Skoda Kushaq midsize SUV unveiled; debut set in July

Skoda Kushaq, the midsize SUV that is set to take on the segment leader Hyundai Creta, was unveiled on March 18 and is set to be delivered to customers in July with booking set to open in June.

The Kushaq is the first product from the Volkswagen group under the India 2.0 project - in which the German giant will pump in nearly Rs 8,000 crore towards product development and changes to production capacity - which will see Skoda source 95 percent of auto parts form within India.

While price details are expected to be shared in June-July, the entry variant of the Kushaq is expected to be priced at around Rs 10-11 lakh where it will compete against the Kia Seltos, Renault Duster and the Nissan Kicks.

The Kushaq, which is based on the MQB A0 platform, will be powered by a choice of two locally developed engines. Both the engines are petrol powered as Skoda has ruled out diesel option for the time being on the Kushaq. Kushaq was developed at the technology centre in Pune which was opened in early 2019.

There is a 1.0 litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine on offer which develops peak power of 115ps. This 1.0 litre unit is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox and a 6-speed automatic transmission.

The second engine is a more powerful 1.5 litre petrol four-cylinder unit that generates peak power of 150ps. The power is transmitted to the front wheel by the same 6-speed gearbox and a 7-speed DSG gearbox. Skoda declined to share details about the number of variants the Kushaq will have.

The Kushaq will sport a 385 litre boot, rear armrest with cup holders, rear AC vents, wireless smart links, Android and Apple CarPlay link, 10 inch infotainment system, wireless charging, 6 airbags, rain and light sensors, electronic stability control among the many features.

The segment in which Kushaq will debut sees an average of around 25,000 units sales a month. The segment will see further entry of Volkswagen, Renault, Citroen, Honda to name a few in the coming period.

A total of four new models based on the MQB A0 IN platform will be launched, an SUV and a notchback for each brand, Skoda and Volkswagen over the next few years.