What is it?
You’d be forgiven for not being awfully familiar with the Skoda Rapid, a car which, while certainly decent, lacked soul in our humble opinion. It also sat in an odd segment, between the Skoda Fabia and the Skoda Octavia, making it not quite a VW Volkswagen Golf rival but not a supermini either.
It was sold in two bodystyles, the Rapid and Rapid Spaceback, and worldwide, was the second biggest seller for Skoda after the Octavia. The same wasn’t true of the UK, with sales amounting to a modest 3669 units in 2017.
But enough background. What we’re driving here is the new Scala. The Scala is an indirect replacement for the Rapid – bringing a new name and an entirely new game, if Skoda is to be believed.
Scala comes from the Latin word meaning ‘stairs’ or ‘ladder’, chosen to help reflect the fact that the model will be a “a leap forward in design and technology,” according to the Czech brand.
The Scala won’t be offered in two bodystyles like its predecessor, with Skoda choosing to focus on the hatchback, a style which remains incredibly important in Europe.
It is also being pitched more directly as a family hatchback rival, intended to take on the likes of the Ford Focus, Hyundai i30 and Seat Leon.
That means an overhaul: in design, in dimensions and in its offering. Skoda has previously told Autocar that it will be the first model to receive a new generation of interior and will offer “innovative features that have so far only been seen in higher segments”.
It’s also the first European model to bear the Skoda name in lettering on the back replacing the logo, a move that Skoda has identified as making its cars appear more upmarket. It also helps buyers who are less familiar with the brand and the logo – such as in the crucial Chinese market – recognise the car as Skoda, reckons the maker.
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It is just a VW wearing a
Same chassis, same engines. What is there to review?
Tell them to get lost, Autocar, and stop wasting your time and ours.
eseaton wrote:
So disdainful of mass market cars and their buyers...so what unique, individual car did you buy and now drive?.
FMS wrote:
What do YOU drive?
No, scrap that; who gives a damn what a loser pommy git drives? More poignantly, what is the point of you being here? You contribute precisely nothing to any conversation. Your comments are just more spam the rest of us have to scroll though to get to something worthwhile.
Don't take this the wrong way - you're a waste of space.
jason_recliner wrote:
I bought and drive a mass market hatchback. Let's hear your biting wit rip that to pieces, while you make up some nonsensical story about your amazing wheels.
"pommy git"?. Guess you're another downtrodden mass market anti-colonial red neck plebian, who cannot use the English written word to promote your views, as you have little vocabulary and no skills to use what you do possess. Incorrect context for "poignantly"...shame as you must have taken ages to look that up. If my post is spam, why on earth did you spend so much effort to respond to it?...oops, bit of a moment for you now.
Your response is eagerly anticipated...
Skoda is losing it’s way.
Over priced, less reliable and increasingly dull. What happened to great cars like the Yeti?
I have gone from two Skodas to one and maybe soon none, especially as Skoda seem unable to fix the electrical gremlins blighting my Citigo....
Thekrankis wrote:
The Yeti (maybe not yours) had many issues, including high oil consumption, DSG gearbox woes, clutch failures, just read the forums. Most cars have thier problems, but VAG cars have an unfair reputation for above average reliability.
Looks no more interesting than the Rapid
I had hoped the Vision RS Concept would present a more interesting design than the Rapid Spaceback, but that, and from what I can make out of the styling of this prototype, the Scala is due to look as dull and oddly proportioned as the Rapid Spaceback. A missed oportunity in my mind.