Car review: Skoda Scala – one small step for an inbetweener

The Scala occupies its middle-of-the-road status with confidence, says Sean O’Grady, and in the best Skoda traditions

The semi-estate bodywork helps the Scala’s packaging and it makes excellent use of space

(Pictures by Skoda)

Scala. It’s a nice name for a car, isn’t it? It brings to mind the magnificent La Sala opera house in Milan, with all its classy and neoclassical associations. Scala is also Latin for “ladder”, and it is that that inspired Skoda to name their new medium-sized small family hatch. I think it has something to do with aspiration; but also that the Scala is a much-needed rung in the Skoda hierarchy, in between the smaller Fabia and the larger Octavia.

It replaces something called the Rapid, which was not a very rapid seller, and looked like an Octavia someone had slapped on the photocopier and opted for the 65 per cent setting. (There was also a rather useful mini-estate “Spaceback” version of that one, but no one seemed interested. Worth a look if you can find a used one.)

(Skoda)

So the Scala is quite the inbetweener. In between the Fabia and Octavia, as I say, but also in between, say, close rivals such as the Kia Ceed and the (new) VW Golf in quality of materials and value for money. Thus, the Scala boasts a slightly more contemporary and quality feel than the Kia, say, but costs more.

It also enjoys less of the premium touches the VW Group have decided to endow their (in-house rival) Mark 8 Golf with, let alone the phenomenally successful Mercedes-Benz A-Class. But the Skoda is cheaper to buy and run than those. Like the Ford Focus, a closer match, here is a car that happily splits the differences and meets you halfway.

(Skoda)

As such, it occupies its middle-of-the-road status with confidence, and in the best Skoda traditions. The standard-fit wheels and tyres enhance the soft-ish comfy ride, and the boot is more capacious than its counterparts. The semi-estate bodywork helps the Scala’s packaging and it makes excellent use of space. It’s a narrow car (handy for today’s streets so clogged with obese SUVs) which means the rear bench is a bit of a squeeze for three adults, but otherwise its occupants will find it a minor miracle of space engineering.

The spec

Skoda Scala 1.0 TSI 115PS  

Price: £24,850 (as tested; range starts at £16,940)
Engine capacity: 1.0-litre petrol 3-cyl, 6-sp manual
Power output (hp@rpm): 115
Top speed (mph): 125
0 to 60 (seconds): 9.8
Fuel economy (mpg): 44.8
CO2 emissions (WLTP, g/km): 113   

Nor, unless they are extra fussy, will they be able to fault the quality of the interior materials, a small step up the ladder from some Skodas even of the recent past. It is very conservative, it must be said, sober greys and blacks predominating, but the big touchscreen sports graphics that are nice and colourful and it is all intuitive to use, with state-of-the-art connectivity.

It isn’t cheap like a Dacia, say, or indeed Skodas used to be when they began their long climb back up the ladder to consumer acceptability, but it compares reasonably well with the rest of the pack. The turbocharged 1-litre petrol engine offers little in the way of exciting performance, and is a bit gruff as it goes about its work. (A snazzy Monte Carlo version offers more fun.)

(Skoda)

The well-spaced six-gears will help you extract about 50mpg out of it (more from the diesel, but of course that really is an unfashionable choice right now – even though the latest engines are clean and ideal for those needing to cover vast mileages).

Outdoors, they’ve followed trend by slapping slabs of piano black glossy plastic around the place, with a strip across the back with the brand name picked out in individual chrome lettering.

The Scala, then, is a fine if understated option, and is a solid reminder of Skoda’s continuing ambition. The only thing I can really moan about is the lack of an all-electric battery-powered plug-in version of the Scala – an opportunity wasted I fear. We may have to wait a little longer for Skoda’s first modern electric car to go on sale. I’m sure it must be on its way.

(Skoda)