Performance is good and very linear. I did not feel any turbo kick or Vtec like suddenness but overall gradual speed attainment without much engine noise.
BHPian rayjaycleoful recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
Context:
Currently drive a 2011 Honda City for many years so comparison will be wrt to that mostly. Also decent amount of exposure to Creta AT & Ecosport AT. In this price range the cars I’m interested in are the Thar, Slavia, Virtus, Crysta, and soon to be launched Scorpio 4×4 (all AT). Already have a Creta and would prefer Crysta to XUV because of reliability and BOF/ RWD. Thar because YOLO and 4X4!
Test drove Slavia 1.0AT and hope to TD Thar & the others soon.
Some observations from my side:
- The “thud” from the doors is significant – much better than a third-gen City with double damped doors, and slightly heaver than Creta. Similar to Ecosport for eg.
- Has great road presence & ground clearance – length is a lot but didn’t feel it while driving. Interior felt pretty spacious to me but I am yet to TD 5th gen City. Definitely a huge step-up from Vento/Rapid and slightly bigger than 3rd gen/ 4th gen City.
- A/C was not Honda City level effective today in Gurgaon if I may say – wasn’t “cold” at Lo setting. Didn’t try ventilated seats because I was more interested in Ambition AT.
- Ergonomics are great but old Citys feels better for some reason.
- Creep in AT is very very strong almost uncomfortable. Creta/Eco move at 6kmph but this was at a 10 without acc input. It’s like 2nd gear in a diesel manual Verna/ Creta. However, brakes are strong and predictable.
- Performance is good and very linear. I did not feel any turbo kick or Vtec like suddenness but overall gradual speed attainment without much engine noise. City is very different because you have to rev hard and engine is much more audible inside. That said, some gear shifts were jerky. Not sure how it will fare with 4-5 people & luggage.
- Music system is good but not great (ambition) IMO. Tweeters would have been great in Ambition.
- Steering is very light! Hyundai like.
- Display model was manual 1.0. It’s clutch travel was very long and springy types – my 11 year old 80K City has a lighter and easier clutch.
All in all, I think it’s a great car and the Ambition variant is vfm. However, it is not going to be an upgrade to your old City/ Vento/ Rapid/ Ecosport etc. – it will be a replacement. It will be an upgrade from the i20/ Polo segment but an expensive one.
But personally if I were to choose a sedan, it will be this or Virtus (provided it has the same ground clearance). Honda City 5G has the same problems it did in 2008 – low GC, small tyres, poor insulation, sad control over 100, etc.
Keyword: A 3rd gen Honda City owner drives the Skoda Slavia 1.0 TSI AT