[zulfi hansi]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Only after driving it we realised that there is much more than a change of clothes.

When I told him about the Rapid, he said anything but Skoda. The service is very bad.

Not only change of clothes, even the underwear is different I mean the suspension contributing to better ride and handling and so many other things which make this a much better car.

what he needs is a healthy dose of Toyota, Corolla would be perfect.

[tejus.s]

Originally Posted by prabhuferrari

OT. But this is first time am hearing that someone sold a car since the VW service was not upto the mark. Can you give more details on this and also the service centre?

Hi Prabhu, my friend's dad went through this ordeal. I believe it was VW palace cross in Bangalore. They were troubled ever since the booking.

They were not co-operative since then but somehow he persisted since he liked the product. But I was the A.S.S that was the deal breaker. Now he's more than happy with his old Lancer!

[noopster]

Fantastic review! This car, I must confess, looks quite awesome and am wondering how VW figured it would not cannibalise sales of its Vento cousin.

The AT review is absolutely spot-on. I found myself nodding in delight agreeing with everything posted by Samurai. Since they share the engine and the 6 speed gearbox, my Vento AT behaves exactly the same. It can be frustrating for a beginner (I had addressed questions to Rehaan and Dippy about this early on in my own ownership experience) but once you get used to it, you learn how to extract the maximum from that setup.

In a way, VW has done a smart thing here. Rapid will likely garner a healthy dose of petrol sales especially in the Ambition AT variant. Vento TDI will continue to be the king of the segment. And most aam junta, who don't know their gulteus from their humerus, will happily evaluate the one against the other and end up buying the "better" car, while VW AG laughs all the way to the bank.

[hyper-VTEC]

Great Review. 5 *****

I was looking at purchasing VW Vento TDi sometime in Q1 2012, but now i feel the time to make comparo's have come again.

I know Skoda service is a problem, but i feel similar instances happen with all manufacturers. I even read somwhere that somebody returned/sold his VW because of bad service (after sales). So Skoda can be given a chance.

Now waiting to read the first Rapid in tbhp thread...

[thesilentone]

Awesome review. Today's paper had an ad of Vento diesel saying immediate delivery. In such a case, since the Rapid is a similar vehicle coming at a lower price point, I feel that the Vento is doomed. The average buyer may not differentiate between VW or Skoda since Skoda itself is a premium brand in India. Also since both donot have the a.s.s. of the Japanese manufacturers, a.s.s. may not be a differentiating factor.

[aravind.anand]

By sheer VFM characteristics, Skoda has a winner here. If I were in the market for a C segment diesel, I would buy it, if Skoda's A.S.S. was good, but now I would consider this one seriously. But very good pricing by Skoda here. Just shows the customers how much VW has over priced its sedan. More importantly, the missing mid variant of the Vento (Comfortline) is now glaringly visible. Brownie points for that mid variant and its pricing.

Just think about this point now- You could get the mid variant of the Skoda Rapid for about the same money that would get you the basic (read poorly equipped) VW Vento. And the presence of ABS in the Rapid's mid variant is a huge draw according to me!

[bala80]

Just learnt from my local skoda dealer that these "antares" alloys cost a whopping 18k per piece (same as for the VW vento). Dont know if these are borbet though.

Originally Posted by Th!ru

Thanks for your word of caution. i will check with skoda about the 'antares' alloys first, if it is too pricey then will check with them about after market alloys.

[Vivekphadnis]

Originally Posted by Jayant..B

Did you get any discounts from Ford? Which varient did you buy?

Free insurance and mats, mud flaps. 1 gm gold coin, spoiler and illuminated gear knob. all part of diwali package

I bought the Petrol Style

[Th!ru]

Originally Posted by bala80

Just learnt from my local skoda dealer that these "antares" alloys cost a whopping 18k per piece (same as for the VW vento). Dont know if these are borbet though.

Oops! For the price of a set of those, i can easily get decent alloys and pretty good ICE setup.

Thanks for the update. Do they price it so much to deter customers from going in modification of the lower variants, and make it look similar to top end variants. I think i got a higher price quote( dont remember exactly, but in 20-25k range per piece) for the verna alloys as well when i checked during the launch.

[shankar.balan]

very nice detailed review and the pics I must say do justice to this extremely goodlooking car. the photography is worthy of a brochure! well done boys!!

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by bala80

Just learnt from my local skoda dealer that these "antares" alloys cost a whopping 18k per piece (same as for the VW vento). Dont know if these are borbet though.

That is very high considering Laura L&K's 16" Alloys costed me Rs. 12,728/- per pc (as per the dealer spares price list) in May this year.

[bala80]

This is ridiculous indeed. VW charges 18k for the vento alloys and the justification is they are imported directly from germany and made by borbet. I thought skoda will price theirs reasonably but looks like they are also following VW's footsteps.

Its a mystery to me why this has not been localized yet, considering there are many alloy manufacturers around pune.

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

That is very high considering Laura L&K's 16" Alloys costed me Rs. 12,728/- per pc (as per the dealer spares price list) in May this year.

[souravc]

Originally Posted by noopster

In a way, VW has done a smart thing here. Rapid will likely garner a healthy dose of petrol sales especially in the Ambition AT variant. Vento TDI will continue to be the king of the segment. And most aam junta, who don't know their gulteus from their humerus, will happily evaluate the one against the other and end up buying the "better" car, while VW AG laughs all the way to the bank.

I asked 3 colleagues of mine , the usual professionals who are likely to buy this segment of car and all of them said that 60K-70K differential is not sufficient for them to switch to a Skoda from a VW , it was a bit of an eye opener . This might be quite true for those who understand and look specifically at European cars and are aware of the badge equations.

While the Rapid review convinces me that its a fantastic offering , I believe that it will hit sales of cars such as the SX4 ( a much more modern and powerful engine and better build at a slight premium) and City ( diesel alternative at similar price band ) - as you rightly pointed out VW group is to gain

[shankar.balan]

completely with you on this.
the rapid will shake up the japanese, korean and the american toys a bit
i think the rapid is actually better value than the new verna and fiesta, neither of which are really flying off the shelves.
whatever it is, the Indian consumer is certainly benefiting hugely, for which fact I am very happy indeed.

Originally Posted by souravc

I believe that it will hit sales of cars such as the SX4 ( a much more modern and powerful engine and better build at a slight premium) and City ( diesel alternative at similar price band ) - as you rightly pointed out VW group is to gain

[Abhi_Automobile]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

completely with you on this.
the rapid will shake up the japanese, korean and the american toys a bit
i think the rapid is actually better value than the new verna and fiesta, neither of which are really flying off the shelves.
whatever it is, the Indian consumer is certainly benefiting hugely, for which fact I am very happy indeed.

I very openly say that I am not a Hyundai fan. However, we have got to give them credit for continuously pushing the limits in quest to improve their products.

Although my pick will be Vento TDI from the segment, AFAIK, I the Verna is the absolutely flying off the shelf. Just check out some sales figures boss