Skoda Has Taken The Covers Off The Slavia! Looks Ready To Take On The Honda City And Hyundai Verna

• The Slavia is the replacement for the long-running Skoda Rapid compact sedan.

• It follows the same exterior design language as its larger siblings, the Octavia and Superb.

• The interior looks similarly premium with a clean dashboard layout featuring a wide touchscreen display and digital instrument cluster.

• Gets two turbo-petrol engines - a 115PS 1-litre and a 150PS 1.5-litre.

• The Slavia’s market launch in India is slated for Q1 2022.

We’ve waited a long time for the new entry-level Skoda sedan and it has now been unveiled in the metal. As per the teaser sketches and spied test mules, the Slavia looks like a smaller sibling to the Octavia, with the same design language.

The Slavia is the replacement for the Rapid, and the second model to be based on the localised MQB A0-IN platform. It has the same prominent butterfly grille as the Kushaq and Octavia, flanked by sleek LED headlights with crystalline detailing. Other sporty details around the front include the angular shapes of the bumper and splitter, the bulge on the hood, the blacked-out air dam and fog lamp housing, and the pronounced wheel arches.

From the sides as well, the Slavia looks a lot like the Octavia, just shorter in length. The shapes and creases along the shoulderline make it look typically European like an executive sedan. Around the rear, Skoda has sculpted an aerodynamic edge to the Slavia’s rear end with an integrated spoiler on the bootlid and the shape of the rear bumper. Its split LED taillamps look sharp too, and give it a more premium look than some of its segment rivals.

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The Slavia’s interior has a minimalist and modern design, similar to the global-spec Skoda Fabia hatchback. There is a sleek 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system in the centre of the dashboard, a two-spoke steering wheel, and touch-based climate controls like the Kushaq. It is also equipped with ambient interior lighting, a sunroof, ventilated front seats, cruise control, and an 8-inch digital driver’s display.

In terms of safety, the Slavia offers up to six airbags, ISOFIX child seat anchorage, electronic stability control, rear parking camera with sensors and ABS with EBD. It also gets a tyre pressure monitoring system and hill hold control.

Skoda will be offering the Slavia with the same TSI turbo-petrol engines as the Kushaq. The 1-litre TSI making 115PS/178Nm will be mated to a 6-speed manual with the choice of a 6-speed automatic. Meanwhile, the 1.5-litre TSI gets the choice of a 6-speed manual and a 7-speed DSG (dual-clutch automatic), and makes 150PS/250Nm, making it the most powerful sedan in its segment.

Pre-bookings for the Skoda Slavia are now open for a token amount of Rs 11,000, and it is due to arrive at showrooms in the first quarter of 2022. It will be Skoda’s best contender against the Honda City and Hyundai Verna till date. The Slavia will also rival the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and the upcoming successor to the Volkswagen Vento(Virtus) and Toyota Belta (rebadged Maruti Ciaz).