Skoda Scala Media Test Drive – Video
New character, new technology, new name: with the ŠKODA SCALA, the Czech brand is extending its offering in the popular compact car segment. The all-new model offers a high level of active and passive safety, full-LED headlights and tail lights, plenty of space for luggage and passengers, as well as numerous Simply Clever features. Five engine variants are available ranging from 66 kW (90 PS) to 110 kW (150 PS). The five-door hatchback combines its emotive design with a high degree of functionality and state-of-the-art connectivity. The new ŠKODA SCALA transmits the emotive design language of the VISION RS study, which impressed at the Paris Motor Show, into a series-production vehicle. It will enter the market as early as in the first half of 2019.
Bernhard Maier, ŠKODA CEO, said, “With the new ŠKODA SCALA we are opening a new chapter in the ŠKODA compact car segment. It is a completely new product which sets benchmarks in this segment with regards to technology, safety and design. The SCALA perfectly embodies the ŠKODA‑typical smart understatement. We are convinced that the SCALA has the best chance to redefine ŠKODA’s A-car segment.”
With the SCALA, ŠKODA is presenting the new emotive exterior and interior design language for the first time in a production model. It already attracted attention at the Paris Motor Show with the VISION RS. With the new model, the long-established Czech brand has also taken a big step in terms of technology. The name SCALA, which comes from the Latin meaning ‘stairs’ or ‘ladders’, therefore fits perfectly. With the SCALA, the ŠKODA brand has climbed several rungs on the development ladder. It perfectly embodies a set of brand values which can be summarised very well under the term ‘smart understatement’.
New sculptural shapes, dynamic elements and precise features lend the vehicle an emotive and authentic appearance with a strong identity of its own. As the first ŠKODA model, the new ŠKODA SCALA is characterized by the next development stage of the ŠKODA design language, which will be also present in all future ŠKODA models. The new SCALA is also the first ŠKODA production model in Europe to bear ‘ŠKODA’ in block lettering on the tailgate instead of the ŠKODA logo.
Despite its compact dimensions, the ŠKODA SCALA offers a generous amount of space in the interior for a vehicle in the compact car segment. The new compact model measures 4,362 mm in length, is 1,793 mm wide, and 1,471 mm high. The long wheelbase of 2,649 mm gives the ŠKODA SCALA very good driving characteristics.
In terms of interior dimensions, the ŠKODA SCALA leaves nothing to be desired and is getting closer to the ŠKODA OCTAVIA. The kneeroom is 73 mm (73 mm for the ŠKODA OCTAVIA), elbow room in the rear is 1,425 mm (1,449 mm for the ŠKODA OCTAVIA) and head room in the rear is 982 mm (980 mm for the ŠKODA OCTAVIA). And in typical ŠKODA style, the ŠKODA SCALA has one of the largest boots in its segment with a capacity of 467 litres. With the rear seats folded down, the volume increases to 1,410 litres.
Other characteristics include the innovative optional full-LED headlights and tail lights. The new compact car is the first ŠKODA model to come with the rear dynamic indicator. Hidden beneath the rear bumper is an optional Simply Clever feature: an electrically retractable tow bar, which can be folded out using a button in the boot. Other features offered by the ŠKODA SCALA include the ŠKODA‑typical umbrella compartment (incl. umbrella) in the driver’s door and the ice scraper in the fuel filler flap, as well as the optional electric tailgate incl. tip-to-close function.