• Excellent rear-seat space
• Bigger boot than a Volkswagen Golf
• Cabin feels a little narrow

How much space is there?

Overall occupant space in the Scala is excellent, although first impressions sitting in the front aren’t quite so impressive. While there’s plenty of legroom, headroom and storage space all-round, the driver and passenger feel very close together, often rubbing elbows on the small armrest. It’s not the end of the world, especially if you’re familiar with the person next to you, however cars such at the Ford Focus, Golf and Astra feel wider up front. 

Hop in the back however, and the Scala shows its trump card. Even with the optional panoramic sunroof fitted, headroom is exceptional, while legroom and outer seat foot room (the latter often forgotten about in many cars) is plentiful, exceeding just about all its rivals.

There’s space for three across the back, although this is best utilised only on shorter journeys owing to the chunky central tunnel robbing the middle seat passenger’s foot room. It’s a similar story on most cars in this class, though. Again, storage space in the back is good, with large door pockets, netting on the front seat backs and a central armrest with cupholders (standard on SE L models). 

Despite being based on the same platform as the SEAT Ibiza, the Scala is longer and a tiny bit wider than the Volkswagen Golf, only losing out on height in the size stakes. This means that it’s worth double-checking your garage dimensions if you had another five-door hatchback in mind originally.

It’s not particularly difficult to park however, with only the large central door pillar limiting over-the-shoulder visibility more than most. Rear parking sensors are standard on all cars, with a reversing camera and automatic parking (Park Assist) available as options, or standard on top-spec Monte Carlo models.

Boot space

The Scala’s bootspace is exceptional and sees off just about every other car in this category. Boasting 467 litres of space with the rear seats in place, rising to 1,410 litres with them folded down (the Golf manages 380 and 1,270 litres) there’s oodles of room for luggage. An optional adjustable-height boot floor is available, as well. An Octavia hatch is even bigger in the boot, though is a much longer car.

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Sadly, the seats only fold in a 60:40 split (although this is par for the course in this sector), with a relatively flat profile once they’re down. What’s more, with the optional variable height boot floor there’s only a tiny lip from the boot entry to the boot floor, making it easy to slide heavy items in.

Safety

• Autonomous emergency braking as standard
• Up to nine airbags
• Plenty of optional safety kit

As well as offering up to nine airbags, the Scala comes with (as standard or as an option) a suite of safety technology designed to prevent accidents and keep the occupants safe in the event of one. These include: 

• Crew Protect Assist (optional) – quickly closes any open windows and tensions the front seat belts automatically when an impending collision is detected
• Multi-Collision Brake – applies the brakes after an impact to prevent a secondary accident
• Full LED headlights, taillights and fog lights as standard – Matrix LEDs are optional.
• Front Assist with City Emergency Brake – automatically applies the brakes if an imminent impact with a vehicle or pedestrian is detected
• Lane Assist – helps keep the car within its lane
• Side Assist with Rear Traffic Alert (optional) – detects vehicles approaching from behind or that are in the car’s blindspot. Differs from Blind Spot Detect in that it can detect vehicles up to 70 metres away, rather than just 20 metres away
• Adaptive Cruise Control (optional)
• Driver Alert Fatigue Detection (optional) – alerts the driver if the car detects their concentration is waning
• Park Assist (optional) – automatic bay or parallel parking

All that technology helped ensure that the Scala received a full five-star safety rating from Euro NCAP when it was crash-tested in 2019.

Watch: Skoda Scala Euro NCAP crash test rating video