Skoda Slavia sedan spied ahead of launch: Will sit above Rapid

Skoda is working on a new sedan for the Indian market. It will not be a replacement for the current Rapid. Instead, it will sit above the Rapid. The new sedan has been codenamed ANB. Skoda also filed for the “Slavia” name so it is expected that the new sedan will be called Slavia. Recently, Slavia was spotted in Pune while it was on a test.

The pictures are uploaded by Motorbeam on Instagram. We can see that the whole sedan is wrapped in thick camouflage so not much could be seen from the spy shots. The overall profile of the sedan is visible. Also, there is a picture of the interior of the Slavia. The launch of the Slavia will happen by the end of this year with deliveries starting from next year.

Up-front we get angular headlamps with a big butterfly grille that we have seen on every Skoda vehicle. It seems like there will be sleek LED Daytime Running strips in the headlamp unit just like we have seen on the Skoda Kushaq which is a recently launched mid-size SUV. There are also fog lamps placed in the bumper. The bumper itself gets a honeycomb design for the air dam.

Also read: 2021 Skoda Octavia launch timeline revealed

There is an elongated bonnet that gives an elegant and premium look to the sedan. There will be no hard body lines on the side of the sedan to retain that elegant look. We also get a first look at the 5-spoke alloy wheels that Skoda will be using. There is also a shark-fin antenna and a third-brake light.

At the rear, there are LED tail lamps and Skoda might offer a hatchback-style tailgate. Skoda is using a hatchback-style tailgate for Octavia for a long time. Having a hatchback increases the practicality of the boot by a significant margin. For reference, Skoda Octavia has a boot space of 600 litres which is even bigger than some SUVs. If you fold down the seats then the boot space can be increased to 1555 litres. The boot space of the Slavia will not be as big as the Octavia but it still should be quite generous.

The interior also looks premium. Skoda is using dual-tone black and beige theme as we can see from the spy pictures. The steering wheel is also a two-spoke units that we first saw on Octavia and then on the Kushaq. There is a new generation of touchscreen infotainment system that is also on the Kushaq. The AC vents are placed below the infotainment system.

Another thing that we notice is that the Slavia here is using an analogue instrument cluster. It will also come with features like connected car technology, multi-function steering wheel, cruise control, push button to start/stop the engine, automatic climate control, multi-information display and much more.

Slavia will also be based on the MQB-AO-IN platform that is also used on the Skoda Kushaq and the upcoming Volkswagen Taigun. The engine options are also expected to be the same. So, there will be a 1.0-litre TSI and a 1.5-litre TSI. Both will be offered with a manual gearbox as well as automatic transmission.

Also read: Skoda Kushaq compact SUV launches today: What it”ll look like from the front & rear