[lsp]

Congrats KnightRider!!

My F-i-L got the petrol and the same color in Oct. Drove it for a good ~600 kms Delhi-Jaipur-Ajmer and back.

Here are my thoughts. The highway manners seem good. The low beam seems inadequate. The car has a slight rubber-band effect in the first gear. I mean the car waits for like half a second and then comes to the RPM you want.

Other than that I think its a brilliantly put together car which is VFM as compared to Vento (If you can live without the bells and whistles).

[KnightRider77]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

I noticed a lot of trees in one of the pictures (That looks like your ancestral home) and even a coconut tree and said to myself, a Skoda Rapid MPI in keralafonication? Simply impossible as the state is obsessed with diesels. And then I looked at your handle and noticed you are located in Bangalore.

That's my uncle's home in Thalassery, Kerala. My ancestral home is close by though.

The possible increase in PSI reading could be due to tire temperature. I have noticed this too. Check after they have cooled down and it should be back to normal.

Ah! That might explain the variations then. Thanks for that juicy tidbit of info!

Originally Posted by Omtoatom

KR77, Congratulations on a great choice for a car and a superb report to boot. Interesting name though, I take you're a fan of the LOTR franchise or an even better thing: Professor Tolkien. Nice!

Apart from the Tolkien letters, and 1 or 2 writings (poems I think) I believe I've read everything else written by the good man. And the car is indeed named after the Gollum from the LOTR universe.

[girishglg]

Have been through your write up on your buying experience and initial ownership and yes it is really a well compiled one at that.

Good to see some one going for the gasoline powered version in the days of popular oil burners and even so with a decent one available in the Vento / Rapid which a couple of my friends have acquired.

Just curious to if you had not considered some other cars such as the Sunny/ Scala for sedans and the Beat/ Sail UVA for the hatch options during your evalautation.

[KnightRider77]

Originally Posted by lsp

Here are my thoughts. The highway manners seem good. The low beam seems inadequate. The car has a slight rubber-band effect in the first gear. I mean the car waits for like half a second and then comes to the RPM you want.

The low beam is fine for city driving provided there is *some* lighting on the road. The headlamp adjustment seems to be useless though. I can't really tell the difference between the lowest and highest setting.

But yes, the car will benefit from having brighter headlights I suppose.

Originally Posted by girishglg

Just curious to if you had not considered some other cars such as the Sunny/ Scala for sedans and the Beat/ Sail UVA for the hatch options during your evalautation.

The Beat/Sail UVA weren't considered from the outset because we didn't like the interiors or the build quality (based on reviews) of the Sail UVA, and we didn't like the boot or the styling of the Beat (too progressive for my taste at any rate). Same for the sedans - not too impressed by the looks or the interiors of the cars. Besides, we really wanted a Euro car.

[tacho9000]

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

I did find a pressure gauge in Total Mall (of all the places!) supermarket, but I wasn't sure if these were any more accurate than the ones in the various fuel pumps. But it was only 1.5k, so might pick it up on the next trip. As for the carbon wraps on ORVM - this too is on the anvil. Now saving up for some sun film on the windscreen and windows! The harsh sun is going to get worse as the summer approaches.

I think it is good. Also get a portable compressor too for those occassion when the pressure might be low and you need a top up of air quick. It should also be costing in the ballpark figure of around 1.5k only. And I don't think it was a carbon wrap it was a clean film wrap. Do check on it again. And yes regarding the sunfilm make sure it is clear otherwise you too know how harsh bangalore cops are nowadays with the sunfilm. Even here in kolkata cops have started a massive crackdown on any sunfilm which is even vaguely black and making them pay huge times with big fines. So do keep that in mind. Otherwise you're absolutely great going with your ownership.

Drive safe,
Subhra

[Meili]

Does the Rapid come with 2 factory fitted reverse lights?

[Batfreak]

Congrats on the buy, KnightRider77! That is a brilliantly detailed thread. Wish you many happy miles on the LOTR car.

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

I like the fact that the headlight and fog adjustment is positioned separately on the dash instead of cluttering up the stalks. I still haven't figured out how the rear fog lights come on but I'm sure it's explained somewhere in the excellent manual.

The rear fog lamps come on by slotting the headlamp switch in the side-light zone (one notch to the right from the original position) and pulling at it twice. On the first click,the front fog lamps come alive and at the second one the rear ones.

Originally Posted by Meili

Does the Rapid come with 2 factory fitted reverse lights?

Yes it has reverse lights on both the sides unlike the Vento which has the rear fog lamps on one side. This lends it a more proportionate look at night.

One more thing, KnightRider77. When you get Gollum cleaned, could you please notice if the water seeps into the door panels? I am facing the problem. Whenever water is poured on the car, water tends to seep into the place where the door meets the rest of the body and go right to the bottom where it stays accumulated until the door is opened. I would be very grateful.

[KnightRider77]

Originally Posted by Batfreak

The rear fog lamps come on by slotting the headlamp switch in the side-light zone (one notch to the right from the original position) and pulling at it twice. On the first click,the front fog lamps come alive and at the second one the rear ones.

Apologies for the late reply. Been a while since I've been here due to Real Life (TM).

One more thing, KnightRider77. When you get Gollum cleaned, could you please notice if the water seeps into the door panels? I am facing the problem. Whenever water is poured on the car, water tends to seep into the place where the door meets the rest of the body and go right to the bottom where it stays accumulated until the door is opened. I would be very grateful.

There is a very slight amount of seepage and it only goes below the door bottom. Nothing comes inside the car. I've driven the car through heavy cloud burst where all I could see was some blurred lights in front of me (couldn't stop due to it being on a flyover - a 10KM one ), and when I reached home there was nary a sign of water seepage. If I'm not wrong the rubber beading around the door doesn't extend to right till the bottom of the door, which is why water doesn't get in but does roll down the door sill IYSWIM.

Incidentally, am I the only one who quickly uses the opportunity of a rain wet car to give the car a quick rubdown after parking - free car wash!

[KnightRider77]

7,000 KM Update

Gollum has done 7000 KM in 6 months which co-incidentally meant that it was time for it's first free checkup for either criteria. I thought I'll post an update on the car so far.

First things first, pretty impressed with the Skoda service so far. I've had a hassle free experience right from buying the car to the first free checkup. Touch wood. A case in point, I got a reminder SMS from the service center a month ago, telling me that the car was due for first free check-up. Then a few weeks later I got a call from the service center asking me whether I was ready to send in the car. They even offered to have someone come and pick up the car for service and drop it back for a nominal cost, which I took up.

Before taking the car the driver thoroughly checked the car for personal belongings that I may have left insided, which I had - a Belkin USB charger in the lighter outlet!

I also opted for an interior car cleaning and polishing because the interiors had come become a bit messy due to recent rains. In hindsight, this wasn't necessarily a good decision because the bill came to 1.3K (including taxes) and while the interiors looked spanking clean, I don't believe the interiors were messy enough to justify the final bill! The driver had mentioned that he could get it done for less if I opted for no bill, but that's not something I wanted to do. Anyway, bridge under the water and all that.

Since the engine oil was plenty enough in the reservoir, no top up was required. Thus the final bill consisted of interior cleaning charges + pick up and drop charges (Rs 300).

The story so far

In the six months I've driven the car, I've done 4 long trips in excess of 400KM, plus numerous in-city trips back and forth from office that average 20KM. I understand the car a *lot* better now and I've adjusted my driving style a bit too. My opinion on the car so far:

1) I just love the boot space! I've had some family members come over with 6-7 pieces of luggage and it's been a delight to watch them all (the luggage that is) being swallowed up by the boot, leaving the said family members free to enjoy the back seat in comfort.

2) Loading the boot with some luggage does mean that you need to take extra care in negotiating speed bumps and potholes, esp if you also have people on the back seat. It's quite easy to scrape the bumper if you don't take things gently. I have some dealer supplied mud-flaps that are a bit on the long side too, which doesn't help. The rule of the thumb then is - *always* take the car over speed bumps and potholes as if you were driving over a minefield. If there are cars behind you honking impatiently, let them honk. If the road and traffic allows, you can also try negotiating speed bumps by employing the diagonal drive trick.

3) The 1.6 MPI has enough grunt to allow you to hit 140 plus even with a decently loaded boot and passengers in the rear. However, the pick-up isn't the greatest and there's absolutely no point in trying to floor the pedal. This is where my driving style has changed a bit. I'm easier on the pedals now and my driving is a lot more relaxed now.

4) The gearshift, good as it is, doesn't always engage correctly especially on the first gear or on reverse. A bit more firmness is required when changing gears in lower gear.

5) The music system is excellent. The default settings are a bit meh, but with a bit of equalizer adjustment, you can get some wonderful sounding music from the standard speakers. I also like the fader set to -2 (towards the back a bit) for a more fuller sound.

6) The headlights are indeed a bit weak and an upgrade would be good to have. Certainly something to consider if long trips are frequent in poor light conditions.

7) A rear-parking sensor is a must have in my opinion primarily because the rear-view mirrors are quite ineffective when trying to reverse park. I've picked up a few minor scratches trying to reverse park in my company's parking lot thanks to lack of sensors and the ineptitude of the security staff trying to "help" me.

8) The car suspension is superb and can even take a bit of a wallop now and then. I should know because I once flew over a poorly designed speed-bump, which was near invisible and as tall as a house, at 80 kmph and it sounded like a cannon had gone off beneath us. But the car never lost its composure and continued like nothing had happened. I feared that there would be some rattling after that kind of incident but there's absolutely nothing.

9) The NVH is pretty good! Let's face it, the 1.6 MPI isn't the most refined or quietest of petrol engines out there but once inside the car and having rolled up the windows, the engine purr is barely intruding. Plus, I always have the music on!

10) After 6 months of city driving, I have to say the clutch and other pedals are fantastically smooth. Depressing them doesn't require any major force but they retain enough feedback to let you know what's going on.

All in all, I'm very happy with the car and it's money well spent!

[smydtt]

Dear KnightRider77,
Congrats on your ownership experience. I too bought a petrol Rapid this March and had started a thread on my experience sometime back:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ip-report.html

There is something I wanted to check with you: does petrol Rapid come with an under hood damping? My Rapid does not, but the Team-BHP official review seems to mention that it does. What I am talking about is the following (pic from the official TBHP review):



This pic was later confirmed to be shot on a petrol elegance manual version:

Originally Posted by Samurai

The under-hood damping photo is shot on a petrol elegance manual.

So should I confront my dealer on why my car did not come with an under hood damping?

[KnightRider77]

Originally Posted by smydtt

Dear KnightRider77, Congrats on your ownership experience. I too bought a petrol Rapid this March and had started a thread on my experience sometime back: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ip-report.html There is something I wanted to check with you: does petrol Rapid come with an under hood damping? My Rapid does not, but the Team-BHP official review seems to mention that it does. What I am talking about is the following (pic from the official TBHP review): This pic was later confirmed to be shot on a petrol elegance manual version: So should I confront my dealer on why my car did not come with an under hood damping?

Apologies for the late reply! No, my petrol elegance didn't come with an under hood damping. And I haven't felt the need for it either TBH. Can someone who does have it report back on wether the damping is of any use on the petrol version?

[smydtt]

Originally Posted by KnightRider77

Apologies for the late reply! No, my petrol elegance didn't come with an under hood damping. And I haven't felt the need for it either TBH. Can someone who does have it report back on wether the damping is of any use on the petrol version?

Well, I wanted the under hood damping for two reasons: firstly I was under the impression that some petrol rapids were provided with it (though I have not yet found any petrol rapid with it except the one which was provided to team-bhp for official review), and secondly, it seemed that having it might be a good idea to protect the paint on the bonnet from engine heat. And of course, though the petrol rapid is not as noisy as its diesel counterpart, it still is noisier than other petrol cars, isn't it? So perhaps having an extra dampener would not hurt.

What surprised me was that the Skoda A.S.S. refused to sell me one even if I was prepared to pay because they could not figure out how to record that sale on a computer. Their software required a diesel rapid to allow them take out an under-hood damping from their spare parts stores.

[KnightRider77]

An odd thing happened the other day as I made a quick trip to Mysore and back. As usual, before the journey I headed to the local petrol station to fill up the tank and get some fresh air in the tyres. While the attendant attended to the tires I did a casual check on the tyres, although I had noticed nothing wrong with the ride quality. Imagine my surprise then when I spotted the head of a nail sticking out of the left rear tyre! It seemed to have gone in an odd angle, and there was no sign of puncture. I asked the attendant to take out the nail with a plier as the nail refused to come out by hand. A few seconds later I had the nail in my hand. It was certainly bent and it seemed to have gone in 2/3rds of the way into the tyre. There was a small hole in the tyre wall where the nail had gone in, measuring perhaps around 3mm in diameter. A quick check by the attendant revealed no further damages and we surmised that by sheer luck the nail had twisted around after entry somehow not gone into the inner tube.

I proceeded to Mysore with no tyre change, against my better judgement, driving at 80 for the most part before upping my speed to 100 when I could detect no untowardness in the ride. I'm still on the same tyre in fact!

So, I'm now wondering if the nail hasn't indeed done any long term damage and whether my tyres are still good to go. Or should I be worried and get it changed. I'm due for my first service next month and I have half a mind to get that tyre replaced. Or am I just being paranoid and don't have to worry about the surprisingly decent Apollo Acceleres weakening its tyre walls? FWIW, I drive around 1000km per month.