The much-anticipated compact sedan - Skoda Slavia - has made it global debut in India. It will be the first sedan model to be based on the company MQB A0-IN platform shared with the Skoda Kushaq and Volkswagen's Taigun compact SUVs. The Skoda Slavia will be the official replacement for the Rapid sedan, and promises to be larger, more powerful and more feature loaded in comparison. It just might be more expensive too. The new Slavia will be the company's new entry-point into the Skoda family in India.
While we have already driven the prototype model, we have officially seen the sedan only in sketches. It looks like a baby Octavia. Visual cues include the signature butterfly grille with vertical slats and thick chrome borders, flanked by sleek headlamps (possibly LED) with LED DRLs, and sporty multi-spoke alloy wheels. The car also gets an aggressive-looking bumper with a wide mesh-pattern grille for the airdam.
In terms of dimensions, the new Skoda Slavia's total length measures 4,541 mm, while its width stands at 1,752 mm. The Slavia is also 1,487 mm tall, and it comes with a wheelbase of 2,651 mm. The car also comes with a 10-inch infotainment display, which is likely to come with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The car also gets the new signature two-spoke multi-functional steering wheel, a fully-digital instrument cluster, and a central arm-rest. In terms of engine details, the Slavia will get the 1.0-litre TSI three-cylinder engine and the 1.5-litre four-cylinder TSI unit, and both are turbocharged petrol motors.
We would expect the new Skoda sedan to be launched in the same price bracket as the Kushaq, which is between ₹ 10 lakh to ₹ 17 lakh (ex-showroom, India). It's unclear whether the prices will be announced at the official unveiling or not, however, deliveries for the new Slavia sedan will commence in early 2022, and it will go up against the likes of the Honda City, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and Hyundai Verna.
