[neochanger]

Hi everyone!

I had brought home my first ever car last year on third of November so it's the first anniversary for my Slavia 1.0 MT Style and appropriate moment for me to write down the whole ownership experience from my perspective. Those who don't want to go through whole of the write-up, I am happy to summarize it in one line: It's a brilliant car overall, a value-for-money top end variant in 1.0 lineup, nothing to complain about, and extra points to Skoda/VW for keeping the sedan segment alive and refreshing.



Trilemma of choices:

Initially, I had Virtus in my mind as its overall design and interiors were more appealing to me. In fact, it was my first choice as soon as it was revealed and it remains my biggest regret till date that I bought Slavia instead of Virtus. The only reason was the tight budget and Skoda lured me with free SMP and extended warranty along with some discount. The Honda City, already brought by my brother an year ago, came in between while deliberating these options but couldn't manage to appeal design-wise to my wife who insisted to try something new. Since Virtus was out due to no discounts/offers, the final battle was between City and Slavia and sometimes I used to dream of having reliable i-vtec NA engine but only till this September as I drove my brother's Honda City from Mumbai to Goa and back (in not so good weather) and realised how easy, comfortable and fun it is to drive a Slavia with turbo engine than City's NA which too often refuses to move in just one gear up than required. I am more happy now to be with Slavia.



Overall performance, the good, the better and the best:

Slavia is almost a perfect car. On paper it might look that 1.0 is insufficient power-wise but on the road, it just needs your approval to show what it is capable of. It can beat all NA engines that are less than 2.0 litres in capacity. It can even beat some of the 1.5 diesels. And despite being 3-cylinder engine, the cabin noise is minimal. The Honda City has more cabin noise at speeds above 60.

Slavia's Style variant has all the needed features, and at the price point I got it, there's hardly any important feature that is missing. It has auto headlamps, rain-sensing wipers and ventilated seats.

And it looks stunning, a class above with timeless design and great attention to detail. No car except Virtus comes close to it in terms of design. In fact the only point which I found somewhat odd in design is the rear taillamps (and you must know that I observe and judge too minutely when it comes to design) where Virtus beats it without a doubt but Virtus too has one odd point at the front - the large black lower part of the front bumper which looks like a large hole when you see it from front) so overall Slavia's design is timeless, sharp and head-turner.

The not so good:

The AC, as is well known, reported and analysed by many, is just adequate. It's not just the amount of cooling or performance in intense summer but the whole touch-based design is difficult to adapt to. It gets accidental touchs while changing the gear and fan-noise is more than it should be. Even after all these issues, I won't say that AC is deal-breaker or way too annoying. It does the job. It simply doesn't do the job impressively and since Slavia's all other aspects are way too classy, it has garnered more attention than it would otherwise. Apart from AC, one thing that isn't timeless IMO is the dashboard design -- the whole copper stripe and round cheaply built ac vents may appeal to many initially but looks boring very soon. Virtus beats Slavia in this segment too as its design is likely is age gracefully. Again, it's not that Slavia's dashboard looks bad, it just does not meet my (high) expectations.



Final words:

Overall, the car is stunningly brilliant in the price segment and the engine is very flexible -- has power when you need it, is fuel-efficient when you want it to be. The exterior design is timeless and classy. It is well-built, has got 5-star GNCAP safety and NVH is well under control. With good enough features list and service packs on offer, there is no better car than this (and Virtus) at the price point of 16-17 lakhs. And those thinking about CSUVs, the high GC of 180mm is enough to deal with ordinary bad roads so another feather in cap here. All in all, I am happy to have it as my first car and my love for this one is growing day by day.

[AlokSharma]

Originally Posted by RMN

Congrats mate!
One question though, why XP95? It isn't recommended nor does it have any advantage over regular fuel for the Slavia, right?

Hi,

Thank you.

As Audioholic rightly said, the recommended fuel is 95 octane. Please find below a screenshot from the Slavia manual showing the same.

[Reinhard]

Originally Posted by AlokSharma

As Audioholic rightly said, the recommended fuel is 95 octane. Please find below a screenshot from the Slavia manual showing the same.

Am I missing something? The recommended octane rating is 91 Octane. Not 95. And - 91 Octane is the specification of the regular petrol available in India. 95 Octane "may give better performance / mileage" is what the documentation states, in politically correct language, but its definitely not the "recommended specification". 91 should work fine without harming the engine as per my interpretation. (A lot of people in known circle use xp95 and swear by the improvement it brings in driving experience, so yes it must be better than regular petrol.)

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Am I missing something? The recommended octane rating is 91 Octane. Not 95. And - 91 Octane is the specification of the regular petrol available in India. 95 Octane "may give better performance / mileage" is what the documentation states, in politically correct language, but its definitely not the "recommended specification". 91 should work fine without harming the engine as per my interpretation. (A lot of people in known circle use xp95 and swear by the improvement it brings in driving experience, so yes it must be better than regular petrol.)

If you read it again, "Specified fuel is 95 octane, min. 91 octane. That means the engine is most comfortable with 95 but will still run at 91, with a certain loss of power and fuel consumption. Hence, they also state that if you run anything less than the specified number(95), strain on the engine must be minimal and only mid range engine speeds to be maintained. And, this absolute limit is 91 which must be topped up with 95 ASAP going by the second point.

This is specific to engine and very much so for the TSI and 91 is only recommended in emergency. 91 will work fine for the rest of the cars where the manufacturer has not mentioned about usage of 95 or above. So in those cars, even though 95 will be better performing and smoother, it is not mandatory. For the TSI, fill 95 without second thought.

[RMN]

Originally Posted by Reinhard

Am I missing something? The recommended octane rating is 91 Octane. Not 95. And - 91 Octane is the specification of the regular petrol available in India. 95 Octane "may give better performance / mileage" is what the documentation states, in politically correct language, but its definitely not the "recommended specification". 91 should work fine without harming the engine as per my interpretation. (A lot of people in known circle use xp95 and swear by the improvement it brings in driving experience, so yes it must be better than regular petrol.)

I believe you are correct or at least that's what I've understood over the years and hence my earlier question. The instructions in the screenshot posted is similar to what most cars in India come along with. Besides, isn't XP95's higher octane number achieved with higher ethanol (I may be wrong on this front).

In my personal experience, I've never felt any major advantages of using XP95 over the regular petrol in my ZX10R.

[800-1.2]

Originally Posted by veyron_head

Now I am getting an on-road quote of 19.3 lacs and 19.6 lacs respectively for the 2023 and 2024 models. This for the 1.0 AT style variant. Is this a good price? The dealer rep tells me he can get another 5k Rs additionally but that would be it. The basic accessories - mats, skoda cushions and rear sunblinds are included.

The ex-showroom price of the MY24 1.0 AT Style is 32k more than that of the MY23 car. Include the higher TCS, insurance and registration costs for the MY24 car and the on road price difference should be ~40k. And on top of this, you should be getting much higher discounts on the MY23 car. So I don’t see how the dealer is making you an offer of just 30k difference between the two, unless he’s offering better discounts on the MY24 compared to the MY23 (which doesn’t make sense to me really).

On the other hand, 19.6L for the MY24 car seems to be a pretty good deal. That’s like a discount of ~70k, which is not bad at all IMHO.

[M-Roc]

Originally Posted by audioholic

If you read it again, "Specified fuel is 95 octane, min. 91 octane. T

Hi Sir,

I have a question which might be slightly off topic but can you help me by clarifying the same.

I regularly use XP95 from IOCL. when I go for long distance at times I have to struggle to find an IOCL which provides XP95. In My last trip from my native place to bangalore I have to skip at least 5 petrol pumps to find an IOCL with XP95.

Hence can you clarify if there is any alternative to XP95 is available which can be used in Slavia ? May be from HP, BP, Shell etc

Thanks

[sinharishi]

Please download the IOCL app, you can locate all pumps having stock of XP95 by filtering out XP95. The app also has an option to search for pumps from your nearest location.

HP also has started rolling out Power95 across pumps on highways. I managed to find IOCL pumps having XP95 on my NCR-BOM-PNQ-NCR drive.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by M-Roc

Hence can you clarify if there is any alternative to XP95 is available which can be used in Slavia ? May be from HP, BP, Shell etc

Thanks

No problem, happy to help. Like Sinharishi mentioned, the IOCL app will be your best friend. It provides the location, contact details and you can even call them up and check if they have stock

Other than that HP has started to roll out Power95 in many locations and that's another alternative to XP95. Hopefully we will also get Speed in 95 octane instead of the more expensive 97 currently sold. What really irks me is Shell not offering 95 octane even in their V power. At least then the premium will be justified.

[SpikeSpiegel26]

Hello Everyone,

I got my new Slavia Style 1.0 AT Lava Blue delivered on 5th November and I can't contain my excitement. Although the enthusiasm is marred by the ongoing viral fever scare, I am quite pumped up to take this beauty out for a long spin once my family & I recover from the illness. To be frank, I had my eyes on owning a VAG twin vehicle from a long time, stretching back to 2022 when I took the test drive of Kushaq. What started as a hunt to finalize a compact SUV (Taigun/Kushaq) quickly ended up being a luxury of owning a sedan. Such is the drivability and comfort of Slavia which made me a fan instantly, despite my skepticism of riding a sedan in city traffics.

DELIVERY EXPERIENCE

So we arrived in the morning at the dealership and were given a warm welcome. The car was shining in all its glory, with all the accessories and fittings done as per my specifications and HSRP number plate. This definitely got a thumbs up from me as it eliminated the hassle of driving the car back for the number plate fitting. The showroom staff conducted a small pooja as per their tradition and the SC walked me through all the basics of the car, MID and Infotainment system, accessories and other minor but important details. I can't thank the dealership and their team enough, who made this whole experience a pleasant one and hassle free. In hindsight, I made a good decision of booking the car immediately with them after the test drives as I was blown away to find out that I had been allocated a vehicle, the very next day. Henceforth, the whole process was a breeze and the dealer was co-operative at every step. The PDI from Zekardo was also a big sigh of relief as it eliminated any doubts or concerns I had regarding niggles in a factory car. Overall I was satisfied with their inspection method and the report was also extensive. I concluded my affairs with the dealer and was elated to receive a fresh, scratch free, feature laden vehicle which perfectly suits my specifications and needs.

INITIAL IMPRESSIONS

I will keep this short, as I have yet to test many features of the car. As far as first impressions are concerned, I just love the handling and confidence the car generates while riding. The car definitely garners attention and grabs eyeballs, especially with this unique paint which is still a rarity on roads. I am playing it safe and letting the engine run in on low rpms (3000 max) and the current mileage is around 10-11 kmpl as per the instrument cluster in sparse traffic. I am hoping these figures will improve with time and quality of the fuel. The AC performance is adequate for me with satisfactory cooling as the full performance of the cooling unit will be tested in the peak of summers. The window rolling motor is definitely noisy in Skoda compared to other cars. I found the brakes to be a little stiff and can hear squeaking sound as I release them gradually in Drive mode. Otherwise the braking is delightful and car remains stable. Regarding the gearshifts, they are smooth as butter especially after the 2nd gear when the turbo spools in.

AFTER SALES

Although this will be tested in the long run, I am very happy about the follow up from the relations team of SKODA and the showroom. These small things add to a complete and fulfilling experience. They made sure I received all the documents and asked if I faced any problems while driving car all the while assuring me that any problem, if any, will be taken care of. So I am hopeful that with this professional and positive approach, I won't have to see the light of a non OEM workshop, atleast during warranty period. I will be purchasing their Service Maintenance Package so as to safeguard myself from inflated price of parts and labour in future. And as suggested by fellow BHPians, I will be getting a ceramic coating done to keep the quality and shine of the paint intact.

Attaching a few pics of my darling vehicle for you guys to oggle. The camera doesn't do justice to the actual colour and varies a lot when you see it in real.

[stringbh]

Originally Posted by Shanksta

13. The DSG has a tendency to downshift to D1 at the slightest hint of a rough, muddy or gravely road.

This shift to D1 seems unavoidable, producing the trademark "khat khat" sound. For short rough patches and mostly speed breakers, approaching at the right speed and disengaging the A pedal at the right moment, i.e., just before the patch, allows the car to continue in D2 for some time. This works perfectly for speed breakers, not always for rough patches.

I do not know of a better way for now.

[AlokSharma]

So one observation I have had in the past one week of driving the car is that whenever I start the car, the rpm stays elevated above 1000 rpm for like almost 30-40 odd seconds before it settles down back below 1000 rpm near 800-900 rpm. Is this normal?

[headbanger]

Originally Posted by AlokSharma

So one observation I have had in the past one week of driving the car is that whenever I start the car, the rpm stays elevated above 1000 rpm for like almost 30-40 odd seconds before it settles down back below 1000 rpm near 800-900 rpm. Is this normal?

It's prevalent for any car. The RPM stays above normal during cold starts to achieve ambient temperature and then goes down to default the moment it is achieved. Up here in north, it's a common phenomenon during chilly mornings.

[Shanksta]

Originally Posted by AlokSharma

So one observation I have had in the past one week of driving the car is that whenever I start the car, the rpm stays elevated above 1000 rpm for like almost 30-40 odd seconds before it settles down back below 1000 rpm near 800-900 rpm. Is this normal?

It is common during cold starts. The engine will stay at 1300-1400rpm for more than minute and then settle down to 800-900rpm. Do wait for the engine to settle down during the first start of the day before moving the car.

[ashivas89]

Originally Posted by Shanksta

Do wait for the engine to settle down during the first start of the day before moving the car.

You should never do this on modern cars. Start driving slowly without gunning the engine, but never idle for too long. The fluids (both oil and coolant) flow more readily and the engine heats up more effectively and uniformly if you drive off rather than idle the car. Moreover the catalytic converter also heats up faster and comes up to optimal temperature sooner, so you're being kinder to the environment too by driving rather than letting the engine idle.