Ranked #152 car in the UK · Hatchback · 4,023 units sold last year

Skoda Scala

The Skoda Scala (2019 on) is the sensible, spacious family hatch - a roomy, well-built Golf-class car that majors on practicality and value over flash. UK cars are efficient turbo petrols. With one of the biggest boots in the class, clever 'Simply Clever' touches and low running costs, it's an unpretentious, genuinely useful everyday hatch - the rational choice for buyers who want space and sense without paying a premium badge tax.

Skoda Scala
Photo: Alexander Migl via Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Body
Hatchback
Years
2019–2026
Fuel
Petrol
Economy
52 mpg

combined

Insurance
Group 14

The short version

86/100

Forecourt score

Value 82 · Reliability 91 · Insurance 84

The Skoda Scala holds its value well and is cheaper to run than most. Its MOT-based reliability is excellent, 87 out of 100, ahead of 91% of the cars we track. On three-year value retention it ranks better than 82% of models.

The Forecourt score blends how this car ranks against the catalogue on value retention, reliability and insurance cost (weighted 40/40/20). Higher is better; running cost is not yet folded in.

Pick your version

Estimates are tuned to the version you choose.

Fuel

Petrol · 999cc

Power

110 ps

Drivetrain

FWD

Cam drive

Dry belt

Quoted MPG

50 mpg

The volume Scala. 1.0 TSI 110, manual or DSG, ~50 mpg. The pragmatic Golf-class hatch for less money — huge boot for the segment. Belt-driven.

Tell us about the one you're looking at

2023
20192026
24,231 mi
0Expected: 24,231180k
good
PoorFairGoodExcellent

Tidy and well looked-after for its age — the typical car.

Remembered as you browse other cars.

Optional — fills in the exact year and ULEZ status for your specific car. The registration isn’t stored.

Estimated market value

How we got this number — click for the breakdown, or to challenge it.

£12,950

Range £10,550£15,600

medium confidence

When new (2023)£22,000Age-based value£14,300Mileage adjustment+£0Condition & region+£15Market calibration-£465Forecourt price£13,850Private sale£12,050Part-exchange£10,600
Buythis 3-year-old

Past the steep drop — most of the depreciation is behind it.

At 24,231 miles it’s about the ~25,276 typical for a 3-year-old.

Seen one for sale?

£

A data-led guide from the depreciation curve, UK parc trend and reliability — not financial advice.

The depreciation curve

How a 2023-registration Skoda Scala loses value over time.

What it costs to own

Over

Based on the 2023 car with 24,231 miles you entered above — worth about £12,950 today — here is the cost of owning it for the next 5 years, at roughly 8,077 miles a year.

5-year total

£14,777

Per year

£2,955

All-in per mile

£0.37

Fuel per mile

13.4p

If a company carAround £242/mo Benefit-in-Kind tax at the 40% rate (£121/mo at 20%) — 29% band

Depreciation£2,526
Fuel / energy£5,411
Servicing£1,765
Road tax£975
Insurance£4,100

If you're a company-car driver

At 29% BIK, a 40% taxpayer would pay about £242/month in company-car tax (£121/month at 20%) — on top of the running costs above. Full BIK table below for context.

Best age to buy — around 4 years

A 4-year-old example loses roughly £1,400 a year — under half the £4,150 a one-year-old sheds. The steepest drop is behind it.

Uses current UK pump and home-charging prices (DESNZ weekly), typical-driver insurance and manufacturer service intervals. "Fuel per mile" is just the energy input — so an EV at ~9p and a diesel at ~22p make running-cost comparison direct. A guide; your own costs will vary.

How it compares

Where this car ranks against the 340 vehicles in our index — higher is better.

Holds its valuebetter than 82%
Reliabilitybetter than 91%
Fuel economybetter than 87%
Cheap to insurebetter than 84%

Percentile rank across our full index. A measure is shown only where the data spreads meaningfully across the index.

Petrol, diesel, hybrid or EV?

How the available versions compare on price, running cost, and the headaches each tends to develop.

1.0 TSI / 1.5 TSI

The Skoda Focus — except hardly anyone notices it. Bigger inside than a VW Polo, smaller than an Octavia, priced where the Golf used to be. SE L is the sensible spec. The hidden value pick in the family-hatch segment.

New price
£24,000
Annual fuel / energy
£1,550
3-yr depreciation
44%

Watch for

  • ·1.0/1.5 TSI 'kangarooing' on early units (campaign-fixed)
  • ·MIB3 infotainment occasional freezes
  • ·DSG hesitation when cold

Fuel/energy costs based on this week’s UK averages (w/c 22/06/2026) · Petrol 153.3p/L, Diesel 172.5p/L, Electricity 27.0p/kWh · DESNZ

Estimated insurance

Group 15 of 50 (low — cheaper end of the scale) · Comprehensive · 3 years NCB

Indicative annual comprehensive premiums for this car, by driver age band and risk profile. Pick the combination closest to your circumstances.

3 years
0 yearsBaseline: 3 years15+
Risk profile:

Estimated annual premium · typical, age 33-39

£820/ year

Roughly £68 per month

Typical

Average UK driver — 3 years NCB, average postcode, no recent claims.
Age bandLower riskTypicalHigher risk
Age 17-25£1,870£2,337£3,038
Age 26-32£976£1,148£1,401
Age 33-39Selected£722£820£968
Age 40-49£613£681£789
Age 50+£546£607£716

How we estimate this

Indicative annual comprehensive premium estimates. The 'Typical' figure represents an average UK driver in each age band; Lower and Higher risk show the realistic spread driven by factors UK insurers legitimately price on (postcode, occupation, claims history, NCB, voluntary excess, modifications). Based on 10,000 miles/yr, £250 voluntary excess, and the no-claims bonus selected above. Always get individual quotes before buying.

Expected annual costs

Adjust the annual mileage to match how you'll actually use the car. Insurance is what you selected above (age 33-39, typical risk, 3 yrs NCB).

8,077 mi/yr
2,000UK avg for this model: 8,07730,000

Routine service

£185

Annual main-dealer service

Major service

£210

Every 2 years, annualised

Road tax

£195

Standard rate, post year-one

Fuel

£1,094

52 mpg, £1.49/L

Insurance

£820

Age 33-39, group 14

Clean-air zones

ULEZ compliant
  • All petrol variants meet Euro 4 standards and are ULEZ compliant.

Based on London ULEZ standards — Birmingham, Bath, Bristol, Sheffield, Glasgow and other UK clean-air zones generally follow the same rules.

Total expected£2,504 / year

Excludes depreciation and unscheduled repairs (see next section).

Unexpected costs

What out-of-warranty repairs typically run, by mileage band. Your selected mileage is highlighted.

0-30k miles

£80

per year · low risk

30-60k miles

£240

per year · low risk

60-100k miles

£520

per year · medium risk

100k+ miles

£900

per year · high risk

Tyres

195/65 R15 · 205/55 R16 · 215/45 R17

What a full set of four will cost you (including fit and balance), and which brand each tier of buyer should pick. A typical set lasts about 24,000 miles.

Budget

£300

set of 4, fitted · £60 per tyre

Mid-range

£440

set of 4, fitted · £95 per tyre

Premium

£620

set of 4, fitted · £140 per tyre

What to fit

Optional extras worth paying for

Factory options ranked by how much of their original cost they recover at resale. Anything above 70% return tends to make money back; below 40% is paying for your own enjoyment.

OptionNew costAdded used valueReturn

Tow bar (factory-fit)

Niche, but the buyers who want one will pay for it.

£650£45069%

Parking sensors & reversing camera

Near-expected now — its absence costs more than its presence returns.

£500£30060%

Heated seats / cold-weather pack

£450£20044%

Metallic or premium paint

Almost universal — an unusual colour is the bigger resale risk.

£600£20033%

Panoramic / opening roof

£1,100£35032%

Larger alloy wheels

£700£20029%

Parts most likely to fail

Drawn from owner reports and warranty data. Filtered for relevance to 24,231 miles.

Watch now

Failure typically happens around your current mileage.

Upcoming

A known weak point — but you haven't reached its usual mileage yet.

Already due

Past its usual failure mileage. Either already fixed, or about to.

Tyres & wheelsUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £80-£500medium severityParts high

Recorded in 6.3% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 45,490 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

BrakesUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £150-£500medium severityParts high

Recorded in 5.4% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 45,490 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

SuspensionUpcoming

Typical at over 100k milesCost £150-£450low severityParts high

Recorded in 4.5% of MOT tests over 100k miles — from 45,490 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Lighting & signallingUpcoming

Typical at 60k-100k milesCost £15-£120low severityParts high

Recorded in 1.6% of MOT tests 60k-100k miles — from 45,490 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Driver's viewUpcoming

Typical at 60k-100k milesCost £60-£300low severityParts high

Recorded in 1.5% of MOT tests 60k-100k miles — from 45,490 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

Seat belts & restraintsUpcoming

Typical at 60k-100k milesCost £80-£250low severityParts high

Recorded in 0.7% of MOT tests 60k-100k miles — from 45,490 DVSA MOT tests analysed.

"Parts low/medium/high" indicates how easy the replacement part is to source — discontinued or specialist parts mean longer workshop time and bigger bills.

Safety rating

Euro NCAP's independent crash-test rating for the Skoda Scala, from its 2019 assessment.

5/5
TEST YEAR2019
Rating expired (test protocol superseded)

The passenger compartment of the Scala remained stable in the frontal offset test.

Independent crash-test data from Euro NCAP. Star ratings reflect the test protocol of the year shown — newer protocols are stricter, so a 5-star from 2024 represents a higher bar than a 5-star from 2014.

MOT outlook

How this model fares at its MOT as it ages — from 46,465 real DVSA test records.

MOT pass rate by age

A 3-year-old Scala passes its MOT 90.5% of the time; by 7 years that has slipped to 82.4%. The y-axis is zoomed to this model’s range so the trend is readable.

Longevity

Not enough older examples yet to gauge longevity.

Survival by registration year

25%50%75%100%20192026

Each point is one registration cohort. Older cars on the left, newer on the right. A flatter line means the model holds up over time; a steep drop means cohorts disappear from UK roads faster.

What’s on the road

The fuel-type split of every Scala currently MOT’d in the UK. From 23,254 vehicles.

  • Petrol 98.0%
  • Diesel 1.5%

Common MOT failures by mileage

The defect categories this Scala fails on most often, and how the failure rate climbs as the miles add up — from the same DVSA test records.

Category0-30k30-60k60-100k100k+
Tyres & wheels3%4%5%6%
Brakes2%5%3%5%
Suspension1%3%4%
Lighting & signalling1%1%2%1%
Driver's view1%1%2%
Seat belts & restraints1%1%

Share of MOT tests in each mileage band with at least one defect in that category. The peak band for each is highlighted.

Typical mileage by age

The average odometer reading for a Scala at MOT, by age — measured from the same DVSA records, not assumed. A useful yardstick for whether a given car has done more or fewer miles than its age suggests.

  • 0 yr1,641
  • 1 yr21,653
  • 2 yr27,931
  • 3 yr25,276
  • 4 yr31,749
  • 5 yr37,953
  • 6 yr43,112
  • 7 yr50,210

Mean recorded mileage at MOT by vehicle age, from DVSA test records (ages with at least 10 tests shown).

Reliability

87/ 100

Excellent

Composite of MOT pass rate, defect prevalence and cohort survival from 45,490 tests — high confidence.

MOT outlook · age 5 years

89%first-time pass rate

81th percentileBetter than most comparable cars

Based on 7,050 MOT tests · ranked against 248 catalogue models with comparable data

Where this car sits in the catalogue

0%50%90%

Pass-rate distribution across 248 catalogue models

Things owners say

  • 01The 1.0 and 1.5 TSI petrols are efficient and well-suited to the car - the 1.5 for higher mileage.
  • 02A class-leading boot and clever storage make it more practical than most rivals - its strongest card.
  • 03Built on VW Group underpinnings, so it's a known, well-supported and easy-to-run package.

Safety recalls

Manufacturers occasionally issue safety recalls to fix a fault free of charge. You can check whether the Skoda Scala, or your exact vehicle, has any outstanding recalls on the official DVSA service.

Check on GOV.UK

Opens the Driver & Vehicle Standards Agency recall checker. Choose the make, model and year of manufacture — no registration needed.

Theft risk

A general indicator from UK 2025 theft data and this car’s characteristics — not a prediction for any one vehicle.

Whole-car theft

Around average

Theft risk is around the UK average. Like most modern cars it has keyless entry, so relay theft is the method to guard against.

Parts theft

Around average

Parts-theft risk is around average — catalytic-converter theft is the main thing to be aware of on any petrol or diesel car.

Worth doing

  • Keep keys in a Faraday pouch and away from the front door to block relay attacks.
  • Park in well-lit, busy areas, and consider a tracker for faster recovery.

Clean-air zones

Whether driving a Skoda Scala into a UK clean-air zone will cost you anything. Rules use the same Euro standard across most zones — petrol from 2006 and diesel from 2015 onwards are exempt; pure electric is always exempt.

Charging zones for cars

CityAreaDaily chargeLikely outcome
LondonAll of Greater London (within the M25)£12.50
Likely exempt
Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4.
BirminghamInside the A4540 Middleway£8.00
Likely exempt
Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4.
BristolCity centre and part of the Portway£9.00
Likely exempt
Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4.
GlasgowCity centre
Likely exempt
Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4.
EdinburghCity centre
Likely exempt
Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4.
AberdeenCity centre
Likely exempt
Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4.
DundeeCity centre
Likely exempt
Petrol from 2006 meets Euro 4.

Zones that don't charge private cars

  • BathCity centre (Private cars and motorbikes are not charged).
  • BradfordOuter ring road and the Aire Valley (Private cars are not charged).
  • SheffieldInside the A61 inner ring road (Private cars are not charged).
  • Newcastle & GatesheadCity centres and the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges (Private cars are not charged).
  • PortsmouthPart of the city centre (Applies to taxis, PHVs, buses, coaches and HGVs only).

Model-level guidance only. To check a specific registration, use the official gov.uk clean-air zone checker. Zone charges and boundaries are set by local councils and change over time.

Company car tax

What HMRC's Benefit-in-Kind charge looks like if you ran this Skoda Scala as a company car, by tax year and income-tax band. Calculated from a CO₂ of 124 g/km, using £25,000 as the P11D value.

Tax yearBIK %Tax @ 20%Tax @ 40%Monthly @ 20%Monthly @ 40%
2025-2629%£1,450£2,900£121£242
2026-2730%£1,500£3,000£125£250
2027-2831%£1,550£3,100£129£258
2028-2931%£1,550£3,100£129£258
2029-3031%£1,550£3,100£129£258

P11D value is approximated from the latest new price; the exact figure on your tax code will depend on options fitted. The 4% diesel surcharge applies only to non-RDE2 (pre-2021) diesels — we assume RDE2 compliance for current models. Bands and rates from HMRC's Autumn Budget 2024 confirmation through 2029/30.

Servicing & the dealer network

How well-supported Skoda is across the UK — a practical read on how easy servicing, parts and warranty work will be to find.

Franchised UK dealers

~130

Large network

Mass-market

Network size relative to the UK's largest (Skoda is 2.9% of all franchised outlets)

Servicing, parts and warranty work are easy to find UK-wide, and most independent garages know the brand well — which keeps maintenance competitive.

For context, the UK has roughly 4,500 franchised car-dealer outlets in total, plus about 15,500 independent garages.

Approximate figures, curated from public UK industry sources (NFDA, Car Dealer Magazine). Franchised networks shrink year on year — these indicate network size, not an exact count.

Dimensions & weight

Length

4,300 mm

Width

1,790 mm

Height

1,460 mm

Kerb weight

1,350 kg

Boot

380–1,250 L

Fuel tank

48 L

How many are still out there

Of every Skoda Scala ever registered in the UK, this is what's actively on the road, parked off the road on a SORN, or gone for good.

Total ever registered

21,537

Currently taxed & on road

21,322

99% of all registered

SORN (off road)

215

1% of all registered

Scrapped or exported

0

UK fleet trend — 2019 to 2025

+21.2% vs 2024
1,56221,322

Source: DfT VEH0124 vehicle licensing statistics (year-end 2025) · Updated 1 Jul 2026

Common questions

Skoda Scala, answered

Is the Skoda Scala ULEZ compliant?
Most petrol Skoda Scalas from 2006 and diesels from September 2015 meet the Euro standards for London ULEZ and other UK clean-air zones, so they are generally exempt from the daily charge. Pure-electric versions are always exempt.
What insurance group is the Skoda Scala in?
The Skoda Scala sits in insurance group 15 of 50, towards the cheaper end of the scale. Your actual premium still depends on age, postcode, annual mileage and no-claims history.
Is the Skoda Scala reliable?
Our reliability score for the Skoda Scala is 87 out of 100 (excellent), derived from DVSA MOT records, with a first-time MOT pass rate of about 89% at the reference age.
What economy does the Skoda Scala get?
Expect roughly around 52 mpg combined for a typical Skoda Scala, based on official figures and our running-cost model. Real-world figures vary with driving style, load and conditions.
What are the common problems on the Skoda Scala?
On the Skoda Scala, the issues that come up most by mileage include Tyres & wheels, Brakes and Suspension. The section above breaks down each one with its typical mileage, repair cost and severity.
How many Skoda Scalas are on UK roads?
About 21,322 Skoda Scalas are currently taxed and on the road in the UK, from DfT vehicle-licensing data.

Same underpinnings

Built on the VW MQB platform

Volkswagen Group's modular transverse-engine platform underpinning a huge range of cars from supermini to mid-size SUV. Introduced 2012 with the Golf Mk7. Different badges, often substantially different residuals, but broadly the same mechanicals and repair cost profile.

Volkswagen Group Modularer Querbaukasten · Volkswagen Group

Common questions

Skoda Scala, answered from the data

Is the Skoda Scala reliable?
The Skoda Scala scores 87/100 on Forecourt's MOT-based reliability measure, ahead of 81% of the cars we track. That is computed from 46,465 real DVSA MOT test results.
How much does a used Skoda Scala cost?
A 2023 Skoda Scala with around 24,231 miles is worth roughly £12,950 today (typical range £11,300–£14,600). Dealer forecourt prices sit higher and part-exchange offers lower; newer or lower-mileage examples cost more.
How quickly does the Skoda Scala depreciate?
A new Skoda Scala typically loses about 35% of its value over the first three years, then depreciates more slowly. Buying at three to five years old avoids the steepest part of the curve.
What insurance group is the Skoda Scala?
The Skoda Scala sits in insurance group 15 of 50 — the cheaper end of the scale. Exact premiums depend on the trim (some versions sit a few groups higher or lower), your age, postcode and no-claims history.
What goes wrong on a used Skoda Scala?
The most common age-related issues we track for the Skoda Scala are: tyres & wheels (typically around over 100k miles, £80-£500 to put right); brakes (typically around over 100k miles, £150-£500 to put right); suspension (typically around over 100k miles, £150-£450 to put right). A full service history and a recent MOT with no advisories are the best protection.
What does the Skoda Scala cost to run?
Expect around 52 mpg combined, £195 a year in road tax, about £185 for a standard annual service. The full cost-of-ownership table above breaks this down per year and per mile for the exact year and mileage you choose.

Answers are generated from this car's Forecourt data — DVSA MOT records, DfT licensing statistics and our valuation model — and update with the weekly data refresh.

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