[agambhandari]

Originally Posted by porsche_guy

Make that 3.8 for the eventuality of it failing and needing a replacement

I Would suggest checking the prices for a clutch pack replacement and looking at the number of failures reported on this revision of the gearbox (worldwide) before making such statements.

If there is any joy of driving a Kushaq to be had; it is in the 1.5 TSI + DSG combination, else it is quite a dull but practical and comfortable car.

[GTO]

The timing is key. All the announcements from Zac / Skoda are coming 2 - 3 days before the VW Taigun's launch. They might be siblings, but it is absolute war between the Skoda & VW teams; each has its own targets & performance criteria to meet. Skoda knows it cannot be disadvantaged by the Taigun's 6-airbag AT variant.

Was anyway a braindead move to launch the Kushaq DSG without it, so am happy to see a quick course correction. Manufacturers are reacting fast these days. Remember how Kia also introduced a new Seltos variant quickly after gauging customer response?

I do feel bad for those who bought the Kushaq DSG with two airbags, but they did so with their eyes open. It was fully expected that the variant will come with 6 airbags sooner or later.

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Skoda Auto India will be equipping the automatic Style variants with six airbags (both 1.0L and 1.5L) and TPMS at an incremental cost of approximately Rs. 40,000.

Dirt cheap for what you're getting. But 40 grand does make an expensive car even more pricey! It is an open secret that the price : size ratio has worked against the Kushaq & Skoda showrooms are witnessing lesser foot traffic than they expected.

[sid3091]

Originally Posted by GTO

annot be disadvantaged by the Taigun's 6-airbag AT variant.

I disagree. The Indian consumer has shown repeatedly that they do not care about safety, even in cars costing 15l+

[Newtown]

Originally Posted by GTO

Was anyway a braindead move to launch the Kushaq DSG without it, so am happy to see a quick course correction.

I don't know why I am getting the feeling that this was a sales strategy planned all along.

-Not giving the 6 air bags in the DSG
-Waiting a week before the launch of the Taigun to announce the change and even bring out pricing for the 6 air bag DSG.

Consequently the human psyche it will feel like two things happened:

1. Skoda is listening to its customers and agile at tweaking manufacturing
2. The Taigun top end DSG sticker price shock would be cushioned to an extent (If at all that happens tomorrow is to be seen)

For a large set of buyers, this strategy would recaliberate (or let's change the baseline) their mindset about what car pricing is expected from the SVW group.

I shudder to think that for many this could the last IC engined car and what there price 10 - 15 years down the line would be for an electric vehicle.

[Axe77]

Originally Posted by Newtown

I don't know why I am getting the feeling that this was a sales strategy planned all along.

Consequently the human psyche it will feel like two things happened:

1. Skoda is listening to its customers and agile at tweaking manufacturing .

I don’t agree. It was a misstep which was corrected asap - period. Skoda would not have expected nor wanted the kind of negative publicity the 2 airbags elicited at the time of launch. Secondly you are upsetting early adopters when you add a feature so quickly (even if its with a price increase) so its a sort of Sophie’s choice. You don’t want to delay setting it right and yet you know you’ve upset some loyal early customers. This is a bad decision that was set right quickly - definitely not a planned one. What with all the negative news around fuel pump failures it also needs to have some positive news / decisions and developments anyway.

VW clearly has the benefit of hindsight with Škoda’s decision and was able to resolve this at launch itself. It is possible Skoda and VW may have thought they will have minor variation distinction amongst them to play around with pricing but clearly the backlash on the airbags has been too much to not correct this.

PS: On a complete side note, it amazes me how agitated the Indian customer is on receiving 2 airbags instead of 6. But many of the same customers will not use rear seatbelts even though they’re being provided since a few decades now. Go figure.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by Newtown

I don't know why I am getting the feeling that this was a sales strategy planned all along.

-Not giving the 6 air bags in the DSG
-Waiting a week before the launch of the Taigun to announce the change and even bring out pricing for the 6 air bag DSG.

I think even the most inexperienced marketing team will not try this stunt. The negative publicity they got for omitting the 6 airbags in the top end was enough to slow bookings down and lose interest in the vehicle.

I called for test drive and the sales guy was telling me how many customers cancelled bookings after seeing only 2 airbags. HE showed me a whatsapp message with a customer telling him that I wasted my time waiting for this car.

The damage will be very difficult to repair and no ways anyone would be that naive to try this as an intentional strategy.

In the end Skoda just buggered this up royally and were left with egg on their face. This is just a very quick clean up act.

Kia were faster to clean up before too much bad press. They didn't have a GTX+ variant in the automatic which was corrected within 1 month of launch.

[Venkatesh]

Bhpians who wants to buy Kushaq Style AT with 6 airbags should wait till second half of October.

[octane_100]

Probably Skoda would not have got such bad press if they had not named the highest version with AT as Style (the same nomenclature as MT top end) and would have instead called it Ambition (O) or Ambition Plus. Calling it the top end and then discriminating with the features vis-a-vis the MT led to more ire IMHO. New marketing lesson learnt!

[TusharK]

Skoda to launch Kushaq Style AT with 6 airbags in November

Last month, it was reported that Skoda was planning to update the Kushaq 1.5L Style AT variant with 6 airbags and TPMS. The carmaker has now confirmed that the updated variant will be launched next month.



The Kushaq is available in three variants - Active, Ambition and Style. While the 1.5L Style MT variant gets 6 airbags and TPMS, these features were not offered on the 1.5L Style AT trim at launch.

The Kushaq is available with two turbo-petrol engine options. These include a 1.0-litre, 3-cylinder TSI that makes 113 BHP and 178 Nm and a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder TSI that puts out 148 BHP and 250 Nm. While a 6-speed manual transmission is offered as standard, the 1.0L engine gets a 6-speed automatic option. The 1.5L motor comes with a slick 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

Link to Team-BHP News

[Torque_Curve]

Originally Posted by TusharK

Skoda to launch Kushaq Style AT with 6 airbags in November

Last month, it was reported that Skoda was planning to update the Kushaq 1.5L Style AT variant with 6 airbags and TPMS. The carmaker has now confirmed that the updated variant will be launched next month.

Link to Team-BHP News

Wait a minute, wasn't it launched already? How is it different from the details in the link below?

Originally Posted by Venkatesh

Skoda Auto India will be equipping the automatic Style variants with six airbags (both 1.0L and 1.5L) and TPMS at an incremental cost of approximately Rs. 40,000.

Skoda Kushaq 1.0 Style AT with additional features is priced at Rs. 16.20 lakh.

Kushaq 1.5 Style AT with the additional features is priced at Rs. 18 lakh.

Deliveries for the new variants will begin in October.

Source

[lordrayden]

Originally Posted by Torque_Curve

Wait a minute, wasn't it launched already? How is it different from the details in the link below?

I think this latest news article started with a question asked by someone on Twitter about the delivery of THEIR Kushaq 1.5 DSG Style 6 airbag version; and tagged Zac Hollis (as one does for any Skoda tweet now-a-days ). Since they had specifically asked about the 1.5 DSG 6 airbag version, Skoda India replied to their tweet saying the Kushaq 1.5 DSG Style with 6 airbags will be launched in the first half of November, with deliveries starting by the end of November.
https://mobile.twitter.com/SkodaIndi...rc=twsrc%5Etfw

This was then picked by Autocar and others and published as a small news article for wider distribution since not everyone would follow Skoda India on Twitter.

The older news article you quoted should still stand.

My guess is that just as the Kushaq 1.0 was available a little before the 1.5, it could be the same case with the 6 airbag versions. Just a guess though.

The 6 airbag versions are already available for booking (officially, with a new variant code) at Skoda dealers.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Torque_Curve

Wait a minute, wasn't it launched already? How is it different from the details in the link below?

Nope! It was announced just before the Taigun launch, but has been delayed afterwards. Zac Hollis later tweeted October and now November timelines for the launch.

Price mentioned (40k increase) is also approximate and hasn't been updated on the website.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Price mentioned (40k increase) is also approximate and hasn't been updated on the website.

Website is update and deliveries seem to have started as well -