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-   -   2016 Skoda Rapid Facelift : A Close Look (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/182745-2016-skoda-rapid-facelift-close-look-5.html)

I'm taking delivery on Sunday. Will report in the coming week :)

The manual diesel hasn't had problems so far. Mine is a 1.6 though but it still remains a gem of a car.

Also, almost in every thread questioning the DSG, this is what our TBHP experts have responded

1. If you're planning to buy the DSG, please don't abuse it
2. The DSG isn't mod-friendly. So don't try to chip / map the car. It will, in most cases, result in a DSG failure
3. Drive gently. Redlining the vehicle will test the DSG and it will return the favor in an unpleasant way
4. When driving, don't try any gimmicks. Just let it do it's job. It's fun as it is and so manually shoving the gearbox into unwanted gears will result in a failure
5. Regardless of the above, you may be the one with the short straw i.e. a repeatedly failing DSG gearbox. Since you have enough warranty to cover it for 4 years, it shouldn't be a worry. But be prepared for a long haul at the workshop.

That's what I've gathered so far across multiple threads about the DSG. Good luck with the decision you make.

So I did a quick TD with the DSG Rapid a day ago and came out terribly disappointed.
Well, to start with, I was looking forward to quality and was not disappointed at all. It has one of the good fit and finish that you can hardly find a place to complain about. Some additions like auto roll up and down are fancy features you'll appreciate. Boot lid opens all the way on remote or the internal release.

I'll come straight to the drive as all and everything has been already said in this review.
My perspective is mainly from driving a RD chip Fiesta Classic to this.
1. It lacks the punch I was looking for from a 110 bhp engine.
2. The DSG is tuned for sedate driving and does not feel quick. Gathering speeds in D mode is difficult. S mode does not still give the 'push in the seat' feeling.
3. Suspension setup was to my liking, a little stiff to provide with that planted feel. Shortest of bumps filtered in, with a noise at least. I pointed out that the car was running with too much pressure than prescribed. This may be due to that fact.
4. The ac was good, although a bit loud at higher fan speeds.
5. Aesthetics were good, seat support in front was awesome. Foot well space could have been better.
6. Rear seat typical. Mostly unchanged. Good recline, should be comfortable for long journeys. Very tight on knee room. Not that spacious. Should look at City or the Ciaz if rear seat space is priority.

I came out of the car impressed with the quality but not the engine and its performance.
In comparison, my Fiesta revs up quite nice and gathers speed with not much a difference!

In the end, I turned away from the car as putting in 14.7 lacs for the top spec DSG did not excite me nor did it feel like a car that I should buy.
I still feel that the DSG is its best in the Polo TSI. Not even in the Vento!

The only diesel car this side of 15 lacs that excited me was the S Cross 1.6 but that feels like too much price for a Maruti esp.considering that they just discontinued it from all but the top spec variant.

Disclaimer : Most references are with my existing ride.( Old Figo 1.4 TDCi)

I recently Test Drove the Rapid DSG Style variant for around 30 Kms around Varthur and Sarjapur road. The TD was promptly arranged by TAFE Access but the Vinayak guys seems to be a lazy bunch. The guy who came in with the car was named Kaushik and appeared to have a decent idea about the vehicle. However, he was clueless about how to connect my Galaxy S7 to the car via Mirrorlink.
Following are my two cents post the test drive:

• The front end looks aggressive but I would also prefer the thin strip connecting the Fog lamps towards the honeycomb air dam to be body coloured.
• Massive boot space.
• The Drive was smooth with the DSG but i didnt find too much difference between the S mode and D mode in the stretches that i drove in. The tiptronic helps in preparing the car for an overtake but I believe that similar results can be achieved in the Auto mode as well with adequate planning. The brakes does inspire confidence. The GC seemed adequate in tackling Bangalore skyscraping speedbreakers. One particular hump where i always tend to scrape my Figo underbody with more than 2 people did not pose any challenge for the Rapid. The steering, though, not as telepathic as my Figo is definitely better than most mass market sedans out there. There is a definite lag ( Both in S and D mode) while trying to briskly accelerate for about a second and the car takes off with a strong surge post the delay. Moving to tiptronic might help in such a situation. The engine pulled cleanly at stop and Go traffic with ample amount of torque available at the lower revs. (Compared to my figo 1.4 TDCI).
• The sound from the stock ICE is good and comparable to the Figo's unit.
• Bluetooth pairing was seamless and call quality is very good. I would have loved to test out the MirrorLink functionality but couldn't do so due to lack of information both from my end as well as the Skoda guy. I would probably go for another TD to just check this feature out, now, that I have a fair understanding on connecting via MirrorLink.
• The front seats were very good and comfortable for someone of my build ( I am 5'8" with around 80 Kgs on the weighing scale ). The centre Armrest is very ergonomic and storage spaces are abound in the vehicle. I particularly liked the Cup/Bottle holders below the ACC console, in front of the gear lever. A very practical design. ( Again, compared to my Figo, where I can barely put in my sunglasses and a few knick knacks)
• The rear seats are comfortable but the limited width made me wonder if I am getting any extra lateral real estate compared to my Figo. The legroom is decent and i could comfortable sit behind my brother in law( 6 feet 2 inches).
• The colour selection of the leatherette seat covers are awful for the Indian conditions. The seats were already soiled in multiple areas and would be a pain to maintain in the long run. I enquired with the sales guy if I can change the seat covers at the dealer level to a color of my choice and he said YES. I am not too sure though. An aftermarket solution might be needed.
• The tall floor hump does severely restrict the the 3rd occupant on the back. The middle passenger has to place his/her feet on either side of the hump , which, in turn would restrict the foot space for the other two passengers, as well. Not a 5 seater for long drives but in city drives can be managed with 5 occupants.
• The Alloy wheels look BORING and desperately begs for an upgrade. ( Personal opinion)

Overall, I would say that the vehicle ticks most of the boxes that I consider important. However, the stories of SKODA A.S.S scares me. I hope that the gearbox failures have reduces since I have not heard of any recent failures in the past 6 months. ( I may be wrong, though). I am waiting for the Monte Carlo edition to be launched, which, would make the car much more appealing and probably , the heart would win over the mind, in the purchase decision.

Saw the refreshed Rapid few days back enroute ITPL and boy, it sure looks nice with those bright DRLs, projectors and the butterfly grille.

Waiting for a first hand ownership report, as someone told of getting delivery. Skoda, should get an all black interior variant variant in their lineup.

-Abhishek.

I had a second round of TD of the Rapid from Vinayak Motors today along with my better half. The Vinayak sales team seem to be pretty lousy and it took me multiple reminders to get the TD arranged. I basically wanted to check out the Mirror Link functionality and also wanted Wifey's stamp of approval. Following are my additional observations:

> The Sales guy, again, was clueless about Mirrorlink connectivity and was of the opinion that this worked only with HTC phones. I had to show him the compatible models in mirror link website and also take him through a demo of the same. For the un-initiated , you need to first download CarMode App , as well, as Sygic Car navigation. Post that, connect the phone to the ICE via USB , as well as, the Bluetooth. This would get you ready to explore the mirror link functionality. However, some points to keep in mind is that the apps via mirrorlink are very basic and limited. You cannot use your phone when it is connected to mirrorlink. I sincerely believe that Android Auto would have been a better option, given , its wide reach. The number of phone models supporting mirrorlink are very limited. More information can be found at www.mirrorlink.com.

Coming back to the vehicle, the width of the rear seats appeared to be same or even less than my Figo. However, the leg room was impressive at the back. The drive was awesome, as expected with the DSG making light work of the traffic conditions and providing a proper push into the seats , on flooring the accelerator, albeit, with a seconds delay due to the turbo lag. The dead pedal is a welcome addition in the new rapid, although, it is on the smaller side. I did not use the tiptronic / Manual mode too much today, as i felt that it was not very useful and did not really add too much value to the driving experience. Modulating the RPMs via the accelerator in the D and S modes gives better results. Now eagerly waiting for the launch announcement of the Monte Carlo Edition, which would seal my purchase decision.

could you do a detail ICE review, especially Mirrorlink and Navigaiton via mirrorlink if possible. Apple car play if supported? also if possible you can tell us the HW part number which would be displayed in the setup menu.

thanks

Took delivery of my 1.5 DSG (Style). Installed the Reverse Parking of Autocop as I felt that Reverse-cam is absolute necessity. Also, the AC vents could have been given a different treatment rather than being Vento-ish. In short, much better than the City CVT I had previously. Now, that may throw up many questions :D



One happy chap..

Car looks beautiful sir! Wish you and your family lots of happy miles!

Installed the Reverse Parking of Autocop as I felt that Reverse-cam is absolute necessity.


Is the parking camera display mounted on the IRVM or dashboard? Is there a possibility of integrating the rear view camera into the touchscreen unit?

Before you get your heart set on a new Rapid, please check the value of your Fiesta Classic, you may not like the price you're getting for it!

As far as the power goes, you'll love the Rapid TDi+DSG, but again, I STRONGLY recommend you get a price quote for your car first, once you test drive the Rapid, you may not care about the resale value of your existing car!

Also, you may want to look at the current prices for 2-3 year old Rapids, so you can see what kind of depreciation you'll have to deal with, if you change your car.

Personally, I have a Polo TSI, and the DSG has been largely fault free for the 2.5+ years I've had it. I say largely because it is sometimes jerky driving around town, if it cannot anticipate your requests (e.g. if you suddenly start accelerating after braking for a while, it gets a bit confused and shifts jerkily. This is especially apparent if you're braking for a signal, but it turns green as you get to it, so you suddenly start accelerating). This jerkiness seems to be normal for the DQ200, but the good bit is it remains exactly the same, doesn't improve or get worse over time, so you kinda get used to it.

Thanks Ponkermania! But I've already dropped the idea after test driving the DSG Rapid. My latest post on this thread will tell the reason why.
The DQ200 works best with the TSI. I've not seen any other car as sprightly as that. Not the Vento, not the Rapid.
Had it not been for the intended use, I would have preferred getting the TSI instead of the i10 auto I got recently :)

About the resale value of my Fiesta, I really do not care as it wasn't my first car and nor is it my last. I got the best then my budget could allow, practical and fuel efficient but FTD at the same time.

Sorry to hear you didn't like it, and that you can't get the Polo/Vento TSI DSG. You would have really enjoyed it, but perhaps next time!

I wish more people had your attitude towards resale during car purchase decisions, we'd have so many more interesting and fun cars on the road, and not the bland and boring white or silver boxes all over the place.

Congrats on the new buy. A few quick questions:

1. Was it a replacement for your Fabia? If you don't mind sharing, how much did it fetch?
2. Having been used to a Skoda already, was it a tough (or easy) decision to do it again?!

Cheers.

Thank you Sir :)

It is mounted over the original IRVM. Camera feed cannot be send to the Head unit :Frustrati

1. It was replacement for my 2015 City CVT. Fabia was sold back in early 2015 and fetched half the price after 6.5 years.
2. Requires a bit of emotional angle to express that it was an easy decision to go back to Skoda. Following points are strictly personal feelings:

• 6.5 years of Fabia usage was pure fun and involvement with Fabia. Personally for me, it gave me even more smile from heart than what BMW/ Merc gave each time I drove my Fabia (thanks to the superb hydraulic steering)
• Over the period of ownership of Fabia, it never gave any troubles. Skoda as a car is superb..but I feel it was let down by the A-S-S. But thankfully, I never had any issues with the dealer here.
• Had to shift to CVT in 2015 since my left-leg had developed some issues and was advised to avoided Manual Transmissions.
• With Fabia, I had to visit the dealer only once a year for the service. But, City had to be taken every 6 months and felt it was unnecessary.
  For me, driving is a sort of relaxation where just me and my car was involved, along with music.Following niggles in City had created a sense of distraction on my driving experience
• Issue with the Hood coming loose (it got loose after few minutes of drive on the day I took delivery and had to be taken back then itself). Same issue came up after 2 months and the mechanism was replaced)
• Constant rattlings started after few weeks from the Windows and dash-board and had to be taken to dealer many times to fix them, but only to resurface again.
• The tuning of the horn was constant headache with the horn going 'pffffttttttttttttt' every few days and had to be taken again & again to re-tune
• The rubber beeding on top of the front glass came off and had to be manually fixed every now and then
• The paint quality of City left so much to be desired. I'm very particular about keeping my vehicles shining even in monsoon time. My Fabia/ Ecosport never developed any scratches or 'wash circles' in all these years. But, City's surface was wearing off drastically even after protective treatments.
• City was a great car in many respects, but for me, I missed that 'involvement' I had with Skoda.Though the New Rapid can't be compared to Fabia in terms of precision or feedback, it is leagues ahead of the City. With City, I badly missed that solid feel of Skoda during my highway trips.
• It was decided to replace City long back itself with Octavia (Initially, the plan was to replace Fabia with new Octavia. But the waiting period quoted then by dealer was 6+ months and since my leg was troubling me so much then, I couldn't afford to wait that long and that went in favor of buying City). But, then, some other urgent commitments came up this time and had to divert some resource for that, making me wait for the refreshed Rapid. So the wait for Octavia continues..
• I may miss out the 'Premium' badge City offered, but, for me, there are certain other things that are more 'premium' and made my decision easy. Thankfully, better-half too didn't object when she was told about getting back Skoda again as she also had an emotional connection to Skoda:D
  
  Ultimately, one loves to go back to things that give a smile from heart