Skoda Slavia breaks cover, will throw challenge to Honda City, Hyundai Verna

Skoda India on Thursday has launched Slavia midsize sedan, a contender against Honda City and Hyundai Verna. The stylish and sharp looking midsize sedan has been teased couple of times by the Czech automaker before its global debut on Thursday. Pricing of the sedan is yet to be announced.

The sedan comes as part of the automaker's future strategy for Indian market till 2030. The sedan has been built in India and keeping focus on the domestic consumers. The automaker is also hopeful to grab five per cent market share in India with the help of Kushaq and new Slavia.

With the Slavia, Skoda Auto India aims to grab a larger chunk in the premium sedan segment in the country. Skoda Auto claims that with Slavia, it aims to grab attention of the young buyers of India.

(Also see pics | Skoda Slavia mid-size sedan makes grand debut)

Skoda Slavia: Competitors

There were speculations that Slavia would replace the Skoda Rapid, which is another midsize sedan in India competing with Maruti Suzuki Ciaz, Hyundai Verna, Honda City etc. However, the Skoda Slavia will be sold as independent model instead of a Rapid replacement. The Slavia comes a bigger and more premium car than the Skoda Rapid.

Skoda Slavia: Variants

Skoda Slavia will be available in three different variant options. Also, it will be available in five different colour options. The colour options include Crystal Blue.

Skoda Slavia: Dimensions

To compare, Skoda Slavia measures 4,541 mm in length, 1,752 mm in width, and 1,487 mm in height. Compared to the Skoda Rapid, all-new Slavia comes 128 mm longer, 53 mm wider, and 21 mm taller. Skoda Slavia also has a 99 mm longer wheelbase than Rapid. Clearly, the Slavia offers more space and comfort inside the cabin. It is also bigger than the first-generation Octavia.

Skoda Slavia: Design

Speaking about the design, the Skoda Slavia follows contemporary styling philosophy of the carmaker. It gets trademark Skoda butterfly grille with chrome embellished vertical slats, sculpted bonnet, sleek L shaped LED projector headlamps with integrated LED daytime running lights, C-shaped split LED taillights, and razor-sharp crystalline character lines across body. It runs on dual-tone alloy wheels.

The sedan appears to have taken inspiration from coupes, visible in its silhouette. It is claimed to have taken inspiration from Bohemian crystals and Skoda's DNA.

Skoda Slavia: Cabin and features

Inside the cabin, Skoda Slavia sedan gets a dual-spoke steering wheel, identical to the one Skoda Kushaq gets. The central 10-inch touchscreen infotainment system too appears to have been borrowed from Kushaq SUV. However, unlike Kushaq, it gets a fully digital instrument cluster in the digital cockpit.

The cabin gets a dual-tone premium looking theme. The features include rear AC vents, wireless charging, digital cockpit etc.

Skoda Slavia: Engine and transmission

The Skoda Slavia is based on the MQB A0 IN architecture, which has been specially design for the Indian market and derived from the Volkswagen AG's famous MQB platform. The sedan gets a 1.0-litre TSI petrol and a 1.5-litre TSI petrol engine.

The smaller three-cylinder petrol engine is capable of churning out 113 bhp of power and 175 Nm of torque. It comes available with a six speed manual and a six-speed automatic gearbox options. The larger 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged engine generates 150 bhp of power and 250 Nm of torque. It comes available with a six-speed manual and a seven-speed DSG automatic gearbox options.

Skoda Slavia: Safety

Skoda Slavia comes with a host of safety features. It gets six airbags, ISOFIX, TPMS, Hill Hold Control, ABS with EBD, ESC etc.