[Pancham]

Update from the Skoda dealer here in Kolkata:

1. Rider prices will go up soon. Again this could be his ploy to make the booking right away. Final OTR is around INR 8.4L. No discounts.

2. Ambition variant has a discount of 50K which is quite low compared to Noida and Bangalore it seems.

3. The 9999 maintenance pack offer is not applicable on the Rider.

[Tgo]

Originally Posted by tejascshetty

Always eager to hear what others have to say!

Nice Justification for a VFM proposition, however you must hold on to this car for a long time. It is only the higher variants which command good resale value.

Some nicer wheel options for you while keeping it within the family Link 1, Link 2

[aniketi]

I think Skoda should bring one more variant above Rider. It can have Steering mounted controls, Touch screen audio system, Alloys & few small things may be. They can price it around 8.2 L Ex Showroom, so mostly it will be below 10 Lacs on road in most parts of India. That will definitely attract more customers. Hope Skoda is listening.

[Pancham]

Originally Posted by aniketi

I think Skoda should bring one more variant above Rider. It can have Steering mounted controls, Touch screen audio system, Alloys & few small things may be. They can price it around 8.2 L Ex Showroom, so mostly it will be below 10 Lacs on road in most parts of India. That will definitely attract more customers. Hope Skoda is listening.

That will not happen if they increase the price of the Rapid variant.

I am not sure how long the dealers/Skoda will play the 'introductory price' card. Hopefully, they understand that under the current scenario the buyer is the king and not the other way round. If they increase the price of the Rider variant, the 10 year old car will NOT sell. Period.

[ram.iyer95]

AutoTrend TV has uploaded a walkthrough of the Android-based system found in the Style and Monte-Carlo Editions.
Point to note is, as per the guy in the video, this system is fitted at the dealer level and not factory-fitted. Skoda ships the Style and Monte-Carlo variants with the older-gen (RCD?) touch-screen system and also supplies this Android HU to the dealer separately. The dealer then performs the Head-Unit swap.

https://youtu.be/1pJTk9EZLR8

[sanyog26]

Originally Posted by Pancham

That will not happen if they increase the price of the Rapid variant.

I am not sure how long the dealers/Skoda will play the 'introductory price' card. Hopefully, they understand that under the current scenario the buyer is the king and not the other way round. If they increase the price of the Rider variant, the 10 year old car will NOT sell. Period.

During my Rider's PDI at Skoda Noida today, the sales advisor told us that Skoda has unofficially stopped accepting bookings for Rider variant from today and no more Riders shall be delivered. This means the introductory prices shall be a thing of the past soon and expect a significant price increase soon. The sales advisor tells us we are very lucky that our car was included in their last lot of Riders being despatched to dealers pan-India.

[TokyoDrifter]

Originally Posted by sanyog26

This means the introductory prices shall be a thing of the past soon and expect a significant price increase soon.

Zac Hollis takes customer feedback seriously. I foresee a Rider+ variant with a few more features added in, at an extra cost - prolly that is the only reason they will discontinue Rider version. Interesting price elasticity tactic, if that indeed is the case. Might work in Skoda’s favour. Will lure more into Rider+ and even higher trims.

[carriage.retorq]

Anyone who’s driven both this and Nexon petrol, how does the revotron 1.2 compare in terms of performance?

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by carriage.retorq

Anyone who’s driven both this and Nexon petrol, how does the revotron 1.2 compare in terms of performance?

Forget performance, the rapid will own the Nexon when it comes to handling, hands down.

Moreover aerodynamics will aid the rapid bigtime. In all counts, rapid is a faster car. (Both 1.0 tsi and 1.5 TDI vs 1.2 and 1.5 of Nexon respectively)

[sanyog26]

Originally Posted by carriage.retorq

Anyone who’s driven both this and Nexon petrol, how does the revotron 1.2 compare in terms of performance?

There's just no comparison between Nexon 1.2 turbo petrol and VAG's 1.0 TSI. I have driven a colleague's Nexon petrol extensively and observed that the turbo-kick is almost non-existent. The engine lacks punch and is too lethargic considering it's size.

On the contrary, during the test-drive of Rapid 1.0 TSI, I was blown away by its performance. After 2000rpm when the turbo kicks in, there's that clean pulling power that Nexon can't match.. Rapid wins the race hands-down if you compare it with Nexon petrol.

Although it's not a fair comparison since Nexon is a CSUV and obviously it's not built to be as aerodynamic as a sedan like Rapid.

[turbo_delight]

Originally Posted by TokyoDrifter

Zac Hollis takes customer feedback seriously. I foresee a Rider+ variant with a few more features added in, at an extra cost - prolly that is the only reason they will discontinue Rider version. Interesting price elasticity tactic, if that indeed is the case. Might work in Skoda’s favour. Will lure more into Rider+ and even higher trims.

Only reason why we are discussing rapid base variant, is the price.

What goes in Rider favour is the price and the engine. Most of us indians do care about the price, but only enthusiast think about the performance. In a city like Bangalore, where will you get to enjoy the performance. Even during corona times, I have heard bumper to bumper traffic in some areas.

From a buyer perspective, if I was in market for a new purchase, and if the price difference is only 1 - 1.5 lakh between rider and creta, I'll book creta anyday. Good service availability, much better future, new car, better resale value, better brand value etc etc. I'll get base diesel for ex-showroom of 9.99 lakhs.

So, increasing the rapid price, don't think that will be good decision.

[thehacker]

As per the reports,

• Rapid Rider edition has gone out of stock and bookings will not be accepted till the end of this year
• Ex-showroom price of the Rider edition has been increased from 7.49L to 8.25L

Why can't they keep selling it at the existing price if it is selling like a hot cake? It was not a stock clearance sale, it is a new model with new engine.

[JojyKerala]

Rider's launch has done a world of good for Skoda and they should continue to capitalize on it. They should make an announcement saying that Rider booking will be available again at the same price from a particular date. Simply increasing the price won't do.

In addition, Skoda should release a "Rider+" with some missing features, 2 extra colors and competitive pricing. This will take care of Rapid's sales till the facelift is launched next year.

Both the Rider and Rider+ (or whatever this variant is called) should sell together.

[S2!!!]

Originally Posted by thehacker

As per the reports,

• Rapid Rider edition has gone out of stock and bookings will not be accepted till the end of this year
• Ex-showroom price of the Rider edition has been increased from 7.49L to 8.25L

Why can't they keep selling it at the existing price if it is selling like a hot cake? It was not a stock clearance sale, it is a new model with new engine.

Which report are you referring to? Do you have the updated pricing of the Rider? The website still lists the price as Rs 7.49 lakh.

What you're saying is bound to happen, considering the aggressive sticker price was to only generate interest in this Skoda, as the Rider isn't a very profitable variant for the company.

Originally Posted by ram.iyer95

Point to note is, as per the guy in the video, this system is fitted at the dealer level and not factory-fitted. Skoda ships the Style and Monte-Carlo variants with the older-gen (RCD?) touch-screen system and also supplies this Android HU to the dealer separately. The dealer then performs the Head-Unit swap.

That's the dumbest thing I've heard. So let me get this straight, Skoda pays X amount to add the 8-inch system, and dealer removes that and puts in the new system which costs Y, and takes away the old system? Please don't believe such non-sense. The fact is, this heavily loaded system offers a lot of 'feel-good' apps, so Skoda has included this over the older system which possibly was available to Skoda from their supplier at a similar or maybe even a higher price (because it has licensed connectivity like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay).

[shankha007]

The friend of mine who got the Rider, received the following text from the Skoda dealer in Kolkata, confirming the upcoming Rider Plus at Rs 8.25 lakhs ex-showroom.

Interestingly, the VW dealer confirmed today that the Vento Comfortline Plus is available at a stunning price of Rs 8.39 lakhs ex-showroom!

Once the features list of the Rider Plus variant is revealed, one can take an informed decision.