Skoda’s Kushaq small crossover, which was previewed by the 2020 Vision In Concept, has paid a visit to Europe for testing purposes, ahead of its official unveiling set to take place in March. Aimed strictly at the Indian sub-continent, the vehicle looks similar to the Kamiq, albeit with a less bold face that includes the typical Skoda grille with vertical bars, revised headlights on each side and daytime running lights mounted under them.
The lower air intake section of the front
bumper appears to be smaller than in the Kamiq, and the roofline is less arched
towards the rear. The back end looks different too, but we can see some
similarities in the graphics of the taillights that will likely flank the
‘Skoda’ lettering in the middle of the tailgate.
The cabin remains a mystery, as spies
could not get close enough to this right-hand drive prototype, but zooming in
on the pictures, we can see that it has no floating-style infotainment screen, so
the display will sit in the middle of the dashboard as expected. The equipment
list will include standard air conditioning too, with the more expensive models
arriving with automatic climate control, automatic headlamps and windscreen
wipers, hill-start assist, cruise control, etc.
Unrelated to the Kamiq, even if it has an
identical wheelbase length of 2,651 mm, and China’s sportier-looking
Kamiq GT, the new Kushaq uses the MQB-A0-IN platform, which was adapted by
Skoda for India. The engine lineup will only count two petrol units, according
to Skoda, a 1.0-liter and a larger 1.5-liter TSI, both of them channeling the
yet undisclosed output and torque to the front axle via a six-speed manual,
six-speed automatic or seven-speed DSG transmission.
