[nevin007]

Wonderful review of the aggressive looking sedan from Skoda.
On engine, comfort wise it seems good, but the noise of suspension will raise a concern. Was looking at some video reviews of the car, their is significant suspension noise inside the cabin, even when the car is going on those thick painted horizontal strips.

[ron178]

Škoda Slavia launched, starting at INR 10.69L (Active).

[Venkatesh]

Skoda India has launched the Slavia 1.0-litre TSI at a starting price of Rs 10.69L and go up to Rs 15.39 lakh (ex-showroom, India)

Slavia 1.0 TSI is available in three trims – Active, Ambition and Style.

Style variant is available without sunroof only in MT and no automatic.



Compared to the price list shared on Team-BHP



Prices for the 1.5 TSI version will be announced on 3rd March.

Source

[Torqueceptor]

A much awaited review. A 5 star deserving one too. Eagerly waiting for the driving review of the 1.5 L DSG by the coming week. I personally went to Brite Noida to check out the Slavia this weekend. The entire experience at the Skoda showroom was premium in every sense , from the layout to the sales guys turnout and eagerness to make a sale. The salesperson on learning that I drive a Laura currently insisted that I consider the Octavia as a replacement as the quality of the Slavia will leave me wanting for more. And boy was he right! Once in the car, I felt let down by the hard plastics, roof liner etc. For 21 Lacs on road for the 1.5 ltr DSG variant, I feel let down. I am now seriously considering the Octavia or a used Superb under 30 Lacs . For Skoda's sake I really hope the Slavia is well received. We suckers at team-bhp think from our hearts rather than minds and need the VAG guys to sort their house to keep our love for driving non boring cars.

[VALLURIS]

Excellent review. Team-BHP reviews are second to none.

Cost cutting is evident at most places. Most Kushaq owners are complaining about cabin noise, hope Škoda rectified it in Slavia.

At 11 lakhs ex I guess Škoda can sell around 2000 copies for the first few months.

[Nair.V8]

Brilliant review as always! Looking forward to driving impressions of the 1.5TSi equipped Slavia, i think there's good tuning potential here!

[Parth46]

Prices seem to be atleast 50-70K too high! By this yardstick, 1.5 TSI+DSG will cross 22 OTR in cities like Bangalore, and will be dead on arrival!

Wake up Skoda!

[amit1agrawal]

Skoda has priced Slavia slightly higher than Honda City which is already priced at a premium. I was eagerly waiting for the prices are am not happy with it. I think the prices are a tad too high. 1.0 TSI Manual with Sunroof will be about 17.5 on-road in Bengaluru which is about 40k more than the City ZX manual.
For me, if Slavia has a clear edge in terms of driving over City then only I will go for it. Skoda is getting too optimistic. Kushaq didn't do that well, lukewarm response to Slavia still they are pricing it high.

[Hatari]

Great review.

A few years ago would have never even considered a Skoda in spite of being an admirer of the driving experience/safety standards - only due to the after sales horror stories.
Need a daily driver that is reliable with no long waits for parts etc.

But the Slavia is tempting with the 6yr extended warranty option. 1.0L Auto (non DSG) seems to be ideal.
Shall closely follow how it does, as I need to upgrade my Verna in the next 12-18 months.

Coming to pricing, I feel it is as expected for a premium sedan. No complaints.

Only thing missing is details of features offered across the 3 variants.

[umairalvi]

Say whatever you may but these new offerings from VAG-Skoda, for me personally, look like half baked products. Instead, what they should have done is localized the global products more and bring their production cost down.
We don't want products that have been developed half heartedly and show no real effort put in by the company. I see so many elements from the old gen Skoda cars. All interior switches are straight out from the previous gen Rapid / Octavia, the boot lining has a compromised finish, the bonnet doesn't feel as heavy as it used to, the dashboard squeaking right from day 1 etc. I can keep going all day with the list of such issues. The steering is the only new element which seems to have been standardized across the whole range of Skoda cars. Thankfully, the driving dynamics have been retained for the most part. However, it was the combination of all things good that made these brands so desirable at this price point.
It's unimaginable that we used to get a Skoda Laura for the same price as this car a few years ago and it was 100 times better at everything it did. The solid build, tight shut lines, built to last feel of everything you touch. Oh, I miss the good old days. The Fabia and Rapid in addition to this were greatly built cars too. I am pretty sure a Hyundai Creta or a Kia Seltos will have much better interior quality compared to the Kushaq and Slavia these days. The upmarket feel that we used to associate with European brands is now gone with the Kushaq and Slavia. I understand that new cars have problems at launch but I sill see Zac's Twitter flooded with issues with the Kushaq even after customer's multiple visits to the workshop. This shows that there's something fundamentally wrong with the car. This after all the 5-6 month hype leading to the launch. It's just unacceptable. I hope they have learned something from it and have sorted any such issues with the Slavia. I feel they have made it overly evident that these cars are indeed designed for a third world country. It's just that I expected better of them given the number of years they have spent in India as a brand. It's high time we make these brands accountable and push them to bring products sold globally with similar levels of quality. Look at commitments from a brand like Hyundai. They have developed a lot of their models in India which have gone on to become world class products. This is the reason they are doing so well in the Indian market.
It's my sincere request to VAG-Skoda to show more commitment to markets such as India if they don't want to be forced to take the Ford route. These half baked products are not going to take you a long way.
Sorry for such a long rant!

[any23]

IMHO looks like Skoda is no way concerned about sales number game, they just want profit from day one, agree that profit is important but one must learn from market scenario if one is really concerned about surviving and thriving in the market amongst stiff competition.

There is no point start offering discounts on new launches just after 6 months of launch, because once the interest is lost amongst customers there is no catching up, they have Kushaq as a in hand experience (I don't think anyone in my circle bought a Seltos or Creta on some discount offering).

Kia Launched Carens at introductory price of 8.99lacs onwards, that doesn't mean their management is nuts, but I think are smart and clever enough to get customers moving in to their showrooms.

[JShah]

Rs.1.4 Lakh difference for a AT transmission is way too much IMO, What is skoda thinking? The AT variants should have been atleast 50-60k Cheaper if not more.

[Kashi053]

Wonderful review.

Can you please compare the driving dynamics of Kushaq vs Slavia to help me understand how much its worth moving towards Seadan for the fun to drive factor?

Why isn't the 1L AT review is not done yet? I understand 1.5L will be launching on 3rd March.

[abhi_ank]

Not for this price point. With the bad rep that Kushaq received coupled with the dying sedan segment means the numbers would be low for the Slavia in any case. The price just became another disadvantage.
You cant expect be to be a niche(premium) player in the value segment by offering an average product. Impossible trinity.
What is the Skoda India Management thinking?

[divyadeeptsi]

Great review as always

Pricing seems to be reasonable. 6 months down the line, it'll be selling with 50-70k discounts as the response might get lukewarm.

I can't digest the fact that this tune of 1.0 TSI motor despite pushing 5bhp and 8nm more is a full 1 sec slower than the outgoing Rapid . Handling is also compromised when compared to the rapid. The whole idea of comparing this with the Honda City is faded now, City 1.5 vtec is faster than this and on par in terms of handling.

They have totally tried to make this a comfort oriented car and diluted the SKoda flavour we have been seeing.

Why would anyone pick this over the city ivtec, if they want a comfortable sedan with decent performance ?