Skoda Scala review

If you find the prices of new family cars mind-blowing – and not in a good way – the Skoda Scala could provide some welcome relief.

The Scala is refreshing because, while it's longer than a VW Golf, it undercuts it price-wise. It costs less than its other main rivals too. Better still, a recent facelift has sharpened up its looks and improved the interior, with updated tech and other additions.

There's a choice of petrol engines and three familiar trim levels – ranging from our preferred entry-level SE up to the flagship Monte Carlo model.

So is the Skoda Scala good enough to compete with the best family cars, including the fun-handling Ford Focus, the impressively efficient Toyota Corolla and its VW Group stablemate, the Golf? Read on to find out...

​​The Skoda Scala engine range starts with a 1.0-litre turbocharged petrol that's available in two states of tune: 94bhp (badged TSI 95) and 113bhp (TSI 116).

The TSI 95 – which comes with a five-speed manual gearbox – is fine, but can feel a little flat. We recommend the TSI 116 because it has enough low-end shove to easily keep up with the flow of traffic (0-62mph takes 9.5 seconds) and it provides the Scala with greater overtaking power than a 1.0-litre Kia Ceed. The TSI 116 gets a six-speed manual gearbox, helping with refinement at speed.

If you have a bit more money to spend and are likely to carry a carload of people and luggage regularly, we'd completely understand if you stepped up to the 148bhp 1.5 TSI 150 petrol. With an official 0-62mph time of 8.2 seconds, it's usefully swift and matches a VW Golf 1.5 TSI 150 for pace.

The five-speed manual gearbox you get with the TSI 95 and the six-speed one that comes with the TSI 116 offer a good, slick shift action. The optional automatic gearbox available with the TSI 116 and 1.5 TSI 150 is mostly smooth in its shifts, but can feel jerky and a bit slow to respond if you ask for a burst of acceleration.

The Scala has softer, cushier suspension than most family cars, meaning you’re better isolated from harsh bumps and potholes than the likes of the Ford Focus and Mazda 3. The most comfortable Scala is the SE Edition trim on its standard 16in wheels, but even the higher trims on larger wheels ride well.

Where the Scala slightly trips up is when it comes to a patchy surface or set of bumps. In being so relaxed, the Scala can feel a bit unsettled, subjecting you to a wafty, side-to-side motion at times. The Ford Focus and Mazda 3 feel more tied down, staying flatter over such surfaces.

The Scala delivers more grip, come rain or shine, than the Mazda 3, and that grip is better balanced front to rear than it is in the Kia Ceed.

There's a fair amount of body lean, so while the Scala handles tidily and feels fairly light on its feet, it never feels as sharp or playful as the best-in-class Focus or (in second place) the Seat Leon. The Scala’s light steering responds predictably, but just lacks the precision to make it as good to drive as those rivals.

Under hard acceleration, the Scala's three-cylinder 1.0 TSI engines transmit gentle vibrations through the pedals and steering wheel, but they settle down once you’re up to speed. The four-cylinder 1.5 TSI 150 petrol is smoother and quieter.

With a manual gearbox the Scala is easy to drive in traffic, thanks to the predictable accelerator, brake and clutch actions. The optional automatic gearbox (if you go for the two more powerful engines) can be a little jerky when you're parking.

You'll hear more suspension noise than you would in the quietest family cars, while higher levels of wind and road noise put the Scala even further behind the best. For more peace and quiet on the commute, try a Ford Focus, a Mazda 3 or a VW Golf.

“I was generally impressed by the Skoda Scala’s level of comfort but I wish the ride felt a little more tied down.” – Oliver Young, Reviewer

The Skoda Scala gives you a wide range of steering-wheel adjustments, and you get driver's seat height adjustment as standard. Mind you, some taller drivers might want the seat to go lower because it can leave you feeling a bit perched up. All Scalas have adjustable lumbar support.

Entry-level SE Edition trim comes with an 8in digital driver’s display, but it’s the 10in Virtual Cockpit you get on all other versions that steals the show. It’s superb, with equally crisp graphics and plenty of configurability.

Skoda has sensibly decided to keep buttons and knobs for the Scala's climate controls, making it easier to use than the fiddly touch-sensitive sliders in the VW Golf. More and more rivals force you to use the infotainment touchscreen to adjust the temperature and fan speed.

Thanks to the Scala's relatively slim windscreen pillars, forward visibility is impressive. The rear pillars are thicker, but there's still enough glass to give you much better over-the-shoulder vision than many rivals – including the Ford Focus, the Vauxhall Astra and, most strikingly, the Mazda 3, with its enclosed rear end

A rear-view camera comes as standard on all Scalas, but you have to opt for the £625 Convenience Package or upgrade to mid-range SE L Edition trim to get front and rear parking sensors.

All versions get ultra-bright LED dipped-beam headlights. On Monte Carlo Edition trim cars, they're matrix LEDs, which can be left on full beam without dazzling other drivers. You can pay extra to have matrix LEDs on other trims.

The Scala has one of the best infotainment systems in the family car class. Every version now gets a 9.2in touchscreen with a logical menu lay-out and some touch-sensitive shortcut buttons.

The Scala's system certainly beats the VW Golf set-up for usability, although the Mazda 3 has a dial control that makes it even more user-friendly.

You get DAB radio, Bluetooth, and Android Auto and Apple CarPlay smartphone mirroring as standard, allowing you to run sat-nav apps and play your music from your mobile. That's good news because the entry-level Scala doesn’t have sat-nav.

The Scala's interior has taken a step forward since its original launch. Many of the hard, scratchy plastics across the dashboard have been replaced with soft-touch materials and recycled fabrics.

With SE L Edition trim and higher, you get a Lodge interior with a plusher mix of materials. Build quality is generally good, too. 

With all that said, if you go searching for flimsy plastics you will find them as you venture lower down. If you want a more luxurious interior, we’d point you in the direction of an Audi A3 or Mazda 3.

“A car’s interior can be where you realise why it costs as much as it does,  but I didn’t find the Skoda Scala’s much – if at all – worse than those of pricier family cars.” – Lawrence Cheung, New Cars Editor

Even if you’re well over six feet tall, you won't feel your hair brushing the roof of the Skoda Scala, and the seats slide far enough back to accommodate long legs.

The main difference between the Scala and many family cars – including the Kia Ceed, the Mazda 3 and the larger Skoda Octavia – is that it's narrower in the front. That means you and your passenger might feel a bit more cosy. 

Storage space for odds and ends is good, and includes generous front door pockets, a decent-sized glovebox, a cupholder in the centre console, a large drawer under the front seats and a sunglasses holder above the rear-view mirror. There's a small cubby in front of the gearlever, which doubles as the area for the optional wireless phone-charging pad.

Rear space is one of the Scala's greatest attributes. Leg and head room are exceedingly generous for the class – beating even the spacious Ford Focus – and is up there with the Seat Leon and the Octavia.

There’s plenty of foot space under the front seats, and the cushy headrests help your passengers kick back happily and relax. Although the interior is narrower than in some family cars, none of the Scala’s rivals are wide enough to fit three adults in the back without a modicum of shoulder rubbing.

There's space for oddments, with two map pockets and two door bins. A rear armrest is standard with SE L Edition and Monte Carlo Edition trims.

The Scala has a height-adjustable passenger seat and lumbar adjustment as standard, but you can no longer get an electrically adjustable driver’s seat, which is a shame.

The Scala’s rear seatbacks fold in a conventional 60/40 split. Unlike in the Skoda Octavia, there are no release levers in the boot. That means you have to walk round, open the rear doors and press the buttons at the top of the rear seats, instead of being able to drop the seats while you're at the boot opening.

If you want an electrically operated boot life, you need to go for range-topping Monte Carlo Edition trim and add the Convenience Plus Package.

With the rear seats in their upright positions, the Scala can take more luggage in its 467-litre boot than a Ford Focus or VW Golf. We managed to fit seven carry-on suitcases below the parcel shelf, against six in the Focus and five in the Golf.

That means the Scala's boot capacity will be plenty for most people. If you do need a bigger boot, consider the larger Skoda Octavia (or the Octavia Estate).

The Scala’s boot is a useful square shape and has plenty of bag hooks, while the load lip is manageably low if you put the optional (and recommended) adjustable boot floor in its higher setting. Doing that also smooths out the step left in the floor when you fold down the rear seats.

“Skoda often scores well for space and practicality, so I was expecting good things of the Scala. Those expectations were thankfully met.” – Neil Winn, Deputy reviews editor

Despite recently receiving a comprehensive mid-life facelift, the Skoda Scala remains one of the cheapest ways into a good family hatchback. If you stick with our recommended SE trim level, an equivalently equipped Ford Focus will cost you thousands more – especially if you check out our New Car Deals pages.

Fuel economy is also a Scala strength when compared with other regular petrols. You can expect more than 40mpg in the real world from the 1.0 TSI 116 (that's better than a 1.0-litre Kia Ceed). Even the 1.5 TSI 150 shouldn't break the bank.

With its low P11D price and sensible CO2 emissions, the Scala is also a fairly cost-effective choice as a company car because the BIK tax rate is reasonably low. We say "fairly cost-effective" because there are no hybrid, plug-in hybrid (PHEV) or electric car versions of the Scala to really push down BIK tax.

Our recommended trim for the Scala is the entry-level SE Edition, which gives you all the basics. It includes 16in alloy wheels, dual-zone air conditioning, a leather-trimmed steering wheel and gear knob, a front centre armrest, cruise control, automatic lights and wipers and an auto-dimming rear-view mirror.

Mid-spec SE L Edition trim is worth considering if you fancy its bigger 17in wheels, heated seats, keyless entry and privacy glass.

Top-spec Monte Carlo Edition offers a sportier look, 18in wheels, sports front seats, a heated steering wheel, keyless entry and a panoramic sunroof.

All versions of the Scala come with Skoda's Simply Clever features. They include a parking ticket holder mounted on the windscreen pillar, an umbrella stowed in a compartment in the driver's door, an ice scraper and tyre tread depth gauge inside the fuel filler cap, and a fold-out funnel on the screen-wash tank.

In our 2024 What Car? Reliability Survey, the Scala ranked 16th out of 26 cars in the family car class. Its reliability rating of 90.5% is just about respectable, but it’s far from outstanding, and the Ford Focus and Toyota Corolla did better.

As a car brand, Skoda came 16th out of 31 manufacturers – above Ford, Seat and VW but below Kia, Hyundai and Toyota. Mechanical faults are covered for three years, with unlimited mileage for the first two and up to 60,000 miles in the third.

That's comparable with most rivals, but is beaten by the five-year warranties offered by Renault and Hyundai, as well as the seven years Kia provides. Toyota will give you up to 10 years of warranty if you service your car at official dealerships.

After safety testing, Euro NCAP gave the Scala five stars overall. However, its individual category scores aren't quite up there with the best family cars, such as the Mazda 3. The organisation found that the Scala represents a slightly higher risk of injury to adult and child occupants, as well as pedestrians, in an accident.

Standard safety kit on the Scala includes lane-keeping assistance, automatic emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, traffic-sign recognition and seven airbags. The airbag count is raised to nine if you spec the optional driver’s knee bag and rear side airbags.

An optional safety package includes a feature called Crew Protect Assist, which automatically closes open windows and tightens the front seatbelts in the event of an imminent collision. For more, there’s also a Travel Assist option package, which adds adaptive cruise control, blind-spot assist and adaptive lane assist.

“One of the Skoda Scala's biggest strengths is its competitive price, but even without that taken into account, it's a decent family car.” – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

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