Watch: Skoda Slavia And Kushaq Take On The Handling Course At The NATRAX In Indore

Recently, we had the opportunity to visit the NATRAX proving ground in Indore on account of Skoda’s #saferwithskoda campaign. The event included a variety of activities, one of which was a handling course where we threw the Slavia and Kushaq around to test their dynamic abilities.

The NATRAX has various dedicated sections for all kinds of dynamic testing, so the folks at Skoda had paved the handling track in a particular testing section of the facility, which involved long straights, long and fast flowing corners, tight ones and S-shaped sections as well. So there wasn’t any doubt about the course layout being a dynamic one as we found out for ourselves when we headed out in Slavia for the first sighting lap to get an idea of the track.

 

 

 

 

 

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As you can see from the above reel, the first hot lap came in the Slavia, which was then immediately followed by the Kushaq. This gave us a chance to feel the dynamic differences between the two Skodas, and predominantly the variance in their abilities actually comes down to their body shape. 

But keeping the differences aside, our observation was that if you show the Slavia and Kushaq a corner, they will carve it without throwing any tantrums or drama. Both were carrying speeds around corners that were good enough for the rightmost lane on an expressway, without ever feeling unnerving. 

Also Read: Watch: We Max Out The Skoda Slavia And Kodiaq At NATRAX High Speed Bowl

And given that we had the 150PS/250Nm, 1.5-litre turbo-petrol-equipped versions of both the Slavia and Kushaq, both had enough grunt to pull them out of corners with pace that evoked excitement. Mind you, these are road-going, family-friendly, mass-market vehicles, and even still, they didn’t feel out of place at the handling course. Speaks volumes about their platform.

We would’ve loved to pilot the Octavia and maybe even the Superb around the same course, but given the implementation of new RDE norms, both of them have been removed from the lineup, at least for the time being. The Octy will be brought back in its RS245 plug-in-hybrid guise and we can’t wait to get our hands on it, or rather, behind its steering.