[motorworks]

It had been a peaceful 4 years with my Dzire VDI and I was what you would call a "happy" customer. It did what it was supposed to. Excellent diesel engine, superb economy figures and a decent service back up. Once I crossed my third year of ownership, trading the dzire for a new one was on my mind, provided I got a decent re-sale value. Last year around September I test drove the Linea. I wasn't exactly floored by the car, but the car just looks so beautiful and feels quite special. Somehow things did not go as planned in terms of the re-sale value of my Dzire and I wasnt completely convinced by the Linea either due its sluggish engine. It just wasnt quick like the dzire. Then I test drove the Fiesta classic TDCI. Many of you may detest me for this comment, but after my TD, I felt that the fiesta classic was a bit over rated.

Anyways, I let go of this thought of selling my car for some time.Then, the new Dzire was launched. And when I heard that the current dzire would be sold to only fleets / Taxis, I decided to look again for a good re-sale value for my car before the new dzire starts selling like crazy. I had a look at the new dzire and I just thought it looked too weird in the side profile. Also, there was one major grouse that I had after owning the car for 4 years and that was the braking. With no ABS, the dzire was quite bad in high speed braking conditions and I have had 2 incidents of the wheels locking up. So ABS was a must. And the ZDI offered every single feature that you wanted, but it was priced too high. At 8.5 OTR bangalore, I felt it was a bit too much, especially when you look at the fundamentals.

Most of all, I wasnt convinced if I needed a new car. But then I hadnt test driven the Rapid yet. One fine day, my wife and myself test dove the Rapid TDI and oh boy I was floored! It was a split second decision in my mind. If I had to trade my dzire, then it had to be the Rapid TDI! The smooth power delivery had bowled me over! And my decision was further augumented by Team bhp's excellent review as well.

In the mean while an used car dealer had contacted me and somehow managed to meet my expectation. So in the first week of february I let go off my dzire, which had faithfully served me for nearly 4 years. There were a lot of emotions associated with this car and every time I see a sovereign blue dzire, it is sure to pull a few strings in my heart, My wife and me had bought this car just before our marriage and it had been a part of our life thru all twists and turns. I hope it finds a good home!

As soon as I sold my car, I made a booking with Vinayak skoda, Marthahalli, Bangalore. It was a new show room and the one closest to my home. Vinayak has a decent reputation in Bangalore and they were quite eager in their approach.
And then I thought to myself that even though I made the booking with skoda, I wanted to try out all the other options that I had, just to be sure.

First in line was once again the Fiat Linea, this time the 2012 version. But things such as long turning radius, lack of power and the very fact that fiat was just selling 1500cars every month and could just walk away one fine morning kept me at bay. Fiat fans{I'm a fan myself}, no offence, but when you buy a car, you need to look 5-6 years ahead. Skoda with VW's backing is here to stay and has already established itself as a premium player. On the other hand, the linea inspite of being brilliant, suffers from fiat's slow progress in India and the Tie up with Tata is going no where. i'm not sure where Fiat's plans of opening independent showrooms / work shops stand. But the dynamic version at 10.40lakhs was fantastic VFM. It had everything, 2 airbags, ABS, Alloys, Blue and me etc. But mind you, even the 2012 linea had discounts and that was a turn off as well, an indication that it did not garner a positive response.

Second in line was the Nissan Sunny diesel. The nearest showroom was 25kms away and they had just one demo car and I just couldnt find the time to go to the showroom. Also I lacked that urge probably because I had read T-bhp's review thoroughly and it was clear that it wasnt as premium a car like the rapid. And neither did it have a strong service network.

Last one on my list was the huge chevrolet optra magnum, purely for its powerful 2.0 TCDI engine. But sadly that is the only thing that impressed me in this car. The interiors were quite outdated{ a 6 cd changer in 2012, really?} Also it has been in the market for too long now and I couldnt see myself holding on to it for the next 6 years.

Other cars that I did not consider at all:-
1) SX 4 diesel--Too similar to the dzire in terms of interiors.

2) Verna-Was not interested in a Hyundai and it was quite expensive as well.

3) Vento--Well, if the Rapid is the same as the vento, then why should I pay extra?
But the biggest advantage the Rapid has was its mid-Variant-The Ambition. It had a driver air bag, ABS and all other basic features. Yes, it lacked an audio player, but there were affordable aftermarket units anyway. And this is the weakness of all other cars. The SX4 & Vento had just a low variant{ VDI & Trendline} and ABS wasnt even an option on these. The higher variants ZDI & Highline were well over 11-12 lakhs OTR bangalore!

4) New ford fiesta-No offence, but did not even think of having a TD. It looks like this is now going to be right at the bottom of C2 sedans, even lower than the linea in terms of sale. Not even close to being VFM.

So I stuck to the Rapid and completed all payment formalities with the dealer. As promised, my car was available within 2 weeks of my initial booking. Color-My wife's choice--Cappuccino beige.All skodas have this color and I really liked it too. Skoda should have more color options though.

Finally the car was ready to be delivered to me on the 3rd of March. Registration was done a day earlier and I had told the dealer to fix HSP number plates{IND} at an extra cost. I had also noticed from other reviews that skoda had a stringent warranty system and fixing accys outside may be risky. Hence I bought a 2 din JVC audio system with Bluetooth and USB along with 4 coaxial JBL speakers and got it fitted at the dealer. I wanted something simple and this was quite good. Also bought autocops reverse parking sensors, which I was used to in my earlier dzire.

The skoda dealer fitted all of these for an extra cost and I took the delivery on 3rd March at about 8:30pm. Have been driving it for 4-5 days now and my initial feed back is as below:-

1) Great ride, irons out most bumps.
2) Overall build quality is good, interior buttons like the power window buttons, headlight controls feel premium.
3) The steering is too light, feels lighter than the dzire as well.
4) AC in 1 takes a bit of time to cool. The blower isnt that powerful.
5) Braking is quite sharp.
6) Front seats feel sporty, well sprung.
7) Noise Insulation is very good. In spite of its noisy engine, while you are inside you can't hear much.
8) I dont know for sure, But there seems to be some tyre noise from the apollo acceleres. I could be wrong, but I usually pick up the most faint sounds. The car certainly deserves better than 175/14s, but I would rather use these for the next 20-30k and then change them.
9) There is a gear indicator, indicates what gear you are in and whether you need to upshift or down shift.
10) Looks fabulous!

I have been driving quite sedately and hence cannot comment on the sleeping power underneath

Once again I would want to thank T-bhp for its excellent unbiased review of the rapid and a lot of other t-bhpians who had replied to my queries on the car and audio systems etc.

One thing I'm adding on to the car are T-BHP stickers. The earlier ones on my dzire were my gift to the potential buyer

Have owned the Rapid for a week now, driven around 250kms. Did some city runs amidst slow moving traffic. Also did a late night run on the outer ring road, bangalore. Here are my initial thoughts on the car:-

Exteriors:-

Though very similar to the vento when you look at it in the side profile, the front is distinctly different from the vento and looks very similar to the fabia. The rear on the contrary is very similar to the vento save for the typical "C" skoda lights, which I think is classic to look at especially in the nights. I'm not sure what skoda has tried to achieve by modifying the number plate area, it sure looks good, but I dont think it was necessary. I could have easily lived with the one on the vento.

Interiors:-

--Step inside and the dashboard color combination is not the best that you see around. Eventually it grows on you. Appreciate the fact that Skoda has tried to minimize the use of beige. The carpets are black, which is a huge bonus in terms of maintenance.

--The front seats are a little stiff. Not well cushioned. But quite comfortable overall. Height adjust for the driver's seat is a very useful feature. Even though I'm about 5"9" I kept the seat at the highest position initially to have better judgement of the car. I have slowly reduced the height now since I now understand the car's dimensions better.The center arm rest is intrusive at times. Also the center arm rest is in beige and would easily be the first to get soiled. I'm not sure if there is an option to get this covered, when you get new seat covers. Will have to check with a couple of seat cover vendors.

--The 4 spoke steering wheel is good to hold, has decent amount of grip. Indicator stalks feel chunky. I really liked the headlight knob! Very different from the japanese cars that I have been used to.

--The rear seats are a good place to be in, but strictly for 2 adults only. At best a 10-12 aged kid can sit at the middle, but I guess even the kid would feel uncomfortable over long journeys.

--Storage bins--The bottle holders in the front doors are a bit too wide actually. If you place a 1 ltr bottle, there is some more space meaning that the bottle would tilt on the move. Considering that 1ltr bottles are the ones most widely used, Skoda should have engineered that bottle holder around them. On the contrary the rear door's bottle holders are too small and I guess only a 500ml bottle would fit in. I mention this because my earlier dzire's bottle holders on all 4 doors were perfect for 1 ltr bottles!

Glove box is huge! Wish it had an internal cooling comparment. If you look at the etios, the system is rather simple and I wonder why companies like VW /Skoda dont incorporate such things.

On the Move:-

--Crank up the engine and there is a very noticeable jerk. It almost feels like one of those MUVs for a second. I'm very surprised by this and would request other Rapid / Vento owners to comment on this.

--The engine noise when idle is rather high and with windows rolled down it sounds rather noisy for a modern diesel, especially from VW. There is just no way that you will ever mistake this for a petrol! The DDIS in the suzukis are light years ahead in this regard.

--Slot in to the 1st and you will realize that it's rather short and you would have to immediately move to 2nd.

--As you drive the engine noise dies down a bit. The NVH levels are rather good and I feel that the sound deadening materials that Skoda has used are top notch. For such a noisy engine, you dont hear much when you have all windows rolled up.

--There is a gear shift indicator which tells which gear you are in and if you need to upshift or down shift. I'm not sure if this is present in the Polo as well. It is a bit frustrating if you try to concentrate on this as it does not take in to real time driving conditions and you will end up shifting too much.

--The A.C is not the best though. I'm not sure if this is because it is a new car, but the "1" position in the blower is not quite powerful and I feel that cooling takes a bit longer. Could be because its already quite hot in bangalore with temperatures hitting 35-36 degrees consistently. Anyway, after some time it feels ok.

--The car is a breeze to drive. Before you know it the kmph reads 80. There is no turbo lag as in the DDIS. Power delivery is linear and you always know that there is more than adequate power on offer.
I have not done higher speeds as yet. Would want to take it slow for the initial 2000kms. Or is it just 1000kms?

--After driving the dzire for 4 years, my biggest joy has been Rapid's precise braking. Very effective and confidence inspiring.

--Tyres--I just wish Skoda had at least given it 185/14 rather than 175/14. I felt a massive difference when I moved from 165/14 stock JKs to 185/14 Michelin XM1+ in my earlier dzire and I'm sure something like a Michelin would have made the rapid a much better handler than what it is. I have decided to wear the stock apollo acceleres out and then move on to something better. I think the rapid comes with only these tyres. There is no option really. Hate this sort of an approach. A 10 lakh car should never be under tyred. And skoda should have atleast provided bridgetones / Good years. I have a feeling that there is a faint tyre noise already! Am not sure, I could be wrong as well.

--Handling--One statement--Point and shoot! H/ever, I have a query here. The steering feels super light in slower speeds. At higher speeds it doesnt feel as light though. Fellow t-bhpian Shankar balan had suggested that this could be due to speed sensitive steering like his yeti. Is this correct? Does the vento and the polo feel the same as well?

--The lights are quite powerful and I dont sense a need for an immediate upgrade. Same with horn as well, even though I would have preferred the typical skoda horn.

Overall, I think it is a great product. My only grouse is it's inability to seat a 3rd passenger at the rear. H.ever it is just me and my wife for now and hence it should not be much of an inconvenience.
At just 10.05L OTR that I paid for, it is just sheer VFM! Even the SX4 VDI sans ABS /Airbags cost something close to 9.70lakhs OTR bangalore. I wouldnt want to compare the sunny to this as that is more of a etios / manza beater in terms of overall build quality.

That's it for now. Will keep updating my experiences with the car in the coming months.

[volkman10]

Congrats on getting the Rapid. Nice to see a spurt in ownership of Rapids in T- BHP.

Wishing you happy ownership and drive safe!

[abishek2222]

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[xtremeshock]

Congratulations motorworks, hope she serves you well. I love the capp. Beige color as well. Have just got the same car as well

Even I felt the apollo's were not upto the mark, really want to change them, but will wait till I wear them out.

[krish82]

Congratulations, where are the pics? Its illegal to post buying experiences without pictures! Certainly Rapid is one of the best buy and smartest choice now days. Happy driving.

[recshenoy]

Wow another Rapid. I had test driven Rapid couple of week back (petrol one). Boy i must say i was thoroughly impressed by it. What a neat ride and handling added to silent cabin. Everything in it feels so premium. My heart, mind every thing said go for Rapid but looking at EMIs numbers and Skoda stories i thought, "not so soon in life put so much money on car" and made my heart and mind to change the decision :( congratulations again.
Btw are you planning to add alloys?

[jods]

Congratulations on your new car. A perfect one I would say. Please do add a few pics also.

Did you go in for insurance by the dealer or through external means? And what was the insurance cost?

[HappyRoadie]

Congratulations on your purchase. It is a great looker with a great engine. Colour choice also good. Wish you many happy and safe miles. But please post some photos. What was the total cost you payed?

[shankar.balan]

Well done! The Rapid is indeed an excellent value proposition for a sedan buyer and you get the Euro quality, fit and finish for a fair and equitable price.

Even I quite agree with you that th Swift Dzires and the like are priced too high given that you can put a bit more in and buy a far superior vehicle like the Rapid. I like the Cappuccino Beige - it suits the Rapid very well indeed.

About the lightness of the steering - do check if the Rapid comes with speed sensitive power steering. Im not sure about the Rapid though My Yeti does have that. At low speeds the steering is very nice and easy and as you go to higher speeds on the highways, you will find the steering becoming stiffer to enable one to hold one's line better.

Vinayak has served me well too - do keep in touch with their GM Mr Hemanth. He does look after his customers as per my experience.
Cheers!

Originally Posted by motorworks

It had been a peaceful 4 years with my Dzire VDI and I was what you would call a "happy" customer. It did what it was supposed to. As soon as I sold my car, I made a booking with Vinayak skoda, Marthahalli, Bangalore. It was a new show room and the one closest to my home. Vinayak has a decent reputation in Bangalore and they were quite eager in their approach.

[condor]

@Motorworks, congrats on the Rapid ! Wishing you a happy & long ownership.

Split-second decision ? so what ? You have found your car & that's what matters. And that point about DZire being sold only to the taxi segment - you were just trying to convince yourself for a new car, weren't you ?

On another note, I'd not agree with you on the points you have mentioned for both Fiat & Skoda/VW. As I see it, neither has Fiat nor has Skoda/VW been convincing with their A.S.S. Both have nice cars, but both need to go a long way before they will get any of my money.

But let's leave that aside. Where are the pics ? New car initial review without pics ? No, not allowed !

[motomaverick]

Congrats on the split second decision that was coming since quite long time since you were looking for a change Just that you found the right car.

[mayankjha1806]

Congratulations, lovely car indeed, and yes Vinayak have a better reputation than the other dealer in Bangalore. Yours was probably love at first sight and there is nothing wrong in that. Wishing you many happy miles with it and hopefully the relationship with Skoda will be painless.

Were you looking at only Diesels? otherwise Cedia is another car you could have looked at, especially after price cuts its right in this price range. BTW this review is incomplete without pictures, do upload them whenever you can.

[motorworks]

Thank you all!

Originally Posted by HappyRoadie

Congratulations on your purchase. It is a great looker with a great engine. Colour choice also good. Wish you many happy and safe miles. But please post some photos. What was the total cost you payed?

The OTR was 10.24 in Bangalore, got a 15k corporate discount and got vinayak to waive 2.8k for the essential accessories. So total worked out to be around 10.06 Lakhs OTR.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Well done! The Rapid is indeed an excellent value proposition for a sedan buyer and you get the Euro quality, fit and finish for a fair and equitable price.

Even I quite agree with you that th Swift Dzires and the like are priced too high given that you can put a bit more in and buy a far superior vehicle like the Rapid. I like the Cappuccino Beige - it suits the Rapid very well indeed.

About the lightness of the steering - do check if the Rapid comes with speed sensitive power steering. Im not sure about the Rapid though My Yeti does have that. At low speeds the steering is very nice and easy and as you go to higher speeds on the highways, you will find the steering becoming stiffer to enable one to hold one's line better.

Vinayak has served me well too - do keep in touch with their GM Mr Hemanth. He does look after his customers as per my experience.
Cheers!

I'm not sure if its got speed sensitve p/s, I hope that the steering feel would improve as the speeds increase.

Originally Posted by jods

Congratulations on your new car. A perfect one I would say. Please do add a few pics also.

Did you go in for insurance by the dealer or through external means? And what was the insurance cost?

Insurance + drive assure worked out to about 41k {33 + 7}. I thought of getting the insurance done on my own, but I went by their terms and conditions since I wanted to play it safe, knowing skoda's stringent norms.

Originally Posted by recshenoy

Wow another Rapid. I had test driven Rapid couple of week back (petrol one). Boy i must say i was thoroughly impressed by it. What a neat ride and handling added to silent cabin. Everything in it feels so premium. My heart, mind every thing said go for Rapid but looking at EMIs numbers and Skoda stories i thought, "not so soon in life put so much money on car" and made my heart and mind to change the decision :( congratulations again.
Btw are you planning to add alloys?

Nope, not yet. I have already stretched my budget quite a bit and alloys are ruled out for now. Things like seat covers and 3M tints are on my priority for now. May be when I change the tyres after 30k I would look at alloys.

Originally Posted by condor

@Motorworks, congrats on the Rapid ! Wishing you a happy & long ownership.

Split-second decision ? so what ? You have found your car & that's what matters. And that point about DZire being sold only to the taxi segment - you were just trying to convince yourself for a new car, weren't you ?

On another note, I'd not agree with you on the points you have mentioned for both Fiat & Skoda/VW. As I see it, neither has Fiat nor has Skoda/VW been convincing with their A.S.S. Both have nice cars, but both need to go a long way before they will get any of my money.

But let's leave that aside. Where are the pics ? New car initial review without pics ? No, not allowed !

You got me there
Understand your views on service, but my concern was that fiat is not sure footed in India. There are no concrete plans and the recent 2012 versions{which are not even facelifts} dont reinforce any confidence. 1500cars a month is not something that even a company like fiat can sustain. On the contrary, skoda / vw are here to stay. Hence my decision.

Originally Posted by motomaverick

Congrats on the split second decision that was coming since quite long time since you were looking for a change Just that you found the right car.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by mayankjha1806

Congratulations, lovely car indeed, and yes Vinayak have a better reputation than the other dealer in Bangalore. Yours was probably love at first sight and there is nothing wrong in that. Wishing you many happy miles with it and hopefully the relationship with Skoda will be painless.

Were you looking at only Diesels? otherwise Cedia is another car you could have looked at, especially after price cuts its right in this price range. BTW this review is incomplete without pictures, do upload them whenever you can.

Yes, only diesels. I had covered 50k in 3.8 years in my earlier dzire, so I assumed that my driving pattern would be more or less the same.

Originally Posted by GTO

Congrats on the car!

I've temporarily moved your thread to the Assembly Line Section (More Information about this sub-forum).

Please note that Team-BHP does not permit booking / buying experience threads in the Test-Drives section anymore. For the benefit of members & guests alike, it is now imperative to include a complete report on the car (the driving experience / comfort / features, what you like, what you don't like etc.). To know more about this rule, and for review guidelines, view this announcement.

Please edit the opening post of this thread and update with a complete driving & ownership report. Pics would be great too! You have the ability to EDIT your post over an indefinite period of time; add more attachments / content / posts to your work-in-progress review thread at your own pace.

Once your thread is complete, you may report the post, and a Team-BHP Moderator will move your thread out to the public forum.

Thanks GTO. I'm sorry if I have posted in the wrong forum. Will take note of this in the future.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Forum. Thanks for sharing!

[bala80]

Congratulations motorworks on your new car. I wish you say the same post your skoda ownership experience too.

Originally Posted by motorworks

It had been a peaceful 4 years with my Dzire VDI and I was what you would call a "happy" customer.

Yes, there is a definite clatter/vibration on cold starts. Its present on my vento too. It isn't as refined as the DDIS that you/I had earlier. You may notice some amount of vibration in the clutch/gear lever too and its all charecteristic of the car. Nothing to be worried about. By the way, how does the clutch feel after driving the DDIS? I have this complaint till date even after driving the car for about 8k km's, clutch is pretty heavy and hard.

--Crank up the engine and there is a very noticeable jerk. It almost feels like one of those MUVs for a second. I'm very surprised by this and would request other Rapid / Vento owners to comment on this.

Agreed, apollo aceleres are noisy like hell, drive around with them for 5k km's and you'd know what I mean. I suggest a replacement with atleast 185/195 profile one's. If you are going for a change, better get a 15" alloys too , will make the car looks complete.

--Tyres--I just wish Skoda had at least given it 185/14 rather than 175/14.

The steering in the vento behaves the same way too, it is pretty direct. I would attribute the behaviour at high speed due to the cut off of the EPS more than anything else. Dont think this features any speed sensitive EPS behaviour.

--Handling--One statement--Point and shoot! H/ever, I have a query here. The steering feels super light in slower speeds. At higher speeds it doesnt feel as light though.