News

Sold my S-Cross after 1.1L km: Why I decided to upgrade to Skoda Kodiaq

4th October 2024, 10:33 by Rahul Nagaraj

The Kodiaq is an absolute steal when compared to the entry level prices of cars from the BIG 3 namely: Mercedes, BMW and Audi.

BHPian Keynote recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

An important update on ownership and purchase of New Car

So at the begining of this year, I started to think of getting a new car. The only excuse for an upgrade was the need for automatic transmission. If my Scross 1.6 had the automatic transmission, i probably would not have
bothered with an upgrade as the car was kept in excellent condition and I've thoroughly enjoyed each and every drive in it. Please note I never saw a single check engine light error or any other error for that matter in the last 8 years when I had the car and it was finally sold on 9th September 2024 after driving for 110916 KMs. Wishing the new owner a troublefree ownership and only good memories with the car ahead

Odometer reading while handing over the Scross 1.6 to New Owner

Quote from BHPian rahul143:

@keynote, if I may ask, which car are you getting next? Being a proud owner of S-Cross yourself, it’ll be informative to know which car did you choose. Thanks in advance.

Sorry about the delay Rahul, but I hope the below information helps.

My requirement was very simple - it has to be an automatic and should be a bigger and better car than my Scross 1.6 (ie. read as spacious 5 seater and performance).

Budget was set for 50 lakhs initially but was reluctantly okay to extend it upto 65 lakhs max if the car meets my simple requirements. But trust me it wasn't that easy.

Although many of my friends, fellow Scross 1.6 owners and aquaintances have mentioned about how difficult it is to find a replacement for Scross 1.6 (unless one is ready to shell out 45-50 lakhs), you realise only after you go through it in real time.

Since I've gotten used to the punchy diesel and the addictive torque of Scross 1.6 for the last 8 yrs, I was initially leaning towards diesel automatics only. But as the time progressed, i was okay with Petrol automatics too.
Although I was not very keen on Electric / Hybrid Vehicles, because of the budget in hand, eventually ended up test driving cars from multiple segments. After going through multiple posts of various cars in team bhp I short listed below cars for test drives if we were to purchase a new one.

Test drive list of Diesel Automatics and approximate OTR prices in Bangalore for top end models

2021 Mahindra XUV700 AX7L with optional AWD as AX5 did not have top end - ~32 to 34 lakhs
2022 4th Gen Hyundai Tuscon - ~46 lakhs
2023 New generation BMW - X1 - ~65 lakhs
2024 Mercedes-Benz GLA Facelift - 220 D - ~68 lakhs

Test drive list of EVS / Hybrids (when road tax did not exist for EVs in Karnataka until Mid of March 2024)

BYD Atto3 - ~36 lakhs
Ioniq 5 - ~49.50 lakhs
Toyota Camry - ~58 Lakhs

Test drive list of Petrol Automatics and approximate OTR prices in Bangalore for top end models

2021 Volkswagen Tiguan Facelift - ~45 lakhs
2022 Audi Q3 - ~68 lakhs
2022 Skoda Kodiaq Facelift - ~53 lakhs

In order to not offend any current or future owners, I'll skip sharing the not so good things of the cars that we test drove from the above list. It is in the best interest as no one should be discouraged / influenced by others decisions.

After all these test drives, there were only 2 cars that brought BIG smile and Joy to us. It was the 2024 Mercedes Benz GLA facelift 220 D and 2022 Skoda Kodiaq Facelift in L&K variant and in the end we picked
Skoda Kodiaq L&K as this car is quite an all rounder and is absolute value for money. It is more car per money and with the Skoda's online discounts on 24th of each month, it made the deal even sweeter for us. At 46.50 lakhs on road Bangalore, it is an absolute steal when compared to the entry level prices of cars from the BIG 3 namely - Mercedes , BMW and AUDI

Last picture taken as New owner drove away the Scross 1.6

And just like the Scross 1.6, Skoda Kodiaq is also one of those cars that punches above its weight . (search for the relavant thread by GTO in tbhp and you will know what i mean)