India’s first Skoda Kushaq to get an aftermarket CNG kit

Skoda launched their all-new mid size SUV Kushaq in the market recently. It is an important product as it is the first product from Volkswagen group’s India 2.0 Strategy. Skoda Kushaq is based on VISION IN concept which was showcased at the Auto Expo last year. Skoda Kushaq competes with cars like Hyundai Creta, Kia Seltos, Nissan Kicks and Renault Duster in the segment. Deliveries for the SUV has already started and it looks like people have already started making modifications too. Here we have India’s first Skoda Kushaq to get an aftermarket CNG kit.

The video has been shared by TheCarsShow by Arsh Jolly on his YouTube channel. In this video, the vlogger talks about the CNG kit and shares details regarding the installation. Skoda Kushaq is powered by a 1.0 litre, three cylinder turbo petrol and a 1.5 litre turbo petrol engine. The CNG kit has been installed on a Skoda Kushaq 1.0 litre TSI variant.

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The work has been done by MLN technology in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. When compared with regular CNG kits, the kit installed in this Skoda Kushaq is different. The reason behind it is that it is a direct injection turbocharged engine. This means that even though you install a CNG kit in the car, the engine will keep on using small amount of fuel to work properly.

The video shows the CNG cylinder which is placed inside the boot. It is a large cylinder and covers most of the space in the boot. The space left is then occupied by the spare wheel as well. The injectors and all the other components are placed neatly under the hood. Vlogger mentions that installing a CNG kit in a turbocharged engine can be a bit tricky and it is always a better idea to go to a person who knows about these things.

He mentions that certain level of expertise is required and a normal dealer who installs CNG kits may not have knowledge about it. The kit installed in the Skoda Kushaq is actually designed for turbocharged engines and in comparison to normal sequential CNG kits, power loss is quite less. Vlogger mentions that in a DI Turbocharged engine the loss is around 4-5 percent while a regular engine sees a dip of 15-20 percent.

This means even after installing the CNG kit, the performance of the engine is not affected. Skoda Kushaq 1.0 TSI generates 115 Ps and 178 Nm of peak torque. After installing the kit, Skoda Kushaq was driven for approximately 400 kms as part of testing and it was returning a fuel economy of approximately 24-25 kms per kilogram to CNG.

It was also consuming 1-2 litre of petrol per 100 kms. This engine is available with a manual and an automatic transmission. He also mentions in the video that this is an aftermarket installation and it affects the company warranty of the vehicle. Video also mentions the cost of installing this aftermarket CNG. The overall cost of installing this kit including the components and labour was around Rs 1.25 lakh.

Also read: Skoda Kushaq SUV”s official launch & price announcement timeline revealed officially