Not cheap, but angry: review and video of Skoda Scala

Unlike its platform platform relative, Skoda Kamiq, another 2019 Geneva premiere, the Skoda Scala hatchback, will definitely not appear in Russia – at least in the foreseeable future. It remains for us to envy and wait until we finally become part of Europe, at least by car.

It would seem that the Skoda Scala is a regular compact hatchback, which is a dime a dozen in Europe, however, Czech designers this time acted as the trendsetters of the “proportional fashion”: on the one hand, the rear overhang of the Skoda Scala hints at the large trunk of a station wagon, on the other, sloping the line of the fifth door, introducing a retro motif, points to the hatchback, but this is not the most important thing in the appearance of the car. Let us ask ourselves: what class does Skoda Scala belong to?

Skoda Scala is entering the European market in the next three months, and this is a good reason to check the youth’s loyalty to the foundations. “In statics” the new Czech Scala looks preferable in all figures, starting with the key ones. So, in terms of trunk volume, the Scala is more versatile than the Golf: 467 liters versus 380, and on the wheelbase the Czech hatchback, formally standing below the “German” class, is ahead of the eminent relative: 2,649 mm versus 2,620.
Moreover, on sensations, which is important, there is a lot of space not only in the second row for the legs, but also in width, and both on the front and rear seats. And if in space in the cabin the same Kamiq crossover does not cause doubts in its class membership – B and B only, then Scala offers comfort to the C-class – at least in its form, which was adopted as a standard for compact models yesterday .

In general, Skoda Scala is first of all a relative’s call, and this call can provoke a chain reaction: Golf under pressure from the Rock will get even better, which, in turn, will lead to a drop in demand for the Audi A3. In the near future, we definitely could witness this process if Scala were allowed at the base price below Octavia and VW Golf. But no, the Czechs are not looking for easy ways: the Rock in the most naked version is more expensive than Octavia by 1.5 thousand euros, and its German relative is as much as two.

Another thing is that as the climb up the “ladder” of complete sets of Golf starts to rise very quickly. And let “in the base” Scala looks decent and competitive (especially in comparison with Octavia), however, even in the most expensive versions, Scala has only a semi-dependent suspension at the back. In this sense, richer buyers, who need comfort, not only optional, it is likely that this experiment with Scala will be rejected. By the way, nobody canceled the popularity of crossovers, and in Europe Volkswagen has cheap T-Rocs (from 21 thousand euros) and T-Cross (from 18 thousand euros) – go and compete with them.

But as for Octavia, its cheapness is only imaginary. The fact is that now in Europe in the basic version it comes with a tiny 1.0-liter motor, inflated – oh, horror – up to 115 hp But Scala, about which not only the Golf risks, but more “direct competitors” of other brands, has a 1.6-liter turbodiesel of the same capacity, but a much more confident burden. With this motor, Octavia becomes more expensive than the Rock for the same 1.5 thousand euros. In addition, the Czechs, obviously, will put pressure on the family, which is correct – after all, the same little Fabia can be considered as the first car only by a small family, consisting perhaps only of two. Moreover, Scala offers the widest selection here.

Now for the likely Russian assembly. It definitely will not be – as is the case with the timing of the appearance of Kamiq, this is also information from the Skoda camp. Firstly, for localization, it is necessary that the car was sold at us for 20 thousand units annually, and no Czech manager would give such a forecast: they all refer to the prejudice of the Russian buyer regarding hatchbacks. Secondly, it is obvious that Scala, appearing on the Russian market, will immediately begin to compete with Octavia, which, of course, cannot be allowed. In general, it remains for us to look at the pictures and regret that the European “B +”, albeit in the form of a hatchback, is not going to us for permanent residence.