[Omkar]

Mod Note: Our Skoda Kylaq Review has been taken live at this link. Please continue the discussion over on the new thread. Thanks!

It's been quite a while since the first news of a new compact SUV from Skoda was broken. In line with the Skoda tradition of naming their SUVs with 'K' as the first letter and 'Q' as the last letter, the name finalised was 'Kylaq'. The name Kylaq is said to be inspired by Mount Kailash and from the Sanskrit word for crystal. To give you an idea of the timeline, the production has not yet started. The global unveil of the Kylaq has been scheduled for the 6th of November, while the launch and deliveries are slated for next year, most likely January.



This is going to be the third Skoda car to be based on the MQB-A0-IN platform after the Kushaq and the Slavia. An investment of 250 million Euros has been made in the project and will increase the company's plant utilization by 30%. The Kylaq is a smaller car than the Kushaq and will compete in the compact SUV segment. The car's prime competition would be the Maruti Brezza, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV 3XO, Hyundai Venue and Kia Sonet. It may seem that Skoda is late to the party as there are already too many cars in this segment and around it. However, the manufacturer believes that this sub-4 m segment accounts for almost 30% of the total Indian car market and is one of the fastest-growing segments in India. Skoda also believe that the Kylaq would be the car that will help Skoda enter a ‘New Era’ in India. If that will be the case or not, only time will tell. For now, there is a lot of excitement and interest around the car and I got to drive it briefly at the CoASTT High Performance Centre in Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu - not really the ideal place to understand how the car drives on our regular roads in day-to-day conditions, but primarily to get a feel of the handling characteristics of the car. Do note that this report has limited information and the rest of the details of the Kylaq are under an embargo.



So, what do we know about the Kylaq? It’s a sub-4m car (3,995 mm in length) with a wheelbase of 2,566 mm. Compared to other cars in the segment, only the XUV 3XO has a longer wheelbase of 2,600 mm. The ground clearance is rated at 189 mm. Powering the Kylaq is the 1.0L TSI engine from the Kushaq and the Slavia. It makes 114 BHP and 178 Nm of torque and will be available with a 6-speed MT or a 6-speed AT. One of the concerns that the Kushaq and Slavia 1.0 TSI owners faced was regarding the A/C cooling. Skoda claims that those issues have been sorted and the Kylaq has undergone testing of over 8,00,000 km so far.

In terms of safety, the MQB-A0-IN platform cars (Kushaq and Slavia) have scored 5 stars in GNCAP tests and Skoda expects the Kylaq to do the same. It is expected to come with 25 active and passive safety features as standard including 6 airbags, traction and stability control, anti-lock brakes, Electronic Brake Distribution, Brake Disc Wiping, Roll Over Protection, Motor Slip Regulation, Electronic Differential Lock, Passenger airbag de-activation, Multi Collision Braking and ISOFIX seats. Specific variants are expected to have 30 safety features. One standout feature is that both front seats get 6-way power adjustment and ventilation.

A quick note on the camouflage that you see here. Harun Robert a.k.a Rob of ‘M.A.D.’ fame collaborated with the Fans of Škoda over a two-day workshop to create this design. Some BHPians also attended the workshop (detailed report).

LED DRLs and LED projector headlamps:


A look at the front end:


LED element in the taillight:


Subtle spoiler with integrated HMSL. The Kylaq gets a shark fin antenna:

[Omkar]

Driving the Skoda Kylaq

Powering the Skoda Kylaq is a 999cc, turbocharged, 3-cylinder, direct-injection petrol engine that puts out 114 BHP and 178 Nm. This engine is paired with a 6-speed MT or a 6-speed torque converter AT. The powertrain is shared with the Kushaq and Slavia (read our detailed report here). Unfortunately, the driving part was limited to the track and not everyday roads. We will have to wait for an extensive drive for a detailed report. For now, we will focus on the track drive.

There were 3 parts to the driving experience –

• Main Track Driving - 3 laps
• Gravel road experience
• Karting Track Driving - 4 laps

A bit about the track: This is the CoASTT High Performance Centre which is designed to be homologated up to FIA Grade-2. It is also India’s first anti-clockwise circuit. A lap around the track is 3.8 km with a 15-metre elevation change. The track is very technical and has been designed for automotive testing and of course motor racing.

Track Drive

This was the first time I was driving on this track, so the excitement level was quite high. Thankfully, for the main track, Skoda had a manual transmission car with drum brakes at the rear. 3 simulation tests were laid out across the main track. First up was a moose test. A few cones were placed for the test and I was asked to accelerate from a standstill, upshift to 2nd and then go through the direction changes of the moose test. The speed wasn’t very high and the cones weren’t very wide apart. The Kylaq passed without any issues.

Next up was the braking test where I had to build up speed up to 80 km/h and then perform an emergency braking maneuver. Markers were placed to show the braking distance. I kept the car at a constant speed of 80 km/h and hit the brakes hard at the first point and managed to stop the car just ahead of the 20 metre mark. The car came to a halt without much drama. It didn’t pull to one side or have excess nose dive.

The last part was the slalom test. A bunch of cones were placed in a straight line and I had to weave through them. The instructor who was accompanying me had done a demo run previously. He kept the car tight and managed to maintain speeds between 53 km/h and 56 km/h. He was very close to the cones and the steering angle wasn’t excessive throughout. During my run, I entered the slalom at roughly 50 km/h and kept it tight through the first few cones. By the time I reached halfway, I decided to go faster and reached 52 km/h but ran wide. This meant that I had to increase the steering angle to keep the momentum and the tyres started to chirp. Without backing off the throttle, I managed to get through the last few cones at 52 km/h and was pretty close. Looked in the rearview mirror and was glad to see that I hadn’t knocked over any cones. I got only one chance at these simulation tests, but I was okay with that because now, it was time for some laps around the main circuit.



I had previously driven the 1.0 TSI engine in the Slavia and the first impression was that it was a potent engine, but you need to keep it on the boil to extract maximum performance out of it. Being on the track was the perfect opportunity to do so. I had one lap with the instructor who showed me the different types of corners that are on the circuit. We had a total of 3 laps with the first one being a scouting lap, just to get the feel of the car and the circuit as well. The other two laps were when I was allowed to push the car. At the end of the scouting lap, this felt like a 3rd gear track for the Kylaq 1.0-litre. The power band was wide enough for tackling all the corners in 3rd gear.



Coming on to the start finish straight, braking hard into the right-hander turn 1 that leads on to a left-hander turn 2. I didn’t get to use much of the track on the exit of turn 1 as I had to place the car on the right for the entry of the tighter turn 2. Getting on the power early out of turn 2, you can let the car track on the outside as it opens up into a wide turn 3. There is plenty of run-off area out of turn 3 and you can go flat out here as the next section is a series of fast corners. This is where you start going uphill into a long right-hander turn 5. Since this is a long turn, you can keep an eye on the edge. Keep hugging the inside line through turn 5 as you have to keep the car on the right for entry into turn 6 which is a tight left-hander. When you straighten out of turn 5, it’s difficult to see turn 6, so I had to lift off on the first lap as I had to make a note of the braking point. The second time around I could brake a little later for turn 6 which gets tighter in the second part. Hence, you can turn in early, go a bit wide and then try to hit the second apex.

Out of turn 6, the track opens up into a short straight and you start going downhill from here. The next couple of turns - 7 and 8 are fast corners and you can keep your right foot flat through turn 7 and I could hear the Kylaq’s tyres resisting. I had to lift off for turn 8 as it is a tight right-hander which is also tight and goes uphill. Moving immediately onto the right side of the track for the upcoming double left-handers (turns 9 & 10). Both are 90-degree turns and like most double right or left-handers I decided to sacrifice the first apex for a better approach to the second corner. The instructor mentioned that with the Kylaq, you don’t have enough speed, so we can hit both apexes. There’s enough distance between turns 9 and 10 which makes it easier to hit both apexes and one can let the car run wide on the exit. This is where you have a small uphill crest with a left kink which leads to a bunch of slow and tight corners.

Turn 11 is a left-hander and you immediately go on to a tight right-hander turn 12 after which you have to place your car on the left side for turn 13. This is the tightest turn on the circuit and you can have a late turn-in and a fast exit out of the corner onto the back straight. Towards the end of this straight you have the final loop which I felt was 2 corners. You enter the turn 14 and it gets much tighter towards the end (turn 15) which is where I encountered understeer as I didn’t slow down enough the first time around. Out of the turn 15 you have a bit of downhill that leads you onto the main straight and the finish line.

I drove for 2 laps only and since I hadn’t driven here before, but had just seen some onboard videos of the track, it was difficult to find the optimum line and speed through all the corners. I was primarily focused on trying to push the car through the corners in the cleanest way that I could. Most of the track I covered in the 3rd gear. Went up to the 4th on the main straight, but then, had to immediately shift down to 3rd for turn 1. Then on turn 13, downshifted to 2nd, but the shorter gearing meant that I was already reaching the redline mid-corner. Eventually, I had to upshift to 3rd on the exit. High-speed corners were handled well by the Kylaq and it didn’t feel nervous at all. The track was also a contributing factor as the surface was pretty hot and grippy. In tight corners, the steering felt direct and it was easy to place the car in the corners and dart out of them. I did feel that the steering could’ve been a little heavier at higher speeds. It would instil more confidence in high-speed corners.

Gravel road experience

Next up was the gravel driving experience. This was a short drive on bad roads to give us an idea of the suspension setup. My first impression was that the Kylaq’s setup was very similar to the Kushaq. At slow speeds, the ride quality is absorbent and while there is movement in the cabin, it’s not excessive. There is an underlying stiffness to the setup. As the speed increases, the bumps are flattened out quite nicely. The tyre size is the same as the Kushaq and Slavia with 17-inch rims and 205/55 section tyres. The ride quality at the rear seat was also compliant, but we will have to drive the car on regular roads to give a final verdict.

Karting Track

The last part of the driving experience was the karting track. When I first saw the karting track layout in pictures, it reminded me of the Catalunya F1 circuit (Spanish GP). As you can see from the image below, this karting track is 1 km in length and has 12 corners. Skoda had the automatic version for the karting track which was a bit of a bummer. But this track was primarily meant to have fun. You probably don’t have to tackle such a series of corners at speeds in day-to-day life. I selected the S mode of the transmission. Since there were 4 laps, I thought of letting the gearbox do the shifting for the first couple of laps and use the paddle shifters on the remaining two laps.


Image source

Started on the main straight and with a dab on the brakes and a lift-off, I could attack turn 1 and switch on to turn 2 at a good speed. I had to brake into turn 3 which is a long right-hander. Turn 4 is tight and stretches on to the next turn. Out of turn 4, the instructor gave me a tip saying that I should do a late turn-in for T5 as it gets tighter towards the end. This worked perfectly as an early turn-in meant that I would run wide towards the exit. In turns 6, 7 and 8 you can carry a good amount of speed and have direction changes as well - almost like a slalom course. The inside of Turn 7 had a sausage kerb, so I had to be careful over there. Out of turn 8, you carry a lot of speed which you have to shed with hard braking as turn 9 is a tight left-hander (a U-Turn) quickly on to turn 10 which is a tight right-hander (another U-Turn). You can take turn 11 at speed but have to shed some of it for an almost 90-degree right-hander turn 12 onto the main straight. The lap was enjoyable with its mix of tight corners and direction changes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q878d0XCQA4

The automatic transmission managed to hold on to gears longer in the S mode. There were a few instances where I wished it would drop down an extra gear while braking which would give me more power out of the corner, but I guess that’s okay as the transmission is designed for regular roads and not a karting track. With the paddle shifters, it was a little easier to control the gears and keep the engine on the boil. But the shifts aren’t very quick and there is a slight delay which you have to take into account. This was a wide track and the car didn’t feel out of place. It was easy to point the car into a corner and the tight turns even when taken at speed didn’t unsettle the car. I encountered understeer once into turn 9 as I was carrying too much speed out of turns 7 and 8 and didn’t brake enough before the U-turn. Other than that, the chassis seems well-balanced and something you can have fun with even on a karting track like this one.

[Omkar]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line.

[Nishant345]

This is probably a make it or break it car for VW Skoda.

Unrelated- I can’t believe sub 10L cars have LED projector lights now, while some sub 1cr cars like the GLC and the new E Class come with reflector based headlights.

[volkman10]

At least in pics the vehicle looks smaller that the segment leaders. Hope it is not the case in real. Vibes of the Polo Cross.







GC =189


Link:

[sunikkat]

Nice detailed early review.

Being a VAG, I am sure of 3 things - good performance, better ride and handling and safety.

Hope they have sorted whatever niggles they had in Kushaq. Can’t wait to see the actual car and post production reviews.

[GoBabyGo]

Originally Posted by volkman10

At least in pics the vehicle looks smaller that the segment leaders. Hope it is not the case in real. Vibes of the Polo Cross.

Hi, i think Skoda Kylaq will be 3995 L x 1735 W x 1550 H. It will be very similar to Nissan Magnite in road presence.

[ashvek3141]

Originally Posted by volkman10

At least in pics the vehicle looks smaller that the segment leaders. Hope it is not the case in real. Vibes of the Polo Cross.

Going by the looks of Kushaq, I won't be surprised if it looks smaller than the sub 4m SUV competition. And to me it will be a deal-breaker for a few.

Kushaq for instance, never gives this feel of a 4.3m car or akin to its competitors. It's looks somewhere between 4m to 4.3m bracket.

[Rajeevraj]

I don't really understand why Skoda needs to add a vehicle in this segment. There is so much of competition and it is a segment where it is hard to differentiate. It seems unlikely that Skoda will get any significant share of this market. Also, the volumes are not high enough with the Kushaq to prevent cannibalization.

Reminds me of the time Volkswagen came up with the Ameo because they decided they needed to have a presence in the compact sedan segment which at that time was flying high. We all know how that went. While this is a better effort for sure, I think it will struggle to make an impact.

There was a thread recently which showed how Virtus+Slavia dominate the sedan market which has almost become niche with the big players not focusing on it enough. I think it will bring Skoda more ROI if they focus on segments where they are strong and the main players don't have much of a play. Example: Bring back the Octavia and Superb at relatable prices.

[DivyanshuDiv]

It seems because of a larger wheelbase and 17inch tires, the car is looking a bit smaller. Size-wise, it could be something in-between a Venue and a Magnite.

I still feel, the Kushaq and Tiagun, should have been a sub-compact SUV, and now this one will be dimensionally smaller than those twins, may feel smaller than the competition.

[07CR]

Originally Posted by volkman10

At least in pics the vehicle looks smaller that the segment leaders. Hope it is not the case in real. Vibes of the Polo Cross.

There is a reason the width and height of car is hidden. Both could perhaps be smallest or second smallest in the segment and Skoda wants to avoid the negative press.

Considering even their Kushaq has a width of 1765 mm vs the Sonet/Brezza's 1790, Nexon 1804, XUV3XO's 1821 and Venue at 1770 mm, I am quite sure the Kylaq's width will be even lesser than 1750 mm. That makes it as small as Magnite/Kiger. A huge negative IMO. One of the major reason's a prospective buyer in this segment buys a sub 4 meter SUV is for the added ground clearance and the relatively better road presence vis a vis a premium hatch.

With ground clearance pegging at 189 (although sufficient), even here it is on the backfoot and that's why the GC isn't mentioned.

[PrasannaDhana]

It looks like a great car for someone who missed the opportunity of buying the Polo 1.0 TSI.

[Brumby]

Rather than bringing in the Kylaq (a completely new vehicle), Skoda could have brought in the Fabia.

Modifying the Fabia to meet the sub-four meter hatchback size would have been easier both in research/modifications and in terms of investment.

Hatchback market is still very much active, and with recent shift of Indians buying premium cars over basic entry level ones as their entry into four wheelers segment, a premium hatchback will have reasonable demand.

[dhanushs]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

I don't really understand why Skoda needs to add a vehicle in this segment. There is so much of competition and it is a segment where it is hard to differentiate. It seems unlikely that Skoda will get any significant share of this market. ...

The Polo entered at a time when the market was already crowded with hatched and became an enthusiast's favorite. By the looks of it, giving the initial drive in CoASTT, Skoda is targeting the same. If they crack the enthusiast "mass" market, it should ensure steady, though perhaps not substantial, long-term sales.

[Sids85]

I think the dimensions will be similar to Fronx/Taisor and smaller than Brezza/3XO.