Skoda Slavia black, long term review, Fuel efficiency, power, features, performance – Introduction

It’s virtually unimaginable to pay money for our long-term Skoda Slavia’s key, which Shapur has been clinging onto ever because it arrived within the Autocar India fleet. It isn’t laborious to see why, although – the mix of 150hp turbo petrol and dual-clutch transmission, together with the very European driving dynamics, make it a hoot to drive. Fortunately for me, his packed schedule with back-to-back journey for all of the particular tales for our (earlier) three hundredth challenge and (this) anniversary challenge resulted within the Slavia being left uncommissioned in one of many corners of our workplace car parking zone. And with a full tank of gas, too!

Good: Wonderful SUV-like 179mm floor clearance.

Straight up, discovering a really perfect driving place is a breeze due to the electrical driver’s seat controls and a number of steering changes. And I can’t applaud the 10-inch touchscreen’s seamless connectivity sufficient, particularly with wi-fi Android Auto. Additionally, whereas the sound system isn’t branded, the standard is spectacular, with clear vocals and powerful bass. 

Dangerous: Poor digital camera high quality and low-res show want enchancment.

Sufficient has been stated by Shapur about its sturdy 150hp 1.5 TSI turbo-petrol engine. So I gained’t repeat it. It’s fast, and the mid-range pull is robust, however due to its linear nature, I miss the drama of yesteryear’s turbo-petrol mills, whereby turbo lag was adopted by manic enhance; these had a appeal of their very own. Additionally, at excessive revs, the 1.5 TSI sounds fairly boomy. 

Good: Spectacular sound high quality with clear vocals and powerful bass from the subwoofer that is mounted contained in the spare tyre. 

The seven-speed dual-clutch isn’t very {smooth} in stop-go site visitors both. It makes the automobile lurch forward whereas rolling off from a standstill. Whereas decelerating, the downshifts often really feel jerky. The overenthusiastic auto stop-start system kicks in even earlier than the automobile involves a full halt, which will get very annoying at crawling speeds. Lastly, fanatics who need to unlock extra out of this engine might be disillusioned as most tuners haven’t been in a position to crack its ECU.

Metropolis gas effectivity is often in single digits. This, nonetheless, is one of the best I’ve managed

One night, I drove the Slavia at my docile greatest and tried to induce its cylinder deactivation expertise as usually as potential. It was a smooth-flowing 22-minute journey from workplace to dwelling, with the standard site visitors alerts and auto stop-start function doing its factor, and one of the best I managed to realize was 13kpl as per the instrument cluster show, which is sort of correct. However herald bumper-to-bumper site visitors and excessive ambient temperatures into the combo, and after only a few minutes of idling, like some other turbo-petrol automobile, gas effectivity nosedives to single digits – which is what we’ve been averaging to this point.

Dangerous: Cease-start function turns off the engine even earlier than the automobile halts.

After spending a few weeks with the Slavia, I revisited our street take a look at and may relate to each little element talked about, particularly this assertion, which summarises my expertise completely: “The Slavia is so good, it is among the most rounded choices within the section, and with its sensible but fun-to-drive nature, this sedan has acquired severe potential to sway SUV consumers in its route.”

Additionally see: 

Skoda Slavia DSG long run evaluate, 5,700km report

2022 Skoda Slavia evaluate, street take a look at