The upcoming sub-4-metre Skoda SUV was seen performing road tests recently. Skoda announced it a few days ago. It will go up against the likes of the Hyundai Venue, Maruti Brezza, Kia Sonet, Tata Nexon and Mahindra XUV300 in this highly competitive segment. The Czech carmaker wants to expand its footprint in our market with more affordable products than its current ‘entry-level’ cars – Kushaq and Slavia. The SUV is being tested on public roads. Let us take a look at the details here.
Skoda Sub-4-Metre SUV Seen Alongside Tata Nexon
This post comes from piloton_wheels on Instagram. It captures the heavily camouflaged SUV plying on a busy road. While the exact location of this instance is not clear, the Nexon driving alongside it bears an MH numberplate. Therefore, it could be somewhere in Maharashtra. In any case, the road presence of the Nexon is slightly more SUV-ish with a taller body in comparison to the Skoda SUV. But the width of the two SUVs looks about the same. In terms of design, we see the LED taillamps, a high-mount stop lamp, rugged bumper and roof rails. At the front, there is a mini Kushaq silhouette with vertical slats on the grille and LED headlamps and DRLs.
Specs
Since this belongs to the compact SUV segment in our market, we reckon Skoda will power it with the 1.0-litre TSI turbo petrol engine which is also present in the lower variants of the Kushaq and Slavia. It produces a decent 115 PS and 178 Nm of peak power and torque. There are options of choosing between either a 6-speed manual or an automatic transmission with the Kushaq and Slavia. We believe that option will be available with this compact SUV too. Of course, more details will be revealed closer to the launch.
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Author’s Note
Skoda is on track to capture a larger chunk of the burgeoning Indian automobile market. Its existing Kushaq and Slavia have been great volume churners. With an even more affordable compact SUV, chances are that it will attract more new buyers. Skoda just needs to strike a balance between offering something feature-rich, fun-to-drive and affordable. We understand that it is quite challenging. But that is why the Indian customers are some of the hardest to please.
