Skoda Kushaq 1.0 manual vs automatic drag race: Which is quicker?

For the longest time, there has been a debate about which cars are faster in drag races: manuals or automatics. Over the years, the answer has changed a lot, as automatic transmissions from a few years ago were not that fast, but things have changed. They have become a lot faster; however, the question remains the same. So, in an attempt to find out which of the transmissions is faster in the all-new Skoda mid-size SUV Kushaq, two identical cars with different transmissions were tested and drag-raced against each other.

The video of the drag race between the Skoda Kushaq manual and the automatic has been uploaded on YouTube by The Drivers Hub on their channel. The channel shares numerous videos on enthusiast cars available in India, and they also share content related to tuned and modified cars in the country. In this most recent video, the presenter mentions that they will be drag racing two identical Skoda Kushaqs. He adds that the only major difference between the two vehicles is that one is equipped with a manual transmission, and the other is equipped with an automatic transmission.

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Following this, he highlights that the white car is the manual car, and the orange car is the automatic car. He then mentions that both cars are powered by the same 1.0L TSI 3-cylinder turbo petrol engine that produces a maximum of 114 bhp and 178 Nm of torque. He then adds that both cars are owned by the channel itself. The manual car is for sale with The Drivers Hub Classifieds, and the other is the family car of the presenter.

The presenter then adds that both cars are top-of-the-line variants and are equipped with 17-inch alloy wheels, ventilated seats, sunroofs, and other creature comforts. Following the introduction of the cars, the presenter, while driving the automatic car, states that for the test, they will also be using a Draggy to monitor the real performance figures.

For those unaware, the Draggy Drag Race Device is a small, portable electronic gadget used to measure the speed and acceleration of vehicles. It utilizes GPS and accelerometers to calculate quarter-mile times, 0-60 mph times, and other performance metrics. It also stores data and provides real-time feedback on a companion smartphone app. The device gets plugged into the OBD-II port of the car.

Following this, he adds that the six-speed torque converter in the Kushaq and other 1.0 TSI cars is slower, and the Kushaq automatic is also heavier because of the same. He also states that both cars will have a controlled start and not aggressive clutch dumping launch starts. After this, both cars are lined up against each other, and the race starts. From the outer camera angle, it seems like the manual car gets a better start, but from the interior angle, it can be noted that the automatic car gets a jump. However, in just a moment, the manual car gets hold of the automatic car and takes the lead. Following this, the finish line camera in slow motion shows that the manual car wins the drag race by almost half a car length at the end.

After the race, the presenter showcases the information attained from the drag race. We can note that the Skoda Kushaq completes the quarter mile in just 17.78 seconds, and its 0-100 kmph speed is 10.13 seconds. Meanwhile, from the statistics of the manual Kushaq’s drag race performance we can note that the quarter-mile time is 17.48 seconds, and the 0-100 kmph time is 9.98 seconds.

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