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For the Rider I got a quote of 865000 including Skoda shield. The ambition diesel manual variant has an actual on road price of 14.07 lakhs. I was offered the 9.99 lakh ex showroom pricing which brings the cost down to 11.5 lakhs without the shield. This translates into a saving of over 2.5 lakhs which is what made me finalise this variant.

With Seltos pricing off the park, am now seriously considering buying that beautiful DSG gearbox. Versus Vento, Rapid has the looks and understatement. What do you think I should do? Totally confused!:Shockked:

I'm looking at the Rapid Rider edition as a replacement to my 2017 petrol Tiago, here in New Delhi. Tiago is a great car overall, but I have unfortunately not been able to come to terms with her unrefined and underpowered engine. Coming back to the Skoda, would like some help from the folks on a Skoda dealer here in New Delhi who could be dealt with. I'm aware of the dealer issues with Skoda, but would be inclined to deal with them for what is perceivably a good car. Any pointers or suggestions are welcome.

Hey Krishnan, take my word on this, just pick what you really want. There are various subjective aspects that many of us can advise/suggest on, but it may turn out to be a wrong or a costly choice if you don't relish your buy.

Having got that off, here is my personal view:

• Rapid and Vento are essentially the same car. However, the latter offers a bit more kit in comparison, only until I look at the Rapid Monte Carlo edition. Although it does not give you LED Headlamps vis-a-vis Vento HL Plus, those projectors are good enough for me as this edition is a looker, especially in Red. clap:
• Irrespective of the car you choose, please do consider the DSG Gearbox issue, which seems to be more assured than the VAG after sales. Unless you really NEED DSG, explore the MT gearbox. Savings, peace of mind and a bit more fun all bundled together.
• I agree with you that even in the regular iteration, the Rapid looks a lot more young and sporty in comparison to the more mature & overtly diplomatic Vento.

So my personal vote is for the Rapid. At the end of the day, it is YOUR CASH, YOUR CALL and YOUR CAR !!

All the Best :thumbs up

I was in the same situation as you when I was looking for a replacement for my Punto in 2017. Ultimately, the Rapid won due to the following reasons (not sure if they are still valid, as VW might have added some of these in the last 2 years):

1. Looks : I preferred the elegant looks of the Rapid compared to the boring looks of the Vento.
2. Android Auto: This is one feature I cannot live without, since Google navigation and voice controls work so good. Rapid had this, while the Vento didn't.
3. Bigger Multimedia screen. The screen on the Vento was very small for my taste. The Skoda had a bigger screen.
4. 4 Air bags vs 2 Air bags on the Vento.
5. Better seats and seat covers. This might be subjective, but I liked the seats and the seat covers on the Rapid more than the Vento.

Took a test drive of the Rapid TDI DSG today and it was electrifying. Though it was not as refined as the 1.8 TSI DSG of Octavia (my co brother has it and have driven it) -- I would still consider this pretty good and call it a poor mans best option for a DSG!!

I did check the the sales staff about reliability of the DQ200 gearbox and they said the company has fixed all the previous issues/niggles and that's why they are confidently giving a 4 year warranty. Though I don't need the drive for every day office commute, was thinking of plonking the money to buy a diesel now before the BS6 kicks in. With the price difference and mileage, was thinking I can do very loooong weekend rides without worry about fuel costs.

Anyone who bought a DSG in the past 4 years facing major issues?

Yes, 4 airbags is definitely a criteria for me and that's why avoiding Monte Carlo though the car looks piping hot. As GTO and many others have said before, a European car looks the best in a White! So thinking of going for Style White. Hows your "Rapid ride" in the last 2 years? Have you faced any niggles? Are you happy with the vehicle and ASS?

Dear BHPians, I finally bit the bullet! Just booked a White Rapid TDI DSG Style variant...

Once a VAG customer, always a VAG customer I believe! stupid:

I couldn't find anything solid of all the options I tried as a replacement for my 6 year old polo. Every other car looked ordinary, felt ordinary, drive was ordinary. Had booked Venue DCT, but somehow couldn't convince myself to pay 13lakhs for a compact SUV. I know I'm buying a 11-year-old model; but as they say, sometimes BHPians think from their heart than their mind. Will post pics and cars considered at a later date. Thanks to Newpunter, Vik0728, Reinhard, and others for the valuable inputs.

I would like to thank Team-BHP family for making it one of the most informative platform for automobile enthusiasts and the forum has been of a great help in every step of my car buying process.

So finally after a lot of permutations and combinations, we have bought home a Skoda Rapid TDi DSG. An ownership review will be following soon.

Here are some shots:









I have named my car Heisenberg.

Congrats on the new car clap: .

Congrats. Enjoy your ride.

I haven't faced any niggles so far. I just finished my 2nd service and have driven around 25000 kms. The car has been a dream to drive so far. I feel that the service team has improved between the 1st and 2nd services. I find it better than the Fiat service centers I'm used to.

The only issue I had was that my entertainment unit had a line of dead pixels, which appeared around 1 week after I bought my car. Skoda replaced it with a brand new display, during the first service. The warranty approval took longer than expected though and I had to wait a few days without my car.

I will be taking delivery of the car tomorrow. Sales experience has been below average. I had to follow up constantly for every small thing. Looks like Skoda is having a good run with the Rapid. 2 other cars are also scheduled be delivered along with ours tomorrow. The sales executive mentioned that this month they have seen a big surge in Rapid sales.

The only accessory I opted for is the rear view camera. The beige alcantara seat covers cost Rs 21000/-. Thinking about going for after market options as the OEM covers are a little out of my budget. A big thank you to all the members of this forum for your valuable advice. Adding a few pictures I took at the dealership today. Will post more pictures after I get the car home.

Took delivery of my "White Knight" over the weekend

Congrats. Wishing you all the best. Please do share your overall experience with the car :-).

So true! We have a 2014 Rapid and when we were in the market looking for another ride, four months back, I wanted either the Polo GT TSi or the Rapid. Fate had other plans though :uncontrol
Ended up with an EcoSport. No worries though!
Enjoy your Rapid for years to come clap:

Would be such a killer deal if they offered a diesel engine and increase the price by 1 lakh INR.
A proper sedan with all the basic necessities at 7.99 Lakh Ex-showroom would be such a breath of fresh air on the pricing front in today's market of overpriced cars!

What's the plan for the Rapid going forward? The replacement will only be ready in late-2021 which is a good 2 years away. I am not sure what will happen to the Rapid in the meantime as none of the current engines are BS6 compatible and Skoda does not have any plans to make these engines compliant.
So, will Skoda discontinue Rapid once BS6 norms kick in in APril 2020?
If not, will they offer with the new 1.0L TSI engine?

I think the same questions are applicable to both the Polo and Vento as well.
The Rapid with a good TSI engine will be a very good deal in this segment. Also, Skoda should offer 6 airbags at least in the top-end variant of the Rapid.

To rapid owners, how is the long term reliability of rapid diesel?

I am looking forward to buy a diesel MT. My usage is a bit high, 120 km a day. I might use it for 4 years or 1 lakh km minimum before selling it away. My 4 year old ciaz has been fuss free for 95000 km now.

I hear fuel line issues and injector issues reported often with VAG sedans. How widespread are they? Or can I trust Skoda with long term reliability, I just want a fill it, shut it, drive it car with routine maintenance.

Btw how easy/hard is it to maintain the carbon steel shade? I had a hard time keeping my dignity brown shade in ciaz from scratches.