Skoda Kushaq
Six airbags | Auto Climate control | All Power Windows | Electric ORVMs | Keyless entry I 10in HD touchscreen Infotainment with, Bluetooth, USB, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Voice Recognition | Skoda sound System with 7 speakers| Wireless charging | 360 Rear Camera with guidelines | Cruise Control | Tilt steering wheel | Standard Warranty 4yrs/100,000km | TPMS | EBD | ABS| Cooled glovebox
It’s our second month with the Skoda Kushaq 1.0 litre TSI MT. While we’ve finally had the chance to put down some mileage on the car this month, I thought we’d talk a little about the cabin, build quality and sense of premiumness for this month’s report. Once you step into the cabin, you’re greeted by a contemporary dashboard using three contrasting materials that scream premium. A gloss strip runs along the dash adding to that premium value. The entire layout is neat and minimal without really sacrificing function. What is fascinating on the inside of the Kushaq are the limited number of buttons on the central console. This breaks convention from the usual “European” Skoda’s where customers demand physical buttons. According to one of the key product developers involved in the development of the Kushaq, Skoda learnt over several clinics with Indian consumers that they prefer the cleaner outlay with touch panels. The touch panel configuration does feel premium and works very intuitively, sometimes even to a fault. On the manual 6-speed version of the Kushaq, every shift to 1st, 3rd and 5th gear would have me brushing the panel and turning the blower off. It’s something that will take a little getting used to, but it’s in no way a dealbreaker.
One of the things I didn’t like was the quality of plastics that have been used everywhere else. The glove area, the underside of the dashboard and even the door liners all seem to use a grade of hard plastics that we are just not accustomed to seeing in this segment. It seems a little off-brand for Skoda, especially when contrasted with the premium looking/feeling top part of the dash. From the cockpit though, the two spoke steering wheel is a very premium touch, it adds to the Skoda’s European luxury car feel and is finished with great materials. With the Kushaq, Skoda promised smart functional and utilitarian interiors, and on that count they have absolutely delivered.