[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by WindRide

Considering Slavia is bigger than current Rapid, skoda will be exiting the smaller full size sedan segment then?

They already did!

Here is the trick - Current pricing of Rapid is as follows and it's not the 'launched at 7.49 lakhs' pricing we remember:

Rider - 7.79 lakhs. (Discontinued)
Rider Plus - 8.19 lakhs. (Discontinued)
Ambition - 9.99 lakhs.
Onyx - 10.19 lakhs
Style - 11.69 lakhs
Monte Carlo / Matte Edition - 11.99 lakhs

Skoda hasn't removed the discontinued variants from the price list. Net effect - now the Rapid range starts at 9.99 lakhs. Rider variants were only campaign models (words courtesy: Zac Hollis) to draw attention and is now discontinued - Skoda was never really interested to sell them in numbers.



Considering the Slavia will share most things with the Kushaq, which in itself starts at 10.5 lakhs, is mostly going to be the more expensive offering as per current market trends and is already considered to be priced at a premium - pricing the Slavia between the Verna and City at a starting price of around 9.99 lakhs - is dead against the current positioning of the Rapid as well!

The rivals have moved up in price range too. There is no need for Skoda to pull off another Rider at 7.49 lakhs launch! Verna 1.5 MPI starts at 9.31 lakhs and the Honda City 5th generation starts at 10.5 lakhs.

Anyways - too early to be focussed on the pricing alone now. The overall proposition matters more! Sedans are dying and will need more effort to sell - as against the current trend of crossovers.

PS: Matte Edition is probably to sell the remaining stocks at a nice fat premium.

[Electromotive]

I read it as SALIVA. Is it worth salivating over?

[CEF_Beasts]

Originally Posted by Electromotive

Is it worth salivating over?

Maybe yes, because the Slavia will take the place left by the previous Gen 2013 Octavia at a similar price to it.

And with the Slavia having just about the same dash as the current Gen Octavia as seen in the spy shots, it is a good chance for Skoda to get back lost Octavia customers who aren’t willing to spend 36Lakhs on one. Yes the engine will be different but it can be a compelling “Cheaper-Octavia.”

[sidharthg]

Originally Posted by Electromotive

I read it as SALIVA. Is it worth salivating over?

You are not the only one !
I've misread it at all the instances!

Having said that, I think they should really price it competitivly, minus all the EPC issues plus all the feature sets ! I'm sure Kushaq launch must have taught them a thing or two !

[Rajeevraj]

Sounds promising. I think we urgently need a couple of sedans that can sit between the current C Segment crop and the Octavia like D segmenters, which in my view would be range between 18-25L OTR. The notchback approach seems interesting. Eagerly looking forward to it.

[WindRide]

If the build, ride and handling departments do not go south due to the india specific platform, it sure should be interesting.

[Nithesh_M]

Did Zak lie about this car not coming in to replace the Rapid? With the amount of U turn statement he makes its hard to trust the brand anymore.

[Anis Ahmed]

I still feel that they should retain Rapid under 9.99L and pitch in Slavia above it.
Something similar to what Honda has done with City. In many ways, this pricing may at least pull sub 4-meter sedan buyers and make them think twice.

[ronk]

This is very interesting!
With the Octavia almost moving up one segment in price, size and interior quality, there is definitely an open slot!

I personally will really be interested in a car from Skoda with the following:
1. Size between current rapid and octavia (i think this is a sweet spot for city and some highway)
2. Good quality interiors (better than Rapid or Kushaq quality for sure)
3. Sorted solid ride and handling - the Kushaq to me feels very light and iffy compared to mainstream global skoda models
4. Nice vrs model sitting in the 20-25 lakh on-road price, even if its a better tuned 1.5 engine instead of the old 1.8s or current 2 litre versions.

In 2017 I had seen the global Rapid at Skoda MB (Czech Republic) plant, and it seemed way nicer than the India spec Rapid.

With regards to keeping the Rapid and Slavia both on sale, I just wanted to refer to an earlier time when I think they kept the octavia selling for a while after launching the Laura. Might do it again, but current market has way too many options. VW group has the Vento too, so maybe overkill to manage so many low number models.

Bring it on Skoda, the car definitely seems to look nice from the spy pics, just needs to drive and feel well with a decent price!

[sid_deb]

Why is Skoda running across segments and products instead of focusing and getting at least one product right? They need to urgently fix the technical issues in Kushaq and make it a success. To be read as grab market share fast

While some of us are enthusiastic about sedans, a large majority doesn't want sedans at all. This seems like a very bad move which will hurt their profits further in my opinion.

[Hash09]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Attachment 2210098

I don't know why they tweeted this

But anyway, if the car has the dimensions similar to the Honda City, Hyundai Verna, etc. I don't think it should be a segment above. Maybe the 1.5tsi will be priced higher than competition since it has a turbo. The test mules of the Slavia are bigger than the Rapid because if you compare the dimensions amongst the C segment sedans, the Rapid seems to be significantly smaller than the City in length(4,413mm vs 4,549mm), and much smaller in width than the Verna, Ciaz, and City (Rapid's 1,699mm, vs 1,729mm vs 1,730mm vs 1,748mm respectively). I think it's mostly due to the fact that newer cars are getting bigger than their previous generations because of safety and emissions regulations; so I don't know if placing the Slavia in the old Octavia/Elantra segment would be the best strategy- especially if they decide to axe the Rapid, although they seem adamant on positioning it as "above the Rapid", let's see how it unfolds.
Even still, it's kind of a breath of fresh air to finally expect the arrival of a new sedan in the sea of Crossovers. Considering that it's VAG I guess driving dynamics should be pretty sorted (can we say the same about build quality though?), but as a few BHPians have mentioned, I hope they sort out their EPC, fuel pump, etc. issues by the time the car launches.

[rsk]

When we visited the Skoda the showroom few weeks ago, the sales execs seemed to have a clear view that Rapid will continue and Slavia will be on top of Rapid. With Rapid Style variant at 13 lakhs and the current next segment Octavia Style at 26 lakhs, ideal Slavia pricing should be around 14-15 lakhs for the entry variant, seeing Skoda's pricing off late, I wouldn't be surprised if the entry variant is priced closer to 20 lakhs (Ex showroom).

[RoadTrippin]

I have been looking for a like-to-like replacement for my Jetta for over a year now and thoroughly underwhelmed with the poor assortment currently available in the market. The C-Segment sedans feel like a step down and the Octavia seems like an unnecessary upgrade, I wonder if this will come as a close option. Fingers crossed!

[roadrunner_nv]

I wouldn’t touch any Škoda car with a pole after going through my experience with their after sales, dieselgate and what not. After Ford, I would be personally happy to see them take their business elsewhere. Our consumer courts are not fast enough to screw such manufacturers. The recent Kushaq farce has exposed the truth and I’m sure people will think a million times before bringing a VAG car home.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by Hash09

But anyway, if the car has the dimensions similar to the Honda City, Hyundai Verna, etc

Volkswagen Virtus has similar/slighly smaller dimensions as the 5th generation Honda City, and the Slavia seems to be based on the Virtus.

VW Virtus (Brazil) - 4492×1751*1476mm
Honda City ( 5th ) - 4549×1748×1489mm

Originally Posted by rsk

I wouldn't be surprised if the entry variant is priced closer to 20 lakhs (Ex showroom).

We are mostly looking at a car positioned BELOW the Kushaq / Taigun. For example - here is the positioning of the Virtus Comfortline 1.0 TSi against TCross Comfortline 1.0 TSi. TCross is Taigun here, and starts at 10.5 lakhs.





Virtus will launch early next year.