[tbppjpr]

Originally Posted by DonHyd

I don't mind an optimistic pricing as long as Skoda sticks to solid German engineering and quality. There are many cheap cars in the market but high quality cars are rare. Hope the Indian car is at par with the international one.

I agree. I find VAG cars extremely cheap to purchase and maintain in long term compared to other cars in the same segments. You can easily find 10+ years old VW/Skoda in pristine running condition without a single rust mark anywhere on the body, their paints are still shining. Cabins of these cars still feel fresh even after more than a decade due the the quality of plastic and the glue used in them. No toxic smells inside the cabins unless the owners have installed some bad quality aftermarket seatcovers or foot-mats.

Can you find such quality cars at such price point in India? No way, have been in many vehicles in all these years but found the VAG quality unmatched in the mass segment.

I hope they don't go Ford/GM way and start reducing the quality to gain some numbers. If so then this will be a big disappointment for the handful of their existing customers who are spoiled by these cars and this will result into losing the existing customers instead of gaining new.

There is no point compromising the quality of the cars for the sake of so called 'competitive' pricing, becasue a big chunk of the masses not gonna step in the VAG showrooms, no matter what. And those who have experienced their cars in the past are not going to go anywhere else.

[Chrome6Boy]

Originally Posted by tbppjpr

I agree. I find VAG cars extremely cheap to purchase and maintain in long term compared to other cars in the same segments. You can easily find 10+ years old VW/Skoda in pristine running condition without a single rust mark anywhere on the body, their paints are still shining. Cabins of these cars still feel fresh even after more than a decade due the the quality of plastic and the glue used in them. No toxic smells inside the cabins unless the owners have installed some bad quality aftermarket seatcovers or foot-mats.

I think you are ignoring the DSG cars which VAG sells. I have a 6 year old Vento TSI. My mechatronix died 15 months ago and was replaced under warranty. Now my clutches are almost gone, the dealer has quoted a sum of Rs. 75,000 for the replacement. I love the car but it is a tidy sum to pay on a 6 year old car. I have already booked my new car and will say goodbye to my Vento with a heavy heart.

If you buy VAG don't buy DSG.

Mod Note: Please quote ONLY the relevant bits of a post. Quoting a full, long post inconveniences our mobile readers.

[KapilD]

Originally Posted by Chrome6Boy

.
If you buy VAG don't buy DSG.

I don’t think it’s fair to just refer to Volkswagen group dual clutch. It would be the same for any dual clutch for the replacement of clutch pack. It would be costly. Jeep, Hyundai and Kia dual clutch pack also won’t come cheap.

So if anyone is buying this mechatronics tech, one has to pay the price for upkeep.

You can’t buy an iPhone and pray that I won’t shell out a bomb for replacing a part. Same goes for any high tech unit.

[rAijin_]

Coming back to the price discussion, Skoda Slavia is a C2 segment car and should be priced similarly. I don't think Slavia will be more expansive ( may be marginally ) than the likes of Honda City and Hyundai Verna. Below are few points to support it.

• VAG group wants to capture 5% of Indian market by 2025.
• To achieve this, they are targeting the B2 and C Segments. This helps them to keep the Premium tag ( they like to say it, not me ) and still target the mass market vehicles.
• Slavia is a replacement for Rapid. Obviously it is bigger than Rapid. Look at the competition, they are all bigger.
• Skoda may price Slavia from 9L to 13L ( ex-showroom ) for 1L engine. And 13L - 16L ( ex-showroom ) for 1.5L engine.
• Pricing it above Kushaq will push it to D1 segment. D1 segment sedans have a very poor sale.
• 1.5L DSG might be priced around 16L or slightly more ( and may get RS branding ). Which, I think is not a problem if the interior is as per VAG standards and not like Kushaq.
• There may be a Monte Carlo or L&K ( or whatever they may name it ) edition later that would be more expensive. But, not at the time of launch.

[KapilD]

Originally Posted by rAijin_

Coming back to the price discussion, Skoda Slavia is a C2 segment car and should be priced similarly. I don't think Slavia will be more expansive ( may be marginally ) than the likes of Honda City and Hyundai Verna. Below are few points to support it.

This should be the expected course of action as otherwise it doesn’t make sense for the team Škoda to expect being leader of the segment (the covered drive media coverage comments).

The current king is Honda City and to dethrone it would be a big ask without pricing it near to 15 lacs for the top end. But yes, 1.5 TSI DSG being imported would go north of this figure and I wouldn’t be surprised if it sits near 16.5-17 lacs.

Also, Honda comes with 10 years warranty (conditions apply) whereas Škoda is 6 (whereas VW sedan should come with 7 - again conditions apply ).

So there would be a definite long term reliability aspect concern by prospective customer and for Škoda to set their target as segment leader, these things would matter and if they don’t do a good job (at expected VAG quality of materials and comparative feature list w.r.t Honda city), things don’t look good.

Although it is arguable that Honda quality has deteriorated over the years, it’s not the same city as earlier generation (cost cutting is evident).

So my feel is that if this delicate balance is not maintained by team Škoda, the king would still be Honda City.

[volkman10]

ŠKODA SLAVIA :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d5VNnajBkrM

[WindRide]

Quality will determine whether Slavia will be dead on arrival or not. Not the pricing, which will be competitive anyway.

[K.grg]

Originally Posted by WindRide

Quality will determine whether Slavia will be dead on arrival or not. Not the pricing, which will be competitive anyway.

Can't agree with you more. Skoda should live upto it's own reputation of providing classy interiors of high quality.

Going by Zac's active social media participation, I honestly hope that he might have read most feedbacks about Kushaq's interior quality. It is also evident from the fact that Skoda is changing Roofliner of Kushaq, that he is indeed listening to his consumers.

I am hopeful of a good quality interior in Slavia.

[abhi_ank]

Originally Posted by volkman10

ŠKODA SLAVIA :

https://www.Youtube.com/watch?v=d5VNnajBkrM

If the car is half as premium as the suit Mr. Hollis is wearing, they would have a winner on their hands.

[driverabhi]

I was curious whether Skoda has any plans to have the support for flex fuel in their engines, specially for Slavia. I asked this question to Zac/Skoda India on Twitter and got their reply as well (inserted below)

I would also like to know if Skoda is planning to port their features in Slavia like active cylinder-deactivation to Kushaq. May be in the face lifted version of Kushaq, these features might make their way. But we have no idea when the facelift is due (if it is due).

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by driverabhi

I would also like to know if Skoda is planning to port their features in Slavia like active cylinder-deactivation to Kushaq. May be in the face lifted version of Kushaq, these features might make their way. But we have no idea when the facelift is due (if it is due).

1.5 TSi gets active cylinder deactivation in both the Kushaq and Taigun.

[K.grg]

Originally Posted by driverabhi

I was curious whether Skoda has any plans to have the support for flex fuel in their engines, specially for Slavia. I asked this question to Zac/Skoda India on Twitter and got their reply as well (inserted below).

Even in Brazil, cars capable of running on flex fuel are quite minimal. In India too these might be on sale eventually, but it would be far and few between. Reasons being the high cost of car production, increased wear & tear, shorter life-span of vehicles and higher fuel consumption.

[driverabhi]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

1.5 TSi gets active cylinder deactivation in both the Kushaq and Taigun.

This is great news. I was not aware of this. Thanks a lot CrAzY dRiVeR!!!! This makes the selection of the next car a little bit simpler.

Originally Posted by K.grg

Even in Brazil, cars capable of running on flex fuel are quite minimal. In India too these might be on sale eventually, but it would be far and few between. Reasons being the high cost of car production, increased wear & tear, shorter life-span of vehicles and higher fuel consumption.

I was hoping to have the Skoda cars to support flex fuel so that running cost could come down. Given that the fuel prices are going up, I was kind of relying on it.
Call it human nature or an irony, I will definitely go for 1.5 litre engine, but at the same time, want to save my cost of running

Although, with active cylinder-deactivation, the car should be able to give good mileage.

[sunilch]

Saw the car in person today while going to office.

Unlike Rapid which was an afterthought from a design perspective (or rather a shrunk Octavia) this one is a fresh design and looks very good.

It was not camouflaged but was shaded front to rear with the Skoda badge at the rear hidden.

The LEDs at front are reminiscent of those in Jaguar XE (double L) and the rear badge is reminiscent of Volvo badging.

Couldn't take picture as I was driving in B2B traffic but this will kill the competition based on looks I believe.

[darklitex]

Originally Posted by K.grg

It is also evident from the fact that Skoda is changing Roofliner of Kushaq, that he is indeed listening to his consumers.

Sorry for going a bit off topic but where have you read they’re changing the roofliner of the Kushaq? I couldn’t find any links or articles reflecting the same. I’m really hoping they don’t end up using the same on in Slavia