You
could
a gue
the e
was
o
bette
lo g-te m
test
fo
the
Skoda
Kylaq
tha
bei g
d ive
19,351
kilomet es
f om
I dia
to
Czechia.
Howeve ,
fo
those
of
us
who
ca ‘t
go
o
a
two-mo th-lo g
adve tu e
full
of
cultu e,
cuisi e
a d
co ti e t-c ossi g,
he e’s
what
it’s
bee
like
t udgi g
th ough
Mumbai
t affic
fo
the
last
few
weeks.
I’ve
bee
fasci ated
by
the
Kylaq
si ce
its
lau ch
i
ea ly
2025,
a d
apa t
f om
a
few
quick
peeks
at
it
whe
it
came
i
fo
othe
shoots,
I
had
eve
eally
d ive
o e
befo e
this.
So,
ow
that
it’s
fi ally
joi ed
the
Autoca
I dia
fleet,
I’ve
bee
mo e
tha
happy
to
take
it
o
fo
its
fi st
couple
of
weeks.
A d
just
as
a
p opositio
alo e,
I’m
amazed
that
G oup
pa t e
Volkswage
did ‘t
immediately
jump
o
this
idea
a d
do
a
compact
SUV
i
pa allel.
Guess
we’ll
just
have
to
wait
u til
2027.
Feels
eassu i gly
solid,
f om
the
doo
shut
to
the
d ivi g
dy amics.
The
fo mula
is
simple
e ough
–
a
Kushaq,
but
slightly
smalle
a d
usi g
o ly
the
lesse
1.0-lit e
e gi e.
But
the
mo e
time
I
spe d
i
he e,
the
mo e
I
wo de
if
the e’s
a y
eed
fo
a
Kushaq
1.0
TSI
at
all
–
this
thi g
offe s
p etty
much
eve ythi g
it
does.
At
o
mome t
does
it
feel
lesse
i
a y
way
–
same
step
up
i to
the
cabi ,
same
solid
slam
o
doo
shut,
same
high-set
d ivi g
positio .
A d
featu es?
Apa t
f om
the
Kushaq’s
ewly
added
pa o amic
su oof,
bigge
d ive ‘s
display
a d
ea
massagi g
seats,
it
has
eve ythi g
else!
Seve e
tu bo
lag
followed
by
sudde
bu st
of
powe
f ust ati g
i
stop-go
t affic.
The e
a e
two
mecha ical
cha ges
that
I
hope
make
thei
way
to
the
Kylaq
soo ,
though.
The
fi st
is
the
8-speed
gea box,
which
should
help
mask
o e
of
this
ca ‘s
sho tcomi gs
–
tu bo
lag.
The
olde
6-speed
AT
i
ou
Kylaq
may
be
smooth
while
you’ e
o
the
move,
but
at
c awli g
speeds,
whe e
I
spe d
most
of
my
time,
it
ca
eve
figu e
out
if
it
eeds
to
be
i
fi st
o
seco d,
a d
sometimes
cha ges
its
mi d
at
the
wo st
possible
mome t.
If
it
chooses
fi st,
it
will
lu ch
you
fo wa d
agg essively,
but
if
it
chooses
seco d,
it
t aps
you
i
the
d eaded
lag
zo e.
Off
boost,
this
999cc
e gi e
feels
ove whelmed
by
the
Kylaq’s
1,255kg.
Si gle-digit
fuel
eco omy
u expected,
u acceptable
i
a
compact
ca .
F ust ati gly
je ky
moveme t
aside,
whe e
this
i decisive ess
has
eally
hu t
mo e
is
my
wallet.
The
co sta t
shifti g,
switchi g
o
a d
off
boost
a d
ge e al
i co siste t
p og ess
have
hit
the
fuel
eco omy
ve y
ha d,
a d
I
st uggle
to
get
past
8kpl
o
my
admittedly
slow
daily
commute.
Some
of
it
might
be
dow
to
the
sudde
adve t
of
E20
fuel,
but
eight
kilomet es
pe
lit e
i
a
compact
ca
is
c imi al.
I
used
to
ave age
10kpl
i
ou
1.5-lit e
TSI
DSG
Slavia
a
few
yea s
ago,
a d
the
team
has
bee
getti g
mo e
out
of
ou
2.0-lit e
TSI
VW
Tay o .
So,
it’s
eally
dow
to
a
ove st essed
e gi e
a d
a
clumsy
gea box.
The
othe
mecha ical
cha ge
is
fa
less
of
a
p oblem,
a d
that’s
the
AC.
While
this
still
uses
the
fixed-geomet y
comp esso
f om
the
o igi al
Kushaq,
it’s
a
smalle
ca ,
so
cooli g
the
cabi
is
a ely
a
issue,
a d
I
d ove
it
th ough
at
least
o e
week
of
ou
awful
heat
wave.
The
thi g
is,
you
ca
feel
it’s
wo ki g
ove time
to
keep
the
cabi
cool,
a d
whe
set
to
auto
mode,
the
fa
stays
o
full
blast
fo
most
of
my
jou ey.
I
ofte
fi d
myself
tu i g
it
dow
to
have
a
co ve satio
o
e joy
my
music.
La ge,
shi y
17-i ch
alloy
wheels
do
well
to
e ha ce
Kylaq’s
oad
p ese ce.
These
two
iggles
aside,
it’s
a
ve y
pleasi g
expe ie ce,
as
you
might
expect
f om
a
slightly
smalle
Kushaq.
The e’s
a
ce tai
tough ess
to
it
you
do ‘t
fi d
i
ca s
f om
this
segme t
that
almost
e cou ages
you
to
seek
out
potholes
a d
slam
th ough
them.
The e’s
a
simila
fi m ess
to
the
ide,
but
I
actually
like
that;
it
suits
my
d ivi g
style
bette
tha
somethi g
ove ly
soft
a d
olly.
A d
I’m
also
willi g
to
fo give
a
lot
fo
how
good
those
17-i ch
wheels
look;
a
bold
choice
whe
most
of
the
segme t
is
still
u i g
16s.
I’ll
delve
mo e
i to
the
i te io ,
tech
a d
othe
thi gs
i
a
futu e
update,
but
i
this
sho t
fi st
expe ie ce,
I
ca
see
how
the
Kylaq
made
it
to
P ague
so
comfo tably
a d
without
i cide t.
It’s
compact
o ly
i
size
a d
is
a
u iquely
Eu opea
additio
to
the
compact
SUV
segme t.