Skoda Scala

It is on the inside where the Skoda Scala appeals to the audience with a much younger approach. Despite being a compact car, it exhibits no compromise in equipment and design and feels premium to the core.

The Skoda Scala was one of the very first cars from Skoda to get blessed with a full TFT instrument console which looks super cool and informative. The three-spoke multi-functional steering wheel looks simple though. 

The rest of the dashboard has a smooth three-layered layout, with the middle one getting a brushed silver finish different from the black ones in the upper and lower portions of the dashboard.

The center stage here is taken by the large and wide floating rectangular touchscreen infotainment system. Below this super crisp and intuitive screen, there is a trapezoidal panel of AC vents and below them sits a small rectangular panel for the buttons of automatic climate control. The centre tunnel flows from here and houses the gear lever in a much-poised manner.

One of the sharpest looking hatchbacks, Skoda has ever come up with, the Skoda Scala looks edgy from the word go, which is now the trademark of all the Skoda offerings from the modern era.

The front fascia of the Skoda Scala has a lot in common with the rest of the new generation Skodas like the Octavia and Superb and gets sharp triangular headlamps with a full LED arrangement as well as daytime running LEDs on their upper edges.

These headlamps flow towards the new Skoda’s butterfly grille which is more pronounced and wider here and gets chrome bordering as well as vertical slats within it. The sleek trapezoidal fog lamps placed above the large faux air dams in the front bumper make the front look bigger and wider.

The side profile of the Skoda Scala looks taut and proportionate with a crisp shoulder line flowing through the doors and rounded wheel arches. The machined alloy wheels look snazzy, while the large doors and window panels make it look like a wagon sometimes.

At the rear, the Skoda Scala gets a concept car-like theme with a wide piano black finish below the rear windscreen, boasting of wide Skoda lettering in the middle. The large taillamps with inverted-L shaped LED inserts do make it look edgy here as well.

The Skoda Scala gets a suspension setup comprising of Macpherson struts with lower triangular links and torsion stabiliser at the front and compound link crank axle at the rear. The suspension is on a stiffer edge, which does make it a great handler, but sharp edges and bumps can be felt inside.

There are four engine and gearbox combinations for the Skoda Scala, which make it quite a versatile car. The smallest 1.0-litre three-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine is available with a 6-speed manual gearbox only and pumps out 116 PS of power and 200 Nm of torque. Then comes the bigger 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine, which is coupled to a 7-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission and produces 150 PS of power and 250 Nm of torque. The sole 1.6-litre four-cylinder diesel engine, which belts out 116 PS of power and 250 Nm of torque, is being offered with both 6-speed manual and 7-speed dual-clutch automatic gearbox.

The Skoda Scala gets a comprehensive safety equipment list, the prominent ones of which includes front, side, head, curtain and knee airbags, ABS with EBD and brake assist, auto light assist, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, rear cross traffic alert, manoeuvre assist, park distance control, park assist and front assist with predictive pedestrian protection.

The Skoda Scala is a true and typical Skoda product with high-quality materials and fit and finish in a rather compact package. With punchy and potent engine options, great handling, and cool and premium features, it makes up for a great practical compact car that is desirable as well.