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Long-term ownership report of my Skoda Kushaq: Jack of all trades

25th March 2025, 12:44 by Utkarsh Chaudhary

The fuel efficiency has been a pleasant surprise. My personal best has been 27.8 kmpl on a 45-km trip that took me 49 minutes.

BHPian Rambo-RS recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Long-Term Ownership Report - 2.5 Years and 21,695 Kms

Happy to share that my ownership experience so far has been nothing short of an absolute delight!

Everything I praised earlier in my ownership review still holds true—and some points are even stronger now. I’ve fallen even more in love with the Engine-Handling-Suspension trio:

The engine feels perfectly suited to the car. It’s definitely not underpowered, though it does take some time to get used to before you can fully enjoy it.

The suspension is great—not just for me as the driver but also for the passengers. Everyone who sits inside the car finds it super comfortable. Small bumps and speed breakers are handled well, and even big potholes, while audible, don’t really bother much. I think the 16-inch wheels (compared to the 17-inch wheels on higher variants) play a role here. For the record, I keep my tires at 34 PSI (recommended is 33 PSI).

2nd Year Service was done in May 2024, and thanks to the service package, the final bill was Rs. 0. The service experience was amazing, as always, at Krishna Skoda, Patiala.

Sadly there is some bad news here, Krishna Skoda has shut down its service operations in Patiala, but the sales operations are still there. This means my nearest service center is now in Ludhiana, which is 76 km away (one way). While this is not ideal, it’s manageable as long as the car stays reliable and my visits remain limited to once a year for the annual service—like they have been so far.

Fuel Efficiency has been a pleasant surprise, as I’ve mentioned before, and I’m loving it:

City traffic : 13–15 kmpl
Intercity commutes : 19–21 kmpl
Highway drives : 23–25 kmpl

When I try hypermiling (which I do often), I can achieve 26–28 kmpl by controlling the throttle, driving attentively and anticipating traffic to effectively use Engine Braking. My personal best has been 27.8 kmpl on a 45-km trip that took me 49 minutes.

I'll let pictures do the talking:

P.S.: I only fill Power95 (HP’s RON95 petrol) as much as possible. I’ve tried XP95 (from Indian Oil), but after multiple fill-ups, I feel Power95 works better for me.

MINOR NIGGLES/NEGATIVES:

Driver-side power window issue: The driver-side power window stopped working once and got stuck in the closed position. Apparently, power windows and VAG 2.0 cars have had a mixed relationship. It’s a known issue, especially with the cars having auto up/down feature. The ASC fixed it with a software update and by disconnecting and reconnecting the window motor again. Problem solved! I was told that this Software Update is free for all customers and is a solution to this problem.
Driver seat height adjustment: The height-adjustable driver’s seat tends to sink 3–4 steps below the set height after a few days. It’s not a frequent issue, and it doesn’t bother me much, so I’ll bring it up at the next service. This issue has also been noticed by some members of the forum as well.
Air circulation setting reset: Every time I restart the engine, the air circulation setting resets to fresh air mode. Again, it’s not a big deal, but I’ll wait and get it checked at the next service.
Low co-passenger seat height: The co-passenger seat is set quite low—I noticed that it's not just in the Kushaq but also in the Slavia as well. Also given that the dashboard is high-set, it’s not the most pleasant experience for a person sitting in Co-passenger seat.
Inadequate Headlight Throw: Not just the Kushaq, but most cars these days are having very low light throw from the Stock Headlamps. This is not an issue for me anymore since I installed Auxiliary Lights, this too myself with the help of my Uncle, thus we ensured no wire cutting or interference with the stock wiring was done and the installation was a simple plug and play.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

After 2.5 years of ownership, I can confidently say the Kushaq is a solidly built car. It looks good, the engine is just right for its size, the suspension is very comfortable, the cabin insulation is excellent, and the in-cabin noise is minimal, plus the car is fuel-efficient too! I would say it’s a jack of all trades and has been completely reliable so far.