FIRST DRIVES
We get our first taste of the mid-size SUV from the Skoda-VW stable. Does it stay true to the ethos of the brand?
022 SKODA KUSHAQ
028 BMW 3 SERIES GRAN LIMOUSINE
032 TATA ALTROZ I-TURBO V VOLKSWAGEN POLO TSI 038 MERCEDES-BENZ GLC
This could quite possibly be The Most Important Car of 2021
IT'S ONLY THE START OF THE year and we must be careful not to get ahead of ourselves, but this right here could quite possibly be The Most Important Car of 2021.
It is the first fruit of the massive 1 billion Euro investment into resetting VW Group's Indian operations which includes not just development of a range of India-specific cars on an India-specific platform, a massive focus on localisation and a new R&D centre to enable it all but more importantly Skoda being handed the reigns to the erstwhile Volkswagen plant outside of Pune as well as the driver's seat of Group operations to effect a radical change in culture, attitude and outlook — with the end goal of cornering a combined five per cent market share by 2025. It's the reason why the first MQB-A0-IN car we're sampling is a Skoda; it's the reason why the first car isn't a car but a Creta-sized SUV; and it's the reason why the name, while seemingly aligned with Skoda's global naming strategy, is also Indian. Kushaq is derived from the Sanskrit word for king and, in keeping with the Indian theme, it will have a massive 92 per cent localisation at launch going up to 95 per cent at the year end.
An important car, then. But has it become too Indian? Too focused on slashing costs, on stripping off all weight, on flash and bling at the expense of The Thrill of Driving; on kitna deti hai?
Don’t ask us about styling
The only visual telltale that we're driving the Kushaq are the teeth of the Skoda-family grille, otherwise don't bother looking at the pictures with a magnifying glass because not only is everything camouflaged but there's a layer of foam under the orange wrap to hide the lines. We were shown pictures of the final production version, the wraps of which come off in March, and while I'm embargoed from revealing much I can say that the Vision IN concept shown at last year's Auto Expo is a pretty good indicator as to what we are going to get. What this
prototype does reveal is a good stance, nice proportions, 17-inch wheels nicely filling out the wheel arches and LED lights front and back. There's also a sunroof but it isn't panoramic and the only thing other thing I can tell you about the interiors is that it gets a two-spoke steering wheel, in keeping with Skoda's new family look. Everything else inside the Kushaq wasn't just masked but thoroughly boxed up, revealing absolutely nothing. I cannot even tell you about the visibility because of all the camo-tape on even the glass area, though the A-pillars seem to be the thickest of any mid-size SUV.
At the rear there's good knee room even with the driver's seat adjusted to my five-footnine-inch frame. It's on par, maybe slightly more generous than the Creta, but it is noticeably narrower. What Skoda have done is given good side bolstering on the rear seats and aligned to the perfect back rest recline angle and underthigh support, they actually feel like bucket seats. For four, the Kushaq is excellent. Five, erm, not so. There isn't much of a transmission
tunnel – after all now 4WD variants are planned on this platform for India – but the centre perch is raised, so much so that I banged my head on the roof sliding to the middle.
I'd like to tell you about the equipment, the size of the infotainment screen, what kind of a sunroof you get, whether you get analogue needles or a digital cluster, and even the kind of charging cables you will need to invest in but all that is under embargo till the wraps come off in mid-March.
Ask us how it drives!
And the answer is exactly how we'd expect a Skoda to drive. The IN-dianisation of the MQB-A0 platform, the stretching of the wheelbase to 2651mm (the maximum that this platform allows) hasn't stripped the Kushaq of the surefooted road manners that have characterised all VW Group cars. I say all this with a caveat — the two cars we drove are pre-production prototypes and the spring and damper ratings could change in the final production version. But it's safe to assume the engineers are only going to improve the dynamics. And I hope they take into account my suggestion to add a little more weight to the steering at higher speeds. As things stand though, the Kushaq immediately goes to the top of the mid-size SUV segment for driving dynamics.
None of the pictures you see on these pages were taken by our photographers — it was all shot by Skoda and then vetted by headquarters before a handful of images were sent to us. The money shot never came back. It has the Kushaq hard round a corner, the inside back wheel getting air. Mid-size SUVs do not do this. The Polo does, and we all love the way it handles. Mid-SUVs are soft and start to understeer before cocking an inside rear wheel. The Kushaq though, despite the noticeable body roll, has excellent front-end bite and equally good torsional rigidity, all of which enables it to behave like a quick hatchback. Turn-in is quick and precise, feedback is good, body control is even better and it deals with bumpy, narrow and windy Goan roads beautifully. The low-speed ride is firm but it improves noticeably with speed. Even driven aggressively it never runs out of suspension travel, bumpy roads don't throw it off course, and it delivers poise and confidence. It is a driver's mid-SUV, something that didn't exist till now.
Engines that do the chassis justice
The Kushaq has no diesels, but then again you knew that. The entry engine is the 1-litre TSI that we've already seen (and love) on the Rapid, Vento and Polo but with the output ramped up slightly to account for the additional weight of the Kushaq (which I suspect will only be 40-50 kilos over the Rapid). The power to weight ratio should give it a 0-100kmph time in the 10-second ballpark, making it among the quicker mid-SUVs, despite only a 1-litre engine. This is a punchy, energetic and enthusiastic motor that has a bit of turbo lag but once it comes on boost, between 1800-2000rpm, it pulls with real verve. Being a three-cylinder motor it does have the characteristic irregular idle but it never feels unrefined, especially since the increase in noise as the revs go up is accompanied by a proportionate and rather pleasing increase in speed. The gearbox is typical of the VW Group, a meaty yet easy shift which feels a slight bit notchy and not superslick like Japanese gearboxes.
The 1-litre TSI also gets the 6-speed torque converter automatic which has been upgraded over the one in the Rapid. Will it further close
the gap to the DSG? I'll be very keen to find out when we drive the final production cars.
The second prototype on our drive had the 1.5 TSI Evo motor mated to the 7-speed DSG twin-clutch gearbox. We drove the DSG which — yay! — gets steering wheel paddle shifters, and like all DSGs delivers snappy and quick shifts. Being a four-cylinder unit the refinement is obviously better than the 1-litre TSI; it is much smoother, quieter and delivers performance that is effortless.
The 1.5 TSI will obviously be priced at a premium to the 1.0 TSI and, money no object, I'd definitely recommend the larger engine. But, truth be told, the 1.0 is actually very enthusiastic and mated to the 6-speed automatic, that will be the sweet spot in the Kushaq range.
I cannot talk about the brakes but look closely at the back wheels and you can see the only real sign of cost cutting. We were told the brake feel and modulation were still being worked on but frankly it felt rather good and in terms of outright retardation I didn't feel the Kushaq to be lacking in any way. It also has a mechanical hand brake, not the new electronic parking brake.
No compromises
What impressed me the most about the Kushaq is that there are no evident compromises. The door shut isn't tinny or flimsy. On the road it feels as planted and stable as you'd expect of a Skoda/VW, and the energetic motors make it the fun to drive benchmark in this segment. I saw pictures of the production Kushaq and I can tell you the Seltos will no longer be the segment head-turner. I can't imagine Skoda will skimp on interior equipment or quality either. And it's unlikely compromises would have been made on the safety front — this is the first mid-size SUV where all variants will get ESC as standard while the top variants will get six airbags, hill hold assist, Isofix child seat mounting for the rear seats, a tyre pressure monitor and cruise control. Plus the Karoq is based on the VW T-Cross that scored a full five stars in the Euro NCAP crash tests.
I must apply some restraint to the verdict but I can't help but conclude that we've just driven the star of 2021. ⌧
SKODA KUSHAQ
Engine: EA211 in-line 3-cyl, 999cc, turbo-petrol Transmission: 6-speed manual/ 6-speed AQ250 torque converter automatic
Engine: EA211 Evo in-line 4-cyl, 1498cc, turbo-petrol Transmission: 6-speed manual/ 7-speed DQ200 twinclutch automatic
+ Punchy and torquey engines, excellent dynamics - Not a full 5-seater evo rating ★★★★ ★
On the road the Kushaq feels as planted and stable as you’d expect a Skoda to feel, and the energetic motors make it fun to drive