[volkman10]

"Moments ago Skoda Auto communicated that its ‘luxury saloon’Skoda Rapid breaks cover on the 16th of November in New Delhi. In a press release issued last month, Skoda stated the following details -

• The Rapid slots between the Fabia and Laura .
• It measures 4.39 meters long, 1.70 meters wide, 1.47 meters tall
• It is powered by a 1.6 liter petrol engine producing 77 kW and a 1.6-liter turbo diesel with common rail technology generating 77 kW.
• Both engines will be married to an Automatic transmission"

Indian Autos Blog | Indian Automobile Blog | Auto News India | Car News India

[MAS]

Originally Posted by volkman10

"Moments ago Skoda Auto communicated that its ‘luxury saloon’Skoda Rapid breaks cover on the 16th of November in New Delhi. In a press release issued last month, Skoda stated the following details -

• The Rapid slots between the Fabia and Laura .
• It measures 4.39 meters long, 1.70 meters wide, 1.47 meters tall
• It is powered by a 1.6 liter petrol engine producing 77 kW and a 1.6-liter turbo diesel with common rail technology generating 77 kW.
• Both engines will be married to an Automatic transmission"

A Vento wearing Skoda clothes. But, the large front vertical grill make it look bigger and better than the Vento. Good that AT is being available in both the versions. The press release sounds as though there will not be a MT.

[karizma_devil]

Put a vento & Fabia in a blender and you get a Rapid.

But all said and done the car looks pretty descent in the pics.
The key to its success will be PRICING. Has to be 15-20 % cheaper than vento.

Skoda have to pull up their service network also. I would have bought the Fabia , but only for the famed A.s.s. I ended up with the Figo.

[motorworks]

@karizma devil
I dont think that there is any possibility that the rapid will be 15 to 20% cheaper than the vento. That would mean a difference of 80k to 1 lakh! The difference may be very marginal just about 15-30k or you may see same pricing, but may be more features in the skoda.

[Y@SH]

Having both transmissions in AT and specially the one in Diesel is a key factor. Right now only the Verna has a diesel in AT, and i feel that is overpriced with a very un-inspiring gearbox.

[bala80]

I dont think so that news of both variants coming with the AT box is true. Information till this while indicated only the petrol variant to come with an AT box and not the diesel variant (similar to Vento).

If it is indeed true that both variants are coming with AT, then its a smart move. We dont have much options for diesel AT sedans < 10 lakhs.

[.anshuman]

I really doubt if Rapid with be offered with a Diesel Automatic variant. Both the Petrol and Diesel engines have huge difference in Torque output, so using the same automatic transmission from Vento Petrol may not be feasible for Rapid Diesel. The Automatic in their reach is the DSG, which will jack up the cost too much.

BTW, the AT from Vento Petrol is actually a good gearbox for a traditional Torque converter type, not only it has 2 more gears compared to Verna but also it saps lesser power.

[man_and_machine]

Any diesel AT will cannibalize the Vento TDI for sure. Rather than eating into the Verna market it will eat into its sister's market. But, if done will be very clever, as < 10L the Verna is the only (bad) AT with a D badge. Skoda's AT boxes are good, well known in the market (from the higher segments). The trick will be to see the FE with an AT box even for the D badge. Any D mill is bought with FE as a deal breaker, AT will need to manage that well. With 102 Bhp o/p and an AT box it might even draw some Laura (MT) prospects.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Both the Petrol and Diesel engines have huge difference in Torque output, so using the same automatic transmission from Vento Petrol may not be feasible for Rapid Diesel.

BTW, the AT from Vento Petrol is actually a good gearbox for a traditional Torque converter type, not only it has 2 more gears compared to Verna but also it saps lesser power.

The Octavia was offered with an AT in the past, so they surely have traditional torque convertor type AT's designed for diesel engines. No need to reuse the ones designed for petrol engines. Even the previous generation Superb (V6 as well as TDi) came with AT and it was not DSG.

The Vento AT is 6-speed but there is thread that documents a very funny problem with that box - apparantly the user braked hard from the speeds of 120kmph and the AT box lost it's sanity! Of course there are quite a few unknowns in that story...

If they offer DSG on Rapid, it will be the most economically priced DSG car in India and will go a long way to drive those stone age AT cars from Hyundai and Maruti to extinction.

[Swanand Inamdar]

If Skoda does actually end up offerring the Diesel variant with an AT, man, Vento AT owners are going to be a pissed lot!

Having said that, I doubt Skoda would actually launch the Diesel AT. Like Anshuman said, they would need to get the DSG for that, which would end up increasing the prices.

[amitg79]

Autocar's just driven the Rapid:
Skoda Rapid review, test drive - Review - Autocar India

They say they found the engine a tad smoother than the Vento and the suspension a bit stiffer (Less pitching about, they say).

[man_and_machine]

Originally Posted by amitg79

Autocar's just driven the Rapid:
Skoda Rapid review, test drive - Review - Autocar India

They say they found the engine a tad smoother than the Vento and the suspension a bit stiffer (Less pitching about, they say).

Holy cow! I can clearly see the Auto gear shift lever (looks very plastic, but its there!). Now the wait starts for GTO and team to give us a "professional" review

[iliketurtles]

Holy smokes...if they say that the only car they've driven is the diesel and the photo clearly shows he top of an Auto gear shift...

Looks like the word on that Diesel At just might be true. This one will fly of the shelf if that happens, Skoda *** concerns be damned!

[volkman10]

"The the car is based largely on the underpinnings of Volkswagen Vento and will be powered with the same powerplants: 1.6 Petrol and a 1.6 Diesel. We expect them to be in a somewhat different state of tune. The Rapid will get automatic transmission in both the engine options."

Another report on Rapid indicating AT on both versions!.

Skoda Rapid to be launched on 16th !!

[amitg79]

Originally Posted by man_and_machine

Holy cow! I can clearly see the Auto gear shift lever (looks very plastic, but its there!).

Wow! That's some attention to detail. I did not notice that. A diesel with that fine auto box would be awesome.