SUVs, perhaps, have grown exponentially in India primarily because they have a higher ground clearance than sedans which we need in a country like ours. SUVs, now even have a sub-segment such as compact SUVs, sub-compact SUVs (sub-4m), mid-size SUVs, premium SUVs, full-size SUVs, and electric SUVs. There are several reasons why sedans have lost popularity in the Indian market. As observed, nothing can beat a sedan in terms of comfort, handling, mileage, and better performance. 

After launching the Skoda Slavia, Skoda Auto India is confident that they can revitalise the sedan segment, as they claim, that they are known for delivering great sedans for the last 20 years. As per one of the senior officials of Skoda Auto India, the country has limited options in the sedan segment, and no carmaker has launched anything new in the Indian market. 

The Skoda Slavia, being competitively priced, might catch up with the sales of compact SUVs and may bring back the audience to the sedan segment. That will indicate whether Skoda Auto India has successfully paved the way for sedans or not.

 

The facade:

The Skoda Slavia's exterior features a reinterpreted butterfly grille surrounded by chrome and is accompanied by a sleek pair of LED headlights which is similar to the fourth-gen Octavia. The bonnet exudes a sharp style, giving the car a masculine appeal. The Skoda Slavia has a wheelbase of 2651mm which makes the longest in its segment. In terms of dimensions, the Skoda Slavia is ahead of its rivals except for the height as the Honda City is just 2mm taller. The Skoda Slavia also holds the highest ground clearance of 179mm, in its segment. Depending upon the variant chosen, it gets a tyre profile of 195/65 R15 or 205/55 R16. The Skoda Slavia either runs on steel wheels or alloy wheels, depending upon the variant chosen. Unlike the lower variants, only the "Style" variant is equipped with LED headlights, fog lights and LED DRLs. In terms of the overall design, the Skoda Slavia looks premium and has a mini-Octavia-like appearance. 

 

What’s the Skoda Slavia’s interior like?

From the inside, it looks similar to the Skoda Kushaq because of the overall design of the interior. The interior gets a dual-tone black and beige colour combination and the use of good quality materials give an upmarket feel to it. The cabin also feels roomy and practical. It also offers a lot of storage compartments. Depending upon the variant, it gets either a 7-inch touch infotainment unit or a 10-inch touch infotainment unit. It also gets a 2-spoke multifunctional steering wheel. The grainy patterned dashboard is accompanied by piano black inserts. The Skoda Slavia also gets front and rear power windows, a navigation system, lumbar support, rear parking sensors, etc., as standard. The top variant, the "Style" variant, is packed with a single-pane sunroof, an 8-inch digital instrument cluster, cooled ventilated front seats, wireless charger, cooled glove box, leather seats, rain-sensing wipers, six airbags, and an auto-dimming IRVM, among others. Upper variants get 60:40 split seats, except for the base model, "Active". The boot capacity of this Skoda cars is 521 litres, which is expandable to 1050 litres with folded seats.

 

 

What powers the Skoda Slavia?

As far as the engine specifications of the Skoda Slavia are concerned, it gets a 1.0-litre TSI engine that produces 113hp at 5000rpm and 178Nm of torque at 1750rpm, whereas the 1.5-litre TSI engine churns out 147bhp at 5000rpm and 250Nm of torque at 1600-3500rpm. It gets a 6-speed manual transmission, which is available in both engines. In an automatic transmission, it has a 6-speed torque converter available in the 1.0-litre TSI and a 7-speed DSG, which is exclusively paired with the 1.5-litre TSI engine. It has only petrol-spec engines on offer since the Volkswagen group has discontinued the production of diesel engines. The Skoda Slavia's mileage ranges from 18.07kmpl to 19.47kmpl, depending upon the engine and transmission combination. Both the engines have a fuel capacity of 45 litres.

 

Prices and variants:

The Skoda Slavia’s price starts from ₹10 Lakhs and goes all the way up to ₹18.84 Lakhs, ex-showroom. It has 12 variants, subcategories in: "Classic, Signature, Sportline, Prestige, and Monte Carlo". There are ten colours on offer: Brilliant Silver, Lava Blue, Cappuccino Beige, Arctic Silver, Carbon Steel, Deep Black, Shimla Green, Steel Grey, Candy White and Cherry Red.. The compact sedan competes with the Hyundai Verna, Honda City, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, and the soon to be launched Volkswagen Virtus.