Skoda Rapid : Test Drive & Review

[Jayant..B]

Nice review of a nice car. Now it is upto Skoda as to how they promote this car. In my openion the pricing seems correct, only thing Skoda has to do is to make sure that the *** is improved drastically. If they manage this, they have a winner in their hands.

One more small thing, there is no picture of the open boot...or have I missed it somewhere?

Originally Posted by Vivekphadnis

I didn't like the attitude at the VW showroom in Bangalore. I was pushing for diwali discounts but it was like 'this is all we are giving, take it or leave it'. So, I bought the new Ford Fiesta instead.

Did you get any discounts from Ford? Which varient did you buy?

[vkaul1]

Excellent review of another good launch by Skoda. Excellent work Samurai & Vid6639.

The price point is great. This might help them to get the required numbers in the C segment market. A friend of mine was looking for something in this segment & looks like the Petrol Ambition MT would be a v interesting proposition. Now it is upto Skoda to lose it from here if they are unable to change their game in the A** department.

[bala80]

- There will not be any difference in effectiveness between them. If anything, manual A/C will chill the cabin quickly whereas ACC will maintain the cabin temperature at the desired level better than the manual one.

- No HU & speakers,only wiring available for you. 1 DIN size slot will be available for you to fit an aftermarket HU, but you can fit a 2 DIN system too as per your wish.

- Initially VW also didnt provide the extended warranty at the time of release, but they started offering it in the due course. I'm sure skoda will offer the same, down the line.

- They definitely should, I have no idea about the cost though. If you feel it is on the higher side, get good aftermarket one's in the same design.

Originally Posted by Th!ru

1) Are the internal functioning of the climatronic and manual AC the same? Will there be any differences in the effectiveness of them? I am OK with fiddling the controls now and then to get the right temperature.

2) What is this After market 1 DIN audio preparation ? Does this mean i get a 1 din basic HU fitted with no speakers?

3) Skoda dealer in Chennai doesn't seem to provide a 2 year Extended warranty, at least that's what their site says, is this true everywhere else in India too?

4) Does Skoda sell the same alloys for an additional cost, Has anyone inquired about it, if so how much would that cost? Those really improve the stance of the car!

Thanks!

[razor4077]

Originally Posted by bala80

- They definitely should, I have no idea about the cost though. If you feel it is on the higher side, get good aftermarket one's in the same design.

A word of caution on aftermarket alloys - they may void the warranty on the suspension. I recently had a lengthy argument with them on this, but they were fairly rigid on their stand. Their point of view was that aftermarket alloys were not built to the same standard as the OE ones, hence may damage the suspension. Let's just say I don't agree....

Anyway - talk to Skoda before going for aftermarket alloys.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by GTO

Work HARD on your after-sales quality, Skoda! You cannot afford to get it wrong anymore.

I can't agree more. I''m sitting on the fence right now about what to replace my Swift VDI with, and I'd seriously consider the Rapid if Skoda didn't have such a terrible reputation for poor customer service.
I will probably never forget what happened to Harish Kanchan who found that Nummer Eins had been replacing new parts in his Octavia with spurious spares.
Skoda had the opportunity there to nip the whole thing in the bud by taking immediate and well-publicized punitive action against the culprits and by being sensitive to a customer's genuine concerns. They decided, in fact to SUE the guy and impound his car, and probably lost HUNDREDS of potential Skoda buyers thanks to publicity that the ensuing report and legal matter got when this guy went public with the whole story.

Do I really want a car from a company that (a) indulges in rampant fraud and unethical practices and (b) has such disdain for their customers?

Till I know that things have changed at Skoda, no. I do not.

[Th!ru]

Originally Posted by bala80

- There will not be any difference in effectiveness between them. If anything, manual A/C will chill the cabin quickly whereas ACC will maintain the cabin temperature at the desired level better than the manual one.

- No HU & speakers,only wiring available for you. 1 DIN size slot will be available for you to fit an aftermarket HU, but you can fit a 2 DIN system too as per your wish.

- Initially VW also didnt provide the extended warranty at the time of release, but they started offering it in the due course. I'm sure skoda will offer the same, down the line.

- They definitely should, I have no idea about the cost though. If you feel it is on the higher side, get good aftermarket one's in the same design.

Thanks bala(if i may call you so) for your reply, it covered everything. Just one question about the Extended warranty - whenever skoda starts giving the option, would it be limited to new cars only or applicable for existing owners as well?
sorry i know this is a newbie question, but for indica vista i remember getting the EW while buying the car, and i was told, it would cost more if i opt for it later, just wondering how skoda goes about this business.

Originally Posted by razor4077

A word of caution on aftermarket alloys - they may void the warranty on the suspension. I recently had a lengthy argument with them on this, but they were fairly rigid on their stand. Their point of view was that aftermarket alloys were not built to the same standard as the OE ones, hence may damage the suspension. Let's just say I don't agree....

Anyway - talk to Skoda before going for aftermarket alloys.

Thanks for your word of caution. i will check with skoda about the 'antares' alloys first, if it is too pricey then will check with them about after market alloys. If they agree for after market ones, Should i insist on getting their approval in writing from the dealer.

[Karthik_S]

A Comprehensive review. Thank you.

I would have considered the mid variant but the absence of a passenger side air-bag is disconcerting.

Now to wait for the 1.6 Yeti before we decide on the next car for the house.

K

[razor4077]

To give them some credit, Skoda has actually begun to acknowledge that there was indeed this problem (of spurious spares). Apparently the governance on the a.s.s & dealers by the company has increased a fair bit and the offending dealers have been brought to task/shut down. This is as per their sales people, but the proof, of course, would be in the feedback from existing Skoda owners.

[ghostrider]

Originally Posted by razor4077

To give them some credit, Skoda has actually begun to acknowledge that there was indeed this problem (of spurious spares). Apparently the governance on the a.s.s & dealers by the company has increased a fair bit and the offending dealers have been brought to task/shut down. This is as per their sales people, but the proof, of course, would be in the feedback from existing Skoda owners.

Good to know, but they probably still have a long way to go. I (and other buyers like me) would probably only consider a Skoda once the market feedback starts to soften regarding (a) their nightmarish after-sales service experience and (b) cost of spares.
Most people (me included) switch cars every five years on an average, so if you lose out on a buyer you'll only get another shot at a sale to that buyer another five years down the road.

As a separate note, my wife's looking at swapping her Honda City for something that's a little more economical to run in the city (read: diesel hatch) so we went and TD'd the new Swift diesel and the Polo diesel. We didn't even get to TD the Polo, because (a) the sales rep at the VW showroom lost interest when we told we were interested in the Polo - he clearly only seemed interested in speaking to Jetta and Passat buyers.
This tainted the sales experience for us and we didn't even bother with the TD.

My point is customer service is paramount in a buyer's economy. Some manufacturers get this, but some clearly don't.

[tejus.s]

Class leading review as expected from T-BHP.

I know someone who bought a Vento and sold it after just a couple of months just because of the A.S.S. Not sure if Skoda can be any worse in that department. But as a car, they seemed to have nailed and with what Skoda still considered a premium brand here, (despite VW pouring in money to get a footing) the Rapid will definitely find many takers. It looks pretty fine in pictures as well.

I guess the Europeans just know how to engineer the ride and handling bit much better than the competition. It shows in every review I read.

[Bala.V]

For the first time in many months I saw a crowd of interested buyers in the Skoda Showroom. Rapid has clearly recreated the sagging interest in Skoda Vehicles. Now it is upto the A** to ensure that the interest "Rapid"ly increased or "Rapid"ly dwindles. Best Luck SKODA !!!

[Musicmaker23]

Lazy!
That's the only way I'd like to describe the styling cues in the car; or maybe it was the Vento that was lazy. Depends on which one launched first, right?
The cars are like two not-so-lost-in-kumbh-ka-mela siblings.

It makes sense when companies take design cues from other cars within their own lineup, gives a balanced consistent look. But, directly picking up a design from another car from another brand, albeit from the same parent corporation is plain well... Lazy! I mean the rear (awesome as it is), the interiors, the seats, the doors, it's all way too much!

Maybe I would've been smitten by the styling had the car launched earlier but that Vento takes the credit

That aside, I like how Skoda's pricing their cars these past 2 years. It's good to see a company do well after they've corrected earlier mistakes. Only God knows what the Fabia would've done had it been priced well from the start. Amazingly well put together hatch! And from the looks of it, the Rapid carries that through as well

[prabhuferrari]

Originally Posted by tejus.s

Class leading review as expected from T-BHP.

I know someone who bought a Vento and sold it after just a couple of months just because of the A.S.S. Not sure if Skoda can be any worse in that department. But as a car, they seemed to have nailed and with what Skoda still considered a premium brand here, (despite VW pouring in money to get a footing) the Rapid will definitely find many takers. It looks pretty fine in pictures as well.

I guess the Europeans just know how to engineer the ride and handling bit much better than the competition. It shows in every review I read.

OT. But this is first time am hearing that someone sold a car since the VW service was not upto the mark. Can you give more details on this and also the service centre?

[Shome]

Just visited the local Skoda dealer. An interesting thing the SE said was that the OEM HU is more expensive than Caska. Caska comes for about 35k with all the bells and whistles but the OEM is about 10k more with nothing other then the vanilla mp3 player/FM/AM (when you want to install it in the Active).

What he also said which suprised me was that the OEM alloys are "customized" for Skoda (All Skoda cars). This customization ensures that the car doesnt pull left if the steering is left free. After market alloys will not keep the car going straight.

Couldn't believe my ears when I heard about the left pull . Just being me cocky self, I asked him is it only for Skoda cars or other cars have this left pull as well; his answer was quite diplomatic. He says..."Saar, I have never driven any car other than Skoda!"

But you can repace your alloys for after market ones without the warranty being void. He offered to get me a set of four 14" Plati alloys for 15k.

P.S: Rapid looks great and much better that what you make of it in photographs. A good car IMHO.

[bala80]

You are welcome. Yes, you can get the EW anytime as long as you are within the standard warranty. VW released their EW schemes only after 6 months of release of the vento and it was open to everyone who was interested to purchase it.

Originally Posted by Th!ru

Thanks bala(if i may call you so) for your reply, it covered everything. Just one question about the Extended warranty - whenever skoda starts giving the option, would it be limited to new cars only or applicable for existing owners as well?