[Santoshbhat]

I don't think I am liking the looks of this one. Usually Skoda designs some very good looking cars. But there is something odd about this car. The design doesn't seem to gel well. The overly sharp headlights are spoiling the front end and the rear glass portion protruding out is putting me off as well.

Frankly I don't see any reason for launching this car in India. People consider the Polo GT TSI itself as the maximum money they are ready to plonk for a hatchback. Any more and it has to be an SUV pretender (used to be sedan earlier). At the same time I hope I am proved wrong. Such cars doing well is a good sign for our market.

[volkman10]

Skoda Scala - First look video,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jiW69tyvXoI

[Waspune]

Scala doesn't make sense for india. It's a Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf competitor and frankly that segment doesn't exist in India.
Leave Scala we aren't even getting the global Polo.

[suhaas307]

I hope Skoda proves the nay-sayers wrong, because this is a treat alright!

I'd always wondered what would be a worthy upgrade from my Polo TSI. There really has been nothing, unless you look at the Octavia. And that's two whole segments up. And it's got to the point that I'm scratching my head and looking into the classifides for a used Laura vRS or base Laura TSI.

But this car plugs that gap nicely, especially if it comes in the 1.5 TSI DSG specification. It's the ideal upgrade.

The hatch space has grown considerably the last decade, and the market seems to be warming up to larger and more expensive hatchbacks. Pre-2010, cars like the SRV failed miserably even though they were in the 8-9 lakh range. Today, the Jazz, the Baheno and the Polo TSI sell for a shade under 12 lakh, and they're doing reasonably well in 1-tier / 2-tier cities. I'd like to believe that it's going to be only a matter of time before larger and more expensive hatchbacks carve out a niche for themselves.

The Scala will not garner the volumes for Skoda, but it will certainly create an impression and position them as a premium brand.

However, if it comes with the horrible EPS from the Octavia, it will be a crying shame! That TSI motor deserves better!

[McLaren Rulez]

Originally Posted by Waspune

Scala doesn't make sense for india. It's a Ford Focus, Volkswagen Golf competitor and frankly that segment doesn't exist in India.

I'd say this is a perfect S-Cross rival. The segment does exist, even if it only has one car in it for the moment

[Waspune]

Originally Posted by McLaren Rulez

I'd say this is a perfect S-Cross rival. The segment does exist, even if it only has one car in it for the moment

Hmm. Not that it didn't cross my mind but to make it a S-Cross rival :
1) Skoda will have to jack up the ground clearance which they can.
2) Will have to price it in the near abouts of S-Cross. This sounds trickier.

Logically it's positioning should be between Rapid and Octavia. At that price range how many of us would plonk our money to buy an stretched jacked up hatchback? Remember how the higher priced S-Cross 1.6 fared in sales. IMHO this isn't a car for a price sensitive market. I guess Skoda would be nuts to even consider bringing the Scala to India.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by Waspune

Logically it's positioning should be between Rapid and Octavia. At that price range how many of us would plonk our money to buy an stretched jacked up hatchback? Remember how the higher priced S-Cross 1.6 fared in sales. IMHO this isn't a car for a price sensitive market. I guess Skoda would be nuts to even consider bringing the Scala to India.

The reason the S Cross flopped big time was because it was marketed as rival to the Creta with a sticker price to match! And people looking for SUV's or the like always have road presence as one of their 'wants' which the S-Cross lacked

Yes, I agree it's difficult to sell the Scala here! But marketing it as the Octavia's hatch may help it some bit! But sadly, our market is becoming too SUV obsessed and the case for large hatches are diminishing! Hoping the market dynamics change!

But I disagree that the 10-20 lakh range is price sensitive anymore. The overpriced Creta is a testament to that fact. It's desirability which is selling here.

Mod Note: Our Scala Report has been taken live at this link. Please continue the discussion over on the new thread. Thanks!