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Skoda Slavia 1.0 TSI AT: Booking, delivery & initial observations

15th September 2022, 12:01 by Dev Shah

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Interior fit and finish is acceptable. Since I haven't owned a Skoda before, this is good for me. Many people say the Rapid was better.

BHPian mikebhat recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hi all,

Sharing my buying experience of the Skoda Slavia.

My requirements:

Budget: 13 to 17 lakh based on the vehicle and value it offers.

Fuel: Petrol

After having driven Ford 1.4 TDCI for 13 years, next target was a petrol car. BS6 Diesel are haunted with DPF issues, so no actual savings ad invite additional hassles. I also drive friend's petrol cars, they feel light and noiseless. Even the EPS was smooth in city. In fact i never actually felt 1.2 NA of so many cars being less powerful, they are definitely OK in cities and highways. I assume they can be a problem only on steep hills, which again can be managed if we tackle it from ground level before climbing.

With all said and done, : still though a turbo engine is a must after using Ford turbo diesel. They have the pulling power.

Body: SUV or Sedan

I had a sedan and a hatchback, so next one was an SUV. There are numerous options but all lacked something. This will hold true for Kushaq to Magnite. I wanted an SUV only for bad roads of Bangalore. Once it rains, areas like HSR, Bellandur, Bommanahalli, Begur are flooded and SUV works better. I also liked the sitting position of SUVs and ease of ingress/outgress. Sedan consideration is mainly for space and great highway experience.

Mandatory features:

Must have:-

6 airbags - for safety, never know on luck as who/when/what.
Braking and related tech (ESP/TCS/Hill Hold) - Ideally these should also be made mandatory. Hill Hold required for others in family.
Apple Carplay - Mobile holder never good, need maps since I travel
Automatic gears (Torque Converter) - Tired of traffic and repeated road humps. Also lane fights on highways.
LED headlamps - Everyone has it, its bright. Others trouble me a lot with those lights at SUV height.
Illuminated buttons - Need it on all buttons, why struggle in dark.
Steering mounted controls - Easy use of everything.
Cruise control - To extract mileage from powerful cars.
360 Camera - Big vehicles can be managed easily if this is present.
Rear AC vents - family needs it.

Good if it is present, else ok:-

Ventilated Seats- Helps in summers of course. But if AC is good then its fine to let go.
Follow Me Headlamps - Helps getting inside the house.

Not much bothered of:-

Sunroof - maintenance, possibility of cracks and leaks, extra price.
Push Button Start - I like the Keys
Auto Headlamps, Auto Wiper - We will anyways use them when need
Ambient light - Just cosmetics
Virtual Cockpit - I like if there are 2 dials for speed and tachometer. Not a fan of the Slavia console.

Vehicles considered:

I will not write lengthy notes of likes and dislikes since you have already seen in many posts but will keep it in short.

Nissan Kicks:

Pros: Powerful, spacious, ground clearance.
Cons: CVT, Not many on road, old platform, Nissan Service, no 360 CAM on CVT.

Nissan Magnite: (Test Driven)

Pros: Affordable, has all features i need. No complaints on CVT.

Cons: No manual steps for CVT, Nissan Service.

Tata Nexon petrol and EV:

Pros: Ultimate, has all features I need. It comes with ventilated seats too.
Cons: AMT gearbox, slow Infotainment, EV charging is a concern for now in my native place.

Mahindra XUV300:

Pros: Looks good, drives well. Spacious for people.
Cons: AMT gearbox, boot space. Its lesser than my old Figo.

Hyundai Venue/Kia Sonet:

Pros: Brand value, resale value, service.
Cons: DCT heating, less space, breadbox design.

Hyundai Creta: (Test Driven)

Pros: Smooth drive, 3 people in second row, resale value.
Cons: No automatic under 17 lakh, no full fledged braking tech. Even Nexon base model has all these. CVT starts at 20 lakh, never want a DCT for its niggles, not a drivers car.

Skoda Kushaq:

Pros: Brand image, safety features from base model, localization, TSI, torque converter, paddle shifters.
Cons: Social media influence on rattling/console display/EPC, 1.0 AT pricey for Style, Ambition looses many features but not the discount, 2nd row strictly for 2 people, complaints of AC.

Skoda Slavia: (Test Driven)

Pros: Including the Kushaq above, boot space, promise from Zac that all the defects in Kushaq are rectified and will be incorporated in Slavia before launch.
Cons: Including the Kushaq above, no 360 CAM for such a big sedan.

Future considerations:

Petrol Harrier: Too late to wait, concerns on mileage.
Creta rival from Toyota/Suzuki - I have to wait till Diwali, I wanted a new car now. This is manly because to get rid of manual and go for more comfort.
6 Speed AT from Suzuki from Brezza/Ertiga - Ertiga and XL6 was reviewed as slow vehicle, Brezza is not released and i expect the same for this one too.

Test drives:

Hyundai Creta:

Pavan Hyundai in Kanakpura road is good in customer service. But here was no automatic model whatsoever. There was no thought from dealer to arrange one. He told to drive manual and CVT will feel almost the same since its same engine.

Nexon petrol AMT:

Key Motors from Tata are not that good. I went 4 times for test drive and there was no vehicle. They took my number and assured a car will be sent home but never happened. Finally after some friendly sources (my friend's friend had contact with manager of that showroom) I got one sent home. It was overall good. AMT is not that bad. Overall drive was good, I did not see AMT jerks that much in city drive. Overall price is 16.1 lac for XZA P, another one lakh Slavia 1.0 Ambition AT was available. Considering the value of Nexon over Slavia, I almost decided to book Nexon.

Skoda Slavia AT:

Twist is this car was not tested in Bangalore. Bangalore showrooms were far from my house. TAFE JP Nagar was a touchpoint and did not have car when I wanted. This was the nearest place for me. They always asked me to to come to HSR or St Marks Road. The plan to go there was always postponing.

I had been to Udupi which is my native place, I was happy to see a Skoda (TAFE) just 2kms away from my house which is located in the highway. I took some time and went for a test drive. Vilas Poojary (SA) was the best guy who helped us a lot. He got a 1.0 manual for test and assured another TD later with automatic. As usual, I finished the in 3kms like how we do in Bangalore. He told me that people in this city take for 20 kms and asked me to drive more. I was so happy and surprised that I get to drive Sthe koda Slavia for that long. It was the Mangalore to Goa highway. No matter what other issues Skoda has, 1.0 is a gem of a machine. I was convinced to book Skoda at that time itself but again had thoughts because there was no Youtube video release that time from all those reviewers (Faisal, Gagan, Ashish, Motoroctane, ACI).
Later I came to Bangalore. After a week, I started getting follow up calls. I couldn't run away from Vilas as he was very helpful. Hence I started asking information on known issues, possibility to talk with existing users, any EPC/AC issues observed in his city. He made me patch with few customers and all of them gave good feedback about the car. Udupi being a hot and humid place, the existing owners mentioned that the AC IS not freezing but very much sufficient. Another thing was I had tested only 1.0 manual. Vilas got Bangalore TAFE to arrange an AT for me. I did a test drive and I was very happy with the experience. What a torque output.

I first booked the Ambition AT to save money but Style had added features like subwoofer, LED headlamp, ambient lights, sunroof, 6 airbags and digital cockpit. I wanted LED headlamps badly as well the 6 airbags. You already know that October 2022 onwards the rule for 6 airbags may become mandatory. New Baleno, Sonet, Seltos, Karens and few others already added rear discs and more airbags (if not 6). I did not want to be left behind. Sadly there was no NSR (Non Sun Roof) Style in AT, it was there in manual.

Hence, considering all the factors and leaving behind the 360 camera, I booked the Slavia Style AT.

Booking:

My booking was done in Udupi, the only reason is to get Vilas the sales incentive. But it did have its effects. My address in Bangalore and RTO is KA05, the delivery of the car is to be Bangalore as well. Some paperwork on loan and Form 20 etc had to be exchanged in couriers, but overall smooth. Booking was done on 19th April for the red colour. Almost alternate days a follow up call was done for delivery, most of the time it was told that it would be 40 days from the date of booking. Days kept passing for being eager to know on details but usual updates on calls. After 4 weeks, i got a call from SA's manager that red is not available and convinced me to go for Carbon Steel. I sent couple of emails to Skoda and Zac Hollis but the responses were not helpful. Zac mentioned the struggle as his first response. Later I asked how come a color is a problem? its not a part or a semiconductor board, but no response. I emailed again as this will be a testimony for your customer service, if you don't respond now then how can be assured that warranty replacements will be smooth? No response. I felt like cancelling, but there was no other car that matched my needs. I did think to cancel based on lot of AC issues and 2 instances of EPS issues. Then I called up those numbers given by SA of existing customers of Udupi to those whom he had sold cars. I spoke to them in detail and they feel that the AC is fine even for hot and humid coastal area of Udupi. In that case it should be sufficient for Bangalore. Also, they mentioned that they did not get a single instance of EPC problem. Hence, I continued to proceed with the car even if I am asked to take Carbon Steel. Actually that color is very good too. Meanwhile, due to my harsh emails or just my luck, almost after 33 days the SA's manager called me that Blue is available and can be allotted, I simply accepted as I did not want more delays. In fact, assuming I will get in 40 days, I had sold my existing Ford Figo Titanium TDCI 1.4 2013 right after a month from the date of booking. Car was a real need for me. On 23rd May, the car arrived at the stockyard, on 24th May the PDI was done and kept in HSR Layout showroom. I visited the showroom and saw the car in the basement, and I was very happy. There were no visible scratches. Since I traveled that far, I wanted to do something with the car so asked local SA to start the car and show all the lights, he did it promptly. Same day I asked HDFC to release payment and I paid my share too. All I had to do was wait for June 1st. Those were like the longest days.

Finally the day came, I had taken leave to ensure no hurry and no misses. I took a cab along with my spouse to HSR Tafe Access Skoda. The vehicle was delivered as expected. After all the formalities, we took the first drive from the showroom to the temple. After an hour of work on Pooja, took the vehicle home. Although I am first to AT, I never felt like using the shifter like usually manual guys do by confusion. I filled Indian Oil XP95 petrol for half tank.

Upon reaching home, gave sweets to neighbors. Most of them took a ride as passengers and i took this opportunity to drive the vehicle repeatedly.

Observations:

The good:

Power and torque is more than sufficient. Never felt it to be underpowered.
Gear changes at proper intervals according to throttle input.
Unless there are 5 people and you are on inclined roads, you hardly notice turbo lag.
Never really felt AC is less, its sufficient. Sometimes in hot sun, cooling may get delayed but not bad at all.
Interior fit and finish is acceptable. Since I haven't owned a Skoda before, this is good for me. Many people say the Rapid was better.
Steering response is not bad at all. I did a 120kmph on NICE Road and it behaved exactly how I wanted during overtaking.
Very minimal body roll.
As far as engine performance goes, its bang for the buck and can give sleepless nights to the Hyundai Verna and Honda City. (Please know that we are not talking on service or reliability yet).
Hill hold assist, cruise control are gifts.
Audio is too good. I still feel the subwoofer is not as powerful as the ones we put like Sony/Pioneer but the overall sound quality is very good. I guess its set for decent bass and best audio quality.
Very much addicted to cruise control on highways.
Mileage on highway at 110kmph - 16 kmpl as per MID, so 14.5 tank to tank.
Headlamp in city (LED), wide, covers all aspects of the road.

The bad:

Rear view camera could have been better.
Suspension makes thud noise on potholes, a gas cushion like sound would have been better. I don't know why they say it is softer than the Virtus.
As of now, MID shows 6kmpl, hoping that it will improve after sometime. I need to do a tank to tank test.
Also, I am unable to see trip wise data. It only shows data since start all the time and hence I can't see the statistics of each drive.
The engine heats up a lot, I haven't seen so much heat in any older cars. The bonnet holding stick also heats up. This must be improved.
Mileage - I was very unhappy that my mileage is just 7.5 kmpl overall. Even with low RPM and sedated driving. I spoke to my cousin who has Altroz NA manual. He said even he gets 8 to 9 in city. Then I felt little better.
Headlamps on highway - LED high beam is worst, no shadow on ups and downs of road, no beam pointed. Its just feels distracted and soft spread light on high beam.

What is required:

The space it offers is to good. I still feel a 360 cam is required.
Better AC. Its good now but needs to be more chilled sometimes
Make the headlamp with twin setup. Low beam LED and high beam halogen.

Its been 3 months since the purchase, but I could not drive much due to work from home. Now its done almost 2400km. I did go for a trip to Thirupathi and Davangere, both from Bangalore.