Skoda has been working on a new sedan that will be longer and luxurious than the Rapid. The sedan known as ANB internally is likely to be named the Skoda Slavia. With two Skoda cars, Octavia and Kushaq to be launched in India this year, Zac Hollis, the director of sales, service and marketing confirmed that the Slavia will be launched by the end of this year. If the Pandemic situation gets out of hand, the launch could be pushed to next year.
What can we expect from Skoda Slavia?
The Slavia was spotted testing on Indian roads with heavy camouflage, from what we could see the car looks similar to the Rapid which is sold in Russia. So it is still unclear if the brand will retain the Rapid name here in India or change it to Slavia. The Slavia will be based on Volkswagen group’s MQB A0 IN platform which also underpins the upcoming Skoda Kushaq, VW Taigun. Similar to the Kushaq, Skoda will focus on localizing most of the parts for Slavia.
We can spot Skoda’s signature butterfly grille and a LED headlight with a projector set up in the front from the spy shots. The front bumper is redesigned to be sportier which includes the fog lamp assembly. At the side profile, there will be new alloy wheels and turn indicators in the ORVM’s. Some of the body panels could be shared by the upcoming Volkswagen Virtus which is also based on the same MQB A0 IN platform. However, the rear profile could match the new Octavia.
Skoda is planning on localizing most of the parts for Slavia just like they are doing for the Kushaq. So we could expect a lot of interiors bits and features borrowed from the Kushaq to the Slavia. The same architecture underneath the car helps them in using the same engine, transmission and underpinnings. This is a way of reducing production costs of the sedan which in turn results in aggressive pricing.
The new platform introduced by VW makes the car longer, making it longer than the current Rapid and other competitors. The wheelbase is now similar to the Kushaq which is 2,611mm which makes it the best in the segment. This extra wheelbase free ups some space both inside the cabin and the trunk. Slavia could also borrow a bunch of features from the upcoming Kushaq.
What all features can we expect from Skoda Slavia?
We could expect features like an electric sunroof, ventilated seats, digital instrument cluster, touchscreen infotainment system, dual-spoke multi-function steering wheels, automatic climate control and more. As we know Skoda offers only petrol engines and Slavia will get 2 petrol motors. A 1.0L TSI engine and a 1.5L TSI engine, both will get a standard 6-speed manual transmission. The 1.0L TSI gets a 6-speed automatic transmission but the 1.5L will get the 7-speed DCT gearbox.
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