[prateekchanana]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

If the Polo, Vento and Rapid are indeed going out of production, that would mean Skoda and VW will need an aggressive pricing strategy straddling a wide price band for the Slavia and it's VW twin. Today the group is able to operate in the 5.5-11 lakh ex-showroom price bracket only due to the Polo, Vento and Rapid. Although they will want to exit the lower end of the band, they cannot afford to leave the 7.5-10.5 lakh band without a major drop in volumes that make market share goals all but unachievable.

Skoda will have to look at a base Slavia 'Active' variant around the same price as the Rapid Rider, i.e., 7.99 lakhs. And an Ambition variant around 9 lakhs and an Ambition AT at 9.99 lakhs. These could be relatively barebones variants that promise good underlying engineering, safety and driving pleasure without all the bells and whistles. There are good volumes to be had with this positioning. Not launching these with some good promotion and volume push will lead to a massive drop in market share beyond the initial launch period in the market and guarantee that Skoda/VW become fringe players in the Indian market by 2025.

If we look at it that ways, to get pure numbers it makes sense for Skoda do this, BUT highly doubt they’ll do a 7.99 lacs price on a brand new car if on a completely new platform. Rapid was at its last leg when they did that, and I think it was done only to help the dealers survive till the MQB A0 IN cars stared coming in. 7.99 lacs price as many mentioned was more of a publicity stunt. If they could do below 10 lacs and just wanted pure numbers, they could've even done it with the Kushaq & Taigun but don't think that's what they are aiming at.

And as they are saying in all interviews that there is a gap between between Kushaq & Octavia to fill, expecting the car to cost ~2.5 lacs lesser than Kushaq is very unrealistic, infact expecting it to be priced anything below 10 lacs will only lead to disappointments at price launch. The nearest competition they have with these kinds of dimensions in the segment is the new Honda City which starts at close to 11.2 lacs. Even the 1.0 tsi can compete with the 1.5 NA Honda city in terms of power. The car will probably have similar or better safety and build quality, and should even match it in terms of space. I think it is more realistic to expect it to be priced closer to the new city give or take 25k-50k.

Moreover, after the launch of Kushaq, so many people complained about the cheap roofliners and cost cutting and many even said they could have happily paid 50k more for the expected Skoda quality above these prices. If they take this feedback into consideration in Slavia, it'll probably cost more than the Kushaq in all variants.

[venbas]

I had a Test drive of the Rapid way back in 2014. The European styling, Build quality and the way the car handled was just fabulous. Only disappointment was the seating capacity restricted to 4 adults thanks to the big hump down the middle. In fact the drive was so good that I kept coming back after each of the competition disappointed - City in 2014 felt cheap except for the engine, Ford Classic was good but again felt cheap and the diesel Fiesta was way too costly as was the Vento. Was not inclined towards Maruti due to build quality concerns.

The only reason that put me off the Skoda was the iffy A.S.S experience stories. Finally held off my decision to upgrade my car for 4 more year's. However even the revamped 2018 City(that I have now) felt like a compromise to the rapid and the pure pleasure it gave.

[Old_Salt]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

You have spent perhaps a good amount of time zeroing down to which vehicle to buy, perhaps may as well go ahead with it.

From Eon to Polo is an upgrade but it is an old looking vehicle to keep for 10 years if looks are important to your better half.

Thank you for the feedback. You absolutely nailed it. We did spend a considerable amount of time and test drove other cars before finalising the Polo.
Looks are not that big a criteria, something we can live with.

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

If I were you, I will proceed with it only if there are serious discounts. Nothing against Polo and Rapid. They are good cars. But this is a good chance to negotiate. And your current plan may be to keep it for 10 years. But you don't know what future has in store. In the event that you need to sell it with in 3 years, your resale will be lower than any other 10L hatchback you can purchase now. You should factor that in the buying price now.

I will try but doubt they will have any discounts on offer. The Exit strategy seems to be spot on with the withdrawal of premium colours and the introduction of Matt Polo.
Not very much concerned about the resale price as all our vehicles have been a long term hold, but I do agree for people who do change it every few years it does play a part.

Originally Posted by sunikkat

You should definitely go ahead with that. It’s still the most competent hatchback in the market now. And even if Polo is replacing this with a new Gen model it will definitely be expensive, can be even more than current i20.
Once you are out of warranty the mod options for Polo are unlimited and it will keep your 10 years ownership exciting
Also good thing is 1 TSI is a fairly new engine for Polo and don’t think they will change it for next few years, so you really have the latest engine too.

Agree, the engine is fairly new, and the build quality is what is keeping us stick with the booking. Comparisons were made with i20, Altroz(No Auto), and some others but Polo wins hands down.

As I had mentioned it on another thread, most latest cars on new platforms struggle to beat the benchmark set by Polo, as one can see on most YouTube comparisons of hatchbacks.

[thehacker]

I had 2017 Rapid Style Plus 1.6 MPI in Silky Blue colour. I loved the car and have very fond memories of it. I loved its comfort, its ride and handling, its look et al. Unfortunately I had to sell it as I was moving out.

Unlike the popular belief, maintenance was not too high as well. I was planning to re-buy the new 1.0 TSi Rapid but had to drop the plan due to the uncertain reliability of this new engine.

[EngineFirst528]

Originally Posted by MegaWhat

Looking at other threads on the forum, I have a feeling the Polo is going to go the same way as well. Time shall tell.

Rapid is making way for Slavia so it makes sense to discontinue it. But there's no news of any Polo's replacement. So I'm guessing Volkswagen wouldn't discontinue something just because it's aged beyond a limit.

[PrasannaDhana]

BHPians expecting Slavia to be priced from 7.99 lacs ex showroom for base variant, it is never going to happen.

They will pit the larger, more feature rich, modern Slavia in the range of Kushaq, if not higher.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

BHPians expecting Slavia to be priced from 7.99 lacs ex showroom for base variant, it is never going to happen.

They will pit the larger, more feature rich, modern Slavia in the range of Kushaq, if not higher.

Absolutely! 7.99 is totally unrealistic and never going to happen. Even for the Rapid - it was just a publicity stunt and the Rider and Rider Plus variants were not only hard to get, but also discontinued too soon.

I'll bet on 9.99L, 50k below the Kushaq.

The main rival - 5th generation Honda City is priced starting from 11.16 lakhs, but that variant is truly a mid-spec variant in terms of features. Judging by the barebones base variant of the Kushaq, Skoda would be better off slotting the mid-variant of the Slavia against the City V.

This also works with Zac's statements of Slavia being a more premium car than the Rapid.

[Krishnan83]

I had upgraded from my VW Polo of 6 years to a 1.5 TDI DSG Rapid in 2019 as I wanted to keep that gem of a Diesel engine + DSG Combo. But thanks to Covid, have driven only about 12k kms in last two years! With no plans to sell this anytime soon, would it make sense to buy that extended warranty on offer (5th and 6th year) at 35k? Has anyone bought the extended warranty -- what's covered and what's not? I already bought the 4 year maintenance package and the two services I completed have been hassle free (No ASS headaches)

[Satish Pari]

My first and current ride is a 2017 Model 1.6 Petrol Rapid. Frankly I cannot think of a replacement for this. Got to drive the Rapid for the first time, when my cousin bought a second-hand Rapid and immediately fell in love with it. During shopping for my first car, tried out the City and Ciaz. Personally both of them did not come close to the driving pleasure offered by the Rapid.

Just entered the 5th year about 2 months back. Most of the 55000 kms done so far have been on highways. Felt super confident with the Rapid on all my trips. Last January did a trip to Coimbatore and from there did a drive up the Dhimbam Ghats and back (27 hairpin bends) with 7 passengers (5 adults & 2 kids). She handled the curves effortlessly.

Happy that the Slavia is being launched soon. Planning an upgrade after 2 years. And my next upgrade will surely be an European beauty.

[Mad Max]

What happens to the Vento? I hope they don't string that along as well and kill the current model and make way for the VW version of the Slavia.

[Doc_nerd]

A thoroughly well made product at the right price point. I have been using mine since the past 5 years bought new, did 110000 kms on it. Still gives a mileage of 22 kms on the highway and 16 kms in the city when driven rationally. Not a squeak to be heard whatever the road be except for the suspension thuds on very bad roads. Never had problems with the DSG ( Fingers crossed, I don't want to jinx it) gearbox until now. Attaching a picture of my MID on a recent highway trip. This car is a keeper for me.

[Doc_nerd]

Originally Posted by Krishnan83

I had upgraded from my VW Polo of 6 years to a 1.5 TDI DSG Rapid in 2019 as I wanted to keep that gem of a Diesel engine + DSG Combo. But thanks to Covid, have driven only about 12k kms in last two years! With no plans to sell this anytime soon, would it make sense to buy that extended warranty on offer (5th and 6th year) at 35k? Has anyone bought the extended warranty -- what's covered and what's not? I already bought the 4 year maintenance package and the two services I completed have been hassle free (No ASS headaches)

It makes good sense to get the extended warranty. Gives you the peace of mind. A DSG failure can be a big dent on the pocket.

[Somz]

I think Vento is also at the end of its lifecycle. Any day VW will pull down its strings and bring Slavia VW version with more powerful engines AT TC.

[dishankbhan]

Really felt that Skoda should have updated the Rapid and kept it in the mid size Sedan segment, placing Slavia over it. It could have been a leader here(with the right feature updates), with Ciaz and Vento being the only competition. The 1L TSI engine with TQ gives excellent performance and no reliability issues.

[bhp_maniac]

Originally Posted by Krishnan83

Has anyone bought the extended warranty -- what's covered and what's not? I already bought the 4 year maintenance package and the two services I completed have been hassle free (No ASS headaches)

I just bought it yesterday for my late 2018 model Rapid DSG MC. The amount paid was 30,975 and I also extended the maintenance package for another 2 years at 18,199. My biggest worry was the ABS sensors and the injectors, changed 3 ABS sensors and 2 injectors under warranty in the past 1.5 years which if not under warranty would've cost me roughly 55k or so . (As per the service advisor these failures were mostly due to the fact that the car was parked for close to 4 months when I was out of town and that too during the monsoons). I am yet to get the documents for the extended warranty. But what was mentioned by the ASS was that everything other than the usual wear and tear items are part of the extended warranty.

Contrary to what's being usually seen on the forum, I had a hassle free service experience up until now. The EVM guys in Kerala has been pretty much professional in their dealings and all the service experiences were pretty good