Team-BHP - Skoda Rapid : Test Drive & Review

As usual,a great review team. Actually din't expect it to be out so fast. Thanks. Now there is a good alternate to the honda city and the vento. If skoda plans it right with the bookings and deliveries it can eat a bigger piece of cake as the Vento and Verna have delivery issues and terrible waiting periods. I personally feel that Skoda's quality is equally good as the Volkswagens. Even if it is a little lesser,again its cheaper,so we can live with it.

Wishing all success to the Rapid!

Thats the review i was looking for. From day one, when i heard for this car being launched i have been waiting to hear the first hand info.

It is for sure looking like a VFM vehicle and the Skoda atlast has a market beater. Hope they improve their service centre quality and we can for sure see more Rapid's on the road.

I will be doing a test drive pretty soon and planning to day dream about owning one. Initial feels though but still i feel it has the punch to go for.

I have been driving the fabia for quite some time and i really like the way it performs. Expecting the same from Rapid as well.

Any idea what would be the features in the mid segment of the vehicle?

What could be the price range for the mid segment deisel one in chennai?

I was eagerly awaiting the launch and review of this car! And what an amazing review it has been. Its these kind of reviews that make or break a persons choice in going in for the car.

About the car itself - Whats the difference between this and Vento? If I were to put VW logos on this and drive around, 8 out of 10 people wouldnt be able to point the difference!
Its a good product at VFM price, no doubt, but so much of similarity? Thats taking things a bit too family way!

Hasnt VW/Skoda received enough negative feedback on those atrocious tyres? Why get the same (Appolo Acleres) on this again? They are plain pathetic!

Fantastic review! Now finally Skoda has started taking some hints from the market and the customers. This car looks like a worthy competitor to the Honda city but is so strikingly similar to Fabia/Vento inside/outside! Thats the only grouse in this car. Otherwise it looks total VFM inside out.

I hope that Skoda now improves its reputation and after sales service; now that they have atleast started to get the pricing/variants correct. Only time will tell, if the car is a hit or miss.

O.T Question: In every Skoda car, in the engine bay, what is the plastic container containing the pink fluid? Is it the brake oil or power steering fluid?

Do not regret my decision of going ahead with the vento. Taking delivery tomorrow. The interiors as well as exteriors of the vento look more upmarket. Dont like the interior color combination on the rapid. Also scared of skoda's a.s.s.

Can someone please post a photo of rapid and vento together?

Excellent review Samurai. Rated 5 stars. Looks like this car is better than Vento.

Note:- Why pricing for the Linea is not included? And also some spec. data on Linea needs to be corrected. The GC for T-Jet is 170. The Kerb Weight for the Diesel variant is 1210 and not 1291.

Quote:

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7 (Post 2580006)

O.T Question: In every Skoda car, in the engine bay, what is the plastic container containing the pink fluid? Is it the brake oil or power steering fluid?

Its the coolant fluid.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Samurai (Post 2579944)

Is the VW service known to be better than Skoda? I am not sure. It is like choosing between known devil and an unknown entity. I would pick the Rapid over Vento, if only the car is considered. Those who have driven both Vento petrol and Rapid petrol say Rapid is the clear winner.

Yes, the VW servicing is yet to be experienced. My friend is almost sure about going in for the Vento. He'll be booking the car this Saturday (with addis marketing, as he's fed up with the VW dealerships).

After reading this, I am sure he will re-think on his decision before booking the car.

Thanks Samurai and team.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simhi (Post 2579919)

Excellent Review. It is nice to see manufacturers providing automatic on multiple variants. One more good thing to note is that ABS is provided across all variants.

Please through some light on how to use tiptronic mode? For normal and sporty mode, we put the lever into D and S. How to operate the tiptronic mode? I use i10 AT and really curious on this.

They have a separate slot apart from the D and S, you move move the lever into the required slot (push to the left i believe in this car) and then move the lever forward and back to shift up or down respectively. Unfortunately not an option on the i10

Commendable job you have done there Vid and Sam! Rated it 5*. Could any of you confirm these:

1. Can I get a Ambition Diesel and get the 15" Antares as an accessory fitted? I feel its much better and bolder than that of Vento's.

2. Howz Skoda service in Kolkata?

Response would be be very much appreciated.

Abhishek

How could Service Levels and Customer orientation be different in Volkswagen and SKODA, when they enjoy the same lineage?

In Europe almost all Taxis are Octavia (Laura Here), when inquired the answer was Reliability and the Solid Built at the right price.

This seems to be one heck of a Sedan. Superb (pun intended) pricing by Skoda :thumbs up

Won't the Rapid now eat into the Vento sales? Even though they are part of the same group, but still?? Or will the Rapid and Vento appeal to different audiences. I think not.

wow..the TDI mid variant is uber vfm, cos it has ABS-IMO more important than airbag for city use- compared to vento which has ABS only on Highline. The rest of the features are not very important for me. Which means a cool saving of around 1.5L