Skoda Kushaq

The Kushaq is Skoda’s first made-in-India product that was first launched in 2021. 5 years later, it’s now got a facelift, which brings changes all around its package. Prices have been announced and the facelifted Kushaq starts from Rs 10.69 lakh (ex-showroom). 

The Skoda Kushaq always stood out from its rivals with its European traits that offered a good balance between driving dynamics and comfort for the family. But in a segment that’s grown more competitive with rivals like the Tata Sierra, Kia Seltos, Hyundai Creta, Maruti Victoris and Maruti Grand Vitara/Toyota Hyryder, does the Kushaq do enough for you to consider it?

Let’s find out:

Design

Connected lighting elements are a usual facelift treatment which helps make cars look more up-to-date and the Kushaq follows the same approach (check old vs new design comparison here). 

The nose looks more aggressive with sleeker LED headlights which sport sharper LED DRL light signatures. The shape of the grille remains unchanged, but it now gets an illuminated light band with individual LEDs – just like we’ve seen on the new Kodiaq. This design detail won’t do much for it during the day, but it will have a significant effect at night. 

The fog lights, now LEDs, continue to sit below as a separate unit, this time closer to the bumper, which itself has been tweaked with a fresh mesh-like design. 

In profile, things are hard to tell apart from the outgoing model. It gets a strong shoulder line, the same chrome-finished door handles, minimal cladding and same sized 17-inch alloy wheels. Design for the wheels in the standard car are new, but the rims of the 1-litre TSI Monte Carlo trim are the same as before, which look sporty with the red brake callipers. However, the alloy wheels of the Monte Carlo trim powered by the 1.5-litre TSI engine also get a sharp new look.

All variants of the 2026 Kushaq get alloy wheels with different black or silver finish 17-inch wheels for mid-spec variants and 16-inch alloy wheels for the base-spec Classic+ variant. 

Skoda has done a good job of making the Kushaq look more modern at the rear. The connected LED tail light along with the illuminated Skoda lettering in the middle looks really chic and sharp. It also sports sequential turn indicators (rear only), which are offered as standard.

I also liked the design of the tailgate with its angular panel below the main tail light. The nameplate (Kushaq) and variant badging can be found on the left and right of the boot, respectively. The bumper design, while new, looks pretty simple.

The new Kushaq is available in a total of eight colour options, out of which, three options are new: Shimla Green (new), Cherry Red (new), Steel Grey (new), Candy White, Carbon Steel, Brilliant Silver, Lava Blue, and Deep Black. But like most other cars, not all colour options are available with all variants (check out our variant-wise colours story). 

Overall, the Kushaq is one of the more elegant options in its segment. If you want some sporty feel in that elegance, then you have the option of the Monte Carlo trim too, which gets revised bumpers and sporty red inserts. Our 25 image gallery of the Skoda Kushaq Monte Carlo will give you a closer look at the intricate design touches. 

Interior (3.5 out of 5)

In contrast to the tasteful changes made to the exterior of the Kushaq facelift, things are very similar on the inside. You still get a dual-tone treatment with textured and layered elements along with the same two-spoke steering wheel. 

The Monte Carlo edition gets a black theme with red accents and stitching all around the cabin, which adds a sporty visual appeal. What is new is the seat upholstery for the standard variants along with two colour options for the ambient lighting. The ambient lighting runs across the dashboard and helps the visual appeal at night, but a few more colour options would’ve been appreciated. 

While no visual changes isn’t really a miss, Skoda could’ve taken this opportunity to improve the feel of the cabin with better finished materials. The dashboard is entirely made up of plastics with varying degrees of smoothness, and leatherette material are limited to touch points like the armrests and steering wheel. 

Front Seats

Both the front leatherette seats continue to be great in terms of comfort and support. The side supports hold you well and the cushioning that leans towards the firmer side feels comfortable for both city and longer journeys. 

There’s 6-way power adjustment for both front passengers, and the driver gets tilt and telescopic adjustment in the steering wheel, making it easier to find a comfortable driving position. 

Rear Seats

The rear seat experience in the Skoda Kushaq is great for two passengers, and even better if they happen to be shorter than 6ft. 

Space for people with an average height is good with ample room to stretch their feet ahead even if there is a tall person up front. You can seat two six footers back-to-back, but people taller than that could do with a little more headroom. 

Just like the front seats, the comfort here is great. The seats get well-defined contours that offer you good support with a relaxed enough recline angle. But the drawback of aggressive contouring is that if you were to seat a middle passenger, they would sit a little outward and the overall width of the cabin itself isn’t very accommodating for three adults abreast. 

You do get a central armrest for comfort, and the Kushaq is the only car in the segment to boast a rear seat massage feature. There are no modes for it, just a standard setting, but you do feel it working your back pretty well. While I appreciate this feature, I feel features like rear seat ventilation and rear sun shades would’ve done more to make the Kushaq a better chauffeur-driven vehicle than it currently is. 

Practicality and Charging Options

The Skoda Kushaq is practical enough for a family of four with a few ‘simply clever’ touches. 

Firstly, all four doors have big pockets that can accommodate 1-litre+ bottles easily. The central console features a small open space where the key conveniently fits and behind it are cupholders. If you notice, the design is such that it can hold not just your regular cups but also a cold drink well, so that it doesn’t move around when you drive. 

The glovebox is wide, deep and cooled, and smaller items like a powerbank can go inside the central armrest. 

Rear passengers get two cupholders in their armrest. There are regular seat back pockets for stuff like magazines or any documents, and I like the fact that Skoda has designed a small dedicated pocket for your phone right in the middle of it. 

There’s a small clip on the driver-side of the windshield, which can be used to hold any toll or parking receipt.

Modern-day charging duties are well covered with four Type-C charging ports (two in each row) and a 12V socket. 

Boot Space

Skoda claims that the Kushaq has a 491-litre boot (measured up to the roof). The shape of the boot is deep and you can easily fit an entire suitcase set (small, medium, and large) along with a soft duffle bag with ease. 

The rear seats get a 60:40 split, and after folding, you get a space of 1405-litres.

Features

While there might not be a whole lot of visual changes, or any for that matter, the features list of the Kushaq has been improved significantly.

The first thing you’ll notice is the electric panoramic sunroof, which makes the cabin feel more airy. While it is limited to the higher Prestige and Monte Carlo variants, you still get a single-pane electric sunroof as standard. This sunroof has separate buttons to operate the cover and the entire sunroof itself, so that you don’t accidentally open the glass when you just want to open the cover.

The 10.1-inch infotainment system has been carried over with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, but the driver’s display accompanying it has been upgraded to a bigger 10.25-inch digital cluster. 

This new display has crisp and sporty graphics with multiple layouts, and is very easy to read. The 8-inch unit which was previously offered in the higher variants is now available from the one-above-base variant. The main infotainment system also gets a new Companion app which is powered by Google AI and can be used to watch videos on YouTube when stationary.

But what is really going to set the Kushaq apart from its segment is the addition of rear seat massagers. For people who are going to be chauffeur driven, this feature will be highly appreciated. 

I would’ve liked Skoda to offer a branded audio system here, preferably with Dolby Atmos, but the current six speaker sound system will get the job done for most people. It’s only at really high volumes that you would miss that clarity as the vocals don’t mix well with the instruments

And while the sound system is still acceptable, the quality of the rear-view camera isn’t. In a segment where almost all others have a 360-degree camera, this feature feels like a miss in the Kushaq, and the quality of it makes matters worse. It is grainy, doesn’t get dynamic guidelines and I doubt you’ll be able to use it at all at night.

Save for the anti-theft alarm and front parking sensors, all safety features in the Skoda Kushaq are standard. The list includes 6 airbags, ISOFIX child seat mounts, rear wiper and defogger, ABS with EBD, tyre pressure warning system and auto-dimming IRVM.

There are no ADAS features, and the rear disc brakes are limited to the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine.

Engine And Performance 

The Skoda Kushaq facelift brings no changes to the engine lineup and their respective states of tune. It still gets two turbo-charged petrol engines: a 1-litre, 3-cylinder unit and a 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder unit. However, the automatic transmission option for the 1-litre turbo-petrol engine has changed as it now gets an 8-speed torque converter automatic (AT) instead of a 6-speed AT. The bigger engine continues with a single 7-speed dual-clutch automatic (DCT) transmission.

A good point to note is that the automatic transmission is offered right from the base variant. Read more about the variant-wise powertrain spread of the Kushaq here. 

1-litre turbo-petrol engine

This engine offers more performance than most will ever need. It is smooth and refined enough for a 3-cylinder engine, and is a good option for people with city-heavy usage and occasional highway trips.

City Performance

The 1-litre turbo-petrol engine of the Kushaq is a really good option if you’re going to drive it mostly in the city. 

It crawls smoothly from a standstill and feels smooth when you start picking up speeds. This is also down to the new 8-speed automatic transmission, which offers you better and smoother driveability than the 6-speed AT that it replaces. It keeps you in the right gear and goes about its business without you even needing to interfere. 

While we couldn’t do a proper test at the first drive, you can expect this engine to return a figure of around 10kmpl in the city.

Highway Performance

The performance of the Kushaq’s smaller engine is more than adequate for highway usage. It’s not exciting, but hits triple digit speeds without feeling like it’s being overworked. 

If you want a quick overtake, it still has enough performance to do it without you needing to plan it in advance. The transmission feels quick enough to shift down a gear or two, and it does so without causing any jerks. Sure, the refinement does take a hit when you punch it because it is a three-cylinder engine after all. But its not something that you can’t drown out with a simple increase of the volume, and I personally felt that the engine note was a bit sporty too. 

I also appreciate the fact that the paddle shifters did allow for aggressive shifts, which makes the drive experience feel more engaging and gives you more control when you need it. 

You can expect a fuel efficiency of around 13kmpl-15kmpl when cruising at speeds of 100kmph. 

1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine

This is one of the most exciting turbo-petrol engines in the segment. It feels super smooth and refined, while delivering effortless performance beyond triple digit speeds. 

City Performance

The first thing that I noticed driving this engine at slow speeds is how refined it is — it’s almost tough to tell whether the engine is even running or not. 

And the same level of appreciation is applicable for both, the engine’s and transmission’s smoothness. It just feels relaxed at city speeds, and despite the performance potential of the engine, it is friendly and easy-going. 

This engine will give you a fuel efficiency of around 11kmpl in the city, but this number could quickly drop to a single-digit in peak traffic hours. 

Highway Performance 

Open roads is where this engine truly comes alive. You need light throttle inputs to hit triple-digit speeds. It is quick to pick speeds beyond 2,000 RPM, and gives you a nice clear, but strong pull gear after gear.

Ofcourse, it cruises effortlessly at the highway speed limit, but in case you need to make a quick overtake at those speeds, there is more than enough performance. It just makes all overtakes feel effortlessly, and the DCT transmission is quick to your inputs. And it’s not like the shifts are hard or jerky. 

I genuinely enjoyed using the paddle shifters in this transmission which feel like they are almost interlinked with your brain; there is virtually no delay in response. In case you want the car to do the work for you, the sports mode of the transmission keeps you in the sweet spot to make your maneuver even easier. 

Out on the highway, you can expect this engine to give you an efficiency of around 15kmpl. 

Overall, the 1-litre turbo-petrol has enough performance for all commuting needs. But if you have high highway usage and want an effortless experience there with performance that also feels fun and engaging, then the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine definitely offers you a proper upgrade to meet those needs. 

Ride and Handing 

Ride Comfort

The Skoda Kushaq’s driving feel carries that European feel with a suspension that’s set up on the firmer side. It keeps you comfortable in the city at slow speeds, but as soon as you pick up speed, you do start to slightly feel those imperfections. 

It doesn’t get uncomfortable or jarring until you miss a random deep pothole, or go over a sharp edge where the suspension makes a loud noise followed by a slight jerk inside the cabin. 

The flipside of this is that you get a fantastic drive experience on the highway. The car just feels planted at high speeds, and actually masks the speed pretty well too. Any undulation is dealt with well and it gives you confidence to make overtakes and change lanes at triple digit speeds. 

And while the car might be easy to drive in the city, it just feels like it was built to munch on the miles between cities in comfort. 

Handling

The Kushaq is an easy car to drive, even from a new driver’s perspective. But if you are on the other side of the spectrum, and like having some fun around corners, the Kushaq won’t disappoint. 

It remains stable around a corner with controlled body movement inside the car. Overall, it is definitely one of the more, if not the most, dynamically sorted SUV in its class. 

The new Skoda Kushaq is being offered in 5 variants: Classic+, Signature, Sportline, Prestige, and Monte Carlo. Detailed list of which variant packs what features can be found here. 

Skoda Kushaq Classic +

• Available with the 1-litre turbo-petrol engine with both manual and automatic transmissions.

• Gets LED headlamps, LED DRLs, LED tail lamps, front fog lamps, and 16-inch alloy wheels.

• Gets a black cabin theme with black and greige fabric seats. The automatic variant gets a leather wrapped steering wheel.

• Features include Auto AC with rear AC vents, height adjustable driver seat, a single-pane sunroof, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, and a 3.5-inch monochrome driver’s display.

• The infotainment package includes a 7-inch touchscreen, wired Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, and a 6-speaker sound system.

• The safety kit gets 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, electronic stability control (ESC), hill hold control, rain sensing wipers, rear parking sensors, and ISOFIX child seat anchors.

• Read in detail about the Skoda Kushaq Classic Plus here. 

Skoda Kushaq Signature

• Gets rear fog lamps, connected LED tail lamps, a shark fin antenna, and 17-inch silver alloy wheels as exterior upgrades.

• Cabin gets a black and beige dashboard, and chrome inserts on steering wheel, AC vents, and door handles.

• Also gets a rear centre armrest with cupholders, one touch up/down driver window, and an 8-inch digital driver’s display.

• Gets a 10-inch touchscreen, wireless Android Auto & Apple CarPlay, an AI assistant, and a wireless phone charger.

• Safety kit gets a rearview camera, front parking sensors, and a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).

• Check out the Skoda Kushaq Signature here. 

Skoda Kushaq Sportline

• Gets gloss black B-pillar and truck garnish along with 17-inch black alloy wheels.

• Cabin gets a black theme with carbon steel matte finish on the dashboard and doors along with aluminium pedals.

• No major feature additions.

• Take a closer look at how the Skoda Kushaq Sportline looks like here. 

Skoda Kushaq Prestige

• Available with both 1-litre and 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine options.

• Gets chrome inserts on the grille and footwell illumination inside.

• Cabin gets beige leatherette seats and leatherette wrap on centre and door armrests.

• Additional features include a panoramic sunroof, powered and ventilated front seats, a more premium sound system, and rear massage seats.

• Find more details about the Skoda Kushaq Prestige here.

Skoda Kushaq Monte Carlo

• Comes with both engine options but no manual transmission available.

• Gets red inserts and badging on the grille, a dual-tone rear spoiler, and Monte Carlo badging all around (take a look here).

• Gets a black cabin theme with red inserts, black leatherette seats, and a red theme in the driver’s display and touchscreen.

• No additional features over the Prestige variant.

CarDekho Recommends

• Go got the one-above-base Signature variant for a good value for money proposition. It gets all the features you’ll need for your daily commutes and you get the option of a proper automatic transmission.

• Pick the Prestige variant for a fully loaded and a more premium experience. Go for the Monte Carlo variant only for its styling.

Despite the visual updates and new features, the Skoda Kushaq is not the car to pick if you want the fanciest possible car with the most features, space or comfort at this price point. 

What it continues to do is offer you a great balance of a fun drive experience that feels comfortable for a family of four with a solid safety package and adequate features and space. So if you like to drive, want sophisticated dynamics but also want to keep your family comfortable, then this is the car for you.

Other Options To Consider

Hyundai Creta (Skoda Kushaq vs Hyundai Creta compared here)

Reasons To Consider

• Better feature package

• Option of a diesel engine

• Better second row space

• Gets Level-2 ADAS features

Reasons To Ignore

• Not as fun to drive

Kia Seltos (Skoda Kushaq vs Kia Seltos compared here)

Reasons To Consider

• Bigger car with better road presence

• Option of a diesel engine

• Better second row space

• Better ride comfort

Reasons To Ignore

• Not as fun to drive

Maruti Grand Vitara/Toyota Hyryder (Skoda Kushaq vs Maruti Grand Vitara compared here and Skoda Kushaq vs Toyota Hyryder compared here)

Reasons To Consider

• Better rear seat space

• Fuel-efficient hybrid powertrain

• More comfortable ride quality in the city

• Option of all-wheel drive (AWD) available with mild-hybrid powertrain

Reasons To Ignore

• No turbo-petrol engine option

• Not as fun to drive

• Compromised boot space in hybrid variants

Honda Elevate (Skoda Kushaq vs Honda Elevate compared here)

Reasons To Consider

• Better rear seat space

• Most affordable in the segment

• Better ride comfort in the city

Reasons To Ignore

• Less features

• Not as fun to drive

• No turbo-petrol engine option

Tata Sierra (Skoda Kushaq vs Tata Sierra compared here)

Reasons To Consider

• Smashing design and road presence

• Spacious for 5 well-built occupants

• Multiple powertrain options including a diesel

Reasons To Avoid 

• Fit and finish could have been better 

• Could face odd glitches

Maruti Victoris (Skoda Kushaq vs Maruti Victoris compared here)

Reasons To Consider

• Fuel-efficient powertrains including strong-hybrid 

• Optional AWD could be useful for off-road

• Peace of mind with Maruti’s vast aftersales network

Reasons To Avoid 

• Not as engaging to drive

• Boot in the hybrid is on the smaller side

Volkswagen Taigun (Skoda Kushaq vs VW Taigun compared here)

Reasons To Consider

• More sportier looking design

• Fun to drive

Reasons To Avoid 

• Misses out on useful rear seat massagers its siblings get

• Lower variants not as feature-loaded

Renault Duster (Skoda Kushaq vs Renault Duster compared here)

Reasons To Consider

• Great ride and handling package

• Butch and head-turning design

• Comes with all the premium features one needs

Reasons To Avoid 

• Cabin best for four occupants

• Interior quality could have been better in some areas

Tata Curvv (Skoda Kushaq vs Tata Curvv compared here)

Reasons To Consider

• Unique SUV-coupe design
• Available with multiple engine options

Reasons To Avoid 

• Interior fit and finish could have been better