Skoda Slavia

Skoda Auto India had launched the Slavia mid-sized sedan in the Indian market in February 2022. Despite slowing demand for sedans, the Skoda Slavia sedan has received positive response from car buyers. 

The sedan is based on the Volkswagen Group's MQB AO platform, which underpins multiple vehicles globally. This platform is heavily localised to achieve competitive pricing. This flexible architecture can accommodate different body styles and multiple engine options including petrol & EV.

The Skoda Slavia is available with two petrol engine options - a 1.0L 3-cylinder turbo and a 1.5L 4-cylinder turbocharged. Both manual and automatic gearbox options are on offer. This sedan targets multiple buyers including those looking for a performance oriented car. The Slavia offers stylish looks, a feature-loaded cabin and spirited performance. 

Skoda Slavia Price and Variants - Which One To Buy?

The Skoda Slavia is available in 4 trim levels - Active, Ambition, Style and Elegance - and in total of 13 variants. The Slavia sedan price in India starts at Rs 10.69 lakh and goes up to Rs 18.69 lakh. All the prices are ex-showroom, India. 

Expert Opinion - We recommend you to go for the Skoda Slavia Style Sunroof 1.0L turbo variant. It comes with a 1.0L turbo petrol engine with both manual and automatic gearbox options.

The Style variant gets an 8-inch touchscreen infotainment unit, an electric sunroof, LED projector headlamps, 6 airbags, and ventilated front seats. It also gets auto headlamps, 16-inch machined alloy wheels, and black leather upholstery. 

Key Features

• LED headlamps, LED Tail-lamps, LED DRLs
• 10-inch touchscreen infotainment with Android Auto & Apple CarPlay
• Ventilated front seats, automatic climate control
• Digital instrument console, cruise control
• Cooled glovebox & ambient lighting

The new Skoda Slavia is a decently-equipped mid-sized sedan, which offers multiple useful features. The sedan gets an LED lighting system, which includes LED headlamps with LED daytime running lamps, and LED tail-lights. It also offers chrome door handles and a shark fin antenna.

For music lovers, it gets a 10-inch touchscreen infotainment unit with smartphone connectivity, and an 8-speaker sound system. Other features include powered ORVMs, cooled glovebox, cruise control, a digital driver's display, ambient lighting, ventilated front seats, automatic headlamps, auto dimming IRVMs, and a single-pane sunroof.

Engine Specifications

The Skoda Slavia engine options include a 1.0-litre 3-cylinder TSI turbo petrol and a 1.5-litre 4-cylinder TSI turbo petrol. The 1.0L engine is capable of producing 113.4bhp of power and 175Nm of torque. This engine comes mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed torque convertor automatic.

The 1.5-litre TSI petrol engine churns out a maximum power output of 148bhp and 250Nm of torque. Power is transmitted to the front wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox. It also gets a 6-speed manual gearbox.

Mileage

The Skoda Slavia 1.0 TSI with manual and automatic gearbox claims to offer an ARAI certified fuel economy of 20.32kmpl and 18.73kmpl, respectively. The Slavia 1.5L DSG or DCT returns a certified mileage of 19.36kmpl, while the manual version returns 19kmpl.

Exterior

The Skoda Slavia features a sleek design with sharper lines and elegant looks. The front features the Skoda's signature grille, flanked by sharp LED headlamps with LED daytime running lamps. It has a sculpted bonnet with 4 sharp lines that merges nicely with a chrome bar running around the grille. The lower bumper has wider mesh-type air-intake and fog lamp housing.

The side profile of the sedan has a coupe-like roofline, offering a sporty stance. It comes with flared wheel arches that house stylish 16-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels. There is a strong window line that has chrome treatment and chrome door handles. At the back, the Skoda Slavia gets a wrap-around split LED tail-lamps, boot lid with Skoda lettering, and a subtle spoiler.

Interior

Similar to the exterior, the Skoda Slavia comes with a neat and uncluttered cabin. It features a dual-tone dashboard layout that houses a free-standing touchscreen infotainment system, a digital instrument console and Air con vents with chrome bezels. The sedan gets a twin-spoke multi-functional steering wheel. The infotainment unit is compatible with wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay.

The sedan offers ventilated front seats. In fact, few variants come with electrically adjustable driver's seat. The rear space is good and offers decent space for two adults and a kid. The sedan also comes with a host of comfort and convenience features like automatic climate control, an electric sunroof, wireless charging, ambient lighting and a cooled glovebox.

Dimensions and Boot Space

The Slavia is one of the longest models in its category with over 4.5 meters in length. It measures 4,541 mm in length, 1,752 mm in width and 1,507 mm in height. The sedan rides on a 2,651 mm long wheelbase, which ensures a spacious cabin and a big boot.

It offers a boot space of 521-litres, which is more than sufficient to carry 2 big suitcases along with daily bags. The sedan has a ground clearance of 179mm, which is good for Indian road conditions.

Infotainment and Connectivity (Music System)

It is packed with an 10-inch touchscreen infotainment unit with smartphone connectivity option. The sedan gets a 380W audio system with four bass speakers and four tweeters. A subwoofer is added in the spare wheel, while an amplifier is placed under the front passenger seat. 

Safety Features

As standard, the Slavia mid-sized sedan gets dual front airbags, ABS with EBD, ESC (Electronic Stability Control) with traction control, multi-collision braking, rear parking sensors and tyre pressure monitoring system (TPMS).

The sedan has fog lamps, parking camera, hill hold control, automatic headlamps, airbags, and rain sensing wipers for safety.

Warranty and Maintenance

Skoda gives its customers a warranty service of up to 4 years or 1 lakh kilometers, whichever comes earlier. This elongated warranty service program ensures a complete peace of mind to its customers.

Skoda's warranty program covers repairing of manufacturing defects in the paint work for 3 years. Adding to it, this program also covers bodywork corrosion for up to six years. 

Competition

The Skoda Slavia sedan rivals the Hyundai Verna, Honda City, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and the Volkswagen Virtus. 

Pros and Cons

Views by Industry Experts

Performance

Out of the two turbo petrol engines, the 1-litre 3-cylinder unit is the top-seller. This is the same engine that powers the Kushaq, and is one of the most refined 3-cylinder powertrains in our market. With an automatic gearbox, the Slavia 1.0 comes with a crawl function that makes initial acceleration smooth. 

The throttle response is slightly delayed and the acceleration is more relaxed than the older Rapid 1.0. Overtaking is not a problem, thanks to the quick downshifts on requirement. Press the accelerator harder, the engine shows its true power. It also gets idle engine start/stop and brake energy recuperation, which helps achieve higher efficiency. 

The 1.5-litre engine is much smoother and feels more effortless than the 1.0L unit. The throttle response is bang on and offers excellent power delivery throughout the rev band. Even on overtakes, it requires less throttle input. Despite reaching closer to the redline, the engine doesn't feel stressed.

The 6-speed manual gearbox has short shifts and with lighter clutch, the overall driving experience becomes more likeable. The 1.5L engine also comes with the cylinder deactivation tech, which automatically shuts two cylinders on cruising. This helps the Slavia 1.5L to achieve better fuel efficiency on highway cruising. 

Comfort

The new Skoda Slavia comes with a new two-spoke steering wheel, which looks and feels outstanding. The front seats are comfortable and offer a good amount of thigh and back support. The steering wheel is adjustable for rake and reach, which allows one to achieve a comfortable driving position. It gets ventilated front seats, which makes it more likeable in summers. 

The rear seats of the Slavia sedan offer great legroom and kneeroom space. However, the under thigh support is not very good. The width of the rear bench seat is not up to the mark, and 3 adults won't fit well.