Škoda has unveiled the facelifted Kushaq, its midsize SUV in India.
Story: Salman Bargir
The Škoda Kushaq has received a shot in its arm with a tweaked exterior and interior accompanied by all-round LED lighting and some feature upgrades. Up front the redesigned face has a more prominent “butterfly-grille” that looks nicer now and helps differentiate it more easily from its siblings. Within the new grille between the chrome accentuated slats, are segments of DRLs (Daytime Running Lights) bars that when viewed in unison, create a visual link between the new T-shaped-type DRLs and headlamps. Lower, the bumper too has been redesigned and houses reworked fog lamps. The faux skid plate looks like inverted fangs and enhances the overall aggressive styling.
The silhouette is largely the same and the only change are the remodeled 17-inch alloy wheels that continue to be wrapped in 205/55 R17 tyres. Similar to the front the rear too is distinguished by pixels and segmented bars at both ends of the new illuminated Skoda lettering. There is also a relatively thinner chrome strip on the tailgate that adds to its character. Overall the car looks more aggressive whilst retaining its butch looks.
The Monte Carlo variant will come Monte Carlo badging, gloss black and red elements for the exterior such as the grille and brake callipers. It gets black and maroon shades for the interior including ambient lighting, upholstery, dashboard, door pads.
Inside, the Kushaq now has a dual tone interior with beige upholstery in addition to some prominent new features namely, panoramic sunroof, first in its segment rear massage seats in the Prestige and Monte Carlo variants. Skoda is offering a single-pane electric sunroof for all the other variants as a standard feature. A new 10.2-inch instrument cluster replaces the outdated unit. Although the new Kushaq largely stays mechanically the same, the 1.0 TSI models will now come with the option of a segment-first eight-speed torque converter unit besides other than a six-speed manual. The 1.5 TSI models will be exclusively equipped with a seven-speed DSG transmission and an all-wheel disc brake setup.
For connected tech the Kushaq gets wired Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Google Gemini for contextually-aware interactions, and multiple USB type-C ports at the front plus rear for charging. Other notable features include wireless charging, rear sequential turn indicators, six airbags, TPMS, six-way powered driver and co-driver seats, and 491-litre boot (floor to ceiling). New colour options include Cherry Red, Shimla Green and Steel Grey alongside. Pricing for the Kushaq is expected to be announced when the car will be officially launched in March.
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