Are you looking for as much car as you can possibly get for as little cash as possible? That’s always been where Skoda has been able to trump most rivals, and so it continues with the Scala. This is one of the roomiest cars in the class, and also one of the most affordable. However, Skoda is already covered in this area of the market by the excellent Octavia, so why have the Scala as well? 

Well, while the Octavia is an even roomier, slightly pricier and more upmarket offering, the Skoda Scala is designed for those people who don’t need quite so much space, and are operating on a rather tighter budget. And on that score, it does a fantastic job. You might have to forgive a few iffy interior plastics, and forego some items of luxury kit, but the Scala is a really well-rounded performer in every other area.

For our money, the Skoda Scala makes most sense as a petrol (badged TSI), and it’s the 115PS version of the 1.0-litre that has impressed us most so far. It’s actually more efficient than the entry-level 95PS option, but it still keeps purchase prices down, and it’s impressively smooth and punchy.

When it comes to your choice of trim level, none of them are ideal to be honest. The ones at the bottom of the range are rather spartan, and while the ones at the top of the range are much better, there’s still quite a bit of stuff you’d expect as standard that buyers are required to pay extra for. For us, the best compromise is the second-rung Skoda Scala SE, which gives you most of what you really need without taking purchase prices too high.

The Skoda Scala has no shortage of competitors, as this is one of the most fiercely-fought sectors in all of motoring. Sitting at the more affordable end of the family hatchback scale, the main competition comes from cars like the Ford Focus, Hyundai i30, Kia Ceed and Vauxhall Astra.

The Volkswagen Golf costs buyers a little bit more, and bridges the gap to more premium offerings like the Audi A3, BMW 1 Series and Mercedes A-Class. You also have dozens of small SUVs competing for the same cash.

This is one area in which the Skoda Scala’s budget leanings are evident. There’s some soft-touch plastic on top of the dashboard, but pretty much everything else is constructed from stuff that’s harder, scratchier and less tactile. 

What’s more, there aren’t many additional trim pieces used to add a little variety to the cabin’s range of colours and textures, giving a rather monotone feel. In truth, most rivals have a more appealing interior than the Scala, and that’s the case regardless of how far up the Scala’s trim structure you wander.

That said, while the materials aren’t the last word in plushness, they do look and feel incredibly robust, and the substantial way in which they’re bolted together also helps give the Skoda Scala a built-to-last feel.

The nature of the infotainment system you get depends entirely on the grade of car you choose. We’d avoid the entry-level Skoda Scala S on this score alone, because it gets a very basic system with a tiny 6.5-inch touchscreen system. It comes with Bluetooth, DAB radio, four speakers and a couple of USB-C ports, but that’s about it. 

Upgrade to the Scala SE, and you get a bigger 8.0-inch screen with eight speakers, but the biggest difference is that it comes with Smartlink, a stem that rolls up Apple Carplay, Android Auto and Mirrorlink - the most common smartphone integration systems - into one package. So, whatever phone you have, the Scala should be able to work with it, and it means you can use your phone’s navigation functionality through the car’s screen.

The Skoda Scala SE L and the Monte Carlo both get a system with a bigger 9.2-inch screen and built-in navigation, along with the Virtual Cockpit digital instrument screen found in high-end Volkswagen Group models. These look great and work well, but there’s very little wrong with the conventional dials found in other Scalas. 

Each touchscreen system uses the same basic user interface, and it’s pretty intuitive and easy to find your way around. Being a touchscreen, it’s a little more distracting than some other types of interface because you have to stare at the screen so intently to make sure you hit the right bit, but as touchscreens go, it’s not bad at all.

The Skoda Scala is 4362mm long, 1988mm wide (including door mirrors) and 1471mm tall. That means it's slightly bigger than a Volkswagen Golf or Ford Focus.

Providing maximum space for minimum money has always been Skoda’s party piece, and the Scala is no different. Nobody’s going to struggle for space in the front seats, and there’s also more rear space than in most rivals, with generous headroom and legroom that allows lofty passengers to stretch out. A pair of bulky child seats will be no bother, either. 

The cabin is narrower than it is in some rivals, making it a bit more of a squeeze to carry three people across the rear bench, but there isn’t a car in this class that can perform such a task without forcing passengers to get overly familiar with each other. At least the middle seat is wide and not too raised, and because the central transmission tunnel is relatively narrow, it’s not uncomfortable to sit with your feet either side of it. Those either side of the middleman also get lots of space under the front seats for their feet.

With a massive 467 litres of luggage space, the Scala's boot is also considerably bigger than you get in most rivals. The Octavia and Honda Civic have more still, but the Scala has pretty much every other rival beaten on this score. The space is also a nice square shape, and the rear seats fold in a 60-40 split to allow you to boost your load-carrying capacity. However, those seats lie at a slight angle, and there’s a sizeable step between them and the boot floor, not to mention a sizeable load bit at the boot opening. This can be levelled off by using the variable boot floor, but it’s a bit disappointing that this is an optional extra on all versions.

Scala buyers have the choice of three turbocharged TSI petrol engines: a pair of 1.0 TSI three-cylinder engines with either 95PS or 115PS, and a four-cylinder 1.5 TSI with 150PS. 

The 115PS is a proper little belter. With impressive low-down pull, it feels responsive and surprisingly strong from anywhere on the rev range, so not only is your progress adequately brisk, it’s also easy and effortless.

The 1.5 TSI is a fraction quicker against the stopwatch, and has a similarly perky character. However, in 90 percent of driving situations, it doesn’t feel a whole lot faster than the smaller engine, so we’d probably save the extra it costs to buy.

A diesel choice is also offered, a 1.6 TDI with 115PS. It gives you decent pace, but it doesn’t feel as lively or as eager as the petrol, and overall, it doesn’t suit the car as well. It cost quite a bit more than the equivalently powered petrol engine, too, and you’ll have to cover a lot of miles before its superior fuel economy overturns the difference.

All engines are offered with a reasonably slick six-speed manual gearbox, while all but the 95PS petrol are also offered with a seven-speed twin-clutch automatic. It slurs through the gears pretty effectively, keeping your progress smooth and responsive.

The smallest petrol engines may be three-cylinder units, but they do a good impression of ones with an extra cylinder, staying smooth at all times and not getting too thrummy or thrashy when you rev them hard. 

Even so, the four-cylinder 1.5 TSI is quieter and smoother still, with even fewer vibrations making their way through to the cabin. The diesel is the most rowdy engine of the bunch, with a distinct clatter at idle and when you pile a few revs on. However, it’s not too bad compared with the diesel engines in some rivals, and it settles down well enough once you reach motorway cruising speeds.

Compared with rivals, the Scala is a bit less civilised in other ways, though. There’s more wind and road noise to be heard at high speed, and you hear a fraction more from the Skoda’s suspension as it goes about its work. Still, while it lags behind its best rivals here, it’s still not a raucous way of getting around. What’s more, its nicely weighted, consistent feeling controls make the Scala easy to drive smoothly.

Bit of a mixed bag here, if we’re honest. Importantly, the Scala scored the full five-star rating when it was smashed into various things by the experts at Euro NCAP, and its individual section ratings also look reasonably good as well. 

The safety kit you get as standard includes a very run-of-the-mill six airbags, automatic emergency braking, lane assist and automatic emergency calling. However, lots of other stuff that rivals might provide as standard cost extra on the Scala, a driver’s knee airbag and front parking sensors, for instance. Buyers also have to pay extra for adaptive cruise control and a self-parking function. A space-saver spare wheel is included, though.

Skoda might be a budget brand, but it's not going to leave you stranded on the side of a motorway. It came second in the 2020 HonestJohn.co.uk Satisfaction Index, narrowly losing out to premium carmaker Lexus.

The Scala's too new for any real idea of long-term reliability, but it shares engines and mechanical bits with a wide range of Volkswagen Group cars. That means it ought to be pretty dependable, while sourcing parts shouldn't be an issue, either.

If you’re buying a budget-focused car like the Skoda Scala, you don’t want to pay a king’s ransom to insure it, and the good news is that you won’t. Insurance groupings range from 10 at the bottom of the scale to 19 at the top, with most versions sitting at around the 14 mark. So, if you have a decent no-claims-bonus, premiums should be very palatable.

Easy one, this. Whichever version of the Scala you pick, you’ll pay annual VED tax of £150 per year. That’s because it was introduced in 2019, after the Government had brought in a flat rate for petrol and diesel cars, and no version is expensive enough (even if you add all the optional extras it’s possible to add) to make it liable for the temporary surcharge of £325. 

Company car users pay Benefit-in-kind tax on 28% of the car’s value for most versions of the 1.0 TSI, but that rises up to 33% for the diesel automatic.

On top of the safety and infotainment kit we’ve already talked about, the entry-level Skoda Scala S comes with alloy wheels, LED headlights, manual air-conditioning, remote locking, four powered windows and electric door mirror adjustment. We reckon it's worth upgrading to the SE for the better infotainment system alone, but doing so also earns you niceties including cruise control, automatic lights and wipers, front foglamps and rear parking sensors. 

The price jump to Scala SE L is considerable, and we think most buyers will be happy enough with the SE, but it does earn you the top-grade infotainment system, privacy glass, two-zone climate control, cornering foglamps, LED rear lights, part-suede-effect upholstery and keyless go. 

The range tops out with the Skoda Scala Monte Carlo, which adds sportier styling touches, a panoramic roof and a few extra leather bits dotted around the cabin. However, the amount of stuff left on the options list, even on the range-topping versions, is perhaps a little surprising. Electrically adjusting seats, part-leather upholstery, a reversing camera, adaptive cruise control, wireless phone charging, a variable boot floor, front parking sensors and heated seats are all available, but no version gets them as standard.