[DragonHawk]

This is a story of my journey from a humble Ford Figo 1.4TDCi to Škoda Kushaq 1.5TSI MT.

Having owned multiple cars and bikes, I have been lazy enough to contribute to this forum via ownership threads. I will try to cover the overall journey in detail as much as possible. Opinions and views which are expressed here are based on my experience of owning previous Ford cars and some of my views might be opposite with general opinions of many.

Background

Exactly a decade ago my automobile journey started with Figo. It had served me well for 7 years without causing any major hole in the pocket but it was clearly showing its age. With the car nearing 90000kms I was feeling the need to upgrade and like many folks who have owned a Figo, my first choice was Ecosport. So in 2018, with Ecosport 1.5TDCi Titanium already in the garage, a decision was made to sell Figo. Car was in good shape and was sold to one of the SA whom I knew from the initial days of Figo. He knew in and out of the car, so I was super happy to let her go to the safe hands.

Thanks to the pandemic, me being in WFH mode and wifey being in govt sector had to be in office for most of the time, Ecosport was at her duty, and having driven Figo it was an easy transition for her to shift to Ecosport. However, handling a comparatively bigger car passing through narrow streets to her workplace was a bit of a hassle for her. As days progress, it was getting difficult for her to cope with this and we did consider selling Ecosport briefly. But luckily she was transferred to a different location a month back and she had to relocate to a new location along with the car. Other the other hand, with mom and my kiddo at home, the need for having one more car was slowly coming into foray.

[DragonHawk]

Requirements and Shortlisting

• Car should be compact and should consume less parking space. Personally, I was never a fan of huge and bulky cars.
• Car should have sufficient boot space and with all-black interiors.
• Good ground clearance is a must.
• AC performance should be good and chassis and dynamics should be superior to my Ecosport.
• From servicing aspect, I am ok to compromise on cost vis a vis for driving pleasure.
• Car must have a turbo petrol option as diesel was ruled out due to low running.

Based on my requirement and budget allocation which was set to 12 - 16lakhs, I had shortlisted XUV300, Creta, Seltos. I would have considered XUV500, Harrier/Safari twins but parking constraints and being bulky had to drop it altogether. Personally, I was never a fan of new-gen Creta on how it looks and didn`t really plan to consider it. Even though the wife was more interested but didn`t find it tough to keep her away from the thoughts of Creta

Test Drive and Booking Experience

Kia Seltos
With the above requirements in hand, my first visit was to ARM Kia, Mangalore. Showroom experience has been good but the Seltos GT variant commanded 3-4 months waiting time. Add to that recent crash test results were not confidence-inspiring either. Moreover, I felt, design of Seltos as such they age very fast. Even though it is not specific to Kia, I felt the overall design language of the Korean brothers itself won't be able to hold the candle to the German marque. Since I wasn`t willing to wait that long and decided to park it and the next stop was Karnataka Agencies to checkout XUV300.

Mahindra XUV300
Test Drive car was not available but I did check out the car on the display which was the base variant. Overall I felt interiors looked a bit dated, add to that beige interiors and less boot space forced me to drop it without even test driving it.

Skoda Kushaq 1.0TSI MT
Knowing Skoda dealers and being Kushaq a newly launched one, I had set my expectations a bit low, however to my surprise except for a couple of folks, the showroom was nearly empty. My SA Mr. Auf was assigned in few mins and got to spend nearly 2 hours checking the car which includes a fairly long 20kms test drive. My test drive route included full of dirt and potholes and a mix of highway and city driving conditions. I felt suspension is well sorted and unlike Ecosport this one gallops uneven surfaces and bad roads with ease. Overall cabin experience, fit and finish are decent and definitely an upgrade from Ecosport. Coming to the engine, it was my first drive with turbo petrol, and having driven turbo diesel for more than 1.5 lakh km, I am always kind of uncomfortable driving NA petrol but this one turned out to be a comfortable one to drive. We were only two people in the car and as expected 1.0 TSI was eager to pull right from 1700rpm, the exhaust grunt you feel while upshifting is so addictive. The car just glides through speed breakers in 2nd gear without making any fuss.

Variant Selection
I came super impressed and the next day after a detailed discussion, we decided to book 1.0TSI MT by paying 35k as the booking amount. However, one thing I was eagerly looking to check is the car's behavior in fully loaded conditions. Next weekend, we had visited the showroom once again and took one more test drive with 5 people on board. The majority of the route was within the city and twisty inclines. This is where things started falling apart, turbo lag was more prominent, and frequent downshift while driving in the car was really taking its toll on my leg. Add to that it was midday with blazing sun, AC performance wasn`t really convincing, even with the temperature set to 20C, cooling wasn`t really quick. Perhaps the first time when I drove this it was raining and the weather was cool and also might be I was just spoiled by Ford`s powerful AC compressor, overall I felt AC performance was just ok and with all these aspects in my mind, I wasn`t really ready to compromise on these two aspects given I have to shell out 18.2 lakhs for 1.0 Style MT variant. One thing I would like to mention here is, even though the same engine is used in Rapid but I have witnessed turbo lag is well contained in Rapid than Kushaq.

At this point in time, I wasn`t really ready to go for 1.5TSI owing to the fact that this engine is not localized and comes with many imported components. Fearing hefty maintenance bills and parts availability, I was even willing to compromise on the boot space and go for XUV300. A couple of days went by and went through few international forums, going over issues and concerns flagged by other customers. 1.5TSI EVO being used across different cars of multiple brands under the VW umbrella found nothing major reported by users around the globe. So after a lot of to and fro discussion and given the fact that ICE days are numbered, made to my mind to go for the engine which can bring a smile to your face every time you sit in the driver`s seat. The decision was purely driven by heart and finally asked my SA to change the booking to the Carbon Steel 1.5TSI MT variant which comes at a sticker price of 20.2 lakhs on road Mangalore. I could negotiate on insurance which along with my NCB from the previous car, could manage to reduce the final OTR to 19.8 lakhs.

I knew that VW would unveil Taigun and I had made my mind if the price and features match my requirement then probably I would switch to VW. Overall design of Taigun is eye catchy and striking in comparison to Kushaq. Even though Kushaq gets Skoda’s traditional butterfly grille, flanked by sleek LED headlamps, giving it a classier appearance, while the Tiguan-Esque slatted grille, upright hood, and square LED headlamps makes the Taigun look more SUV. But the real downer for me is the 1.5TSI MT variant missing out on many important features especially the 4 additional airbags. So it didn`t really dent my decision and happily decided to retain my Kushaq booking. Since bulky and big cars are not my cup of tea, I have decided to not entertain my mind with XUV700 thoughts.

[DragonHawk]

Delivery Experience

As per Skoda DMS, tentative delivery was shown as 20th August. As soon as the car was dispatched from the factory, SA gave me a heads-up for getting funds ready and make myself available for PDI. Given the fact, the Tafe Access is one of the oldest dealers for Skoda, surprisingly they didn`t have a proper yard to keep the car. Perhaps I think they didn`t felt the need for it due to low volumes. I was told that given how the market has responded to Kushaq, they are opening a new Sales and service center at Shimoga and the new yard will be ready in few months. All cars were either kept in nearby empty parking spaces outside the service center which I felt very risky. Luckily mine was inside the service center and thanks to recent rains I found her in the below state.



After a thorough check along with dealer staff, I informed the bank to go ahead with the fund transfer and updated my SA about the preferred date and time of delivery. As far accessories go, Skoda did offer a Standard accessory kit which is priced at Rs18799 which I felt is too steep for what it offers, so I gave it a miss. My SA Mr. Auf was definitely one of the best I had ever interacted with. Even though he was new to the job but he has been very patient in handling all queries along with obliging multiple test drive requests. On D-day too he has kept everything in line without giving any opportunity for delay. There were few celebrations planned by the dealer as I happened to be one of the initial customers of 1.5TSI. Overall we spent around 2 hours in the showroom and with customary formalities and cake cutting, we were on our way. 60kms drive back home was full of nerves but thoroughly enjoyed every moment of being at the driver`s seat. Especially power on tap was an exhilarating experience and was really a boon to drive in countryside 2 lane roads.

First look




With my kiddo


So far I have driven around 2000kms which includes a couple of highways trips between Puttur-Bangalore. The way the car performed in the mix of twisties and boring 4 lanes roads, reaffirmed my decision for going with 1.5TSI instead of 1.0.

What I loved:

• Classy European design with signature Skoda looks.
• Punchy 1.5TSI motor which offers good driveability and heavy load or less load, the car pulls like a locomotive. If you are planning to buy Kushaq, then close your eyes and go for this motor.
• Compact SUV which offers oodles of legroom space
• Sorted suspension offers a balanced ride & handling package
• Well kitted with safety features like 6 airbags, ESC, 3-point seatbelts for all, electronic differential lock, brake disc wiping, multi-collision brake, and EDR
• Comes with useful features like Ventilated seats, 6 speakers set up with subwoofer, and Wireless charging with apple car play and android auto
• Confidence-inspiring driving dynamics with less body rolls and excellent brakes
• Classy old-school analog dials.
• Delivers excellent fuel economy when compared to cars of this category and engine size.

What I disliked:

• 1.5TSI is positioned at an eye-watering price. It's a huge price one needs to pay if you want a fun-to-drive car.
• VW/SKODA India specific MQB A0 IN platform, which makes me nervous about the scale of cost-cutting being done.
• Skoda's scary after-sales service.
• Glaring omission of features that are available in other cheaper cousins and other product offerings in the segment.
• Niggles and issues reported by Kushaq 1.0TSI owners.
• Interior plastic quality is just ok, it is definitely below par when compared to the price one is paying for the car.
• Touch-based AC control is a bit annoying to use especially while shifting gears, as hands often touch the panel and disturb the settings.
• Window control panel switches look like it belongs to a different era.
• 10" Infotainment system has a mind of its own, so far I have seen the rear camera and the sound system stopped working all of sudden. After the system reset, everything was back to normal.
• Quality of reverse parking camera pretty average and add to it provides only static guidelines.
• Cheap AC Vents, especially slider which is very fragile. In my case rear, AC vent slider is already broken.

Things could have been better

• Power window motor makes a loud noise while operating.
• There are no visual differentiation between1.5TSI variants and 1.0TSI. Skoda should have gone VW way by clearly differentiating the Sporty 1.5TSI.
• AC performance is decent but not the best and if you are a previous Ford owner, then it will take some time before you get used to it.
• Unlike other Skoda cars and my Ecosport, doors are not heavy which doesn't inspire confidence in the build quality.
• Skoda should have offered frameless wipers instead of normal ones for both front and rear.
• 2 million car and would you believe you won`t get a puddle lamp.
• Quality of leather seats, fit and finish are strictly average.
• Infotainment system doesn`t come with physical buttons. Even if you want to switch off display at night, you have to take your eyes off the road or ask a fellow co-driver to do it for you.
• Cabin insulation is average, engine sound seeps into the cabin which enthusiast in me don`t mind though but average Joe might feel irritated.

Niggles so far

• Frequent disconnection while using wireless apple car play. Need to verify if it is the same when connected via type C cable.
• Driver-side power window buttons acts weird. If one presses the button down and halfway if he decides to close it and presses up, the window will go down fully and then it will come up which I felt a bit quirky.
• Rear camera display and the sound system stopped working, system reset solved it.
• Fuel gauge was stuck after fuel pump replacement due to recall. So effectively my car is running with 3rd fuel pump.

[DragonHawk]

The Dashboard
Kushaq looks like scaled-down Kamiq and the family vibe is definitely there. The dashboard is neatly organized and is in line with Skoda`s new design language, albeit the dash is full of hard plastics which can be a deal-breaker for many. AC vents too aren`t typical Skoda, they are not sturdy. It is more or less like saying everything is there where it should be but still doesn`t offer the premium feel when you are comparing it with Creta/Seltos. However coming from Ecosport, I believe the overall feel is comparatively better.


HVAC Controls
Touch-based controls are simple and minimalistic, however, they are super sensitive. A light brush of hand is enough to disturb the settings. Climatronic comes with an air care feature wherein sensors monitor air quality, filters have antiallergic action and remove odours. As far as product spec goes, Skoda claims that through various sensors if it detects excessive air pollution, it automatically activates the air recirculation function which I have never seen working. On top of the AC controls, you get ventilated fan switch and an auto start/stop button which is specific to 1.5TSI. Those dummy non-functional buttons are an eyesore and it reminds me that some things are missing/removed.


Front Seats & Rear Seats
All seats are well-padded and provide good lumbar support. It is very easy to get comfortable behind the wheel. Front seats are ventilated, upholstered in leather. Ventilation is offered via two speeds, which is very noisy because of this more often I have been forced to keep it at low speed.


The rear door opens almost 90* and ingress/egress was never an issue for old-aged people at home, having said that it is strictly 4 seater as the 5th one will be a bit of a squeeze and a long drive with 5 onboard may not be comfortable.




Driver window controls
Driver side controls are illuminated but looks dated IMO and provides only driver side one touch option.


Atlas alloy
Gunmetal grey atlas alloys are the one of the best looking alloy wheels currently available in the market. It is stylish and I am sure many ambition owners would have traded their alloys for this one.


ABC pedals
Pedals are well spaced against each other and it is a shame that Skoda doesn`t provide sporty metal pedals. Clutch travel is a bit long, VW TDI owners will not complain though but for others, it is a matter of time before they get used to it.



Steering wheel
Although I wished sporty flat-bottom ones but good to see a two-spoke steering wheel making a comeback, which looks fancy IMO. The steering wheel is similar to Octavia`s which is nice to hold and offers tilt + telescopic adjustments. Add to that those scrollers give an elegant touch.


Skoda has provided Kushaq with decent cubby holes and more importantly, they are practical. However, they should have provided a sunglass holder which Style variant misses out.


Ride and handling
Kushaq is an entirely dynamically competent car to drive albeit with few shortcomings mainly the steering wheel. On an open road, it doesn`t weigh up as I would have loved to. Just doesn`t match to its uncannily siblings. It has a tighter turning circle than most rivals and is light, which makes parking in a tight parking space a breeze. It just feels as agile as its younger cousins from VW. For a small SUV, that's genuinely fun to drive, having driving modes would have been icing on the cake.

The suspension setup in Kushaq is not too overly soft nor hard. It is somewhere in the middle which essentially opens up and gives enough confidence to throw the car around the corner. Body roll is well contained and you will feel like it is under control. But it is still a crossover and beyond a certain limit it is still vulnerable and the car`s ESP which so far will be in stealth mode working unobtrusively, suddenly gets plenty of work to do.

How it is to drive 1.5TSI
1.5TSI is extremely flexible with a very linear power delivery. I really liked the calm and power on tap nature of this engine and also the four-cylinder car’s mix of performance and economy. It also provides sufficient resolve and vigour to perform overtaking manoeuvres with a good deal of confidence. This engine is very much capable of running around the dial in the search for greater performance. Good bottom end ensures less shifting gears while climbing uphill. Gear shifts are a bit notchy especially when it comes to slotting to 1st and reverse gear. Apart from that lever is ergonomically positioned for better manoeuvrability and the ratios of the six-speed manual gearbox are perfectly suited to the characteristics of its engine.



This engine comes with Active Cylinder Management. On part throttle loads above 1300rpm, it shuts down the 2nd and 3rd cylinders by switching off the operation of fuel injectors and employing actuators to lift the camshaft lobes and close the valves, thus cutting combustion to save fuel. The switch from four-cylinder to two-cylinder running is so seamless and the only indication of the change in operation is an indicator in the instrument display wherein it says 2 Cylinder mode.

So far I am getting consistent FE of around 15kmpl with a mix of city and highway and max was about 19kmpl during Puttur-Mysore trip. Being a car that weighs as much as 1295kgs, economy figures are impressive and as the engine settles in, it can deliver a healthy 20kmpl, but driving calmly is a challenge in itself.


AC Performance
AC cools the cabin fast even in a humid coastal climate, but it is not comparable to Ford`s compressor. Fan noise is bearable but definitely, it is not silent as compared to Creta/Seltos. Overall I am satisfied with the performance in comparison to the mediocre AC of 1.0.

Other points
The car infotainment system comes with 6 speakers along with a subwoofer. I am not a huge fan of in car music systems but I would say it is definitely one of the best sounding music systems from OEM stable. ICE touch display is pretty accurate without any lag. However, one needs to take eyes off the road to change the settings especially to turn off the display or to mute. Certainly, things would have been better if Skoda had provided manual buttons as well.

The car comes with a good list of safety features with many as standard across variants. I was surprised to find Kushaq comes with an accident data recorder called EDR which records accidents for approx 10s with the below data

• Driver and Passenger seat belt status.
• Actuator of brake and accelerator pedal.
• Speed of the vehicle at the time of the accident.
• Function of certain vehicle systems.

Skoda has tied with Jio to offer connected car services in Kushaq. The car comes preloaded with a Jio dongle which is connected to one of the OBD2 ports in the car. So through the MySkoda Connect app, you can track the car and keep an eye on the way it is driven if given to someone else. This is especially useful when the car is given for service. Apart from that, it provides many other features which I haven`t explored like overall vehicle health status, geofence, time fence, etc.

This is how it looks when car is idling


Trip report

[DragonHawk]

Exterior shots







Fit and finish issues that have caught my eyes.

The rear AC vent slider is broken within a week of owning it.


It is definitely an eyesore and not expected from Skoda.


The fit and finish of leather seats are highly questionable.


Finally, to summarise, the car is no doubt one of the best driving machines you will get in India, however, it isn’t the same Skoda that we know. This car doesn’t have the same pedigree as other Skoda cars we have seen. 95% localization marketing mantra which Skoda is making much noise hasn’t really reflected in terms of pricing. For many Skoda is still a premium brand and the target audience for this mass-market product is different than for other Skoda products so naturally, they do have high expectations. Thanks to social media, the EPC issue has been a PR headache for Skoda. Somewhere I feel things have been blown out of proportion even more than KIA’s compromises meted out on Seltos. Niggles and other minor issues are part and parcel of every new car from any manufacturers but the breakdowns are not acceptable. No doubt, Skoda is overly reliant on Zac, the absence of a proper process in handling customer complaints is a matter of concern. I sincerely hope with the fuel pump being replaced as a part of the recall, I hope things will get settled from here on, fingers crossed.


Keeping the issues aside, ideally who should buy it? Is it really be worth all the troubles and headaches it comes with? Aren’t there much better cars which offer a lot more money? Well, my take on this, we all live once, don`t we? Definitely, no - We will die once but we live every day. So what's with living or holding into something which doesn`t bring you the sense of happiness. Those countless grins and sense of joy one needs to feel, which IMO is worth being cherished than some memories which get shadowed upon as years pass through. Competitor's offerings have a lot more gizmos and are feature-rich but will they give the same level of fun one gets while driving this 1.5TSI, definitely no.

Will keep you all updated by including more details about the ownership in days to come.

[DragonHawk]

Other Points
DRLs are bright enough to let people forget to switch on their headlamps.


Space-savers with 205/55 R16 are smaller profile, which also houses the punchy subwoofer.


Kushaq has a boot space of 385L which is pretty good for an outstation trip of a family of 4. It can be further expanded to 1405L by folding the 60:40 split rear seats. Also, notice the tools bag which should have been hidden inside the boot floor.


Skoda also has provided two fixed hooks that have the capacity to hold a handbag up to 3kgs.


The boot comes up a nice plastic piece has been provided to pull the tailgate down.


This is the cockpit looks at night.


Notice the illuminated USB type C ports.


The rear door handle also gets LED touch.


10" Infotainment also provides instant driving data in three ways
Since Start


Since the last refuel


Long Term


For now, a total of three apps including Sygic offline maps are available in the Skoda App store


The headlights with crystalline structures feature LED technology which provides sufficient throw.




Skoda offers 4 yr/100,000 km as standard and it can be extended up to 6 years or 1,50,000 kilometers. For 1.5 TSI MT extended warranty is currently priced at Rs 29,498 including GST.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[Latheesh]

Congrats and carbon steel color looks awesome especially the top variant. In the picture with your kid, it almost looks like the lava blue color they offer in their other cars.
It is perfect car for a small family - not so big, good space, decent boot size, and good engine-transmission options. Hope Skoda fixes all quality issues soon and scale up service infrastructure to support the customers. They have lot of work to do.

[androdev]

Congratulations! Very well written unbiased ownership review. I am sure your decision to go with 1.5 MT will serve you very well for a long time. IMO, 1.5 MT offers power, safety, reliability, exclusivity and eliminates a lot of confusion:

• No worries about DSG or missing airbags
• No confusion about Kushaq vs T-ROC which doesn't have MT option
• No need to wonder if Kushaq is worth the premium over Polo/Rapid 1.0 :-)

[Dead_Pedal]

Nice details! These types floor mats may feel very soft and comfy but do they not foul with the pedals usage? , especially the clutch. Just curious. And, sad Skoda has provided an ancient instrument cluster(not necessarily bad) when the rest of the cabin feels modern and up to date. The overall package needs to be coherent I feel. Also, another point I noticed is the driver armrest doesn't have a lock/latch. It just sits down. Some cost cutting there. Happy motoring.

[akash_v12]

Congratulations on the Kushaq! I feel this is one of the best drivers car this side of ₹20L. No other car, except possibly the Duster should provide as much fun. As Latheesh mentioned, the Carbon Steel colour almost looks like the Venue's Denim Blue colour. I feel like they might have changed the shade composition very slightly.

Even my dad received a call from our Volkswagen dealer for a preview of the Taigun. Unfortunately, couldn't make it this past weekend. Will probably head over this weekend or the next.

Regarding your issues with the A/C vent, it's a prominent issue in my Vento as well as my uncle's Rapid. Same issue with the A/C adjustment tab coming out.
Hope you have a fantastic ownership experience with her!

[DriveOnceMore]

Congratulations on owning one of the true 'fun to drive' car, below 20 L price mark.
Regarding issue with power window on driver side, I remember reading somewhere that Skoda is replacing the window winder motor free of cost.
Do report your issue to SC and they should do it.

Your car is running on 3rd fuel pump!!
I thought fuel pump issue was limited to 1.0 L TSI motor.
This is not a good start for second innings of VW-Skoda group in India.

[Fiestaboy]

Congratulations on owning one of the beasts.
I too feel 1.5TSI is the right match for a car of this size & weight.
Wish you many happy miles with this car.

Personally I am very much inclined towards Kushaq than the Korean twins (after owning a NEw- Fiesta) & referred it to few of my friends, when they enquired about Seltos & Creta.
Obviously Kushaq is not going to be liked by everyone. Just like the owners of Ford, VW & Skoda - only those who like solid build quality, German Engineering, robust & sorted handling coupled with that ageless design will go for Kushaq.

Note: Personally, I wish Skoda gives the following features in Kushaq:

1. Trumpet horns.
2. Flat blade wipers.
3. One touch up & down on all windows &
4. Printed or woven headliner like their earlier models

[mandarpotdar]

Congratulations and thank you for an excellent review.
I have sold my Ford Figo 1.4 TDCI just last week and awaiting pricing details of Taigun. Prebooked 1.5 DSG, with many thoughts same as yours -- safe, fun to drive, not too large, probably last ICE car.
So your review gives me perfect perspective. Fingers crossed for the pricing.

[Reinhard]

Congratulations on the acquisition & wish you many happy and safe miles ahead. Thanks for sharing the thread. Loved reading it. I'm a fan of good large (by 21st century standards) petrol engines and the 1.5TSI surely is one of them. If I were to buy a Kushaq/Taigun - it would be definitely with the 1.5 TSI and manual transmission. Exactly what you have acquired. Nothing like the joy of a fast powerful engine coupled with a potent manual transmission for us relatively "old" folk in this AT era . Enjoy the drives and keep the thread updated!