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Originally Posted by BoneCollector 1. A missing crash certification for India unlike Altroz which gets a G-NCAP 5*. I tried to search for Rapid crash test results for Indian made Rapid, couldn't find one.
2. Skoda horror stories. |
The best thing is, out of the two mentioned points, none says about the product in itself being less competent. In terms of performance, comfort, driving experience, space management etc.
Coming to crash safety, Tata has done a commendable job, and it deserves a huge

for it. We drive multiple cars, all the way to Toyota Fortuner, where we assume them to be safe, because we assume that either we have the international version. Similarly, the Vento (Which is a Rapid any way) scored 5 stars way back in Latin NCAP (With a crash weight of around 1380 kilo, which translates to same kerb weight as we have here), Polo has already scored 4 stars a few years back. Can we simply assume the Rapid to be around 4 stars (I am not giving it the ratings Vento got). Multiple cars we drive today, all the way from Swift to S Class, where the India specific models are not tested, and we assume them safe because we assume that their international trims have done well.
This argument applies to the entire spectrum, and hence I normally avoid it. It's a fact that a few manufacturers are taking undue advantage of it, but many do give us safer cars. Don't they?
Coming to Skoda Maintenance:
I do agree that service gaps have been there, and also I agree that the maintenance and service costs are on higher side. The bills will look somewhat like this for 120k kms of ownership:
And I am not basing these costs on some assumption, they are based on my experience of owning on Laura, and currently the 2 Polos which are with me in my garage. In addition, a Rapid diesel of cousin too.
You can refer to my ownership experience here, and also note, that since it's Skoda and a TSi, I have more than considerably inflated the service bills as compared to my MPi.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...ml#post4748621 (VW Polo - Maintenance and Service cost and dos/don'ts) The Horror Stories Part:
Every brand has horror stories, Skoda has had a bad past in terms of after sales based issues, and they have a few greedy dealers too. But if all of us, together, do agree that Tata shall be given a chance as they are coming up in quality. Why write off Skoda or VW? On this very same platform, we have multiple examples where people are happy with their VAG car and have already crossed a lac kms without a single hiccup, why forget them? Aren't we being selective here just to deliver a judgement?
Look at the owners who are bringing home the VAG cars today, the spare part prices have come down, service quality has always been the best, now the issues have gone down significantly. I have both my cars running on factory clutch, not a single electronic issue, and a few when arisen in the TDi, they were immediately addressed and the components were replaced under extended warranty - even at 1.16 lac kms.
If the testimony of the horror victims does matter, don't we have an equality of representation for putting ahead our experience? Basic service marketing mantra, a happy customer tells to 3, and an unhappy customer tells to 300.
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Originally Posted by TROOPER Decade old looks which wouldn't make anyone on the road bat an eyelid - Standard |
- Not everyone buys and drives the car to gain the attention of others - Standard!
- Skoda badge will always be considered premium to Tata badge - Standard
- A sedan is a sedan, with a bigger boot, and a hatchback is a hatchback - Standard
- A more comfortable and better rear seat - Standard
- A better performing engine with 6 speed slick gearbox - Standard
Let's not get into the debate of who offers what, everyone at their heart knows where a higher value for money is being driven.
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Can we imagine how this segment would look like if all manufacturers behaved like Skoda/VAG? Only then we realise how pathetic it really is.
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Point is, we Indian customers have become the victim of the greed of manufacturers. A Country where the manufacturing and labour cost is lower, the prices are higher, and they simply attribute it to taxes! Just see, Ford gave a separate chassis in India in Endy, than what Everest gets in other parts of the world, couldn't hide it from the sharp eyes of our own BHPian A.G. though which got mentioned
here (Pics: Chassis of Indian Ford Endeavour has less support than the international version!), Kia has got operationally profitable within a year - facts are facts!
I am trying to imagine driving a City petrol S for 10 lac on road, and that really feels good. These days we are paying here for features, and not the basic thing in itself - the car.
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decade old City, SX4, Manza, Baleno and what not with blacked out wheels and and some interior touch up here and there, with no safety ratings available.
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Indeed, now we buy the compact sedans for that money. A few sedans got obsolete, and died, because they deserved to. The ones who are still good to go, they are continuing.
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I'd rather not compare the Rapid with the Altroz on this thread. There's a lot of aspirational buyers reading it and they shouldn't be shortchanged. Just my two cents.
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This is a forum, I am talking to you, you are talking to me. The forum nature; gives us the freedom of expression, forum rules bind us to stay on the topic. Readers consult a thousand sources, T-BHP being one of them. There can be the readers who are exploring other segments too. At times, people simply decide the budget, and then funnel down to segment.
I don't see how it is a shortchange, just because we are discussing about another option which can deliver a different ownership experience for the similar money. Or maybe my lack of understanding, will be highly appreciable if you can elaborate on the usage of the word 'shortchanged'.