Are these updates good enough to get sales? Skoda Slavia facelift first drive review

Two decades ago, every manufacturer wanted a sedan in its line-up. Today, with pseudo SUVs dominating sales charts, sedans have become the underdogs of the automotive world. Yet Skoda remains one of the few brands still willing to invest in the body style. The Octavia RS, the Superb with a diesel engine now, and the Slavia. Together, they form a line-up that feels rebellious in 2026 – three sedans that continue to fly the flag for enthusiasts and sedan buyers alike. Which is why Slavia's facelift feels important. Not because it reinvents the car, but because it reinforces Skoda's commitment to a segment everyone else seems to be walking away from. The Skoda Slavia facelift includes all those that we’ve seen before on the facelifted Kushaq. Bigger screens, more features, newer design elements, and a new 8-speed AT.

Skoda Slavia facelift design

The facelifted Slavia does not get a radical design change, but the updates make the car look more sportier than before. At the front, there’s a new DRL design, fog lamps, and chrome strips on the grille which should have rather been illuminated like in the Kushaq. It rides on 16-inch wheels, and there’s new tail lamps with sequential indicators, and textured finish on the tailgate. The Monte Carlo version adds black wheels with red calipers, red accents on the grille, a lip spoiler, and an aggressive rear diffuser. The Monte Carlo Edition with the 1.5-litre DSG engine gets all four disc brakes with red calipers. In terms of styling, I think the Slavia always looked good and these design updates make it look even better now.

Skoda Slavia facelift engine and performance

The Skoda Slavia facelift retains both engine options from before – 1-litre TSI and 1.5-litre TSI EVO, but the former gets a new 8-speed AT now. The smaller 1-litre 3-cylinder turbo-petrol engine continues to make 114bhp and 178Nm, but the new 8-speed AT is a bigger talking factor. The older 6-speed AT suffered with a behavioral issue of being too pouncy or jerky in traffic. It was too aggressive whenever you left the accelerator pedal rather than a linear surge in power. The new AT fixes that and moreover, you get better fuel-efficiency considering there are two more gears. The engine continues to drive and perform well, but the hero engine is the bigger 1.5 TSI EVO.

The 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine makes 148bhp and 250Nm, and is mated to a very quick 7-speed DSG. Power from this engine is phenomenal, there’s loads of torque, and the DSG shifts as smooth as a hot knife cutting through butter. You won’t even know you’ve shifted gears.

Skoda Slavia facelift ride and handling

The Skoda Slavia facelift is a proper enthusiastic sedan and is cherished by those who understand it. The suspension tuning remains unchanged and it continues to ride and perform like it used to earlier. It feels planted at higher speeds, rides over undulations with maturity rather than crashing into them, the steering is direct, and it instills confidence when you want to chuck the car into corners. The 179mm ground clearance is also good enough to cross all Indian speed breakers and potholes comfortably.

Skoda Slavia facelift interior and features

Step inside the Slavia’s cabin and you will see nice upgrades in terms of tech. The new 10.25-inch cluster is from the older Kodiaq, and the quality is absolutely brilliant. It deserves a 10 out of 10. The dash is dominated by a floating 10.1-inch info screen which is powered by Google Cloud – it is very slick to use, and the UI/UX is much better than the older Slavia’s screen. There’s also a new 360-degree camera that works well and gets crystal clear footage. The front seats get electric adjustment and ventilation, while the second row gets seat massagers. The touch-sensitive aircon settings have been carried over from before, and using it is a time-taking affair, because you can never get the setting right where you want it in the first go. Another drawback is the fact that there’s only a single sunroof, rather than a panoramic one. The Monte Carlo version gets black upholstery with red stitching like before, red accents on the dash, red ambient lighting, and Monte Carlo badges.

Skoda Slavia facelift price and rivals

Prices of the Skoda Slavia facelift have not been revealed (at the time of writing), but we expect it to sit in the range of ₹11 lakh to ₹20 lakh. The Slavia rivals cars like the Volkswagen Virtus, Hyundai Verna, and Honda City.