ŠKODA SCALA

NEW KID ON THE BLOCK

Mat Ranasinghe tests a motorcar from the Czech

Republic – reinvented after communism ended

This brand goes back to 1895 when mechanic Václav Laurin and bookseller Václav Klement formed an engineering partnership to assemble bicycles after the latter was refused proper service by his German cycle manufacturer.

They made their first motorcycle in 1898, followed by the improved Slavia in 1899 and moved on to automobiles by 1905. In 1925, they were acquired by arms producer Škoda and a manufacturing deal was struck with Hispano-Suiza.

In the early 1990s, the Volkswagen Group began acquiring the Škoda brand and by 2000, it had become a wholly owned subsidiary. Škoda was also part of the ‘Dieselgate’ scandal in 2015 as it was using VW software in its products too.

The company offered a new breed of reinvented products after 2017, adding value for money, technology and a contemporarily identifiable design. From certain angles, the Scala’s VW/Audi heritage is hard to look past.

This car uses a stretched (to 2,649 mm) version of Volkswagen’s Polo platform – a vehicle that sits below its bread and butter model, which is the Golf. By using Polo’s underpinnings in a car that aims at the higher end segment, this Czech marque enables the more affordable Scala to snatch some sales from its rivals.

Scala is easily identifiable thanks to its vertically slatted corporate grille, a feature that we thought would eventually grow on us when it was seen on Škoda’s Kodiaq. But it didn’t!

The sharp edged head and tail lamps clearly relate to those visible on compact Audis. Even in its side profile, we feel it has the Audi DNA – with a heavily creased shoulder line that connects the front and rear lamp clusters. There’s also a subtle angled crease at the lower end of the doors.

Scala is offered only in hatchback guise (even if your eyes suggest it’s a station wagon). On the higher spec models, the rear tailgate glass extends and curves down towards the number plate.

As we eased ourselves into the well-appointed cabin, it was evident that a fair amount of work had been done to make this car stand apart from other VW products. Sure enough, the high end model’s 10.2 inch virtual cockpit is a direct download – although in terms of interphase and graphics, it offers no competition to Mercedes-Benz’s A-Class.

The soft touch materials on the dash and upper door trims have a premium feel although they are of the budget variety. While the base gets a non-touch screen 6.5 inch audio system, the mid-spec models have an eight speaker, eight inch Bolero touchscreen infotainment system with built-in Apple CarPlay/Android Auto using a USB.

Meanwhile, the top spec is an eight speaker Amundsen system with a 9.2 inch touchscreen, gesture control, WiFi hotspot, 64 GB hard disk and SmartLink+ wireless smartphone connectivity. There are also convenience features such as a chilled glovebox and an umbrella concealed in the front door trim.

Scala’s safety technology includes lane, brake and side assists; rear cross traffic alerts; and adaptive cruise control. A Škoda smartphone app allows you to lock or unlock remotely, and find your vehicle’s location.

We’d pick the 113 bhp over that gutless 94 bhp 1-litre engine. However, our recommendation is to opt for the equally efficient 1.5 TSI since it will allow you to keep pace with expressway traffic and perform safe overtaking.

And we found the Scala suited to gentle cruising rather than thrashing. The steering lacked feel and the suspension crashed on roads with potholes – as expected from a torsion beam rear setup. With that in mind, we wouldn’t recommend the optional valve adjustable sports suspension, which lowers the ride height by 15 mm. On expressways and sealed roads, it was comfy and the ride was on the softer side.

So should you consider the Scala?

Yes, it’s well made and priced to undercut most of its segment rivals – including Honda’s ever popular Civic, Toyota’s Corolla, Ford’s Focus, Renault’s Mégane, and even Hyundai’s i30 and Kia’s Ceed.