New Skoda Kushaq deliveries to start from July 12; SUV price starts at Rs 10.49 lakhs in India

Czech auto major Skoda Auto launched its new SUV, Skoda Kushaq, in India at a starting price of Rs 10.49 lakh, on Monday. It is Volkswagen Group's first vehicle under its India 2.0 project, led by Skoda Auto.

While bookings start today via both online on www.buyskodaonline.co.in, and offline across 100-plus sales points in 85 cities, the new SUV's deliveries will start only on July 12.

"Deliveries will start on July 12. How long an order takes to deliver will of course depend on the number of bookings we received against production capacity," Skoda Auto India Brand Director Zac Hollis replied, responding to a question on deliveries on Twitter.

According to a company release, the new Škoda is made in India, made for India. “Yet, it’s every inch a global model that wears the hallowed winged arrow badge with pride. Škoda Kushak will be offered at an ex-showroom price starting at Rs 10.49 lakh nationwide, taking forward the 'One Nation, One Price' philosophy.”

It will come in three variants—Active, Ambition and Style. While Active is the starting price model, Ambition, which comes in the 1-litre variant, will be priced at Rs 12,79,999 for the manual model and Rs 14,19,999 for the automatic model. The top-of-the-line Style will cost between Rs 14,59,999 and 17,59,999.

All of them will come with four years/1,00,000 km warranty, extendable up to six years/1,50,000 km, said the release. Additionally, Škoda will offer two years’ warranty each on parts and battery, three years’ on paint, six years’ on corrosion and extended roadside assistance programmes up to nine years.

Hollis said the launch of Kushaq is a watershed moment for Škoda India. “Built on the acclaimed MQB-A0-IN platform, Kushaq is well designed, robust, exceptionally well-built, safe, spacious, feature-laden and future-proof. We will also offer the globally renowned TSI technology across the range, empowering an optimum combination of performance, efficiency, refinement and output,” he said.

Dimension: The mid-size SUV is 4,225 mm long, 1,760 mm wide and its height is 1,612 mm. Its wheelbase is 2,651 mm long and ground clearance 188 mm. Its boot can hold 385 litres of luggage.

Colour: The new Kushaq comes in five exterior colour options—Candy White, Reflex Silver, Carbon Steel, Honey Orange and Tornado Red (the last two being exclusive for India).

Easy driving: The new Skoda Kushaq comes in two locally manufactured TSI (turbocharged stratified injection) engine variants. The first one is a three-cylinder, one-litre petrol motor with 115 PS of maximum power and 175 Nm of peak torque. The second one is a four-cylinder, 1.5-litre petrol mill with 150 PS of maximum power and 250 Nm of peak torque.

Initially, only the one-litre petrol variant will be available for deliveries, while the 2021 Skoda Kushaq 1.5-litre will be ready for delivery from early August.

Emotive design: The top-of-the-line Style variant has LED headlights and taillights and 17-inch Atlas dual-tone alloy wheels.

Interior: The Style variant has ventilated front seats, auto-dimming IRVM, ambient lighting, a two-spoke multifunction steering wheel, cruise control, cooled glovebox and an electric sunroof among other features. The Ambition and Style variant also comes with a touch-controlled climatronic with Air care function.

Connectivity: The brand-new Škoda Kushaq comes with a choice of two modern infotainment systems, each enabling smartphone integration via SmartLink technology. The Ambition and Style include a 25.4 cm colour touchscreen, whereas the lower-trim gets a 17.78 cm touchscreen. The 25.4 cm infotainment also features a dual tuner, a Wi-Fi hotspot, an external microphone for hands-free phone calls, valet mode and enables Wireless SmartLink. It comes with six speakers.

Outstanding safety: Kushaq features first in the segment, Electronic Stability Control as standard, along with Roll-over Protection and Multi Collision Braking (MKB). Besides, it comes with six airbags, auto wipers, a tyre pressure monitoring system and a hill start assist as part of its safety features. The Kushaq is also equipped with India-developed “MyŠKODA Connect” that provides a safe, convenient and smart driving experience to stay connected with the car.

With the launch of the mid-size SUV Kushaq, the company seeks deeper penetration in the country to Tier II and III cities and competes against the likes of Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos, which dominate the segment.

Škoda India, which currently has 120 sales points, plans to expand to 150 showrooms by the end of 2021.