India's Premier Lifestyle Destination For Men.

AUTO

REVEALED – Skoda Kushaq

Skoda Kushaq Header Image
A A A tT

Five things you need to know about the Czech carmaker’s first made-for-India SUV:

1. NAME

The brief was to give it an “Indian” name as it is their first car designed specifically for India. However, they also had to sync it with the names of other SUVs from its stable – all of whom start with the letter ‘K’ and end with the letter ‘Q’.

2. WHEELBASE

That’s the distance between the central axes of the front and rear wheels. The more the wheelbase, the roomier is the car. Specifically, it means more legroom for rear passengers. Current segment leaders Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos have a 2610mm wheelbase while bigger Jeep Compass is 2636mm. Kushaq’s is 2651mm!

3. ONLY PETROL ENGINES

If rising fuel prices bother you, not so good news is that Kushaq will not come with diesel engines usually seen in SUVs. But good news the petrol engines are TSI tech (1.0-litre and 1.5-litre) which have a proven record of being small enough to be efficient and powerful enough to remain fun.

4. AUTOMATIC GEARBOX

There will be two of them. For those with an eye on cost, the smaller 1.0-litre engine will come with a 6-speed torque converter type automatic, which are cheaper to maintain but not very high on performance. The 1.5-litre will come with a 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. These are high on performance but also more expensive to maintain. There will also be a 6-speed manual gearbox option for both engines.

5. LOCALIZATION

Kushaq uses a platform derived from VW Group’s MQB family. The Indianised version, codenamed MQB-IN, will boast as high as 95% localised parts. The highest ever for a Skoda. This will offer a relative cost advantage when it comes to buying and maintaining the car. Also, the availability of spares. 

Skoda seems to have done their homework well on putting together a car for India. But will Kushaq live up to its name and be good enough to be crowned ‘King’ of the segment? We will know the answer in a few months. Follow Man’s Life for more updates.

 

[Image Credit: Skoda India]

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE