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View Poll Results: Your choice?
Skoda Rapid - Base variant 638 78.96%
Any Compact Sedan - Top variant 170 21.04%
Voters: 808. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 18th June 2020, 11:31   #61
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

If I am serious budget buyer looking for a steal deal, then yes with Rapid Rider variant.

If I am looking for a fun to drive petrol variant which does not make a hole in my pocket, then yes Rapid Rider variant.

If I am concerned about future of diesel vehicles in India, then count me in for Rapid.

If my usage is minimal, and do not drive much then, Rapid Rider is for me.

However, if I am looking for a diesel variant, then I would either go with Amaze or Aspire mid variants. No further discussion here. Until and unless Skoda brings in a Rapid Diesel variant at the killer price maybe 60-80k premium over Petrol Rider variant, then I am in.
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Old 18th June 2020, 11:52   #62
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

Rapid 1.0 TSI for me. But the Aspire 1.5 TDCI is a worthy competitor too.

Doesn't the maintenance cost and peace of mind associated with Ford eclipse the German engineering?
Well a vehicle from a segment above, Build Quality, Snob value make the decision a difficult one?
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Old 18th June 2020, 12:44   #63
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

I don't like the compact sedans at all. I would buy a hatch over a compact sedan in the first place.

But the Rapid rider is a proper sedan at the same price as most premium hatches like BAleno, Elite i20 and even Polo!

Then there is the 1.0L TSI which was an absolute peach to drive in the Polo 1.0L TSI.

The list of features in the Rapid rider is very decent for basic needs and other than seat height adjust I would not miss anything vs hatchbacks. Slap on some nice 16 inch alloys and an android auto head unit and I'm set.

I can't think of 1 reason why anyone would look at a compact sedan vs the Rapid rider. But I can think of a reason why you would look at a hatchback vs Rapid.

There are no decent compact SUV's for the Rapid rider price, however if you go to Ambition level, the Rapid has 2-3 strong competitors. One is the Hyundai Venue with a 1.0L turbo petrol which is equally fun as the Rapid and then sibling Vento and the new City coming up.

The Rapid at 9L is a steal. Infact if I needed a second car as a daily beater to accompany my Kodiaq, I would have got the Rapid eyes closed. Since I have the Corolla and Ecosport which are old but work fine, that temptation hasn't hit me. However the drive in 1.0L TSI polo was super fun.
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Old 18th June 2020, 12:44   #64
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

I voted for no. My reasoning:
1. That power window switch looks like while they were going to provide 2, they switched to 4 at the last moment. This could perhaps be fixable, by a module from higher models. Imagine having kids at the back seat, or someone forgetting to close the rear windows and having to go around just to close them!
2. No proper MID at 9 lakhs OTR is penny pinching at worst. Atleast a DTE should be present
3. Only 2 airbags. Ford siblings have 6 airbags + TCS /HLA/ESP. Nexon has TCS standard. Granted Skoda has better crash rating, but avoiding crash is also important. Altroz at this price has 5 star rating, so has Nexon
4. No feel good features apart from automatic climate control. Anyone spending 9 lacs would want some

Overall the car feels like a compromise except for the big car feel and space inside (Nexon and Altroz are excellent in this too)

What would seal the deal would be a model above Rider (Rider+?) with MID, proper power window controls, Front & Rear Arm rest at 50/70 k higher price. Better ICE, Alloys and Fog lamps can be added later. Perhaps Skoda should revise prices of all Rapid models too

As of current scene, I would rather go for either Freestyle T+/Figo T+ petrol or Altroz XM R+ D/ Nexon XM (and add a good ICE setup + alloys)
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Old 18th June 2020, 12:52   #65
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

I would prefer the Rapid anyday. Never really liked the wannabe Sedans. As far as the brand Skoda is concerned, I 've owned 3 Skoda cars - Right from the Laura 1.8 TSI, Rapid 1.6 MPI to my present Skoda Octavia Diesel L & K. I have never really had any issues with the reliability of Skoda cars. The maint. bills?? - 10-12k a year for service of each car. I don't see it to be very high. Even my Suzuki S-cross diesel service bill is approx 10-11k in a year. And that's a Maruti. I used my Rapid for 80k kms. The only extra expense on the vehicle apart from routine service and tyres was 12k for fitting 2 front shock absorbers ( that too only 1 had leaked after hitting a big big bump but generally a pair is replaced instead of a single piece).

Most important part of owning a Skoda - Bullet proof safety. The door closing Thud sound itself is the most reassuring. Yes, the resale value of this brand is horrible. I had to sell it for a very less price. But if you move past the fact about the resale price there is nothing really to complain about. So, for me Shhhkoda It is.
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Old 18th June 2020, 13:16   #66
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

Voted Yes,

Makes sense it two cases for me.
1. If you are a serious budget buyer and need to drive the car everyday, Rapid will be much better than all those pseudo sedans anyday. It would be more sorted and I'd prefer that over the creature comforts (which can be retrofitted anyway)
2. When you already have a luxury barge at home and need a beater car which won't look out of place with a Merc or BMW. This would make perfect sense for the city trips with occasional highway trips when your primary car is unavailable.

But pit this against Nexon , Venue or Ecosport , it will be a different and difficult choice!
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Old 18th June 2020, 13:21   #67
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

Voted for Rapid. You can always retrofit accessories (although I prefer accessories as a factory fit) but you cannot retrofit the sturdy build quality and dynamics. More power and torque, an understated and timeless design, bigger boot space et al makes it a compelling case. I've owned a Vento for 7 years now, haven't faced much issues on the reliability front. And Skoda after sales seems to be improving over the years, and expect the same to continue as well especially given that Skoda has taken over the reins of the VW Group in India.
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Old 18th June 2020, 13:56   #68
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

Voted Yes.

If this is anything like my Vento, you'll be grinning as you drive down the highway. Yes, mine is a 1.6 TDi but it's not just the engine that makes you feel good. It's the heft of the car, the lasting interiors and the timeless design. I am sucker for solid vehicles and VW as a whole have pretty good engineering. Since this is not a DQ200 auto, I wouldn't worry so much about failures. The engine is new, the transmission is manual and it's a proper four door sedan. At this price, it's hard to beat. As mentioned by others above, necessities can be added from your local shop (audio systems, alloys, reverse camera etc..) to make it more livable.
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Old 18th June 2020, 14:36   #69
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

Voted for the Skoda Rapid's base 1.0 TSI variant. I am very tired and angry with the (mostly) unsafe, outdated yet horribly expensive sub-4-metre abominations masquerading as "compact sedans" and hatchbacks. With the Rapid, barring the worry about servicing workshops (going by the horror stories on the forum) and the outdated platform, at least I'll get a decently safe car with good all-round practicality and expected driving pleasure, if I were in the market today.
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Old 18th June 2020, 14:40   #70
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

Quote:
Originally Posted by Grease_Monkey View Post
Overall the car feels like a compromise except for the big car feel and space inside (Nexon and Altroz are excellent in this too)

As of current scene, I would rather go for either Freestyle T+/Figo T+ petrol or Altroz XM R+ D/ Nexon XM (and add a good ICE setup + alloys)
All your points on MID, power windows and feel good features are valid however it is pointless comparing to the Freestyle and Altroz.

The Altroz has feel good but what good is all that feel good features when the car is nowhere as good to drive. The car should be about drive, performance and not feel good features. If it was feel good features, then Hyundai i10 nios and i20 have all features.

The Freestyle is decent choice but the interior feel is 2 levels below the Skoda. It has the features and 6 airbags but feels nowhere as solid as the Rapid.

Thirdly the Ford 1.2L dragon 3 cylinder can't even come close to the drive feel of the Rapid and performance. Even the 1.5L Dragon in the Ecosport is far off.

The Rapid makes sense for someone who appreciates performance, drive quality and proper sized sedan for 9L not for those after features.

Actually this is the whole point of this thread. Would you take a Rapid sedan with a brilliant engine and drive or sacrifice performance and drive quality for features in a smaller car with gizmos.
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Old 18th June 2020, 14:48   #71
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

Voted Yes.

I never liked compact sedans, but that is not the sole reason why I'd pick up the Rapid over them.

The Rapid is a full fledged and much good looking sedan and is fantastic to drive. The Rider variant has all the basic necessities covered. One can drive it out of the showroom and enjoy without needing a single accessory addition.

Last edited by safari_lover : 18th June 2020 at 14:52.
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Old 18th June 2020, 14:50   #72
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

Just sharing few concerns:
a) is the base model just a lure to get potential buyers to the showroom and then try to upsell higher variants.
b) will this be the new taxi favourite? That might kill the single owner aspirations.
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Old 18th June 2020, 15:02   #73
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

Skoda rapid rider variant in carbon steel color is perfect. I would add nice art leather seat cover, hand stitched leather steering wheel cover, and fog lamps. We can still keep OTR price under 9 L with these accessories.

You can also add stock ambition alloy wheels later stage.

Last edited by Latheesh : 18th June 2020 at 15:21. Reason: Typo
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Old 18th June 2020, 15:02   #74
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

Quote:
Originally Posted by amitayu View Post
Just sharing few concerns:
a) is the base model just a lure to get potential buyers to the showroom and then try to upsell higher variants.
b) will this be the new taxi favourite? That might kill the single owner aspirations.
I'd be disappointed if they didn't upsell. That's how products get sold and if these guys are pushing the base variant, regardless of it being value for money, I'll suspect their intentions.

Taxi favorite? Not sure - while VW group has a wide network, taxi operators flock towards the big 2 just because of their reach in any area and also the "perception" of lower costs.
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Old 18th June 2020, 15:12   #75
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Re: Would you buy the Skoda Rapid 1.0 (base trim) over similarly-priced Compact Sedans (higher trims

I would absolutely buy it if I was on a strict budget and this would be the only car in the house.

I would be quite confused if this would be the 2nd (or 3rd) car in the house, as that car is supposed to be for city usage and to be treated like a beater, not completely sure if this fits the bill.

I just went through the feature list of the base variant, it seems to have all essentials that a buyer like me would want, but none of the comfort features. This sounds like the perfect replacement to my 2008 Maruti Dzire, which is the beater car of the house. I was strongly considering Amaze previously, but this has changed the scales!

However, while this car seems perfect and decently equipped for today, is it wise for the long run?
Features which were revolutionary and new 10 years back are basic now, and this only has the basics, will it lead to buyer's remorse for people planning to keep their cars for a longer period?

Last edited by bansal.sushant : 18th June 2020 at 15:12. Reason: Corrected typo
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