Skoda has been in India for 25 years. Over the years, the VW-owned Czech brand has brought a host of technically advanced cars to India. Built to European standards and priced competitively, Skoda captured the attention of the Indian car buying public early on.
I clearly remember driving the first modern Skoda to come to India back in 2000. The car was then assembled in a Siemens warehouse in Aurangabad, and what shone through on my drive up to Mumbai was the indestructible build, the effortless torque of the diesel, and the fact that it gave 19kpl on the highway. It was also stable at speed, and I just loved the manner in which the solid, spring-loaded gear lever clack-clacked when you changed gears. Yeah, the diesel was gruff, and it growled like a hungry lion under load, but the suspension was great over bad roads, and it even had a huge boot.
A few years later, Skoda introduced the Octavia RS, and this drew in a whole new bunch of car buyers; petrolheads. In possession of one of the world’s longest-standing motorsport histories, Skoda put all that knowledge to work on the RS. The car featured a lowered and sportier suspension, an Audi-engineered five valves per cylinder turbo petrol, a great hydraulic steering and some fun handling.
Stretching the envelope in an altogether different direction was the Superb, especially the Gen-2 car, with its expansive and expensive cabin. This car captured the imagination of yet another set of Indian car buyers, value-luxury-seeking customers. Other hits included the Kodiaq 7-seater, which delivered a Superb-like experience in an SUV, and successive generations of the Octavia RS that literally cemented the reputation of the sub-brand. And Skoda has done pretty well recently, too, with the localised Kushaq midsize SUV, despite it being down in size compared to rivals.
What has held Skoda back over the years is that the Czech carmaker has been its own worst enemy. Poor reliability on some early cars created problems for owners, and then, what often compounded the problem, was that service and support were even worse. Don’t expect a Toyota-like experience, but things are clearly better today, and an extended warranty can take the sting out of any expensive issues.
As Skoda drives into the future, it is about to embark on its most eventful journey in India. The Kylaq, placed bang in the centre of the compact SUV market, is seeing a fair amount of success. And Skoda, in the not-too-distant future, is about to step up to division A, and go toe-to-toe with the Hyundai Creta, when it launches a larger size direct competitor in a couple of years. Needless to say, Skoda will have to bring its A-game. Still, align price, size, features and sex appeal, and Skoda is likely to be in with a shot. And we could then even get a fully localised 7-seat SUV and an Octavia-based sedan; if there is still enough demand. A localised Octavia-based RS! Now, wouldn’t that be something? Enough to blow away those EV blues.
Hormazd Sorabjee
Rishaad Mody
Saumil Shah
Avik Chattopadhyay
