[StigsIndianCuz]

Hello everybody! My first post on this forum!

Me and my dad are thinking of buying the Style 1.5 DSG.
What are some niggles/issues that we should be aware of currently before buying one?

[djangokl]

I got my KUSHAQ around 5 weeks ago and have completed almost 4000km. I think it is time to share a small initial ownership review.

My car is a 1.0Ltr Automatic Ambition (old model, with automatic AC, April 2022 made). Purchased from EVM Skoda, Kochi. The entire booking & delivery experience was smooth. They promptly informed us about the car's status (starting from the plant) and called for the PDI as soon as it arrived at their yard. Overall it took only 14 days (2 weeks) to book & take delivery.

Speaking of driving experience, remember my previous car was a 2015 Figo Aspire 1.5ltr Diesel manual. So all my comparisons are related to my last car as well. I love to drive. I am the kind of person who uses the car to go to point A to point B just to enjoy the drive. In that sense, KUSHAQ is an absolute pleasure to drive. It is the best “driver’s car” in the segment. It feels well planted to the road, cornering always puts a smile on my face. Basically, that’s what I want from my car. I don’t care it doesn’t come with a 360-degree camera or other state-of-the-art goodies.
Let me point out a few pros & cons.

Pros:

• Outstanding driving comfort and stability. The car is truly peppy and “sports” mode makes it even better.
• Breaking. Gives a tremendous amount of confidence. Have been a lifesaver in a couple of situations already.
• Headlights (maybe my previous car’s headlights were too poor).
• Small small "simply clever" features from Skoda like how indicators work when hazard lights are on, how the boot space will prevent locking itself out if the key is inside the car..etc.
• Torque converter: such a brilliant gearbox. It is clever enough to understand my input and behave accordingly. Almost never used paddle shifters. Maybe one or two times on highway overtake when I was having a full load.

Cons:

• Power window noise.

Milage of 1Ltr automatic:
I am from a state in India which have the smallest highways and 0 access controlled highways, Kerala. Roads are decent enough but not big enough. All the mileage screenshots I saw in this group before the purchase were from outside Kerala mostly. I am fully aware of that too. So with my usage of daily city commute + weekend highway run, I am having an average of 13kmpl. City mileage is around 10 to 12kmpl depending on the traffic. The worst mileage I saw so far during daily office run (7km) was 9kmpl. Remember, traffic in Kochi during the morning time is hectic. The car never goes beyond 2nd gear. On the highway, during the night I have managed to pull off 19kmpl once. I don’t drive for mileage. I don’t really look at 2000 rpm usually. So there is that.

Overall, this car is a gem of a machine.

Attaching one of my favorite photo I took from Chathurangappara hills, Idukki.

[_Piyush_]

Greetings fellow BHPians,

This is the second post that I am writing on the forum, this is going to be a recap of September and October 2021.
It is gonna be a long post with different parts

My father switched his job in August Last year, following which he had to relocate to Mumbai, which meant that the 2.4 Innova ZX we had was gonna leave the garage and my elder brother obtained his MBBS Degree which implied that the 2017 Honda City needed to be with him due to odd working hours of MBBS interns in India.

So, towards the end of August, we started to look for a second vehicle.

My dad really wanted to get the Innova again, but a 6-7 seater was ruled out due to the non-usage of 3rd Row Seats on a daily basis.

Our limit was about 20 Lacs OTR (Ghaziabad) for any 5-seater.

Sedans were ruled out due to two reasons
1) we had a 2017 Honda City VX MT
2) Only three sedans dominated the market under 20Lacs out of which one was already owned by us.

the only viable option left was the Compact SUV Segment which I realized was so densely packed with options that shortlisting cars became more of a hassle.

Cars Shortlisted

1. Skoda Kushaq
2.Hyundai Creta
3. Kia Seltos
4. Tata Harrier
5. Volkswagen Taigun
6. Mahindra XUV 300
7. Hyundai Venue
8. Tata Nexon

Starting august end, every day I woke up I would just see different reviews and read about the cars which could possibly end up in our garage.
Me, my elder brother and dad decided to go and TD the shortlisted cars, which are penned down here under.

1. Hyundai Creta
Pros:
3 Adults can sit comfortably (all three of us are near about 5'7)
Connected Car Tech
Panoramic SunRoof
Rear window curtain blinds
Hyundai's diesel engines are an absolute hoot to drive

Cons:
The turbo Petrol just did not make me smile enough.
the newer generation styling was not my cup of tea.
Absurd waiting periods (was Quoted beyond 9 months for black color top variants irrespective of the engine options)

2. Kia Seltos
did not even TD as Dad had concerns regarding the build quality and safety of the car.

3. Tata Harrier
Pros:
Huge Boot
Ample Leg room and Headroom
Panoramic Sun Roof
FCA sourced Engine is amazing and the 6speed TC was working flawlessly.
The design was liked by everyone in my family

Cons:

Harrier poses a challenge of finding parking spots in NCR
Parts sourced from different manufacturers made me question the long-term reliability.
Read about the horror stories of TATA ASS
Felt that the suspension is a bit stiff.
No LED's even in the top-end variants... Why TATA?
The infotainment system somewhat felt lacking in comparison to what others had to offer.

Mahindra XUV 300, Hyundai Venue, and Tata Nexon were rejected as my father felt they are quite small belonging to the Sub-Compact SUV segment.

Skoda Kushaq 1.0 TSI AT

Pros:
Solid Build Quality.
German Engineering
Unique Styling (Standouts between the million Seltos and Creta which are running on Indian Roads)
1.0 TSI with 6-Speed TC was and is one of the best cars for day-to-day city driving.
Boot Space on paper looked small but in terms of practicality I found it bigger in comparison to Hyundai Creta
the dashboard looks amazing.
UNMATCHED driving dynamics in this segment.
even though it is small in size, it has plenty of legroom and knee room on offer in the 2nd row.

Cons:
just 2 airbags in the top-end Style AT
EPC error
4 seater in reality
lack of Electric adjust
Lack of Digital Tachometer
appears to be a Crossover rather than a CSUV
Skoda Service (based on what I had heard at that time, have different opinions now)
Lack of Aftermarket accessories

Volkswagen Taigun
Mechanically same as the Kushaq
Only the design is different.


The process of test driving cars took us almost 2 weeks and reading on Team-BHP and other platforms about the shortlisted cars put me in a greater dilemma.

One big issue for us was the need for another car as soon as possible, while the other was no diesel until it is a 6 or 7 seater, which ultimately left us with two choices Skoda Kushaq and Hyundai Creta, we were just about to book the top Spec Creta turbo Petrol, but I suddenly came across a post that Skoda is going to produce Style AT with 6 airbags.

Now comes the trickiest part of car purchases; getting everyone to agree. This time it was Dad who had his mind filled with concerns about Skoda's Service experience as his colleague who owned a Skoda Rapid, did not have a pleasant experience.
After some persuasion and showing the Twitter handle of the then Director Mr. Zac Hollis, I succeeded in convincing him and my stomach had butterflies flying.

On September 29th, 2021, I visited the dealership with my mother, and she absolutely loved the car, which made it pretty obvious that it is the Kushaq Style 1.0 TSI AT 6 Airbags was coming home, then the SA asked which color, and after some discussions, we finalized Carbon Steel. however, none of us had seen a Kushaq in Carbon Steel which was really annoying and the dealership did not have any Carbon Steel Color in the stockyard as it was among the fast-moving colors.

We were really adamant about the color, it had to be Carbon Steel.
Now the waiting time started, after every 3 days, I used to call the dealership in hope that there would be some news from their side, but efforts went down the drain as Skoda had not officially started the production of 6 airbag variants, which was quite annoying in reality.

On the evening of 8th October, I received a call from my SA saying that they have a 1.5 DSG in Carbon Steel which was canceled and could be allotted to me if I act fast, I immediately asked him to forward me the proposal for the same stating that I will need at least 1-2 days time to confirm the same, which he happily accepted
The biggest problem was the 1.5 DSG manufacturing of September 21 had 2 airbags as opposed to 6 airbags which we wanted, I guess the odds were in my favor, a video of Kushaq crashing in Gujarat floated on my youtube, and after watching that video I came to a conclusion that the Car has a strong build quality, and 6 airbags will just increase some amount of passive safety and I decided to gamble on the 2 airbag variant.

The proposal was a very lucrative offer.
Ex-showroom discount 30,000 K
insurance discount of 20,000 K
Corporate discount of 5K
and an additional discount of 4,122.
Got the accessories for free (apart from the tyre inflator)
Extended Warranty which was 29K
I selected the enhanced SMP which includes Brakes in addition to whatever is offered on the basic plan

The OTR was about 20.3 Lac including the SMP and EW excluding 1% TCS
The OTR for the 1.0 TSI AT (6 airbags) was somewhere near 19.4 Lac including SMP and EW. excluding 1% TCS

So, all in all, I was offered a deal which was very hard to refuse to see the pros, especially the better engine option which could be mine.
Spoke to Dad and he said go ahead if it's what your heart says and seeing a discount of almost 1 lakh on the 1.5 variant I really did not want to miss this deal.
The real Irony at that time was I had not seen a Kushaq in Carbon Steel and I had not driven the 1.5 DSG even once, only knowing about the engine through videos and reviews.
the First drive in 1.5 TSI was when I went to PDI and then pay the final amount before delivery.

Took the delivery on 15th October 2021 on the auspicious day of Dussehra.

Moderators, please move the thread to the correct subforum.

Happy Motoring

Current ODO reading is at 23715Km

[Vibhanshu]

Originally Posted by djangokl

I got my KUSHAQ around 5 weeks ago and have completed almost 4000km. I think it is time to share a small initial ownership review.

Thanks for sharing. Wish you great miles ahead! I own a Fiesta 1.5 Diesel myself and I know it's one of the bench marks in ride and handling department. Just like any other Ford. So can totally relate your upgrade.

Many Kushaq/Taigun owners have reported multiple issues. Have you faced any issues with your car, like:
- AC not cooling enough
- EPC problems
- Any other software or hardware issues?

Thanks!

[amrit_bareta]

Congratulations on your new purchase, dear . May God always bless your vehicle.

I also like the Skoda Kushaq because it is a solidly built vehicle with a powerful engine. I took test drives of the Skoda Slavia and Kushaq a few days ago, and I found the steering to be too light at high speeds. Have you noticed this? The steering of my Vento 1.5 tdi is very light at low speeds and becomes tight at high speeds, providing excellent control and stability on the road. I thought that, similar to Maruti Suzuki cars, the steering is now too light in Skoda and Volkswagen vehicles while moving at high speeds. I'm not sure whether it was just my superstition or it is really light.

[losblancos_sr4]

The car arrived in the stockyard on the 20th of September, about a month earlier than when they said the car would come... Went for the PDI on Saturday, armed with a list from Team-BHP. No scratches, no panel gap issues at all. Sales Advisor(s) were helpful throughout. From updating when the car left the factory to when it arrived and when the payments were to be made. Here are some pictures from the PDI. Love at first sight

[djangokl]

Originally Posted by Vibhanshu

Thanks for sharing. Wish you great miles ahead! I own a Fiesta 1.5 Diesel myself and I know it's one of the bench marks in ride and handling department. Just like any other Ford. So can totally relate your upgrade.

Many Kushaq/Taigun owners have reported multiple issues. Have you faced any issues with your car, like:
- AC not cooling enough
- EPC problems
- Any other software or hardware issues?

Thanks!

Let me address each point.

- AC not cooling enough

I kind of agree with this point. My six-year-old Figo Aspire's AC compressor was way more powerful than Kushaq's. Kushaq takes a bit more time to cool the cabin if it is parked under direct sunlight. Automatic AC basically increases the fan speed which I hate in any car (I want the music sound or no sound at all inside the cabin ). So when starting from direct sunlight, I tend to opt for the manual mode to stabilize the temperature faster, then switch back to automatic AC after 10-15 minutes.

- EPC problems

No, never. Also, I never filled XP95 fuel. Always running on normal petrol from day 1.

- Any other software or hardware issues?

Nothing in particular. I have seen some people complaining about Apple carplay disconnecting automatically from time to time. but never happened to me. It is working (wireless) flawlessly from day 1. The small annoying thing is Apple carplay has limited features for example you won't get call logs inside the small screen in the instruments cluster while using Apple carplay, but Android auto got this feature (though I don't think Skoda is the culprit here, It must be Apple). Answering phone calls using the steering mount controls only works 100% time if the small screen is set to "Phone" view, but on other screens, sometimes it works sometimes it won't.

Speaking of hardware issues, I would say the wiper blades are poor. Absolutely poor that I haven't seen anything low quality as this in my life. Not a big deal but it is what it is.

[dnabhi25]

Hi, I recently test drove the Kushaq 1.0 automatic. I absolutely loved the car but reading some reviews and watching some YouTube videos of people facing niggles in the vehicle, issues with ac compressor, roof lining quality etc. I am in kind of a fix whether I should go for it or not! This would be my first car and I dont want to face the agony of buying a car which has issues. But again, this is the only car which I have shortlisted that is readily available (1-1.5 months), all other cars which I have test driven has a waiting period of at least 5-6 months. Any suggestions..?

[dnabhi25]

Hi Blanktrails, even I am in the market for a 1.0 automatic Kushaq. Can you please give details on which dealership you purchased the car from? I was speaking to someone from JMD Skoda, Thane West and got a different quote from what you have received for the same Ambition Classic Variant. Can we speak on this? Thanks

[pavi]

Originally Posted by dnabhi25

But again, this is the only car which I have shortlisted that is readily available (1-1.5 months), all other cars which I have test driven has a waiting period of at least 5-6 months. Any suggestions..?

One question though, what is your expectation out of a 'car'?. Ready availability is the only criteria?

Someone in our forum has found a fix for the AC issue, I think service centers have the fix ready by now. The roof liner quality has been improved as per the latest updates in our forum itself. Not hearing any EPC issues for sometime now, better to stick with 95 octane petrol.

[losblancos_sr4]

Originally Posted by dnabhi25

Hi, I recently test drove the Kushaq 1.0 automatic. I absolutely loved the car but reading some reviews and watching some YouTube videos of people facing niggles in the vehicle, issues with ac compressor, roof lining quality etc. I am in kind of a fix whether I should go for it or not! This would be my first car and I dont want to face the agony of buying a car which has issues. But again, this is the only car which I have shortlisted that is readily available (1-1.5 months), all other cars which I have test driven has a waiting period of at least 5-6 months. Any suggestions..?

Hi we just bought a 1.0MT Kushaq this month and we haven't faced any AC issues with it. Also, the roof lining is significantly better than what was in one of the display cars 3-4 months ago

[Blanktrails]

Originally Posted by dnabhi25

Hi Blanktrails, even I am in the market for a 1.0 automatic Kushaq. Can you please give details on which dealership you purchased the car from? I was speaking to someone from JMD Skoda, Thane West and got a different quote from what you have received for the same Ambition Classic Variant. Can we speak on this? Thanks

Sure. I bought from Skoda Worli. However, I cross negotiated between multiple dealerships to get best price. Btw a friend in Chandigarh was able to negotiate 1.24 L discount on Ambition Classic Manual Version.

Hi everyone.

Has anyone attempted upgrading of audio set up on their Kushaq. I like the clarity of sound in my Kushaq but the bass is highly underwhelming for me. Would like to install a subwoofer. However, the dealership has told me that its not possible. Would like to know if anyone has made any kind of improvement to their set up.

[dheer4]

Originally Posted by Blanktrails

Hi everyone.

Has anyone attempted upgrading of audio set up on their Kushaq. I like the clarity of sound in my Kushaq but the bass is highly underwhelming for me. Would like to install a subwoofer. However, the dealership has told me that its not possible. Would like to know if anyone has made any kind of improvement to their set up.

Which model of Kushaq is this? AFAIK, the models with 10 Inch touch screen on the style variant get Subwoofer as standard. The 8 Inch touch screen does not support subwoofer as a plug in part.

[Blanktrails]

It's Ambition Classic, with 8 inch screen. Is there no way a subwoofer can be added.

[losblancos_sr4]

Originally Posted by Blanktrails

It's Ambition Classic, with 8 inch screen. Is there no way a subwoofer can be added.

You can look for aftermarket solutions because Skoda will not fit the subwoofer for you. If you are keen on the OEM product, ask the audio shop if they would be able to fit it and if the answer is yes you can probably order it off boodmo.