Photo: X-Tomi Design
Skoda is having overwhelming success with its SUVs in China, but if you ask us, the roots of the company are at the more affordable end of the market. Earlier this month, they unveiled the Scala, which will replace the Rapid and offer a lot more space than most compact hatchbacks at a reasonable price.
Of course, the key to any VW Group brand is diversity, ensuring that there's something for everybody. Just take the Octavia as an example, a car which offers 4x4 on the regular models, the Scout crossover and even the RS.
Is that kind of versatility built into the Scala? You'd think not, since the Rapid replacement ditches one body style, the notchback sedan, and only offers three engines with relatively low outputs. But we believe the Scala will be more successful than the Fabia, mainly because it's not deliberately aimed at one particular customer group (young people) but also due to its price/value ratio.
You can tell Skoda is already thinking of adding an RS version, since the design of this car was previewed a few months back by the Vision RS concept. That was unconventional in the sense that it used a hybrid powertrain with a total output of 245 HP and 70 kilometers of electric driving range.
We've heard a rumor about a hybrid 1.5-liter with 180 HP finding its way into the Fabia RS and Ibiza Cupra. But there's not going to be another Fabia for a while, and Skoda is likely to play things more conventionally with a 2-liter turbo. The most likely candidate would be the 200 HP, 320 Nm unit found in the Polo GTI because it would require an e-diff and its output would slide easily between the two Octavia RS versions, the TDI and TSI.
So what about the Scout? Well, European automakers don't believe in offering AWD on a regular car, sometimes not even a crossover. So you're going to have to look at this X-Tomi Design rendering and imagine it's the Scala ScoutLine, not the Scala Scout - same body kit, different drivetrains.
Is that kind of versatility built into the Scala? You'd think not, since the Rapid replacement ditches one body style, the notchback sedan, and only offers three engines with relatively low outputs. But we believe the Scala will be more successful than the Fabia, mainly because it's not deliberately aimed at one particular customer group (young people) but also due to its price/value ratio.
You can tell Skoda is already thinking of adding an RS version, since the design of this car was previewed a few months back by the Vision RS concept. That was unconventional in the sense that it used a hybrid powertrain with a total output of 245 HP and 70 kilometers of electric driving range.
We've heard a rumor about a hybrid 1.5-liter with 180 HP finding its way into the Fabia RS and Ibiza Cupra. But there's not going to be another Fabia for a while, and Skoda is likely to play things more conventionally with a 2-liter turbo. The most likely candidate would be the 200 HP, 320 Nm unit found in the Polo GTI because it would require an e-diff and its output would slide easily between the two Octavia RS versions, the TDI and TSI.
So what about the Scout? Well, European automakers don't believe in offering AWD on a regular car, sometimes not even a crossover. So you're going to have to look at this X-Tomi Design rendering and imagine it's the Scala ScoutLine, not the Scala Scout - same body kit, different drivetrains.
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