Scooting around Southern Italy in a Skoda in summer

[trinacriabob]

I seem to score better cars when renting overseas.  I tend to reserve the smallest car they have with an automatic transmission.  If I was in a rural area with just towns instead of cities, I could probably be satisfied with a manual transmission ... and save some money.

So, once again, I rented a small car with an automatic.  Once I got up to the counter, I asked what I'd be assigned.  I was told that it would be a Skoda.  I had heard of the brand but didn't know what its products looked like.  It sounded Slavic.

The car was in the lot and it seems the Italians have a host of other small(er) rental agencies in addition to the names we know in the U.S. and Canada.  As I approached this Skoda Scala, it was apparent that the upgrade was substantial.  It was a small station wagon and it was pleasing enough to look at ... and far from an econobox.

The first thing you want to do in Europe is document and photograph anything that's askew with a rental car.  I did that and then got inside.  This car was nicely finished and, based on some features and finishes in the dash, it reminded me of some Volkswagen products.  I eventually looked up Skoda and saw that it was part of the Volkswagen family, as is SEAT of Spain, but based in either the Czech Republic or Slovakia.  The most telltale clue of a VW bloodline was the layout of the dash, including the metallic trim.  The other major clue was a 7 speed DSG, a typical automatic transmission set-up seen in European cars with automatics, and VW products have ones with 7 gears.

As I got into this Skoda and drove off, I could tell I was going to like it.  You can tell right away when a car feels nicely weighted yet filters out road imperfections and noise.  This one did that well and communicated it through the steering.  I drove away from the airport and onto the autostrada, seeing that it accelerated well enough, that the engine has an acceptable sound and exhaust note, and that the automatic gearbox shifted peacefully. 

As for the engine,  I eventually looked and saw that it was powered by a 3 cylinder engine.  This is becoming more common over there, and it's not just for cracker box type cars.  I once had a Citroen C3 CUV (or similar) with a 3 cylinder engine that was really up to the task.  With 3 cylinders under one bank, it's easier the divide the 360 degrees equally and balance the firing to cancel out NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness).  This was an issue with older V6s, which had these sorts of issues, but have been remedied a long time ago by offsetting journals and such in the crankshaft.  As such, this 3 cylinder was a smooth engine. 

Automatic transmissions have also come a long way in European cars.  The lag or pause in between gears in older Smart cars and Opel Corsas was maddening and took away from the driving experience.  Now, automatic shifts are very smooth from 1-2 and 2-3 and then almost imperceptible past that, unless one is getting into the throttle.

Everything inside that car is nicely put together.  The dashboard is sensible and more appealing than in an econobox.  It would comparable to that of a midsize or full size American car.  The seats were comfortable, and leg room was sufficient in both the front and the back.  The controls were mostly intuitive.  The trunk space in the back was enough and it had a retractable cover to hide things from view.  The rear seat could also be pushed forward to increase carrying capacity, which is the norm for today's wagons.

The Skoda was nimble enough to go through narrow country roads and small towns with the driver always knowing what it was doing, while keeping its smooth ride.  But the car really shone on the highway - the autostrada - when I realized I was going 115 km (70 mph), which was about the legal limit, and feeling the supple and controlled ride, the on center steering feel, and negligible wind noise.  I remember thinking that this is how a larger car rides.

The fuel economy in mixed driving was in the mid 30 mpg range, when converted.  It used the lowest grade of what they call "verde" (green) unleaded.

The best things about this car were its controlled ride and communicative steering without putting through road imperfections, a comfortable cabin, and the sense that the build quality was good.  Finally, when many cars have reduced visibility toward the rear, it's alive and well in this car, thanks to pillar designs that make sense.  The visibility is among the best of newer cars I've been in overseas.

The styling has some of the boxier and wedge shaped lines seen in VW products here at a time when some European cars are getting a little larger and more rounded, like the Citroen C3.  This gives the Skoda Scala a more austere look, but VW seems to think that "less is more," whereas Citroen, Renault, and some other makers are injecting more curves and gimmicks into their cars, giving them quite a bit more personality than they have had in the past.

It's hard to fault the Skoda Scala.  There are now more vehicles in the same niche in Europe and other foreign countries.  You might have to comparison shop it against a few other similar vehicles to decide which one you like and suits you, your needs, and even your personality.

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Photos forthcoming

[trinacriabob]

Photo gallery 

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Here is a side view of the Skoda wagon in the Sicilian countryside

This is the angled 3/4 view of the car and you can see the rear light treatment                                                                                                                                           

They layout and many things (IP, dash trim, shifter, and console) point to its belonging to the Volkswagen family of companies

If I recall, this IP cluster looks a lot like that of the Jetta sold here.  This simple cluster is a lot better than other more complicated ones

The infotainment center pod is not a turn off like it is in some cars and it was fairly easy to use.  I'm hoping to get under someone's skin with my choice of music, which was sort of deliberate for this photo!

I couldn't use these USB ports, or didn't have the right attachments for them, so I used a charger with two USB ports that went into the lighter

The box between the tach and speedometer will tell you which gear you are in.  I counted 7.  The build quality, as you can see, is good.  (That's some beach sand and not dust.)  Note the button where you can turn off the auto-start.

You would expect the engine bay of a product under the VW umbrella to be neatly organized.  I should mention that, to power up this engine, a turbocharger is involved.

You can see that the engine block length is a little shy of that of a 4 cylinder.  And you can see three chambers coming down into a manifold, so it's 3 cylinders at work.  And this unit propels this vehicle well.

This is the trunk of the wagon.  The rear seat folds into the cabin in 60-40 mode, so you can enlarge your cargo space as needed

The rear visibility was excellent.  It inspired confidence.  There's that final "opera window" in the back!

Rear seat legroom is acceptable and you can see big climate control vents at the back of the console aimed at the rear of the cabin

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End of photos