Skoda Slavia - 3rd Long term Report - #ODGarage

Arpit Handa Updated: May 17, 2023, 01:22 PM IST

I have been driving the Skoda Slavia for almost six months now and one thing that i can certainly say is that it's a damn good machine! The variant that I have, comes with the 1.0-litre TSI petrol engine and is paired with a 6-speed manual gearbox. This engine may not be the most powerful or the most refined unit out there but it provides excellent low-end torque, making it easy to drive in city traffic. The car feels stable on the highway and can stretch its legs at high speeds without any issues. I particularly like the suspension setup of the Skoda Slavia, it is well-tuned, providing a comfortable ride over most road conditions. The steering is light,yet provides enough weighted feedback. The brakes provide a nice bite, even though its a front Disk rear Drum setup, overall the car feels confident while braking. It is a practical car that is well-suited for day-to-day activities. The automatic climate control works well and the vents for rear passengers are very useful, but as I have been saying in my previous reports the air-conditioning could have been better, at times it feels that the AC is struggling to chill even though the fan speed is blowing air at full chant. The touchscreen infotainment system has Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, and there is a new update which I noticed for Android Auto which now makes it look more refined and dare I say Apple-like..

I have racked up nearly 6000 kms since I had the Slavia and I enjoyed every moment of it, but something very unusual happened. We all know parking is a hassle in the city and even parking in building premises becomes hard to find, especially when you are staying on rent. So one morning a big branch broke out of the palm tree and popped onto the Slavia's roof leaving a huge dent just behind the Sunroof. Thankfully the Sunroof glass wasn't damaged and I could manually open and close the sunshade from inside, but the Sunroof mechanism wasn't working as there was now no space left for the Glass to slide in the body work because of the dent. Lesson learnt, always try to park in an enclosed space and never under a tree. Accidents happen but I am feeling really bad for the car as I have begun to like it more and more with every passing kilometer. Nevertheless the good folks at Skoda have taken the car back for repairs and it shall be back to #ODGarage really soon, as good as new. Stay tuned for the complete report on the insurance, cost of repairs etc in the upcoming issue.