2026 Skoda Slavia Facelift Vs Old Model Compared In Detail

Even amid the ever-growing popularity of compact and mid-size SUVs, Skoda continues to place its faith in India's sedan segment. With the unveil of the Slavia facelift, it has got a redesigned bumper, updated LED headlamps, fancy new alloy wheels and similar interior theme. 

As the Slavia gets a facelift, it has noticeable differences from the outgoing model, but what exactly has been changed? That is exactly what we are going to take a look at in this story. So, let’s start with the design:

Design

The Slavia facelift brings in the new design language of Skoda, which has LED DRLs that are nicely integrated into the grille. It gets sleek-looking LED projector headlamps and LED fog lamps placed around the redesigned bumper, which has a new textured finish on the lower air dam as compared to the outgoing model. The bonnet has a sharp line that flows into the grille, which has vertical slats in it, along with the Skoda logo on the bonnet, which the older car also had.

Coming to the profile, the Slavia facelift has a similar body line as the outgoing model, with a chrome window line that flows towards the rear quarter glass, body-coloured door handles, and ORVMs with LED turn indicators. The facelift gets new 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheels compared to the older car. 

At the rear, the difference is very subtle: where the new facelift has the Skoda lettering positioned along the LED taillamps, the previous model used to have the Skoda lettering slightly above the taillamps. It continues to get split LED taillamps, rear parking sensors, and the rear bumper with a textured finish, which looks sporty for the Slavia. 

Colour Options

The Slavia facelift gets a total of 10 shades, including the newly introduced Arctic Silver and Cappuccino, while the older Slavia was available with 6 colour options to choose from. Here are the colours available with both models:

*Newly Introduced, **Available in dual-tone

• The Slavia facelift adds new shades to its colour palette as compared to the older model.

• Whereas, the older model had an option of dual-tone colours, which the new car currently does not get. 

• The old Slavia had a new Shimla Green colur recently being introduced which did look nice, but now with the Arctic Silver, the Slavia facelift does look more premium than before.

Interior

Step inside the Slavia facelift, and you will notice that not much has changed with the update; with the new Slavia, it comes with the same two-spoke steering wheel, dual-tone black and beige interior theme, a floating infotainment touchscreen system, gloss-black finished automatic climate control, a nice diamond pattern over the dashboard panel, and leatherette seat upholstery. 

By having a similar design, we think that Skoda lost an opportunity to make the interior more premium to be in line with the competition. 

Features

The Slavia facelift packs in some new useful features such as an updated 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen system with an AI assistant powered by Google Cloud, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a wireless phone charger, a 10.25-inch digital driver’s display, touch-controlled automatic climate control, power-adjustable and ventilated front seats, rear seats massaging function for added comfort, and a single-pane sunroof.  

On the other hand, the outgoing Slavia used to be equipped with an older UI, a 10.1-inch infotainment touchscreen with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, automatic climate control, powered front seats, rear AC vents, USB Type-C charging ports, and a single-pane sunroof. The equipment list was good for this segment, but the facelifted car did add some unique features. 

Safety

In terms of safety, the Slavia continues to be one of the safest cars in the segment with 5-star safety ratings in Global NCAP tests. Compared to the older sedan, the facelifted Slavia adds a new 360-degree camera and front parking sensors. 

Like the outgoing Slavia, it gets 6 airbags, a tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS), electronic stability control (ESC), hill hold assist (HHA), hill start assist (HSA), all-wheel disc brakes, and ISOFIX child seat mounts. 

Powertrain Options

The Slavia facelift continues to be powered by turbo-petrol engines, which include a 1-litre turbo-petrol engine and a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine, just like the outgoing model.

It is now paired with a new 8-speed automatic torque converter, which is available with the 1-litre TSI engine, as introduced with the Kushaq facelift.

MT- Manual Transmission, AT- Automatic Transmission (torque converter), DSG- Dual Clutch Transmission (automatic)

Price & Rivals

The Slavia facelift prices are yet to be annouced, but we can expect price hike of Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000 as compared to the outgoing model. The Slavia’s rivals include the Hyundai Verna, Honda City, and the Volkswagen Virtus. 

CarDekho Says….

The Slavia continues to be one of the favourite choices for Indian car buyers in this segment, and with the facelift being introduced, it does elevate the premium appeal in terms of design and aesthetics of the car. Compared to the older car, it adds unique features like the rear seat massager, which you don't get even in vehicles in the segment above. 

Skoda, with the update, brought in a new 8-speed torque converter automatic for the 1-litre TSI engine, which makes the gear shift much smoother than before. It also has the enthusiast's favourite 1.5 TSI engine mated to a 7-speed DCT gearbox. In conclusion, with the launch of the Slavia facelift, the automaker remains optimistic that driving enthusiasts will still appreciate a well-crafted sedan and will continue to challenge SUV market share alongside its predecessor!