[ajay_satpute]

What reason was given by VW/Skoda for downgrading the touch screen system? IMO, they should have kept the same 10" system at least in the 1.5 variant.

The 8" system, though might be functionally good, does not look premium to me, for the asking price of the Slavia/Virtus.

[manjubp]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Sage

I salute the brave people who buy VAG cars.
Okay handling might be better but not everyone is trying to be Ayrton Senna. Instances like the ones in the video shared below just kill the brands reputation. Most folks aren't going to get anywhere close to a skoda dealership even if they offer Rolls-Royce level luxury because their stuff breaks down.

https://Youtu.be/xqPYeeO9eR8

Sorry to completely disagree that I and my friends are brave

Personally owned a couple of VAG cars for last ~10 years including DSGs, but never had a bad experience. Covered more than 100K Kms altogether on all sorts of roads.

In 2013, I and my friends together brought 3 Ventos and in matter for 5 months, 6 cars in total. All of them are doing great (one of my friends is looking for an upgrade and he is very clear that it has to be only a VAG, while another friend's car is going for full body repainting, but is not for sale).

At the same time, my 2011 Swift diesel ZDI had to be sold within 2 years because of braking issues. It was never confidence inspiring on highways and Maruti couldn't help much. The Getz at home is more expansive to maintain compared to my Jetta.

[prajwalmr62]

Originally Posted by Sagar77

This is it then. Seems sophisticated. Inbuilt GPS Navigation would have been cherry on the cake though.

It is still not the car they advertised with. Infotainment looks good enough, but not the one car's dashboard designed for.


---
I don't understand Skoda's problem, these cars are not even year old model, and are seeing pricing and specifications change on a monthly basis.

Could this be due to the complete failure of their some custom version of Just-In-Time manufacturing? I don't see how else a model change its specifications without even reaching 10,000 numbers.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Sage

I salute the brave people who buy VAG cars.
Okay handling might be better but not everyone is trying to be Ayrton Senna. Instances like the ones in the video shared below just kill the brands reputation. Most folks aren't going to get anywhere close to a skoda dealership even if they offer Rolls-Royce level luxury because their stuff breaks down.

I didn't understand what they were saying but that's highly unlikely to be done by the service center. In fact, none of the service centers across brands try to mend existing parts, let alone modify something.

You can add me to the list for being a VAG owner too- 8 years and 120k kms later, we're still confident to go on a road trip by just doing the bare minimum- a glance under the hood followed by wheel alignment if necessary.

[CR07]

Originally Posted by motonomad

For now while using wireless AA, I just stick the phone in the cooled glovebox which makes a very significant difference in the battery consumption and phone temperature. Also I switch to standard bluetooth audio from android auto from the "connect" menu for better audio as soon as I reach an area where I don't need maps to navigate anymore. Wired AA, while offering better audio quality, still heats up the phone and ruins phone's battery.

Maybe it's the phone. I have a sonet htx imt which has wireless android auto. My phone heats up, but just about 5% more on prolonged usage, which I believe is par for the course. I have a Realme X3, which has the famed liquid cooling tech, maybe that's my savior!

[tarunjain]

Originally Posted by adigup

That's sad. Did you go and check the 1.5s yourself? Try any VW 2.0 car with 1.5 in traffic and and highway. I'd suggest keeping the temperature between 17 and 21, and blower speed between 2 to 4 (Recirculation off and if cabin is hot then please roll windows down to check). If you get time, could you check in a couple 1.5 test drives and confirm?

I will probably not be doing this. For me personally, AC is such a core part of the car experience that if it's not 100%, it's a deal breaker for me. For me, it's not about finding that particular setting in which it will become acceptable. It should work in all conditions and settings. I am OK with over-cooling like some cars do, but not with under-cooling.

Originally Posted by audioholic

It isn't that bad on my car that it would be a deal breaker. You have only quoted my test drive post but not the later ownership post where I have mentioned in detail about the AC. The Auto AC logic needs tweaking but it definitely cools quite fine.

Sorry for missing that - didn't realize there is an ownership review post as well later (side note - could be a good idea to link the new one from the old one if edits are allowed).

I have gone through that now but to be honest, it still doesn't allay my worries enough. Couple of reasons: First, your ownership experience over the last few weeks seems to be in Bangalore where the max temperature hasn't crossed 30-31 C in that time period. I live in Hyderabad where my car will need to deal with temperatures up to 45 C. Second, there are enough -ve reviews out there to cast doubts in my mind. I will rather delay my purchase and be sure.

[dragntailonfire]

Slavia is home early.

The customary call-out: long post alert. I have started laying the groundwork for a detailed ownership thread, but before that, I wanted to share my booking, delivery, and usage journey so far.

It has been a little over a week and around 600 kilometers since I took delivery of my Slavia, and on every day, several times, without fail, I go near and gaze at the sharp lines and the beautiful curves for entirely too much time (According to my family, that is).

Compared to other folks, I think my booking to delivery time was extremely fast, but even then, it felt like a long-drawn-out drama with enough twists to qualify as an M. Night Shyamalan script.

This chapter started off as a 1L manual Ambition trim booking from Malayalam Skoda, Trivandrum, on May 1st. I had a test drive the week earlier, and the Sales Advisor (SA) was following up every couple of days. I wanted to try the 1.5, but it was not available at that time. They gave the tentative timeline as end of May when they will get one for test drives. Anyhow I went to the showroom and paid the booking amount of 25000 rupees and booked Ambition model with a promise that they will call me before confirming the model to the factory. The last part was explicitly mentioned because I had some confusion on the variant I wanted, and if I felt the need to upgrade my variant of choice, I can do it at that time.
Then came the first twist: the SA called me 2 days later and said they have the vehicle ready to be shipped from the factory and asked if I was ready to take delivery on the next week.
I was completely caught off guard, and after multiple calls, which also included talking to their team lead/manager, I rejected that vehicle, and the booking was changed to 1.5 Manual. At that time, I was informed that the waiting period will be 4 months for the 1.5 manual, and I resigned myself to wait. This meant I would have ample time to set all my financials in order.

But as fate would have it, I got a surprise call from my friend (who also had a 1.5 manual booking) on 21st May that a 1.5 manual is available with Kochi dealers. I was really conflicted over this since I did not get enough time to arrange my financials or had a chance to sell my existing car, and I was debating furiously in my mind what to do next.

All my reservations were laid to rest when I heard a couple of news during my visit to the VW showroom, where I went to check out the Virtus:

• First news: Malayalam Skoda in Trivandrum are shutting down within few months (possibly getting replaced by EVM Skoda).

• Second news: Price hike on ex-showroom, insurance, and road tax, and to top it all - several features getting removed from Style variant.

After a lot of discussions with family, friends, and the SA my friend was dealing with, I ended up transferring a booking amount of 11000 rupees to EVM Skoda in Kochi on the very same day. (Why is there a booking amount discrepancy between Trivandrum and Kochi dealers?)
The next few days passed like a whirlwind - I was in a daze trying to get all my stuff in order: arranging the down payment, finalising the insurance, the loan, then selling the existing vehicle, oh my gosh, I was totally overwhelmed! I decided to get the financing and insurance done all via Skoda itself. After some comparisons, I settled on SBI for the loan and HDFC Ergo for the vehicle insurance.
I planned to travel to Kochi on that Saturday, get the PDI complete and then decide on next steps afterwards. This is where I really appreciate the EVM folks - the vehicle was in-transit at that time, but they did not push me to make any further down payment, they promptly shared the vehicle VIN details on the next day after I transferred the booking amount and were perfectly happy to wait till my PDI was complete before going ahead with the registration process. But then came another twist: the vehicle was going to Kozhikode dealership instead of Kochi, and I had to decide to either go to Kozhikode, or get it driven over to Kochi. Reluctantly, I agreed to let them drive the vehicle to Kochi, and then do my PDI from there.

Fast forward to Saturday the 30th of May, and finally…

PDI in progress.


192 km since it was driven down to Kochi from Kozhikode.


A tiny mark here.


PDI went well for both my friend and me. The only issue I could spot was a mark below the fuel filler for my allotted car. But it was very tiny, and could not be felt, and I was confident that a polish would take care of it. His was Candy white model and looked very neat. Both the cars were lying out on the yard under the merciless glare of the afternoon sun, and I got to experience the stark difference between the 2 colour models. If the insides of the White one felt like a sauna, the Carbon Grey felt like a boiling furnace. We were glad to get out of the sun and on to the shades where we finalised the next steps. Since the price hike was imminent, all of us were eager to go ahead with the purchase and we both gave the confirmation to the SA. Also, since it was a Saturday, the loan transfer had to wait till Monday, and we decided to transfer the down payment also on Monday. This would have given us ample time to finish the formalities before the new month starts.
The next few days were agonising, having seen the car, but unable to take it. Come Monday, further tension was added when the loan amount was not credited till end of evening. Apparently, SBI had a server issue, and they could not transfer the loan amount to the dealers before that. I was worried that we were going to get the car based on the hiked amount, until I was reminded that May had 31 days and not 30.
Next day, the registration process was done from the dealer side, but I received the Form 20 only on June 1st. Those 2 days were even more agonising - we were wondering if more payment must be done if the registration falls over to the next month. Luckily, the entire registration was done with the original on-road amount, but the wait continued to get the plates printed and installed.


Then, on that week Saturday, the wait ended; and I got to see her, all clean, shiny, and ready to set the roads on fire.

Last round of checking before taking delivery.


Waiting to be unleashed!


Happy family!


First bellyful of XP95 petrol!


Delivery went without any major hiccups. But I found that several wheel nuts were missing the plastic cover. My SA promised that he will courier them to me later.


I drove down to Trivandrum early next day and I was grinning from ear to ear the entire journey. Few observations from that journey and other short trips:

1. A massive upgrade from my 1st gen Figo. The abundance of power, lack of vibration, absence of the gruff engine noise, the space in the cabin and the smart looking interiors all felt so strange and awesome at the same time.
2. Even though I used to love the steering feedback that the Figo gave me, I am really enjoying the light yet sharp steering of the Slavia. Smooth and effortless during city speeds and stable and secure when I was in the highways doing about 80 or so. But the feel I used to get from Figo is missing. Strangely though, I am not missing it too much, because this was one of my main gripes during the test drive.
3. Gearshifts are smoother than in my Figo but shifting from 2 to 3 and 3 to 2 is not that smooth. I also felt this in the 1L test drive vehicle. No problem for changing to other gears.
4. I am so used to fiddling with the buttons and stalks, it felt nice when the auto wipers kicked in when the inevitable rains started, and when the auto lights came on and switched off for all the right scenarios.
5. Zero fatigue felt after the journey. Even though the trip was only about 200 kms, I usually feel a bit uncomfortable because of the harsher ride and roughness in the Figo. But I was feeling fresh and ready for more at the end of the trip.
6. As mentioned in the user manual, I never went above 3/4th of the max engine speed, but even going till 3000-3500 rpm felt thrilling, and the overtakes which I never even dreamt of doing in my Figo, were dismissed with grace and aplomb by the Slavia.
7. At speed, all the road imperfections are ironed out, but large potholes are felt with a load thud inside the cabin. Really pained to hear that a couple of times when a sudden pothole appeared on smooth highway road.
8. For me the brakes were excellent, and the car stopped on a dime whenever I wanted it to, but then again, I did not have to do any hard braking. However, my friend mentioned something concerning: During highway runs and braking for a speed bump from high speeds, the car will stop all right, but with a lot of drama. He said the steering went extremely light and the car swayed to the sides. Have any fellow owners experienced anything like this under hard braking?
9. At the back, the passenger in the middle is always uncomfortable due to the contoured finish of the seats. It is best for 2 at the back.
10. My risk appetite was not high enough to go for the DSG, even though I wanted to have an automatic for my next vehicle. Knowing all the horror stories associated with this gear box kept me away from that model. I have never felt that the manual gearbox is a liability unless I am stuck in traffic. Since that happens very rarely for me, I am completely satisfied with my choice for now.
11. I believe I will be the only owner who got this unique and not-so-pleasant surprise along with the car - I have heard of tales about surgeons leaving forgotten cotton or other equipment inside their patients; I got a torch that was left behind, in the area where the windshield washer nozzles are mounted, under the bonnet. I hope this is the only miss done by the mechanic who checked my car.

Special accessory?


Even though the car is an upgrade over all measures for me, there are some rough edges and surprising feature omissions when compared to its European cousins. The interiors, even though it looked nice and modern, lacks finish in some places. The creaky ambient light strip, the exposed hinges and budget grade coverings of the boot, the roof liner that flexes when pressed, all takes away the premium feel that is expected after spending so much money.

However, all these are forgotten when I am back behind the wheel and with open roads in front. This car feels built for touring and that is exactly what I plan to do.

Basking in the evening sun at Kovalam beach.


Chilling besides Vellayani Lake.


Immediate plans other than going on trips:

1. Dashcam: I will take a stab at installing the 70mai A500s that I got but will certainly require some help for the hardwiring part.
2. Detailing: Initially, I had a plan to get Graphene coating from Schimmer in Kochi straight after taking delivery, but then I had to travel to Trivandrum before that could happen. I am searching for a good place to get it done from here now, but Schimmer has been following up regularly with me, and offering competitive rates (haven’t discussed the exact amount yet). Maybe I will take a trip back to Kochi soon and get this done. I don’t know any detailers in Trivandrum.

Now, if you have stayed with me till this point, and if you are wondering where the amazing twists and suspense are that this guy promised, my apologies for overselling this experience. In my mind this had all the tension and unpredictability of any classic suspense thriller.

In the meantime, there has been several opinion polls created which felt targeted squarely at me and my current situation. The answers to those: “Yes, I went over budget for my car purchase,” and “I have never owned a VW/Skoda car and would buy their India 2.0 cars;” I went the full Monty and got myself the Slavia 1.5, which was almost double my original budget, and now, one of the most polarising VW/Skoda India 2.0 cars.

Cheers.

[devilwearsprada]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Sage

I salute the brave people who buy VAG cars.
Okay handling might be better but not everyone is trying to be Ayrton Senna. Instances like the ones in the video shared below just kill the brands reputation. Most folks aren't going to get anywhere close to a skoda dealership even if they offer Rolls-Royce level luxury because their stuff breaks down.

I own both i20 and Polo. Both have had a clutch job done, the i20 at 45k kms and the Polo at 75k Kms.

The i20 has also had a lot more damage in a normal accident, AC breakdowns and has a terrible fuel economy along with no driver feedback which is good because its driven by the driver.

The Polo is a far better car even for a layman.

[Mysticeyes]

Originally Posted by dragntailonfire

Slavia is home early.

Compared to other folks, I think my booking to delivery time was extremely fast, but even then, it felt like a long-drawn-out drama with enough twists to qualify as an M. Night Shyamalan script.

Congrats mate The shade looks so stunning and guess, the thrill till you finally took delivery of the car would remain forever to relieve and cherish. Wishing you many happy miles ahead.

[HMV]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Sage

I salute the brave people who buy VAG cars.
Okay handling might be better but not everyone is trying to be Ayrton Senna. Instances like the ones in the video shared below just kill the brands reputation. Most folks aren't going to get anywhere close to a skoda dealership even if they offer Rolls-Royce level luxury because their stuff breaks down.

I beg to differ here. I have owned a 2015 Elite i20 and 2011 VW Vento TDI. Surprising for you, Vento was more reliable than the Hyundai. It was still going strong at 273K Kms without any major repairs. Sold it about 6 months back and current owner has already put 10K Kms more without any repairs. Compare that to my i20, it had a Compressor Valve Failure, Shock Absorber Failure, Headlight Replaced due to major Condensation and some other premature failures.

Hyundais have far dangerous issues too, like:
•Brakes Failing in Cretas (link (Hyundai Creta: Serious brake failure issue (must-read for all owners)))

•Paint Peeling (https://www.team-bhp.com/news/many-hyundais-suffering-paint-peeling]link). My Elite i20 too suffered from this!

And then, there are some other serious miscellaneous cases like Kia having multiple engines and transmissions replaced (link), Multiple Creta Turbo Failures: Link-1 (Turbo failure on a 1-year old Hyundai Creta 1.4L Turbo DCT. EDIT: Warranty extension & parts offered) and Link-2. And here’s transmission failure on “Hyundai”: Link.

Recently, we are also hearing about fuel pump failures on Korean Turbo Petrols: link (Fuel pump failures in Hyundai-Kia vehicles with the turbo-petrol engines).

What’s great about VAG here was that they acknowledged EPC issues and actively replaced the pumps. Hyundai hasn’t even acknowledged the fuel-pump issue exactly like what they did with Brake failures and paint peeling too. So, I’d not call the German buyers “brave”, at least they are not handled by their brand as “Ignorance is Bliss”. They know about the issues being acknowledged by their brand and can get it rectified from them rather than waiting for that part to fail because the manufacturer hasn’t acknowledged the issue.

So, issues can crop up in any car, be it German or supposedly reliable Hyundais. Newer VAGs still feel premium in their respective segments, if not like earlier VAGs. They still have an edge in finesse, aesthetics (subjective), fit and finish in their respective segments.

[adi_petrolhead]

Originally Posted by ajay_satpute

What reason was given by VW/Skoda for downgrading the touch screen system?

One of the reasons for the ongoing chip shortage, assuming 8" unit uses lesser microprocessors / semi-conductors. Other reason is the costs, in order to curb costs and not having to increase the prices and be bad-mouthed by prospective buyers, this is what they thought will help them, but I know a lot of people who are not happy with the move. Expect Virtus to follow suit soon, barring the initial 2 months worth of deliveries. In my personal experience, 8" screen is more than enough to read all information clearly, operate various functions, using maps, etc. In 2013, I found the 6.5" VGA screen on on the Octavia mk3 to be adequately sized as well. I do prefer an in-dash set up rather than the floating setup which immediately makes the screen look smaller than it actually is from the driver's perspective. Long and wide screens make sense when you're watching videos on it, otherwise the squarish smaller screens are just fine.

[saisree]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Sage

I salute the brave people who buy VAG cars.
Okay handling might be better but not everyone is trying to be Ayrton Senna. Instances like the ones in the video shared below just kill the brands reputation. Most folks aren't going to get anywhere close to a skoda dealership even if they offer Rolls-Royce level luxury because their stuff breaks down.

Damn Sure, ASC instead of taking this complaint to their service, they gave it to the House Hold AC mechanic. He fixed a fan to mimic the AC's outdoor unit.

[careind]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Sage

I salute the brave people who buy VAG cars.

It is a fact that the percentage of failures ( and high-ticket ones at that ) are quite high with VAG cars.
Based on the volume of sales to failures curve, VAG would probably lead the pack by a good margin.
Add to it the sheer incompetence of the ASS and that exponentially affects the ownership experience over and above the failures.

I face a lot of issues with my Rapid and it was sheer luck that I was within the city limits during Major failures like broken water pump or injector going ka-put.

To be fair, santro/i10/wagonR cannot be compared to Rapid in the performance sense. I am just comparing on ownership experience.
With performance cars ( Rapid is at the bottom percentile, but still it is a performance car ) you tend to have more fiction and quicker parts deterioration. One expects the supporting parts to also be more sturdier.
In my Skoda journey, the parts started giving out after the 4th/5th year even with my 10K/year average mileage.

But again, I guess they have to put in robust parts during manufacturing itself unlike the robust fuel pump that was deployed after the non-robust fuel pump failed at an alarming rate.

I still wonder what would have happened if the fuel pump failures followed the DSG failure curve instead of that alarming curve it followed (or) they had been built just more sturdier and failed after an year or 2 of using "adulterated" fuel.

[audioholic]

Guys lets stop this debate and justification of buying VAG cars and get back to the car itself.

FE update: My commute to office is somewhat returning 10-11kmpl on my 1.5 DSG. This is quite insensitive to driving style since the car picks up speed soon and even if we occupy gap’s aggressively, it isnt affecting FE much. What is a bigger problem for FE is if you always drive around in residential areas and congested traffic. That time it wont cross 8.5-9kmpl.


675kms done in 20 days and much of this has been clocked by my dad than me thanks to my WFH situation and his liking of the car

[amit1agrawal]

I checked out the new (or rather old) 8 inches infotainment system in Slavia.

First the Cons:
1. It looks a bit dated for 2022. The overall color theme, icons, UI/UX styling is a bit old style. However, it's not a deal-breaker.
2. The screen resolution is lesser than the 10 inches one. You would notice pixelation if you go near the screen. From far, it looks fine.
3. Lack of support for sub-woofer. This is a big miss IMO. Slavia had a distinct edge over the competition, including Virtus when it came to sound quality. It's more or less on par with the competition without a sub-woofer.

Now, the Pros:
1. The touchscreen response is fantastic. Even my Galaxy S21 feels slow in comparison.
2. Physical buttons & quick access menu. I like physical buttons. You can operate without taking your eyes off the road. The buttons are of very good quality. The quick access menu is well spread out & easy to access compared to 10 inches one. For instance, with a quick glance off the road & you would be able to operate. On the 10 inches screen, the quick access menu buttons are small and would require you to take your eyes off for a considerable time to choose the right button.
3. The overall screen layout and information presented appears bigger in size (probably because of lower resolution) making it easier to read.
4. The infotainment touchscreen feels premium (but a bit dated). It doesn't look/feels cheap in any way.

Sound Quality: The sound clarity is good. Initially, the bass was missing but after adjusting equalizer, the bass output was much better. The sound quality is a notch better than Virtus or City, both are bass-heavy to my liking. But, Slavia loses the advantage it had in the sound system. Period. Skoda should provide replacement with 10 inches infotainment system including a sub-woofer when the supply chain is back to normal at a reasonable cost ( wish they provide it complimentary).

Main Menu screen


Media screen


Music screen


Phone screen


Car/Vehicle screen


Android Auto/Apple Carplay screen. I didn't have cable so couldn't check this out.


I have made a short video on the touchscreen response.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T2fRfYNZgfg