One of the you tube reviews I read was an Australian chap. I think you can only get it with the auto box over there? 7 year warranty sounds wonderful doesn't it? Why do we tolerate just 3 years? I'd have thought the conditions in some parts of Australia are tougher on the car than over here.
Bye bye SEAT, hello Skoda
- Thread starter Crossthreaded
- Start date
The Scala was used around Sidney. On the Gold Coast we had a VW Tiguan and that was 5 years (unlimited km's) warranty.
Well, that's our first long journey done. So thought I'd round out this thread with some driving comments.
The journey was North Edinburgh (Leith area) south, right across the city, and out onto the A702. Following that down through Biggar until it meets the M74 then south on the M6 until branching off on the M5 and continuing south 'till Tiverton. Then across the North Devon Link Road to Barnstaple and on into the wee narrow Devon lanes to the edge of Exmoor where my Mrs's sister lives.
With about 350 miles on the clock I set up the Sat Nav before we left - first time for me, never had a car with Sat Nav - but I know this route so well I can do it with eyes closed - good fun glancing at the displayed map from time to time though. Although this is the 3 cylinder engine from the same EA211 family as my Ibiza, the way the engine drives is really quite different. The 95 hp Ibiza, with it's wastegate controlled turbo has quite a bit of lag from very low revs but once the turbo spins up it comes on strongly in the mid range but tails off a bit at higher revs, although the engine doesn't mind being rev'd out if you feel like it, but there's little reason to as an earlier change lets the torque produced at the lower revs to allow swift progress. This 110 hp Scala has a variable vane turbo (or so I believe?) and it has much less lag away from very low revs - which I much appreciate when negotiating speed bumps - but it doesn't "peak" like the wastegated Ibiza engine in the middle of the rev range. It delivers a much more linear power curve with the engine pulling slightly less "peakily" in the middle of the rev range but going on to deliver better pulling power higher up in the rev range. Of course, with so few miles on the clock, I wasn't using much over 3500 rpm even on the country roads on the journey south and only tried her out briefly with now approaching 1,500 miles under her wheels, when coming back up the A702 towards Edinburgh at the end of the trip - still haven't really let her have her head yet though. In my opinion this engine suits the Scala well and will be sufficient for most folk buying one.
General driveability I'd rate as very good for a car of this type. As I'd hoped, she's much more comfortable than the Ibiza was with her softer suspension, larger wheels with quite relatively "tall" sidewall tyres and lumbar adjustable front seats. I'd expected handling on the country roads to suffer somewhat with this generally softer setup but none of it. The car is bigger so not quite so "Go Cart" like to drive as the Ibiza was, but it feels very taught with surprisingly good feedback through the steering and a lot less body roll than I was expecting. Being slightly wider and me not yet fully "dialed in" made driving in the narrow Devon lanes - where the locals all drive like kamikaze pilots and take no quarter - somewhat "hairy" but we survived without any "battle scars". Observing local cars in the car parks is an interesting pass time, they're invariably filthy on the N/S from driving in the gutter on the lanes with multiple "battle scars" on the O/S, many with O/S mirrors missing or damaged!
If I really try hard to find something to criticize it might be that, with my car being the 110Hp engine and having the 6 speed gearbox, first gear seems to be really a bit too low. By that I mean that you rapidly run out of revs before you've hardly got moving. Very handy for creeping in traffic jams though as you can just let her dribble along with the clutch fully engaged and the engine at idling revs. In normal driving I find that I'm using first simply to get her rolling and changing into second almost as soon as she moves. If you hold on to first for too long it makes progress a bit "jerky". This is difficult to describe, you'd be best to test drive one if ever thinking of buying.
On the journey south I drove her gently to let things settle down. Cruising in top gear gives you 60MPH with only about 2,000 rpm on the rev counter. when you get down into the Midlands though there's so many 50mph road works and just generally slow moving traffic due to congestion, you're lucky if you can get up to 60mph! By the time we'd spent some time with Mrs's sister and traveled out to do shopping and eating out, the mileage was up to around the 800 mile mark so I was starting to use slightly more of her potential but still being quite reserved as we headed off back across the link road and off onto the A303 to my daughter's near Salisbury Wilts. A good combination of motorway to start with followed by some fast A roads with heavy fast, and sometimes slower, moving traffic. The car was all I could have wished for easily keeping up with the flow without me having to push her.
5 days at daughter's with a couple of recalcitrant teenagers was enough so we headed home on the Sunday. North on the A419 - a route we know well - until we can join the M5 around Gloucester. This time though, disaster! approaching Swindon notices diverting us off the dual carriageway due to structural bridge repairs necessitating road closure! Follow diversion signs it says. So we do. Sat Nav takes exception to it all and takes a "hissy fit" to itself so better half, not renowned for her map reading ability, tries to navigate us using our big AA road map. About half an hour later, having partially followed the diversion signs and partially guided by my better half, we end up back where we started on the south side of Swindon!!! Sod this! There's a sign for the M4, I'm going to go west on the M4 'till we're well clear of Swindon and then strike north again. In the end I just headed west on the M4 'till it met the M5 and turned north. Added about an hour and a half overall but was simple to do. Doh!
The rest of the journey was pretty much as always with heavy traffic in the midlands thinning as we headed up past the lake district. Cruising at 70mph now with somewhat less than 2.500rpm on the rev counter. Engine and running gear pretty much inaudible but, if I'm really looking for something to pick on, road noise could be better. By this I mean, on smooth surfaces, for instance freshly rolled tarmac, the car is very, very quiet. However on more worn tarmac or concrete road surfaces there's a fair bit of road noise transmitted into the body. I've heard worse but it's something to be aware of and try out for yourself if thinking of buying a Scala. To put it into perspective though, it's better than the Ibiza was. I think a lot of it's down to modern tyre construction.
So, having returned home, next morning I topped her off with fuel, checked the engine oil and other fluids and tyre pressures. The 50 litre fuel tank was not in the red when we reached our Devon destination, a journey of around 450 miles. I filled up next day and did local running around and the journey across to Salisbury and then local running around there with a couple of longer journeys, one to near Alton Hants and another of similar duration to a pub for reunions with friends we've kept up with from when we lived down there. Although the tank was not empty I filled up again to ensure we'd get home without having to stop for fuel and the tank was again quite low but not in the red by the time we got home. By always filling the tank to the second click of the pump I was able to check mileage against actual fuel used and the fuel consumption over the whole journey has worked out at 57 MPG. The Ibiza always worked out at around the 60 MPG for the same journey - which we do at least once a year. As the engine and general running gear would have been "tight" for a lot of this running I have quite high hopes the Scala may manage to return the 60 MPG the Ibiza used to achieve once the Scala's engine etc is fully loosened up. Needless to say, I'm delighted with these fuel consumption figures.
OOPs, post is too long again! More to follow in a minute
The journey was North Edinburgh (Leith area) south, right across the city, and out onto the A702. Following that down through Biggar until it meets the M74 then south on the M6 until branching off on the M5 and continuing south 'till Tiverton. Then across the North Devon Link Road to Barnstaple and on into the wee narrow Devon lanes to the edge of Exmoor where my Mrs's sister lives.
With about 350 miles on the clock I set up the Sat Nav before we left - first time for me, never had a car with Sat Nav - but I know this route so well I can do it with eyes closed - good fun glancing at the displayed map from time to time though. Although this is the 3 cylinder engine from the same EA211 family as my Ibiza, the way the engine drives is really quite different. The 95 hp Ibiza, with it's wastegate controlled turbo has quite a bit of lag from very low revs but once the turbo spins up it comes on strongly in the mid range but tails off a bit at higher revs, although the engine doesn't mind being rev'd out if you feel like it, but there's little reason to as an earlier change lets the torque produced at the lower revs to allow swift progress. This 110 hp Scala has a variable vane turbo (or so I believe?) and it has much less lag away from very low revs - which I much appreciate when negotiating speed bumps - but it doesn't "peak" like the wastegated Ibiza engine in the middle of the rev range. It delivers a much more linear power curve with the engine pulling slightly less "peakily" in the middle of the rev range but going on to deliver better pulling power higher up in the rev range. Of course, with so few miles on the clock, I wasn't using much over 3500 rpm even on the country roads on the journey south and only tried her out briefly with now approaching 1,500 miles under her wheels, when coming back up the A702 towards Edinburgh at the end of the trip - still haven't really let her have her head yet though. In my opinion this engine suits the Scala well and will be sufficient for most folk buying one.
General driveability I'd rate as very good for a car of this type. As I'd hoped, she's much more comfortable than the Ibiza was with her softer suspension, larger wheels with quite relatively "tall" sidewall tyres and lumbar adjustable front seats. I'd expected handling on the country roads to suffer somewhat with this generally softer setup but none of it. The car is bigger so not quite so "Go Cart" like to drive as the Ibiza was, but it feels very taught with surprisingly good feedback through the steering and a lot less body roll than I was expecting. Being slightly wider and me not yet fully "dialed in" made driving in the narrow Devon lanes - where the locals all drive like kamikaze pilots and take no quarter - somewhat "hairy" but we survived without any "battle scars". Observing local cars in the car parks is an interesting pass time, they're invariably filthy on the N/S from driving in the gutter on the lanes with multiple "battle scars" on the O/S, many with O/S mirrors missing or damaged!
If I really try hard to find something to criticize it might be that, with my car being the 110Hp engine and having the 6 speed gearbox, first gear seems to be really a bit too low. By that I mean that you rapidly run out of revs before you've hardly got moving. Very handy for creeping in traffic jams though as you can just let her dribble along with the clutch fully engaged and the engine at idling revs. In normal driving I find that I'm using first simply to get her rolling and changing into second almost as soon as she moves. If you hold on to first for too long it makes progress a bit "jerky". This is difficult to describe, you'd be best to test drive one if ever thinking of buying.
On the journey south I drove her gently to let things settle down. Cruising in top gear gives you 60MPH with only about 2,000 rpm on the rev counter. when you get down into the Midlands though there's so many 50mph road works and just generally slow moving traffic due to congestion, you're lucky if you can get up to 60mph! By the time we'd spent some time with Mrs's sister and traveled out to do shopping and eating out, the mileage was up to around the 800 mile mark so I was starting to use slightly more of her potential but still being quite reserved as we headed off back across the link road and off onto the A303 to my daughter's near Salisbury Wilts. A good combination of motorway to start with followed by some fast A roads with heavy fast, and sometimes slower, moving traffic. The car was all I could have wished for easily keeping up with the flow without me having to push her.
5 days at daughter's with a couple of recalcitrant teenagers was enough so we headed home on the Sunday. North on the A419 - a route we know well - until we can join the M5 around Gloucester. This time though, disaster! approaching Swindon notices diverting us off the dual carriageway due to structural bridge repairs necessitating road closure! Follow diversion signs it says. So we do. Sat Nav takes exception to it all and takes a "hissy fit" to itself so better half, not renowned for her map reading ability, tries to navigate us using our big AA road map. About half an hour later, having partially followed the diversion signs and partially guided by my better half, we end up back where we started on the south side of Swindon!!! Sod this! There's a sign for the M4, I'm going to go west on the M4 'till we're well clear of Swindon and then strike north again. In the end I just headed west on the M4 'till it met the M5 and turned north. Added about an hour and a half overall but was simple to do. Doh!
The rest of the journey was pretty much as always with heavy traffic in the midlands thinning as we headed up past the lake district. Cruising at 70mph now with somewhat less than 2.500rpm on the rev counter. Engine and running gear pretty much inaudible but, if I'm really looking for something to pick on, road noise could be better. By this I mean, on smooth surfaces, for instance freshly rolled tarmac, the car is very, very quiet. However on more worn tarmac or concrete road surfaces there's a fair bit of road noise transmitted into the body. I've heard worse but it's something to be aware of and try out for yourself if thinking of buying a Scala. To put it into perspective though, it's better than the Ibiza was. I think a lot of it's down to modern tyre construction.
So, having returned home, next morning I topped her off with fuel, checked the engine oil and other fluids and tyre pressures. The 50 litre fuel tank was not in the red when we reached our Devon destination, a journey of around 450 miles. I filled up next day and did local running around and the journey across to Salisbury and then local running around there with a couple of longer journeys, one to near Alton Hants and another of similar duration to a pub for reunions with friends we've kept up with from when we lived down there. Although the tank was not empty I filled up again to ensure we'd get home without having to stop for fuel and the tank was again quite low but not in the red by the time we got home. By always filling the tank to the second click of the pump I was able to check mileage against actual fuel used and the fuel consumption over the whole journey has worked out at 57 MPG. The Ibiza always worked out at around the 60 MPG for the same journey - which we do at least once a year. As the engine and general running gear would have been "tight" for a lot of this running I have quite high hopes the Scala may manage to return the 60 MPG the Ibiza used to achieve once the Scala's engine etc is fully loosened up. Needless to say, I'm delighted with these fuel consumption figures.
OOPs, post is too long again! More to follow in a minute
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Here's the rest of the above!
I've read about the EA211 engine family liking to use a bit of oil, although the Ibiza never used much, and the dealer warned me that they are known to do so when running in. I probably could have got away with some of the Ibiza oil (5w-30) I had left over but it's meant to be 0W-20 in the Scala so I bought a 4 litre container of compatible Castrol 0W-20 oil from the very helpful Frank at Halfords Seafield before making the journey. My Halfords trade card makes this really quite affordable, actually cheaper than I can buy it at my local trade factor! I was told at the garage to keep an eye on oil consumption over the journey and if it needed a top up to call at any Skoda main dealer who would add oil if needed - I think FOC? - I prefer to keep my own supply though, much more convenient if you're out on the edge of Exmoor! Anyway, I was a little alarmed to see she went from the top of the dipstick mark to nearly the bottom on the journey south - took about 3/4 of a litre to bring it back to the top mark! However, when checked in Salisbury before driving north again the level had dropped by so little I didn't top it off at all and when checked back in Edinburgh it had dropped by only a few mil on the stick and I haven't felt it needs topped off as it's not even half way on the marked section of the stick. Looks like she's settling her rings/bores in nicely. I think these are "hard metal" sprayed bores? I seem to remember reading something about a "special finish" on the bores of the EA211 family of engines?
From my Mrs point of view, in addition to finding the front seat comfortable, she really likes the extra room in the back seats where there's far more room than in the Ibiza, her sister commented on this too as she has mobility problems and really appreciated the extra roominess. The boot swallowed our luggage more easily than the Ibiza ST did - Ibiza ST being the estate version - which means there's slightly more room in the boot of the Scala than in the boot of the Ibiza estate. I believe the Scala also has a "cool" glove box too?
I now realize I don't have much idea how any of the infotainment/Sat Nav/Tech stuff works though and I badly need to sit and "fiddle" with it all until I do, Starting with getting all the updates it keeps asking me to do - which I'm too scared to do in case it all goes wrong as most of these things do when I "fiddle" with them! At least the wee screen between the rev counter and speedo is pretty much the same as the Ibiza.
So, in conclusion, if you're thinking about something similar in size to the Golf but with maybe a bit more passenger space in the back and don't want to spend so much money, You might get a very pleasant surprise if you try a test drive in a Skoda Scala.
I've read about the EA211 engine family liking to use a bit of oil, although the Ibiza never used much, and the dealer warned me that they are known to do so when running in. I probably could have got away with some of the Ibiza oil (5w-30) I had left over but it's meant to be 0W-20 in the Scala so I bought a 4 litre container of compatible Castrol 0W-20 oil from the very helpful Frank at Halfords Seafield before making the journey. My Halfords trade card makes this really quite affordable, actually cheaper than I can buy it at my local trade factor! I was told at the garage to keep an eye on oil consumption over the journey and if it needed a top up to call at any Skoda main dealer who would add oil if needed - I think FOC? - I prefer to keep my own supply though, much more convenient if you're out on the edge of Exmoor! Anyway, I was a little alarmed to see she went from the top of the dipstick mark to nearly the bottom on the journey south - took about 3/4 of a litre to bring it back to the top mark! However, when checked in Salisbury before driving north again the level had dropped by so little I didn't top it off at all and when checked back in Edinburgh it had dropped by only a few mil on the stick and I haven't felt it needs topped off as it's not even half way on the marked section of the stick. Looks like she's settling her rings/bores in nicely. I think these are "hard metal" sprayed bores? I seem to remember reading something about a "special finish" on the bores of the EA211 family of engines?
From my Mrs point of view, in addition to finding the front seat comfortable, she really likes the extra room in the back seats where there's far more room than in the Ibiza, her sister commented on this too as she has mobility problems and really appreciated the extra roominess. The boot swallowed our luggage more easily than the Ibiza ST did - Ibiza ST being the estate version - which means there's slightly more room in the boot of the Scala than in the boot of the Ibiza estate. I believe the Scala also has a "cool" glove box too?
I now realize I don't have much idea how any of the infotainment/Sat Nav/Tech stuff works though and I badly need to sit and "fiddle" with it all until I do, Starting with getting all the updates it keeps asking me to do - which I'm too scared to do in case it all goes wrong as most of these things do when I "fiddle" with them! At least the wee screen between the rev counter and speedo is pretty much the same as the Ibiza.
So, in conclusion, if you're thinking about something similar in size to the Golf but with maybe a bit more passenger space in the back and don't want to spend so much money, You might get a very pleasant surprise if you try a test drive in a Skoda Scala.
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