KING OF THE SUV HILL

Or at least that’s what the new Skoda Kushaq wants to be. Does it have the wherewithal to do so?

- Pablo Chaterji

Well, that was a first. After an astounding 11 months without attending any kind of automotive media drive (thanks for nothing, COVID), I found myself in southern Goa, at the wheel of Skoda’s soon-to-be-launched compact SUV — and I didn’t know what the car looked like. I could tell that its lines were sharp and that it had a sporty profile, but other than that I couldn’t discern much about its design, because it was lavishly covered in an orange-and-black camouflage scheme that looked a bit like Aboriginal art. Even if I had been able to get a sense of what the designers had done, I wouldn’t have been able to reveal that here because Skoda has rather strictly embargoed any such details until the car’s global reveal in March. What I can say is that if the Vision IN concept that was displayed at the Auto Expo last year is any indication, the production version should be a slick looker. What I can also say is that I hope I don’t have to drive a pre-production prototype (from any brand) for a full story again. It’s… weird, having to think of things to say about things that haven’t been fully revealed to you.