Skoda Slavia

The Skoda Slavia is a sedan that shares its platform with the Volkswagen Virtus and the Skoda Kushaq. With its European roots refined for the harsh Indian conditions, the Skoda Slavia promises a fun to drive experience that won’t break your back, while also offering you space, features, practicality, and safety. But is it able to strike the right balance for a no-compromise experience? That’s what we are going to find out.

Design and build quality

The Skoda Slavia is arguably the most sophisticated looking sedan in its segment. It carries this sense of European sophistication that doesn’t need to go over the top to garner attention, and helps it look attractive with a simple yet elegant design. 

Upfront, the sleek headlight cluster with its L-shaped DRLs and LED projector headlamps looks premium, but you only get halogen turn indicators and fog lamps. It sports the signature Skoda grille with vertical slats, which is also seen on other Skoda cars like the Kushaq and Kodiaq. The tasteful use of chrome elements look really nice here.

The side profile is of a typical sedan with its sloping roofline, but unlike a few, it flows smoothly into its tailgate. With a ground clearance of 179mm, the Slavia sits the highest in its segment. There are no unnecessary cuts and creases and even the 16-inch alloys look elegant. These alloys get a black finish in the Sportline and Monte Carlo variants.

The rear continues that simple design philosophy. No fancy connected tail light setup, but you do get a chrome strip connecting the tail lights that extend into the rear quarter of the car. A honeycomb mesh insert on the bumper rounds off the sophisticated design of the Slavia. 

Skoda offers 7 monotone exterior colour options with the Slavia, namely Candy White, Brilliant Silver, Tornado Red, Carbon Steel, Lava Blue, Deep Black, and Carbon Steel Matte. 

There are four dual tone shades on offer as well that get a black roof with the Tornado Red, Candy White, Brilliant Silver and Lava Blue shades.

So while the overall design isn’t sporty, it looks classy and most people should appreciate the Slavia’s design. It is also very likely to age better than its rivals.

If you do want to add a bit of sportiness to the Slavia’s design, you can opt for the Monte Carlo variant, which features the Tornado Red shade with blacked out elements in different places. The Sportline is another sporty option, which combines the Lava Blue shade with a blacked grille, alloy wheels, darkened tail lights and black inserts at the rear, including a tiny bootlip spoiler.

Design and Quality

In terms of design, just like the exterior, the interior too feels classy and elegant. The dual tone theme of the cabin gives it a rich feel. Apart from the majority black and beige elements, there are some piano black inserts and a gold-ish slat that splits the dashboard, and this treatment and combination of elements is something that really adds to the styling.

But in terms of quality, fit and finish, the Slavia has room for improvement. You will find premium touchpoints, like leatherette on the steering, central armrest and on the seats, and we also like the metallic knob detailing on the steering mounted controls. But the praise ends here. The dashboard is mostly made up of hard plastics, and the quality of those plastics in some places does not feel fitting of a Skoda.

The dashboard splitting trim, as good as it might look, squeaks and has play in it when you try to move it even with the tiniest bit of pressure. Even the fittings could’ve been better around the central AC vent as well. So both the quality and fit inside the Slavia should’ve been better, especially because we expect a certain standard from Skoda.

Front Seats

Getting inside the Skoda Slavia does require you to duck down a bit due to its low roofline, which can be an additional effort for the elderly in the family. But once inside, it won’t give you much to complain about from a comfort and space standpoint. 

The seats feel comfortable and accommodating for all shapes and sizes and offer good side and underthigh support. Adjustability is on point with tilt and telescopic movement for the steering wheel and height adjustable driver seat. Enthusiasts will appreciate the sporty driving position as you can set the seat really low. 

Visibility is good all around and even new drivers will get comfortable here easily. 

Rear Seats

The rear seats of the Skoda Slavia, just like the front seats, offer comfortable cushioning and good support, but that’s only applicable for two people. Three people will be a squeeze, and despite having a central headrest, the middle passenger won’t really be happy owing to the limited cabin width and the aggressive seat contours, which feel intrusive. The seat contours are designed for maximising comfort for two people only, and that they do well enough.

In terms of space, you can seat two six footers back to back, and even tall people won’t find any dearth of headroom and footroom. Moreover, the seat’s base is slightly lifted, which helps offer really good underthigh support as well.

Storage and Practicality

The Skoda Slavia is hard to fault when it comes to the in-car storage options. You’ll find 1-litre bottle pockets on all four doors alongside two cup holders in the central console. Behind the gear lever is a small little open storage, likely for the key, and ahead of the gear lever is the pad for the wireless charger. That gets a rubber floor, so your keys and loose items won’t move around. Other cubby spaces can be found beneath the central armrest, alongside the steering wheel and the cooled glove box size is decent as well. 

There’s also a clip on the windshield, which can be used to hold loose receipts or parking tickets.

Rear occupants get pockets in the seats that have a dedicated small pocket for their phone, and one bigger pocket, which can be used for magazines or tablets. The rear central armrest also has two cup holders in it.

Charging Options

For charging, there are two Type C ports front and rear, alongside a 12V socket in the central tunnel. 

Boot Space

Skoda claims a boot space figure of 521-litres with the Slavia. Not only is this figure huge on paper, but it also translates into a good boot space in real life. You can easily store a full suitcase set (1x large, 1x medium and 1x small), and a couple of duffle and laptop bags. Thanks to a wide space, you can also store loose packets on the sides.

The rear seats also have a 60:40 split, so you can fold them down and store additional or longer items if needed. However, unlike SUVs, you won’t get an unobstructed space to store tall luggage.

Despite sitting in a segment where rivals are pushing boundaries with their features list, the Skoda Slavia manages to hold its own. Not only does it cover all the functional features that one needs on a regular basis, it offers a few feel-good features too.

At 10.1-inches, the main infotainment system in the Slavia isn’t the biggest you get in the segment, but it works as it should. The user interface is easy to get used to, the graphics are crisp, and connecting your phone for the wireless Android Auto or Apple CarPlay functionality is easy as well. The system is paired with an 8-speaker sound system, which impresses with its sound crispness and clarity even at higher volumes.

Complementing the main screen is an 8-inch digital display which gets multiple viewing modes. The graphics are nice and crisp, and the display relays a bunch of regular information like trip details and fuel efficiency.

There were complaints of poor AC performance in the initial batches of the Slavia. This problem seems to have been addressed with a software update. I tested the cooling in hot and dry Pune heat, and the AC performed as expected. That said, I have another complaint from it. As good as the touch sensitive panel looks visually, it isn’t intuitive to use while driving, and requires some attention to be diverted from the road to change something as simple as the fan speed.

Most of the Skoda Slavia’s safety kit is available right from its base variant.  

Features like hill hold control, rain sensing wipers and fog lamps are offered in the higher variants. 

The Slavia has a full five star Global NCAP safety ratings for both adult and child occupant protection. It does not get any autonomous driving assistance (ADAS) features, which is expected to be added in the facelift model.

The Skoda Slavia comes with the choice of two turbo-petrol engines. The smaller petrol engine is available with a manual or automatic transmission option, while the bigger petrol engine is only available with a dual clutch automatic transmission. 

1-litre turbo-petrol 

This three cylinder engine might not be as refined as the 1.5-litre non-turbo petrol engines that the rivals offer, but it offers you better performance. The noise and vibrations are also just noticeable, and not a dealbreaker by any means.

City Performance

This engine has more than enough performance for all city commutes. It picks up speed from low RPMs with ease, so keeping up with the traffic doesn’t require a downshift. Once you start building the RPM, it has good performance for all city overtakes, and you won’t ever feel like it is underpowered.

The manual transmission is fairly easy to use. The weight of the clutch is heavier than you’d expect, but it won’t tire your leg in heavy traffic. The gears slot in easily too. As for the torque converter automatic, it will be the better choice if you find yourself in heavy traffic more often than open roads. Because it keeps you in the right gear, feels smooth at slow speeds, and is reactive enough to downshift when you require more power for an overtake. Skoda has tuned it well, and you won’t ever complain about its performance.

In terms of fuel efficiency, you can expect this engine to return around 10kmpl in the city.

Highway Performance

This engine might be a three-cylinder unit, but its turbo charged nature makes sure you have enough performance for highway usage. It doesn't take a lot of time to hit triple digit speeds and can cruise comfortably at speeds of 100-120kmph. Even beyond those speeds, the engine has enough oomph to accelerate and help you make an overtake if need be.

In gear acceleration is good too, as long as you are above the 2000rpm mark, so overtaking on the highway doesn’t require much planning. You’ll enjoy using the manual because of its slick nature, but the automatic also gets the job done. With the automatic, you also get paddle shifters if you want some manual control.

1.5-litre turbo-petrol

This engine offers a refined experience, while also delivering great performance for all use cases.This is a four-cylinder unit and the difference in refinement and smoothness compared to the smaller engine is almost immediately apparent. 

City Performance

This engine feels relaxed and effortless in the city. Be it low speed, low RPM cruising, or dropping down a gear and making a quick overtake, everything feels easy with this powertrain combination. In fact, you actually don’t always need to drop a gear to make an overtake, because it doesn’t take a lot of time to build speeds from low RPMs, even in third gear.

The transmission works silently and smoothly in the background when commuting regularly and it would’ve been flawless if not for the rare slight jerk that it makes while it goes down a gear at low speeds, but that’s not a dealbreaker at all.

In our fuel efficiency run, the Slavia impressed with a 14kmpl figure in the city. However, if you drive in peak bumper-to-bumper traffic, don’t be surprised to see single digit fuel efficiency numbers. 

Highway performance

The Skoda Slavia is a properly fun to drive car with this engine. Once you get to stretch its legs, this engine offers strong and punchy performance. Reaching 100kmph is easy work, and it keeps pulling with intent beyond speeds of 120kmph as well.

As you’d imagine, it is happy to cruise at triple digit speeds all day long. The DSG feels smooth in the city and quick on the highway, and while enthusiasts might’ve wanted a manual transmission (it was recently discontinued) with the Slavia, the dual clutch gearbox is still great as it doesn’t compromise on performance and still delivers on convenience. Moreover, you also get paddle shifters, which are fun to use and the gearbox gets a dedicated sports mode. One flick of the gear lever, and the transmission will hold the gear, even at higher RPMs. This makes overtaking that much easier. 

The Slavia offers great fuel efficiency on the highway, thanks to its cylinder deactivation technology, which as the name suggests, shuts two of the four cylinders while cruising or under low load to improve fuel efficiency. In our test run, we managed a figure of 20kmpl on the highway, which is praise worthy for an engine that packs this much performance.

Overall, both the engines of the Slavia offer usable performance. The smaller engine, despite its less number of cylinders, offers adequate performance for both the city and highway. But it is the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine that really puts a smile on your face, and is the one to pick if you're a petrolhead.

Ride Comfort

Slavia’s suspension setup compliments its fun to drive experience, and still manages to keep its occupants comfortable. You’ll rarely ever have a complaint from its ride quality, because it absorbs most potholes and speed breakers rather well, and doesn’t translate any jerks inside the cabin. You might feel the imperfections on a really rough road, but you still won’t feel a jerk or movement so apparent that it’ll cause discomfort.

Most potholes and unusually large speed breakers don’t make the Slavia sweat, thanks to the 179mm ground clearance. But given that it still isn’t an SUV, you will just have to be mindful of the road surface ahead of you. 

It feels stable on highways, and despite any sudden undulation or potholes, it maintains its composure and keeps the movement inside the cabin to a minimum.

Handling

Driving the Slavia is easy in the city with a balanced steering weight. But when the road surface is smooth and you’re covering distance at speed, you’ll feel confident behind the wheel. High-speed lane changes are done with great stability. It maintains its line with controlled body roll around a corner, and the weight of the steering wheel gives you confidence as well. 

Overall, the Slavia manages to strike a great balance between comfort and dynamic ability, and it is a car that you will enjoy driving, irrespective of where you are.

The Skoda Slavia is offered in 5 variants: Classic, Signature, Sportline, Monte Carlo, and Prestige.

Slavia Classic

• Base variant gets 15-inch steel wheels with covers, halogen headlights with LED DRLs and LED tail lights with reflective lamp.

• Basic interior with fabric upholstery, black inside door handles, and chrome only on the AC vent sliders.

• Covers basics like manual AC, tilt and telescopic steering wheel, electrically adjustable ORVMs, all four power windows, and a 12V socket.

• The entertainment package includes a 7-inch infotainment system with wired Android Auto and Apple Carplay, 4-speakers and connected car technology.

• 6 airbags, ABS with EBD, traction control, ISOFIX mounts, rear parking sensors and electronic stability control are offered as standard.

Slavia Signature

• Slightly better looks with 16-inch alloys, more chrome inserts, LED headlights, front fog lamps and LED tail lights.

• Improved interior feel with ambient lighting, silver inserts, chrome-finished bezels for the AC vents, leatherette steering wheel and a sunroof.

• Top feature additions include electrically folding ORVMs, front central armrest, auto AC, rear AC vents, cruise control, auto-dimming IRVM, and 2 type-C charging ports (front).

• Improved infotainment package with a 10.25-inch touchscreen display with wireless Android Auto and Apple Carplay, and 8 speakers. The driver gets a 3.5-inch MID display as well.

• Rear view camera, rain sensing wipers and hill hold control is the only addition in the safety kit.

Slavia Sportline

• Entry-level variant for the 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine.

• Focuses on a more premium and sporty visual appeal inside-out.

• More premium looks with black 16-inch alloy wheels, dark chrome accents on door handles, glossy black finished grille, tailgate spoiler, ORVMs, diffuser and side skirts, and darkened LED tail lights.

• Interior features Slavia inscription on scuff plates, and sporty aluminium pedals.

• No changes in the features and safety kit.

Slavia Monte Carlo

• Exterior gets Monet Carlo fender badging, while interior features a sportier black theme with red inserts all around.

• Richer interior feel with black ventilated leatherette seats, front and rear door armrest, and sportier red stitching.

• Infotainment gets a sportier red theme with a higher 380W output 8-speaker sound system, while driver gets a 8-inch digital driver's display with a red theme.

• No changes to the safety kit.

Slavia Prestige

• Reverts back to a more sophisticated look inside-out with chrome accents instead of gloss black elements.

• Interior features a dual tone black and beige middle console.

• Infotainment system and driver’s display revert back to the standard non-red theme.

• No changes to the feature or safety kit.

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• If you’re absolutely on a tight budget, and just need a basic sedan, then the base variant actually offers all the functional features that you would need without any real compromise. 

• The mid-spec Signature variant feels the most value for money with its balance of function, feel-good and safety features.

• Sportline variant offers a decent entry-point to the more powerful 1.5-litre turbo petrol engine, and can be opted if you want better performance.

• Monte Carlo can be opted if you want a sportier-looking Slavia.

The Skoda Slavia is a car that will make you question ‘why do you need an SUV?’. Because not only does the car offer a comfortable ride quality that won’t slow you down when the going gets tough, its fun to drive factor is something that no SUV can match at this price point. Sure, some of its segment rivals might offer a more premium cabin experience, but the Slavia delivers on aspects like space for four, comfort, practicality, features and safety, which make it a great family sedan, one that you’ll enjoy driving yourself too.

Other Cars To Consider Instead Of Skoda Slavia

Honda City/ City Hybrid

Reasons to consider

• Cabin layout and theme is more family friendly

• Top-spec non-hybrid variants are significantly more affordable

• Hybrid variant is super fuel efficient

Reasons to ignore

• Performance isn’t as punchy

Hyundai Verna

Reasons to consider

• Option of a naturally aspirated petrol engine 

• Cabin feels more premium

• Better rear seat experience

• More features like ADAS and dual zone climate control

Reasons to ignore

• Polarising looks

• No wireless support for Android Auto/Apple CarPlay

• NA petrol isn’t as powerful as the Slavia’s smaller turbo-petrol

Volkswagen Virtus

Reasons to consider

• More dynamic with slightly better handling

• Exterior and interior feel more sporty

Reasons to ignore

• Doesn’t feel as family friendly

• Slightly less comfortable ride quality