Skoda Slavia is modern Fabia Sedan

Meet the Skoda Slavia, a new sedan that proves that relatively compact sedans far beyond the European borders are definitely worth developing. We start with sedan enthusiasts, however, with the bad news: the Slavia is not coming to the Netherlands.

The Skoda Slavia is a 4.54 meter long sedan with a wheelbase of 2.65 meters. Those dimensions correspond to those of the Volkswagen Virtus with which the Slavia also shares the majority of its carriage. The Volkswagen Virtus sold in South America is in fact the sedan version of the Polo and that means that you can actually see the Slavia as a modern Fabia sedan. Actually, because the Slavia is just that little bit different.

Skoda Slavia

The Slavia, specially developed for the Indian market, is on a cheaper and for India adapted variant of the MQB-A0 platform that we know from the Polo, Fabia and also from the Virtus. It concerns the MQB-A0-IN platform, which is also under the Kushaq, also specifically intended for India. That the Slavia is really for the most part a Virtus, the car also proves with its luggage space. With 521 liters, it is exactly as big as that of its Volkswagen brother. More than 520 liters is quite a lot. For comparison: the considerably larger Volkswagen Passat (+24 centimetres), with 586 liters, does not even take up that much anymore.

Skoda Slavia

Relatively well-known MQB technology also entails well-known powertrains. For example, the Slavia on the Indian market with a 115 hp 1.0 TSI and a 1.5 TSI with 150 hp. Good news for the Indian economy: 95 percent of the parts and materials needed for the Slavia are produced on the domestic market. Named after the bikes that Skoda founders Václav Laurin and Václav Klement sold before turning to cars, the Slavia is laced with design cues from the Fabia. In the back is even something of big brother Octavia to recognize. The interior is almost one-on-one taken over from the Fabia and is equipped with a 10-inch multimedia screen at higher equipment levels, although a digital instrumentation is missing.

Skoda Fabia

Whether the Slavia will also satisfy the safety institute Global NCAP? We venture to doubt it. Despite its modern base, Skoda, like many other manufacturers, refuses to supply a decent number of floppy bags as standard. Two airbags are standard, but side and curtain airbags are not standard.

The Skoda Slavia will probably displace the Rapid from showrooms in India. The Indian Rapid is actually a Volkswagen Vento, which is secretly just a Polo sedan from the previous generation. The Indian Rapid was last refreshed in 2016 and that means that the model is on its last legs. The Fabia sedan finally has more or less a successor, and that took a while. After all, Skoda only delivered a sedan from the first generation Fabia produced between 1999 and 2007.