Skoda continues with its aggression in the Indian market with the introduction of the Monte Carlo Edition of the Kushaq. Previously introduced with the Rapid, the Monte Carlo Edition gave the car the right amount of sporty tones and highlights, making it a visually-sporty car and it did turn some heads. With the Kushaq, they’ve thrown everything at it.
Exterior
To start with, all of the chrome is replaced with black surrounds. That includes the grille, the badges and all the chrome highlights seen in the regular Kushaq.
The black treatment continues in its door handles, the ORVMs and the most distinctive area being, the roof, which is now all black.
If you’re the person who feels the Tornado red paint attracts a lot of attention, you have candy white as an alternative and it should really work with the black accents.
The biggest highlight for us is those wheels. If they look familiar to you, that’s because they are. A straight replica of the 18 inch 5-spokes you get in the Octavia VRS 245. Although these are 17s, they make a big difference to the overall profile of the car.
One of the criticisms we had with the way this car looked was the wheel to body ratio of the car. Given the tall nature of its design and its intended SUV design, the lack of overhangs in the front and back gave it a raised Hatchback proportion. These wheels give it the mass it required on the side and as a bonus, they look stunning.
Interior
How much red is too much red?
Even if you spec your Monte Carlo in white, the red touches in the interior are standard. Red trims on the dashboard, red surrounds in the centre console around the AC switches, red near the door handles and in case that’s not enough, the seats get red surrounds. The seats look amazing while the rest of the red accents might have divided opinions.
One place we don’t mind the red accents is in the digital gauge cluster. With good contrasts and sportier dials, the sporty intentions are clearly visible.
The rest of the details are common with the regular Kushaq. An option of a 1.0 3-cylinder Turbo-Petrol with 6-speed manual and 6-speed Torque Converter and the more powerful 1.5 4-cylinder Turbo-petrol with 6-speed manual and the 7-speed DQ200 DSG.
The Monte Carlo starts from 15.99 Lakhs Ex-showroom and is definitely the best looking version of the Kushaq. If all these factors fit into your priorities, the Kushaq Montecarlo should be the trim to choose. Can’t wait for the Monte-Carlo version of the Slavia, especially with these 17’s on it.
