The Skoda Rapid and Skoda Rapid Spaceback are excellent family cars that have sold well over the years. Now, Skoda has decided to make some major changes, and the Rapid will be replaced with a brand new car. The new Skoda Scala will be available sometime before the end of Q2 in 2019, and we thought that it would be interesting to look at what we know so far.
More Than a Cosmetic Update
Firstly, it should be understood that this isn’t a simple name change or a cosmetic upgrade for the Rapid. The new Scala hatchback will be the first ever Skoda car to be based on the MQB AO platform developed by the Volkswagens Group. The dimensions will be 4,362mm long x 1,793mm wide x 1,471mm tall, and the wheelbase will be 2,649mm. This will make the Scala 104mm longer, 6mm narrower and 19mm taller and have a wheelbase 29mm larger than a VW Golf hatch. This platform is already used by new Volkswagen Polo, but the Scala will similar in size to the Volkswagen Golf. The design will be heavily influenced by the striking Vision RS concept that we saw at the Paris Motor Show earlier this year.
New Technology and Equipment
Because it’s based on the MQB AO platform, the Scala will have plenty of new technology and driver assistance features on board. There will be a 10.25” Virtual Cockpit, a 9.2” centrally located infotainment display; this will come with a built-in eSIM that can provide emergency calling functionality and access to online services.
There will be plenty of driving assistance systems, such as adaptive cruise control (maximum speed 210 km/hr), autonomous emergency braking, blind spot assist, rear cross traffic alert and there will be an optional automated parking assistant.
There are some other standard features worthy of a mention at this early stage, such as full LED headlights, full LED tail-lights, dynamic rear indicators (a Śkoda first), an electric tailgate and a rear retractable tow bar that’s operated via a gesture control.
Under the Bonnet
There will be a choice of five different Scala powertrains, and all of them are compliant with the extremely stringent Euro 6d-Temp emission test standards. Initially, there will be three petrol and one diesel engine to choose from, and a compressed natural gas (CNG) option will become available in late 2019.
The first two petrol engines are 1.0 TSI three cylinder units that generate 70kW and 85kW respectively. The entry level 70 kW engine is paired with a five speed manual transmission only. The slightly more powerfully tuned 85 kW variant is mated with either a six speed manual or a seven speed DSG transmission.
The third petrol engine is a 1.5 TSI four cylinder unit that generates 110kW of power. This flagship engine is paired with either a six speed manual or seven speed DSG transmission. All three of these petrol engines are equipped with a particulate filter.
The diesel engine is a 1.6 TDI four cylinder unit that can generate 85 kW of power and 250 Nm of torque. This diesel engine is paired with either a six speed manual or seven speed DSG transmission.
If they are searching for a Skoda Rapid, Perth based drivers should contact us to arrange a no obligation test drive.
