The experience with the car so far has been amazing. Yes, the Slavia has some flaws, but do we regret buying it because of those issues? NO! My dad is absolutely loving it too. The car is an all-rounder and has everything to keep you and your family happy
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20,510 KMs and 851 Days of Slavia 1.5L DSG Ownership
Time flies! It’s already been over 2.4 years since we brought home our Slavia 1.5L DSG, and it just crossed the 20,000 km milestone. Here’s our experience so far:
LIKES
- 1.5L TSI + 7-speed DSG combo is a match made in heaven.
- Top-notch build quality with tight panel gaps.
- Premium interiors that look C-L-A-S-S-Y & are well laid out.
- Beautiful, sleek design + gorgeous lava blue colour.
- Silent cabin with excellent NVH, even at triple-digit speeds.
- Super C-O-M-F-Y rear seats with loads of space.
- Good AC performance, no complaints.
- Powerful LED headlights with great throw & spread.
- Good fuel efficiency = 9-12 kmpl in city, 16-18 kmpl on highway.
- Impressive 8-speaker audio system.
- Wireless Android Auto/CarPlay + wireless charging makes life easy.
- Simply clever touches like smartphone holders on the front seatbacks & small reflective tapes on the doors.
- Height adjustment lever for the front passenger seat is a boon.
- Brakes, steering, and overall mechanicals are well sorted.
DISLIKES
- Rattling noise = cabin plastics scream C-H-E-A-P, quality could’ve been much better.
- Touch-based AC controls are irritating to use on the go.
- Rear camera quality is poor.
- Piano black trims get scratched and smudged very easily.
- Wipers leave streaks; could’ve been better.
- Suspension is stiff = great while driving fast but uncomfortable in the city on bad roads.
- Phones bigger than 6.5 inches don’t fit in the wireless charging pad.
- Lava blue color is a pain to maintain, attracts a lot of dust.
Any major issues/niggles?
– Rattling noise (fixed) – The cabin materials could’ve been much better. They look solid but are just squeaky plastics: the ambient lighting strip, piano black trim on the dash, instrument cluster housing, and the panel under the touchscreen. Most VAG 2.0 cars also have a rattling noise from the handbrake. Over bad roads, these cheap plastics create constant squeaks/sounds; very annoying when the music’s off.
Fix = The ASC removed the trims and added foam padding under the dash trims and AC vents, which killed most of the noise. For the noise near the touchscreen, the culprit was the loosely fitted plastic panel underneath it. To fix this, the infotainment system was removed & the plastic panel was refitted properly. The noise from the instrument cluster housing was also fixed by refitting its trim.
For the handbrake, they added an extra rod to stop it from moving on rough roads, along with a thin layer of padding beside it for extra insulation. Another common issue with the Slavia is the seatbelt buckle rubbing against the passenger seat and creating noise. For this, they added a cloth tape, which looks very neat:
Honestly, I was really skeptical about the ASC removing the panels. I thought that instead of fixing the noises, they might make things worse. And I was horrified to see the sad state of the dashboard in the video I attached above . But yeah… now the rattles are finally gone! The work took a day & I’m satisfied with the job done.
– Idling auto start/stop error (happened once)– We were at a standstill and the engine had switched off due to auto start/stop. My dad had his foot on the brake and the car was in “D.” When he lifts his foot, the car usually creeps forward, but this time it didn’t. Rather, the instrument cluster showed a message: “Please start engine manually.” The auto start/stop failed to restart the car, so my dad had to start it manually. It started right away with no jerks or errors & everything worked fine after that. We still do not know why it happened & it hasn’t come up again since. I did some digging online and found that this issue is fairly common, not just in India but globally too. I even read on Team-BHP that a Virtus or a Taigun owner had the same problem.
Any ASC visits apart from the yearly service? = (2 visits):
– AC foul smell – The AC used to smell bad whenever the car was just turned on. Took it to the ASC, and they cleaned the plenum chamber and water drain.
Also got the pollen filter replaced because rat droppings were spotted on it. The smell was completely gone after that. I’ve seen someone on the forum facing the same issue & it wasn’t fixed for them, so this is the solution. It’s a simple process, took around 1.5 hours. Total damage to the pocket = Rs. 1187
– Driver-side power window recall– Slavias manufactured in 2023 had issues with the auto up/down function, where the window wouldn’t work or sometimes bounce back and wouldn’t close. The driver-side power window motor was replaced under the recall.
2nd service details (2-year SMP package) –
Covered under the SMP package:
– Engine oil (4.7L) – Rs. 2131.99
– Oil filter – Rs. 171.08
– Windshield washer – Rs. 96.72
– Pollen filter – Rs. 334.97
– Lubricant – Rs. 368.84
– Air filter – Rs. 244.65
– Brake fluid – Rs. 472.19
– Labour charges – Rs. 3424.96
Total: Rs. 7245.39 (fully covered under SMP, so we paid nothing)
Optional extras (paid):
– Wheel alignment – Rs. 885
– Wheel balancing – Rs. 944
– Rat mesh – Rs. 4129.88
– AC disinfectant – Rs. 1056.10
– Labour charges (for above services & rat mesh installation) – Rs. 3934.12
Total damage to the pocket = Rs. 10,949.10
Yes, this does seem a bit high for optional extras, but considering that the rat mesh was installed, it feels fair to me. Also, most of the items in the general service were covered under the SMP package. The rat mesh was installed around the cowl top and the rear bumpers. This service was done at Raja Skoda Service, Mahadevapura. Overall, the experience was good & the car was delivered on time as promised.
Experience with the Slavia so far + noteworthy points and thoughts –
– The wipers could have been much better. They tend to judder and leave water streaks. I’ve also seen many people complaining about the wipers on their 2.0 cars.
– One thing I’ve noticed with the DSG, which I’ve mentioned before, is that it gets confused in lower gears and tends to shift from D2 to D1. This only happens on rough patches of road. While it isn’t as frequent as before, when it happens, you can definitely feel it – weird…
– The car still looks shiny and new, which it should since it’s only 2.4 y/o. I wouldn’t say there are zero swirls on the paint, but they aren’t very prominent either. We had PPF applied and also got the car ceramic coated. I’m disappointed with the PPF. It has started peeling off on the bumpers. But, the ceramic coating’s water-beading ability hasn’t reduced at all. So, I would recommend going for ceramic coating instead of PPF:
– Areas like the door handles, wireless charging pad & charging ports are illuminated, which is helpful at night and adds to the premium feel of the cabin:
– This is the lowest mileage the car has ever given – thanks to BLR traffic, covered 30 kms in 3 hrs:
– Here’s our Slavia next to my uncle’s Kushaq 1.0L TSI Lava Blue MT. That’s a really good car too!
– The car has started showing a message to replace the battery in both keys:
– Interesting feature: Bored of switching off the car using the start-stop button? Don’t worry. You can turn off the car with the key itself, lol.
– Man, the smartphone pockets on the front seatbacks are a really handy and thoughtful feature. At first, I thought I’d never use them, but they really do add to the experience!
– There’s an update for the infotainment system (Version – 0707), where it shows this:
A parting shot –
Thanks for reading. Until next time!
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