Space won’t be a problem IMO. The press kit says, “Its long wheelbase of 2,651 mm – which is among the longest in the segment – and a ground clearance of 188 mm make it appear much larger than it actually is. The ŠKODA KUSHAQ offers plenty of space for five occupants.”
◘ Fit and Finish levels look premium.
◘ Features - as adimicra said, there are no wow features. I am shocked to see Skoda advertise things like chrome scrollers as features!

Press kit

As I always do for every car, sharing the complete (and very informative) press kit here: Press_Kit_KUSHAQ_WP_international.pdf

Some infographics

[varunswnt]

Headliner roof material is not premium types. If my memory serves me well, Polo/Vento got a premium fabric headliner material.

Check this video at 8:44 for roof material.

https://youtu.be/doN5-IRHQ58?t=524

Check the sound of car hood pop at 18:35, sounds tiny. Also, the hood does not get any covering and there are lot of hollow spaces besides the fenders. Does not look good. Though engine compartment is nicely laid and packaged.

[Abhinav_2502]

Skoda seems to have a good looking product that looks fresh enough without going overboard. Only part I didn't like was the chrome strip on the bootlid which seemed out of place on an otherwise clean looking car. If The Kushaq undercuts the Koreans even by a small margin in price, it has great potential in India especially with the current positive response to safer cars.

Also what's with the Cylindrical Bag in the boot seen in pictures and walk-arounds? Is that the Tool Kit or is it some accessory?

[NevGin]

Originally Posted by varunswnt

Headliner roof material is not premium types. If my memory serves me well, Polo/Vento got a premium fabric headliner material.

Check this video at 8:44 for roof material.

https://Youtu.be/doN5-IRHQ58?t=524

Clearly rear drum brakes at 5:47. Although they have perforations.

[shekjsk]

Was just going through the press kit and very interestingly Skoda mentions that features like TPMS and Hill hold will be optional. Seems to be a trick to price the product lower and then charge extra for features.