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2019 Scala Review Reveals Typical Skoda Flaws

William Hamilton
3 Min Read
When an automaker changes the name of a car, you know it got something wrong, as Ford did with the Escort, or Opel with the Vectra. And now we can add Skoda's Rapid to that list.

2019 Scala Review Reveals Typical Skoda Flaws

To be fair, the model was doing relatively well, but the Czechs wanted a lot more customers, jealous of VW's Golf. Now they have their own Golf, and it's called Scala. After being revealed last December, this compact car is now priced, and thanks to Auto Trader, reviewed as well.

A hatchback with a large trunk and all the familiar Skoda engines and features – it sounds tempting, but some flaws are already being highlighted here. For example, even with the adaptive suspension system, the Scala never manages to iron out road imperfections, becoming quite jittery at low speed. This is a common trait of MQB-based vehicles and is made worse if you have larger alloy wheels.

On top of that, the materials used are not as good as those in other Skoda models. The 1.0 TSI is proving problematic once again, as it sends vibrations into the cabin at certain revs. As the main small engine that VW Group uses, it's inferior to its four-cylinder predecessors and even some of its rivals' units.

The Scala has four-cylinder turbo engines too, but they are more expensive, by 3,000 euros in the case of 1.6 TDI or about 2,000 euros for the 1.5 TSI making 150 HP. All that being said, you can already tell that it's going to be a popular car.

Skoda is such a popular brand at the moment that they've capped out production. The badge is a possible advantage this car has over budget-minded rivals like the Hyundai i30 and Kia Ceed. Also, the amount of space that's available here is way above the class norm. And unlike the Rapid, which lagged in the technology department, the Scala has a few systems that you can't even get on the Octavia.

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