SKODA SLAVIA

The Slavia is about the same size as the first Octavia, but is it similarly impactful?

- TUHIN GUHA

Type 999cc, Inline-3 turbo petrol 1,498cc, Inline-4 turbo petrol

Max power 115PS@5,000-5,500rpm 150PS@5,000-6,00rpm

Max torque 178 Nm @ 1,750-4,500rpm 250 Nm @ 1,600-3,500rpm

LxWxH (mm) 4,541 x 1,752 x 1,507

Price ₹13.99 lakh onwards `16.19 lakh onwards

+ Interior space, ride and handling, performance

- Refinement could be better still, 1.5-litre price

With the Kushaq, Skoda may have found the sound footing in the Indian market it had been looking for for a while. But the Czech brand’s image in India has largely been built on the back of its sedans, starting with the Octavia over 20 years ago, and then complemented by the Superb and Rapid at either end. So with the Rapid being around as long as it has been, a contemporary Skoda sedan that is easily accessible has been a glaring blank space in the lineup. This is the gap the Skoda Slavia plugs, and to go a step further as Skoda claims, revitalises the sedan market.

1.0-litre driving impressions

The Skoda Slavia is mechanically identical to the Kushaq, right down to the 2,651mm wheelbase, and is consequently based on the heavily indigenised MQB-A0-IN architecture. Invariably, it shares the same engines as the SUV. The top-spec 1.5-litre and the 1.0-litre with 115PS and 175Nm. This base engine goes into 85 per cent of all Kushaqs sold and will see a similar split in the new sedan.