Skoda Kylaq testing continues after launch — To get 1.5L TSI soon?

The Skoda Kylaq has been steadily gaining popularity in the Skoda lineup, quietly surpassing its larger sibling, Skoda Kushaq in sales. Built on the same MQB-A0-IN platform as the Kushaq, the Kylaq is available in India with the 1.0-litre turbo petrol engine only.

In an interesting development, a Skoda Kylaq has recently been spotted in Germany with rear disc brakes. Under the hood, it’s expected to feature a large 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine. Let’s dive deeper into whether this is a new Skoda Kylaq 1.5 TSI variant for the Indian market, or if there’s more to it than what meets the eye.

Skoda Kylaq spied with rear disc brakes

Recently in Germany, the Indian-spec Skoda Kylaq was spotted testing with a Czech number plate. What caught even more attention was the presence of rear disc brakes. As we know, in India, Skoda offers disc brakes at the front and drum brakes at the rear in the Kylaq. 

What makes it even more surprising is that even other Skoda models like the Slavia and Kushaq, which sit at a higher price and come with the bigger 1.5L TSI engine, still don’t get rear discs.

So, is this the spied Kylaq, which is also expected to have a larger TSI engine and rear disc brakes, suggesting a new variant? Hard to say right now. And if it does happen—which seems unlikely—it could actually pull more buyers towards the Kylaq, especially away from cars like the Kushaq. There’s also a more reasonable possibility: maybe after the Kylaq's success in India, Skoda is now planning to take this model to global markets too.

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Could this be the new Skoda Kylaq 1.5 TSI variant?

A bigger engine usually means it needs more braking power to stop safely. And it’s also a fact that, compared to drum brakes, disc brakes are always the more effective option for better stopping performance. So, spotting the Skoda Kylaq with disc brakes naturally brings up the expected thought that this version might be running on the bigger 1.5-litre TSI engine.

This engine is likely to produce around 150PS of power and 250Nm of torque, and could be paired with either a 6-speed manual or a 7-speed DSG gearbox. But still, it seems unlikely that this setup will be offered in the India-spec Kylaq, due to the sub-4m tax rule, which imposes higher cess on vehicles boasting a petrol engine larger than 1.2-litre in size. 

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Skoda Kylaq 1.5L TSI might target global roads

Like the other Skoda cars based on the MQB-A0 IN platform, the Kushaq is also headed to the global markets. Since the global markets do not have any tax imposition rule similar to that of India, it would be a no-brainer for Skoda to plonk the larger 1.5-litre TSI petrol engine for international markets. It is understood that the Kylaq, equipped with the 1.5-litre TSI petrol engine, will be manufactured in brand's Aurangabad facility and exported to various global markets.
 

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