SKODA KYLAQ REVIEW: FIRST DRIVE

The base variant of the Skoda Kylaq called the Classic, is T my kind of car.

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At just Rs. 7.89 lakh, ex-showroom, it's the only car in India at the moment to come with a 114 horsepower "directinjection" turbo-petrol engine and a six-speed manual gearbox. No other manufacturer gives you this dream combination for an on-road price of under ten lakh rupees in India right now. Plus, you obviously get the same frame, suspension, and all active and passive safety features (except antitheft alarm) that you get on the topspec Kylaq.

Also, as far as the comfort and convenience features go, the base variant has power windows, manual air-conditioning, electrically adjustable (not electrically foldable) mirrors, height-adjustable (manual) driver seat, illuminated switches on all doors (yes!), tilt and telescopic steering (yes, sir!). That's all the comfort and convenience I want in my car. Okay, the mirrors should have been electrically foldable, and a rear defogger should be standard in all cars nowadays. Same for the parcel shelf and boot light. But, no worries, I shall pay a bit extra for the parcel shelf to hide my custom sound system from prying eyes.

However, as always, here as well I got to drive the top-end variant of the Skoda Kylaq, and though you must have already gotten a fair idea about the base vehicle, the following sections will tell you if the other variants are worth considering or not.

DESIGN The Kushaq looks like a mini Kushaq, and that's a good thing. I am glad that the Skoda design team didn't do anything radical while designing the Kylaq. Therefore, not only is the family identity intact, the overall design remains quite pleasant too.

It won't make you go weak in the knees, of course, and frankly there's no sub-four-meter crossover that will.

However, the Kylaq is certainly one of those vehicles that will fill a portion of your phone's gallery with pictures, at least initially.

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