First report: The Slavia is back in our fleet in colourful Monte Carlo guise. Unfortunately, road conditions have thwarted our plans to paint the town red.
“Short-term pain, long-term gain” is the chant in my head these days. No, I haven’t taken to heavy gymming. I’m just your average road user in Mumbai. You see, the city is amidst a large-scale surface concretisation drive, with authorities promising pothole-free roads in the not-too-distant future. The trouble is, they are seemingly tackling every road in the city – all at once. The city’s a mess, to put it politely. What’s not barricaded is broken. And this is precisely why the Skoda Slavia’s 179mm of ground clearance is a figure not lost on me.
Ample clearance allows Slavia to tackle crater-sized potholes and giant speed breakers with ease.
My short commute to work has been reduced to an obstacle course with three particularly bad sections that would catch out your regular sedan. But there are no such problems with the Slavia, which clears the nastiest of surfaces with ease. It rounds off the bumps well, and there’s a robustness to the suspension that shines through when the going gets rough. Also nice is the steering, which calls for little effort when tackling the slalom course of potholes and barricades.
The Slavia in question is the latest car to join our long-term fleet. It’s a 1.5 TSI with a DSG transmission in tasty Monte Carlo spec. The Monte Carlo trades chrome for black details, and to my eyes, it’s the best-looking version of the Skoda sedan. For the full effect, opt for this Tornado Red. It’s a cheery sight on the smoggiest and dustiest of days. Just wish Skoda didn’t hold back on the wheels. As a sucker for sexy wheels, I find the current 16-inch ones to be a bit plain.
The touch panel for the climate control system isn’t the easiest to use on the go.
But I love what Skoda has done with the interior. The predominantly black theme with contrast red details, including part-red upholstery, makes for a colourful setting to spend long hours in. The sporty aluminium pedals look swell, too.
Longish stints behind the wheel have also enhanced my appreciation for the front seats. The backrest extends quite far up, and that means great shoulder support even for a tall driver like me. The seats are electrically adjustable, which is a boon, too, and while ventilation is a cool feature (literally so), it does get quite noisy at full blast. On the subject, the air conditioning is putting up a good fight against the unusual heat, but I find myself needing to take manual control of the blower speed every now and then. Also, I’m still not convinced about the touch slider for temperature and blower control. An indent helps place your finger, but precise inputs still require taking your eyes off the road, which isn’t ideal.
The red-on-black interior theme exclusive to the Monte Carlo lends its cabin a cheerful vibe.
Among the things that get a big thumbs up is the touchscreen. It’s slick and quick to wirelessly connect with Apple CarPlay. I’d also rate the audio system highly. There’s a depth to the sound that adds greatly to your music. Sadly, the sound system can’t cover up the creaks from the door and window beadings. This is supposedly an easy fix, but I’d rather not have to deal with it in the first place.
Creaks from the door and window beadings are irritating.
I haven’t touched upon performance yet because my driving thus far hasn’t done justice to the capabilities of the sweet 150hp, 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine. A quick overtake here and a brisk departure from a traffic light there; that was all the flexing the Slavia got to do. But I can tell that it’s a very refined engine and works well with the 7-speed dual-clutch gearbox. The Slavia’s been averaging 7.7-8.7kpl in the slow-speed crawl it’s been subjected to. These are not shining figures per se but are par for the course for turbo-petrol mills in the same environment.
The front-seat backrests extend high up and offer great shoulder support.
Kpl and kph figures will improve once the roads do. Over to the authorities to get the job done.
Also see:
Skoda Kushaq, Slavia prices increase with chargeable colour options
2025 Skoda Slavia, Kushaq get new features
Skoda Kylaq waiting period extends up to 5 months
