Skoda Kushaq offers 1.0-litre TSI turbo petrol engine, making 115 PS and 175 Nm, and ia 1.5-litre TSI turbo petrol unit making 150 PS and 250 Nm
Not long ago, Indian car buyers weren’t particularly keen on knowing about the crash safety their new car would offer. Now, however, a large section of these consumers look forward to buying the safest cars around. That said, many of these car shoppers look at the GNCAP scores to ascertain the safety a model would offer in an event of a crash. These ratings, which provide information of the safety a car would offer in an event of a crash at a preset speed, is even taken a bit too seriously by many, without giving a look at the complete list of passive and active safety features. At least, this is what is happening with the Skoda Kushaq, the recently launched India-specific Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos rival from VW Group’s Czech automaker.
Launched recently at an introductory price of Rs 10.5 lakh (ex-showroom), the Kushaq is priced similarly to the aforementioned rivals. However, it’s not as big and even misses out on a Diesel engine variant. Moreover, people have even started questioning the crash safety the car would offer. Of course, the Global NCAP is actually something that most of those intrigued are concerned about. In response to a Tweet about the safety rating of the Kushaq, Zac Hollis, Director, Sales and Marketing, Skoda India said- GNCAP decide which car they want to test and when. This is not something we influence but we can assure you with Kushaq with the highest level of passive and (active) safety features.”
Also Read- Is Skoda’s Kushaq Worth Buying? – Pros and Cons
This could be an indicator that the Skoda Kushaq might not get tested by Global NCAP anytime soon as it’s definitely not in Skoda’s hand to get its Hyundai Creta-rival tested. In fact, the safety-testing organisation is yet to test any made in India Skoda car yet. But Zac Hollis has been pretty vocal about highlighting the various segment-first safety features that the new car comes with, including electronic differential lock, multi-collision braking, rollover protection, hydraulic brake boosting and brake disc wiping. Other features include driver and passenger airbags, curtain airbags, hill hold control, electronic stability control, traction control, motor slip regulation and tyre pressure monitoring system. Internationally, Skoda models have scored highly in the NCAP tests, with the recently introduced Enyaq iV bagging a full 5-star score.
Also read: Kushaq vs Taigun – Key Similarities and Differences!
Meanwhile, out of the Hyundai Creta and Kia Seltos, the two direct rivals of the Skoda Kushaq, only the latter has been tested by Global NCAP. It received a 3-star score for adult protection and a 2-star score for child protection, which is lower than the Australia-spec model that scored a full 5-star rating. The second-generation Creta is yet to be tested but given that it has much in common with the Seltos, we could be looking at a similar performance in the crash tests. Kushaq safety features
Stay tuned to CarBlogIndia for more on the Kushaq.
