XUV 300 and Fortuner owner gets a Skoda Slavia 1.5 DSG: Initial Review

There’s is something special about owning a sedan! This can only be experienced after getting one! And this one certainly feels extra special!

Just came back from a 300 Kms round trip in my 1.5 DSG.

Now that this car is an upgrade from the Fiat Punto 1.3 MJD, also I own XUV 300 and a Fortuner. Therefore, there is going to be a comparison (Though all three cars are from totally different segments).

Been one week of ownership and the ODO stands at 1100 Kms.

I don’t think there is a better upgrade than this if you are coming from Punto.

Likes-

1. Silky smooth engine with next to no vibrations.
2. Effortless power delivery at any speed (No need to rev hard to extract performance). I think this aids in overall comfort during long distances.
3. Good balance of ride and handling.
4. Special mention of the sound quality of non-subwoofer variant (the vocals are rich and focused more towards SQ) I found subwoofer variant to loose out on pure SQ. I already have aftermarket premium sound systems in my other cars. No need to upgrade here. Excellent for a stock setup!
5. Steering is reasonably direct and there is enough feedback through the corners. Also, speed masking is excellent on straight lines.

Dislikes-

1. Suspension doesn’t feel as robust or abuse friendly as a Punto or XUV300 (The suspension tend to bottom out on those XL sized speed breakers) Punto was in a different league altogether in terms of ruggedness. The ride quality on Punto was average but used to handle rough roads like a boss! (This doesn’t give that confidence of saying- Dekhi Jaaegi, Jaane do Gaddi nu!
2. Some creaking sound has already started coming from the Dashboard area. Don’t know how this is going to fare in the long run in terms of being ‘Rattle free’.
3. DSG feels jerky specially when the engine is cold. However, the gearbox is behaving much better than Day-1/2 of driving.
4. A little bit more feedback from the steering would be welcome. Could have been more direct for sure.

Overall, the ownership experience has been good and I expect it to perform only better with time.

There is something special about owning a sedan! This can only be experienced after getting one! And this one certainly feels extra special!

Time for some pictures from our last drive to Pachmarhi.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.