Skoda Kylaq vs Tata Nexon: Newcomer Locks Horns With the Bestseller

Skoda has launched the Kylaq subcompact SUV in the Indian market. While this is a very promising offering on paper, this segment is already filled with many established offerings like the Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV 3XO, Maruti Suzuki Brezza etc. 

Here though, we will do a Skoda Kylaq vs Tata Nexon comparison, highlighting the differences and similarities between both these sub-compact SUVs.

The Tata Nexon has been the leader in this segment because of its trendy styling, feature-loaded cabin and good performance. The Tata Nexon is now one of the most popular cars in the Indian market with around 14,000 units per month average sales figure. 

On the other hand, the Skoda Kylaq offers a great value proposition with its aggressive pricing and elegant Skoda styling. Calling this a watered-down version of the Kushaq won't be entirely wrong since it borrows its engine and the platform from the Kushaq. This should translate into a fun-to-drive compact car.

Hence, without beating around the bush, let's find out how these two compact SUVs fare in the real world. 

Skoda Kylaq vs Tata Nexon in-depth comparison

Design and styling 

Both these cars look drastically different from each other but they are both attractive and modern. Both cars have LED DRLs and the headlights are mounted separately on the bumper. Both ditch the foglamps due to the lower positioning of the headlights.

Looks are subjective and you may find either of the two appealing. In our opinion, the Tata Nexon looks better with its dual-tone offerings whereas the Kylaq only comes with monotone colours.

Performance

In terms of performance, the Tata Nexon has an edge with its wider range of diesel, petrol, CNG and even electric powertrains. However, we will consider Nexon’s petrol variant to keep this comparison fair. The Nexon has a 1.2-litre turbocharged Revotron petrol engine which churns out 118 hp and 170 Nm of peak torque. 

The Kylaq on the other hand also ‘Punch’es hard (apologies for the pun) with its 1.0-litre TSI (Turbocharged Stratified Injection) motor, belting out 114 hp and 178 Nm of peak torque.  

Interior and features 

The cabins of both cars feel like nice places to be in. Both of them feature coloured elements and unique textures to liven up the look and feel of their dashboards. Skoda has given light elements to enhance the airiness whereas Tata has used sportier black elements.

In our opinion, the Tata Nexon is more appealing with the exterior colour-matching inserts on the dashboard. Both the cars feature twin-screen setups: one for the infotainment with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay and the other for instrumentation. The Tata Nexon has a slight edge here with a panoramic sunroof in its top trims whereas the Kylaq offers a single-pane sunroof. 

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Safety 

Both Tata Motors and Skoda have pioneered the concept of safety in India. The Nexon has been rated 'five stars' for crashworthiness by the GNCAP and BNCAP.

The Skoda Kylaq, meanwhile, hasn't been crash-tested yet but since it utilises the Kushaq’s platform, we can expect it to be equally safe (fingers crossed). Both cars get six airbags as standard.

Pricing

Tata sells over a hundred variants of the Nexon, whereas the Skoda Kylaq is offered in four trims. The starting price of the Kylaq is INR 7.89 lakh (ex-showroom) whereas the Tata Nexon starts at INR 7.99 lakh. So the base variant of Kylaq is INR 10,000 cheaper than the Nexon here, which is not a whole lot but still the difference is there.

Conclusion 

Now comes the most important question. Who wins this comparison?

Considering pricing, features and performance, both cars are almost neck-to-neck. However, we find the Nexon's cabin more appealing with its modern touches like the illuminating Tata logo, big panoramic sunroof, exterior colour-matching inserts on the dashboard and a few more little things. Other than this, Tata's sales and service network is much bigger than Skoda which makes buying and maintaining the Nexon easier in comparison.

Also, German cars are known to be more expensive to maintain than their competitors, which eventually works in favour of the Nexon.

So keeping everything in mind, the Tata Nexon is the winner of our comparison.

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