Škoda reveals small but rugged Kushaq

No matter where you go in the world, people love SUVs, so ‘the more the merrier’, Škoda must have thought as it designed the new Kushaq despite already offering a B-segment SUV with the Kamiq.

The Kushaq was developed with a lot of input from Škoda’s base in India, as it is primarily intended for markets like India that demand good value for money, compact proportions with a lot of interior room, and actual ruggedness to back up the SUV looks. As such, the Kushaq can be seen as a more straight-laced, rugged alternative to the Kamiq, in the same way that the Ford Ecosport continues to exist alongside the more trendy Puma. There are currently no plans to offer the Kushaq in Europe.

The name follows Škoda’s convention for its SUVs of starting with a K and ending with a Q. Kushak (with a K at the end) is Sanskrit, an ancient Indian language, for king. The design is carried over with minimal changes from the Škoda Vision IN concept car that was presented last year.

The Kushaq is shorter and narrower, but also taller than the Kamiq, so that drivers get a commanding seating position and can easily thread it through the chaotic streets of busy megacities. The tall stance with generous ground clearance, combined with the need for space and the technical requirements of the MQB A0 small-car platform mean that the wheels look a little small, despite being 17in and coming with tyres with tall sidewalls.

The black plastic body cladding, which runs fairly high up the sills and accentuates the wheel arches, goes some way to disguising the somewhat dumpy proportions, making it look sportier and purposeful than, say, a Ford Ecosport. Finally, two horizontal lines that extend backwards from a feature vent in the front wing further break up the surface and inject more character.

The simple ruggedness continues along the front end of the car, where the same black plastic mouldings sweep up to frame the lower grill and the silver ‘skid plate’. The Kushaq has the same wide, recessed grille as the Vision IN, even if it loses the blue light ribs. The grille is flanked by simple, two-piece headlights featuring crystalline structures and optional LED technology.

The rear end mirrors the front in many ways, with the black plastic and the silver skid plate making another appearance. As with the front, the light signature has four ‘eyes’, with the main L-shaped light units up top and smaller reflectors at near the bottom, that continue in a silver strip along the boot lid.

As with most modern cars, the interior is dominated by a big central screen – 10in in diameter in this case. The dashboard with metal-effect texturing that is slightly recessed behind the trim strips reminds somewhat of the new Land Rover Defender and helps to lend it a rugged look. The dormer window-like air vents either side stick out literally and figuratively to add a playful accent to the otherwise restrained style that’s typical for Škoda.

According to Head of Design Oliver Stefani, “the dashboard reflects the prominent contour of the Škoda front grille” and uses “high-quality materials, combined with innovative textures developed in India”.

In typical VW Group fashion, the centre stack has been given a very clean look, as all the climate controls have been moved to the touch screen. A more surprising choice is that the automatic versions still come with a physical lever, rather than a toggle switch, like most new VW group cars.