Skoda Scala 2019 Review -- International

By the time the Skoda Scala arrives in Australia in the second quarter of next year, the almost invisible Rapid Spaceback – which found less than 500 Australian homes last year -- will be six years old and all but forgotten.

Not because it wasn’t well priced or equipped, but because its ungainly looks, low-rent interior and weird name confined it to fringe-dwelling status in a market full of solid offerings from all the major brands – many of which attract around 20,000 or more annual sales, including the Golf.

With the exception of (another) weird name, all that changes with the Scala, which presents striking interior and exterior designs, and a spacious and refined cabin packed with high-quality materials and big-car technologies.

Indeed the only catch could be a significantly higher starting price than the Rapid range, which was first launched here priced from 18,990 plus on-road costs in May 2014, and then culled to just the 1.4-litre 92TSI DSG model for $23,990 drive-away in August 2017.

Australian pricing and specifications are yet to be confirmed (see below), so the other caveat on the Scala’s success is how much of its extensive new safety and features list will be standard.

Unlike its more ambitiously named predecessor, there will be no sedan version of the front-drive Skoda Scala, which is Latin for ‘stairs’ or ‘ladder’ and moves significantly upmarket in terms of size, refinement and equipment.

The Scala dwarfs the current Golf at 4362mm long, 1793mm wide and 1471mm high, making it a whole 107mm longer, 30mm wider and 30mm higher, and its 2649mm wheelbase is 12mm longer than the Golf’s.

This is despite the fact it’s based not on the Golf’s MQB platform but the MQB-A0 chassis that underpins the smaller Volkswagen Polo, and therefore it eschews independent multi-link rear suspension for a solid torsion beam.

The sleek and sculpted five-door body is good to look at too, emerging almost identical to last year’s handsome Skoda Vision RS concept and debuting the Czech brand’s more dynamic new design language.

Slick new design cues include triangular headlights, a chiseled bonnet, prominent shoulder line and bold SKODA lettering on the mostly-glass rear hatch, which Europeans will have the option of swapping for their name.

Making it more like a wagon than a hatch, the falling rear roofline helps give the Scala a relatively aerodynamic 0.29Cd drag co-efficient, thanks in part to underbody covers, front bumper air curtains, roof spoiler finlets, optimised wheel designs, separation edges on the tail-lights and water channels on the windscreen.

The edgier proportions and surface treatment is highlighted by 12 vivid paint colours including blue, red, white and grey solid standard hues, plus eight extra-cost metallics led by Race Blue and Audi RS5-style Rally Green.

The interior is huge for a small car. The spacious hatchback is claimed to have the longest interior in its segment, including a class-leading 982mm of rear head room, as much rear knee room as the Octavia (73mm) and a sizeable 1031mm of front head room.

Elbow room is generous too, at 1439mm (front) and 1425mm (rear), so there’s not only generous stretching space for up to five adults, but enough front and rear head and leg room to comfortably accommodate four six-foot bodies.

Rear-seat occupants also score face-level air-conditioning outlets, an armrest, good outward vision and plenty of daylight with the optional full-length panoramic sunroof.

Also topping its class for cargo space, the Scala’s deep and wide boot measures a sizeable 467 litres and expands to 1410 litres with the 60/40-split rear seats folded.

Naturally for a Skoda, interior storage is a highlight via four large door pockets including bottle holders, a dashboard oddments compartment and up to three nets, plus four tie-down points and ‘curry hooks’ on both sides of the huge boot, which also features a 12V power outlet, double-sided floor, barrier net and illumination.

New cargo options include a folding front passenger seat to stow items up to 2.5m long and, for the first time in the small-car class, a powered tailgate and an electrically retractable tow bar, which doesn’t meet Aussie regulations so won’t be available here.

And of course there’s a host of ‘simply clever’ convenience items like an umbrella compartment (with umbrella) in the driver’s door, front seat back tray tables, a ticket holder in the A-pillar, an ice scraper with tyre tread depth gauge inside the fuel filler cap and a even a handy funnel in the lid of the windscreen washer tank.

But the biggest surprise is the design, quality and ambience of the Skoda Scala’s roomy and quiet cabin, where the only hard plastic to be seen is on the lower dash and door trims.

The contemporary dash is wrapped in soft-touch material and highlighted by a scalloped character line that echoes the grille shape and doubles as a hand rest while operating the central touch-screen, which is extremely handy anywhere away from the smoothest roads.

Just two equipment grades will be available globally and in Australia – entry-level Emotion and top-shelf Style – and the latter offers supportive sports seats trimmed in classy black leather with white stitching.

Both front seats have a manual height adjuster; power adjustment and sportier front seats featuring built-in head restraints are on the options list.

The Style model we drove had a neat brushed bronze dash insert and glossy piano-black surfaces on the centre console and (optional) multifunction steering wheel with paddle shifters.

There’s no electric handbrake but Style specs extend to dual-zone climate control, front/rear parking sensors and an 8.0-inch ‘Bolero’ touch-screen multimedia system.

However, even entry-level variants come standard with LED headlights and tail-lights, 6.5-inch ‘Swing’ touch-screen infotainment with Bluetooth connectivity and voice control, and 16-inch alloy wheels – at least in Australia. Alloys as big as 18-inch will be optional and in Europe base models ride on 15-inch steel wheels and score lack push-button starting.

Importantly, the Skoda Scala will come standard with active safety features like Front Assist (including City Emergency Brake autonomous emergency braking with Predictive Pedestrian Protection) and Lane Assist lane-keeping.

Advanced safety equipment on the options list in Europe includes Side Assist blind-spot monitoring and Rear Traffic Alert (which together can detect objects up to 70m behind), Adaptive Cruise Control (up to 210km/h), Park Assist (semi-auto parking), Auto Light Assist (auto high-beam) and Driver Alert (drowsiness detection).

There’s also Crew Protect Assist (which automatically closes any open windows and tensions the front seat belts in the event of a collision), Multi-Collision Brake (post-accident braking), a driver’s knee airbag and -- for the first time in a small car, says Skoda -- rear side airbags for a total of nine.

Other optional extras include full bi-LED headlights with cornering lamps, Audi-style dynamic rear indicators (for the first time in a Skoda), ‘Suedia’ microfibre seat trim, stainless steel pedals, black wing mirror caps and a heated windscreen, steering wheel and outboard seats.

Tech options more commonly seen on larger or luxury cars -- many of which may be standard in Australia -- include wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring, DAB+ digital radio, Wi-Fi hotspot via inbuilt SIM, ‘Phone Box’ inductive charging and an extra two rear backlit USB-C ports.

But the two interior highlights of this small mainstream European hatch are the VW Group’s big-ticket multimedia items – the 9.2-inch ‘Amundsen’ infotainment array and the second-generation 10.25-inch Virtual Cockpit digital instrument display.

The latter offers five classy speedo/tacho layouts -- Basic, Modern, Sport, Classic and Extended, with integrated nav map – and is a big step up from the standard round analogue dials and 3.5-inch monochrome multifunction Maxi DOT display.

Meantime, all functions of the Amundsen multimedia system – including 405-Watt, eight-speaker sound, 3D satellite-navigation and 64GB SSD hard drive for storing maps -- can be controlled by touch, gesture or voice.

Together, the big free-standing central glass touch-screen and even bigger customisable dial cluster lift the Scala interior into luxury-car territory -- or at least equal to class-leaders like the new Mercedes-Benz A-Class, upcoming Audi A3 and existing VW Golf, for which the digital displays are also optional.

Also matching the Golf is the Scala’s on-road performance, which continues the refined, sophisticated theme.

The lack of IRS didn’t appear to detract at all from the Scala’s ride or handling, admittedly in torrential rain on twisty backroads in the hills overlooking the stunning Croatian coast.

The quiet, solid body remains well controlled even in the bumpiest of tight hairpins and, as per the Golf, the steering is responsive, accurate and always free of any unwanted interference.

Like the Polo on which it’s based, the Skoda Scala doesn’t offer BMW 1 Series, Ford Focus or even Hyundai i30 levels of steering feedback, and some passengers might find the ride a little firm – at least with the optional Sport Chassis Control package as fitted to the car we drove.

The sportier suspension set-up lowers the ride height by 15mm and adds stiffer springs and two-stage dampers, which offer Normal and Sport modes via a Driving Mode Select system that also includes efficient Eco and customisable Individual modes.

There’s a noticeable difference in sport mode, when ride comfort goes from firm to hard and makes the Scala feel like a hot hatch, so we hope the standard chassis set-up is a bit softer.

Five turbo engines and three transmissions will be available in Europe, but Australians almost certainly won’t be offered a manual gearbox, the entry-level 85TSI three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine or 1.6-litre diesel power, let alone a 1.0-litre CNG option.

Instead, our Skoda Scala will be powered exclusively by the same 110kW/250Nm 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder seen in the Golf 110TSI, matched as standard with a seven-speed DSG dual-clutch automatic transmission.

Claimed to hit 100km/h in 8.2sec on its way to a 219km/h top speed, the combination delivers plenty of power, flexibility and refinement, and consumes just 5.0L/100km.

However, we saw closer to 7.0L/100km, it requires 95 RON unleaded and it remains to be seen whether Australian Scalas will be equipped with a petrol particulate filter given our fuel’s higher sulphur content.

So Skoda’s second-generation small-car ticks all the boxes, bringing a huge leap in design, technology, quality, performance and space, which could well make it the best example yet of the Skoda promise: VW engineering at a lower price.

The only caveats are how expensive the Skoda Scala will be, how much technology will be standard and how pricey its high-end options will be when it eventually arrives here in a year.

How much does the 2020 Skoda Scala 110TSI cost?
On sale: Q2 2020
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder
Output: 11kW/250Nm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel: 5.0L/100km
CO2: 113g/km
Safety: TBC