Skoda Kushaq CNG Spied Testing; Coming Soon

India’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki is the country’s leading CNG car maker. Maruti Suzuki’s dominance is unchallenged in this segment, and the automaker has made sure that the lack of diesel engines in its line-up is compensated by CNG powered cars. Taking a leaf out of Maruti Suzuki’s book, most Indian car makers are now seriously considering CNG powered cars. One such manufacturer is Czech car maker Skoda. The Skoda Kushaq compact SUV will soon get a CNG-Petrol dual fuel option. The CNG powered Kushaq was spied testing on video. Here, check it out.

As the video indicates, the CNG powered Skoda Kushaq was carrying a lot of emission control/measuring equipment that car makers usually strap onto vehicles that are being tested. The CNG powered Kushaq is likely to launch in early 2023, and will be sold as a more cost effective option for buyers who intend to use the compact SUV primarily on city streets.

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The 1 liter-3 cylinder turbo petrol engine of the Kushaq will get the CNG-Petrol dual fuel option, and the kit will be positioned in the boot of the SUV. While this will intrude on the boot space, that’s a small price to pay for the lower running costs of the CNG model.

The factory fitted CNG kit is also likely to see Skoda making specific changes to the suspension of the SUV to deal with the additional weight of the CNG kit. Also, certain engine components are likely to be re-engineered to work well with CNG. Of course, all of this will be backed by a factory warranty, which translates into peace of mind for those who opt for the CNG powered model.

The 1 liter TSI turbocharged engine makes 110 PS of peak power and 175 Nm of peak torque while running on petrol. On CNG, expect a 10 % drop in power and torque numbers. Notably, the Kushaq CNG 1.0 will be the first instance of a turbo petrol engined car in India getting the CNG option.

So far, the CNG option has been confined to naturally aspirated petrol engines. Skoda offers the 1 liter TSI turbo petrol engine with two gearbox options – a 6 speed manual and a 6 speed torque converter automatic. It remains to be seen if the CNG option is offered with both gearboxes, or if remains confined to the manual gearbox trims.

Apart from the Skoda Kushaq, three other cars from the Volkswagen-Skoda group in India are expected to join the CNG bandwagon shortly. The Taigun – essentially a badge-engineered version of the Kushaq – is expected to go CNG next while the Skoda Slavia and Volkswagen Virtus – sedans that use the 1.0 TSI petrol engine – are also likely to get the CNG option.

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CNG is a cleaner burning fuel than petrol

And the fuel produces much lower tail pipe emissions. More and more car makers in India are now offering the CNG option as an alternative to diesel. CNG running costs are lower than that of petrol and this is a big selling point of this technology. However, CNG powered cars – being based primarily on petrol engines – are not as torquey as diesels. Moreover, they have a power and torque drop when compared with petrol and diesel engines as well.