At a small course at Mandwa, Alibaug, Skoda demonstrated the acceleration, braking and capabilities of the Kylaq, Kushaq and Slavia
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At a small course at Mandwa, Alibaug, Skoda demonstrated the acceleration, braking and capabilities of the Kylaq, Kushaq and Slavia. The course consisted of a short straight where one could accelerate hard, and a hard braking zone immediately after that. Then, one had to enter a slalom run followed by a moose test and a handling test:
After a round with an instructor, I had a chance to have a go in the Kylaq and then, the Kushaq or Slavia (depending on availability):
The Kylaq is powered by the 114 BHP, 1.0 TSI, 3-cylinder engine. This car was mated to a 6-speed torque converter AT. Here it is being launched:
Video: Link
Braking and coming to a halt from ~45-50 km/h was very easy. Next up was the slalom. This was the first time I was driving a Kylaq, and I was pleasantly surprised by its composure: 
It is small and very chuckable:
Body roll is very well controlled:
The car breezed through the moose test, without any effort: 
The handling test at the end involved zig-zagging between cones and that too was handled with ease:
The turn-in is sharp and the steering feels direct: 
Obviously, the speeds on this short course were not high, but still, this feels like one of the better drivers’ cars in the sub-4m SUV segment on sale at the moment:
Next, I had a go in the Kushaq. This one had the 1.5 TSI powerplant producing 148 BHP, paired with the 7-speed DSG automatic. Unlike the Kylaq, we didn’t launch this one: 
Despite, not getting disc brakes at the rear, the Kushaq’s braking is impressive:
Through the slalom, the Kushaq is just not as sharp as the Kylaq:
While it can manage such a course easily, it feels softer:
Body roll is more pronounced:
The Kushaq still has pretty good composure, and can change direction pretty well: 
The moose test was done with ease:
The steering feels pretty direct and once you get used to the body roll, you can start pushing it in corners:
As mentioned earlier, there was a Slavia at the track as well. Like the Kushaq, it had a 1.5 TSI engine with a DSG transmission. However, I did not get a chance to drive it. It looked fantastic in this Monte Carlo trim. Here it is going through the acceleration and braking tests:
Looked very controlled through the slalom…
…and moose tests:
Disclaimer: Skoda invited Team-BHP for this event. They covered all the travel expenses.
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