[sunikkat]

Originally Posted by itwasntme

Certainly seems to have an excellent experience at Autocar:
https://www.autocarindia.com/car-rev...s-badge-424466

That’s indeed a great performance from a rather humble everyday car tuned more for comfort and tackle bad roads. I guess a lot of this is due to MQB chassis which are lighter (than previous VAGs) but very potent and allowing them to strike a good balance.
Can’t wait to see few modified 1.5 (read a remap, big wheels, lowered and stiffer suspension) on roads, mainly the ones from Kerala.

[amit1agrawal]

I got the following information from Slavia user manual for India. Is this usual in this segment of cars?


Accident data memory (Event Data Recorder)
The vehicle is equipped with an accident data memory, hereinafter called as “EDR”. The purpose of the EDR lies in the data recording during a traffic accident or another extraordinary traffic situation, hereinafter called as “accident”.

Data is only recorded in the event of an accident in which the restraint systems are triggered.

The EDR records the accident in a short time (approximately 10 s), by showing the following information, for example:

• The function of certain systems in the vehicle.
  
• The seat belt status of the driver and front passenger.
  
• The actuation of the brake and accelerator pedals.
  
• The speed of the vehicle at the time of the accident.

The recorded data support the analysis of how the vehicle systems behaved shortly before, during and after the accident. This enables them to clarify the circumstances of the accident.

The data relating to assist systems in the vehicle is also recorded. Whether for instance the affected systems were switched on or off at the corresponding time, whether they were only partially available or were inactive. There is also the possibility of tracking whether these vehicle functions controlled, accelerated or decelerated the vehicle during the accident. Depending on the equipment, these functions are, e.g:

• Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC)
  
• Lane Assist (Lane Assist)
  
• Park steering assistant
  
• Emergency braking function (Front Assist)

Under normal driving conditions, data is not recorded. There is no audio or video recording from the vehicle interior or surroundings. Personal data such as name, gender, age or place where the accident occurred is not stored in the EDR. However, third parties such as law enforcement authorities may use certain resources to connect EDR content to other data sources, and therefore deduce the identification of some of the people involved in the accident when investigating the causes of the accident.

For reading the EDR-Data, special equipment is required and the ignition switched on.

ŠKODA AUTO will not read or otherwise process any accident data from the EDR without the approval of the vehicle owner or other person authorised for use of the vehicle. Exceptions are specified in the contractual arrangements, or these are subject to generally binding regulations.

[venkyhere]

Originally Posted by Turbohead

I guess this sort of puts to rest the complaints that the Slavia is less sporty than the Rapid. What surprised me is that the corner speeds of the Slavia is higher than that of the Octavia 1.8 TSI. Unbelievable that it's overall faster than the Octavia 1.8 TSI.

Let's not forget that this is some jacked up sedan which has been designed to tackle lunar surfaces or roads as our authorities call it.

Autocar's claim is - the MQB-A0-IN platform with the 1.5 TSI and 179mm ground clearance is faster than all the non-RS models of the PQ25 platform, with 1.8/2.0 TSI engines and with lower ride heights.
Variables -
(i) tyres
(ii) driver

I simply don't believe the data they have published one bit. It reeks of paid promotion and they have conveniently not talked about the tyres or the driver differences with the PQ25 cars.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by venkyhere

Autocar's claim is - the MQB-A0-IN platform with the 1.5 TSI and 179mm ground clearance is faster than all the non-RS models of the PQ25 platform, with 1.8/2.0 TSI engines and with lower ride heights.
Variables -
(i) tyres
(ii) driver

I simply don't believe the data they have published one bit. It reeks of paid promotion and they have conveniently not talked about the tyres or the driver differences with the PQ25 cars.

No doubt it's a paid promotion but I kinda understand where you're coming from.

I'm pretty sure Narain Karthikeyan drove the Octavia back then. But then again, we have a lot of variables missing- track temperatures, air density, quality of surface etc which can wildly defer over a period of 9 years. If it was done last week, the Slavia definitely had an advantage of the lower temperatures thanks to the rains in Chennai.

You have a good point about the tires. The tires in the Jetta and Octavia back then were Goodyear Eagle NCT5 which had a very bad reputation. The current set of Goodyear TripleMax 2 is supposed to be much better in comparison. This, I believe, has resulted in much higher corner speeds from whatever data provided. I'm pretty sure the Octavia would be faster if both the Slavia and the Octavia are shod with the latest Michelin PS4.

And besides, track test results are highly dependent on the track too. MMRT is not exactly a track where you can exploit all the power. The BIC gives a huge advantage for more powerful cars.

Case in point the older test where the Baleno RS smoked the Abarth by 2 seconds at the same track on the same day.

Originally Posted by SmartCat

Narain Karthikeyan timed the Baleno RS on Sriperumbudur track. Here's how it compares with other hot hatches:

Suzuki Baleno RS : 2 mins 14.7 secs
VW Polo GT TSi : 2 mins 16.5 secs
Fiat Abarth Punto : 2 mins 16.9 secs
Honda Brio : 2 mins 18.5 secs
Suzuki Swift : 2 mins 19.3 secs
Ford Figo 1.5D : 2 mins 19.8 secs
Suzuki Baleno 1.2 : 2 mins 20.1 secs

Source: Sept 2017 Autocar India

And oh, VW Polo GTi clocked 2 mins 5.6 secs

While the Slavia or Baleno may arguably be better on paper, we all know which options BHPians would prefer if given a choice - feel over numbers any day.

Another problem with these numbers is that very few publications have track days in order to cross reference and compare.

[Mustang111]

Slavia was due for a test drive and I finally got the 1.5 DSG. Initial impression was that it looked descent both from the outside and the inside, not a showstopper by any means. But the drive ... That's the game changer. The test drive was in peak traffic in the city roads of Hyderabad, but it was still a delight. The drive was delightful, the car responded beautifully though the steering felt just a little light, but not that I would complain of. The paddle shifters were also put to use to chech out the sporty side. Driving comfort wise, looks like Slavia has ticked all the right boxes.

[Raskolnikov]

Originally Posted by Dieseltuned

This is exactly what I experienced as well, the TD offered was very short hardly a km or two and post that nothing, nada, zilch. No calls nothing till last week when I started getting calls again but it is too late now for Skoda as I have already taken delivery of my Honda City.

Exact same thing happened to me. Somehow Skoda dealers are behaving in a very muopic manner. They should understand that this supply demand mismatch is not going to last forever.

[saikishor]

I finally got a chance to experience the Slavia. In one word, I loved the car.

So this was a very casual unplanned visit to the showroom. Me and my dad were going to Hydernagar for some other work. I casually stopped at the Skoda showroom. We were greeted by a very friendly sales advisor. I forgot his name(I'm really sorry brother, my sincere apologies if you're reading this). His name starts with the letter S. The very next moment I told him we were in no mood to make a purchase. We were just here to experience the car. He was totally fine with it, and he had guided us with all the enthusiasm a person shows to an actual customer. There was a silver mid spec Slavia inside the showroom. Honestly speaking, I loved the way this mid spec car looked especially in silver. I loved it even more than the top spec grey car that you will see below in a moment. After spending 5-10 mins inside and outside the car, I asked for a test drive. This display car was a 1 liter variant, hence I asked for the 1 litre automatic for a test drive.

Some of my quick observations:
Interior is filled with hard plastics galore, but in no way does it feel cheap. My 12 year old Beat has hard plastics everywhere, but I could instantly feel the premium feel of these plastics.

Roofliner is cheap. No arguments about it. Honestly speaking,it felt like a hard tissue paper. And it flexes with a slight press. If you're buying this car, I would suggest you to get the roofliner changed at an aftermarket interior decor shop if possible.

Solid, I repeat SOLID build quality. The doors, bonnet, bootlid, interiors, everything felt oh so solid. If this is the level of solidity VW is offering on their 2.0 cars, I wonder how tank like their cars were built back in 2010.

Humongous boot. Reminded me of our 2004 Mitsubishi Galant we had in the US.

Car is pretty long, and looks really good in person.

Slavia has 9mm ground clearance less than the Kushaq. This was mentioned by our SA.

Now coming to the test drive:

This was the first time I drove an automatic in my life. Of course, I started driving from september-october 2021, but I never got the opportunity to drive an automatic. I feel blessed to kick start driving automatic cars with the Slavia

Car was parked on the road. Hopped inside, buckled up and slotted into D. Car creeped forward, max creep speed was 10-11kmph. Air conditioner was doing a fantastic job of cooling the cabin. The driver's side window was completely rolled down, and I could still feel the cool air blow past my arms.

The electronic power steering was decently heavy, definitely not as heavy as my Beat's HPS but not as light as the Hyundai Creta's steering. Car was really smooth, didn't feel like a 3 cylinder at all. The test drive car had 3900km on the odo. No rattles on the interior whatsoever.


Now came the fun part. Floor the throttle, and you'll be hugged by the seats. I loved this turbo kick in, coming from a naturally aspirated motor. Upshifts were not recognisable, but downshifts were definitely noticeable. Brakes were good, no complaints here. Paddleshifters were good, no complaints here as well. Not commenting much about paddleshifters as I barely used them in the 3-4km test drive I did. SA opened the sunroof, it was big enough for a sedan. Definitely a pleasing feature to have.
Took a U-turn, returned to the showroom and parked the car. We took the price list, shook hands and left.
I totally forgot to experience the ventilated seats.


Overall, I am mighty impressed with the Slavia. Sure the car does require minor improvements, but hey nothing is perfect in this world. If we were in the market for a car right now, Slavia would definitely be a top contender especially after this showroom experience. Given Skoda's horror stories, I wasn't expecting good customer service. But I was pleasantly surprised after today's experience. After this we visited the Honda showroom, spent some time with the City but didn't do a test drive, as we were getting late for some other work.

And before I leave, I was least interested in the Kushaq. I didn't even bother to take a look at it. I was hooked on the Slavia.

Until next time,
Saikishor

[vihangm3]

Hello people!

We had booked the Slavia 1.5 DSG back in April and were waiting for our delivery.

But just got updated by our SA that there would be price increase from June 1st and above that the 10 inch infotainment is being replaced by an aftermarket Panasonic 8 inch unit.

This is highly disappointing and we are planning to cancel our booking instead of compromising with an after infotainment unit. Anyone else who has got this update from their dealer?

[Anikesh11]

Just test drove slavia and was looking to go ahead with booking of top end 1.0 but it looks like the entire infotainment system will be downgraded to 8 inch
Highly disappointed that a car brand will go for such downgrade!

[rahul_jo]

Just test drove the 1.0 and then the DSG 1.5 back to back. I liked the 1.5 more.

My SA told me that the current DSG has gone through many updates and in the past 2 years hasn't seen any major failure.

He also pressed that majority of the DSG's that were failing were all diesel but the petrol is pretty reliable. Is this true?

[punto_]

Originally Posted by vihangm3

Hello people!

We had booked the Slavia 1.5 DSG back in April and were waiting for our delivery.

But just got updated by our SA that there would be price increase from June 1st and above that the 10 inch infotainment is being replaced by an aftermarket Panasonic 8 inch unit.

This is highly disappointing and we are planning to cancel our booking instead of compromising with an after infotainment unit. Anyone else who has got this update from their dealer?

Oh this is disappointing. Why would a manufacturer do this when the product is gaining momentum!?

Is there any upgrade of features in the 8” unit or did they observe any issues in the current unit?

[vihangm3]

Originally Posted by punto_

Oh this is disappointing. Why would a manufacturer do this when the product is gaining momentum!?

Is there any upgrade of features in the 8” unit or did they observe any issues in the current unit?

It was probably a planned move by Skoda to gather the bookings first, create the hype, then downgrade on features and increase the price. The Panasonic unit is by far a downgrade over the original Skoda unit. It doesn't make sense for potential buyers to have smaller and cheaper infotainment for a car which was already on the higher end of the price range among the competitors.

[dragntailonfire]

I heard about the infotainment unit downgrade from a Volkswagen SA, when I went to check out the Virtus. According to him, this is done to help Virtus sales.

My Skoda SA later confirmed the downgrade. He also mentioned that the wireless charging will be removed, and to make things worse, a price hike of around 50k from next month on wards.

[RoverX]

Originally Posted by vihangm3

But just got updated by our SA that there would be price increase from June 1st and above that the 10 inch infotainment is being replaced by an aftermarket Panasonic 8 inch unit.

The Panasonic unit is by far a downgrade over the original Skoda unit. It doesn't make sense for potential buyers to have smaller and cheaper infotainment for a car which was already on the higher end of the price range among the competitors.

Originally Posted by Anikesh11

It looks like the entire infotainment system will be downgraded to 8 inch

Originally Posted by dragntailonfire

My Skoda SA later confirmed the downgrade. He also mentioned that the wireless charging will be removed, and to make things worse, a price hike of around 50k from next month on wards.

Oh, this is simply atrocious! They gave the media a song and dance about how the Slavia is a superior product to the competition, had the audacity to price it ambitiously, and now they're pulling the rug from under prospective customers. Wireless Android Auto was one of the highlights of the Slavia's HU, as was the quality of the unit itself. And how on earth are they going to justify the INR 50k price increase with the list of feature deletions?

If Škoda India is reading this, I just wish to ask them how many more times are they going to deal in bad faith? Customers are willing to plonk ~2 million bucks on their products amidst the thick cloud of injector failures, DSG failures, EPC issues, cheapening interior quality, and tens of other issues. I think that the tall praises that the automotive journalists have been singing about the Slavia being the product to revive the dying mid-size sedan segment are going to the management's heads, and they'd better not underestimate the decisive prowess of the informed customer.

[vihangm3]

Originally Posted by dragntailonfire

My Skoda SA later confirmed the downgrade. He also mentioned that the wireless charging will be removed, and to make things worse, a price hike of around 50k from next month on wards.

Oh well! Removal of wireless charger too is something new, our Skoda SA is probably hiding it in fear of cancellation of the booking. The premium for Slavia would be nowhere justified with the increased price next month.

If it is so and I sense some major booking cancellation numbers awaiting soon for Slavia. Hope Skoda doesn't get the same fortune as their friends from Ford and GM!