[santoshr]

The Who, And the What, the Where and the How of Skoda Rapid

The Who
Me being a big big driving enthusiast, the first thing that I did after getting a job was to get a car. I learn't driving on a Maruti Zen, and hence all that I knew was Maruti 'works'. And in that spirit I got my very first car, one I could call my own Maruti Swift LXI Petrol.

Why LXI -- because it was cheap. Back in 2007, the Swift LXI cost about 4.25 Lakhs OTR. Extremely basic, no electric windows, no fog lamps, and the interiors were pretty plane. As time went by, and as I kept crossing one milestone after the other and I slowly started missing basic high end functionality.
From Mumbai I did trips to Dharwad, Dapoli, Surat, Goa, Bangalore and clocked around 65000 kms in 5 years. In the last year i had developed a problem with the rear suspension and it would make a loud screeching noise whenever I went into anything uneven and high speeds. Tried multiple service stations, however they never managed to fix it. Eventually got bored of it and decided to move on and upgrade.

Requirements :
1. Has to be a driver's car. None of those fancy gadgets appeal to me as much as the driving feel.
2. Had to be diesel
3. Should be around the 10 Lakh more and not a penny more.
4. Decent mileage because the usage is a mix of highway and city driving.
5. Possibly with 1.6L or higher
6. ABS

I had no qualms about turning radius, ingress/egress issues, climate control or a factory fit music system. With the Swift I had purchased the aftermarket HU and speakers from a local shop in Borviali, which I eventually started hating because the front speakers would turn itself off whenever I hit a poth-hole. And HU was good enough. So I was very clear -- If the car doesn't come with a factory unit, I will get something fancy and not be stingy about spending money.

First big question :
Suv Or Sedan
And the argument went like this :
1. my requirements never said anything about having the ability to fit more than 4 people.
2. Mileage needed to be decent
3. And the very important 10Lakh limit
4. And off course has to be diesel.

This pretty much ruled out XUV, Safari, Scorpio. The all new Renault duster was new in the market made sense, but to me nothing is worse than an under powered engine and the 110ps model was not in my budget.
The Bolero's and the mighty Thar's though very very appealing didn't make sense to me because I wanted a decent mileage and the comfort of riding on the highways. And so sedans is what it was going to be. Offroading ya sure, but how many times would I actually plan to take them out on such roads. With the golden quadrilateral and everything I wanted something that could munch miles.


The WHAT
Since it was going to sedan, it had to be turbo, it had to diesel, it had to house a minimum of three people. Me, my wife and my mother, and ya well occasionally a fourth /fifth person.

Cars which got ruled out :
Hyundai Verna (Fluidic) - Looks great in the showroom and on paper. Nice lines, lovely black color but tons of bad reviews about no steering feedback and vobbly behaviour at high speeds. My driving would be divided between higway and the city, hence the car had to be a big performer on the highways. Din't even test drive.

Fiat Linea - I know this car has a big big fan following, however I never liked the how it looked, To each his own. And with the recent news about them ending their deal with TATA and everything decided against it.

Maruti Swift Dzire and SX4 - I kinda liked the SX4 when it came out, but the model was almost 5 years old. The dzire never appealed to me, instead the standard swift looks much better. And I had heard good things about the all new swift deisel. However with a heavy heart went to a Maruti dealer asking about the SX4, no test drive offered. They also could not guarantee if the could arrange for a car. So ya moved on.

Having read a bunch of articles the hot selling items were Rapid, Vento and the Sunnnyyyyyyy. Decided to setup the test drives for the upcoming weekend.
Called up Skoda @ Asset Auto, the sales guy said he could not arrange for the TDI Ambition and said would call back. Called the other Skoda dealer, he set up the TD for the upcoming weekend. Decided to walk in the rest which were VW and Nissan.

Test Drives:
Vento 1.6 Comfortline/Trendline - Walked in B.u.Bhandari @Pashan, enquiring about the Vento TDI. Was very pleased with what I saw, nice flashy red Vento Trendline which was kept at the showroom. The sales guy showed me around the car, and offered a test drive. But they only had the Highline for the TD. So the car that I would buy would be without the climate control, without the bigger and 15" alloys, and possibly without a music system.
However on the comfortline, they were giving away the audio system for free.

Driving the car, I loved how it felt, after a decade of petrol engines this felt awesome. The torque generated by these diesel beasts is pretty awesome. I got a good feeling, felt as if I have come to the right place. And the car fit my needs perfectly. Loved the turbo kick, felt the obvious turbo lag which kicked in at around 2000 rpm.

Had a heart discussion with the sales guy, and it was all very confusing. There was hardly any difference between the comfortline and the trendline, and highline was out of my budget. So trendline made sense, but the car had been around for more than an year as compared to the all new comfortline.
The wife was not at all pleased with the trendline, it was absolute no-frills car and felt boring. She din't want me to make the same mistake as the swift which was to buy the entry level model. If spending 10lakh there has to be something premium about the car.

On hold for now, decided to move onto Skoda.

Skoda Rapid Ambition 1.6 TDI - While at VM, I got a follow up call from Skoda for the test drive. I passed the Nissan showroom and reminded myself that I had to TD the sunny as well. At the Skoda showroom which feels a notch lower that the plushness of VW, it was apparent these guys would lack finess of VW. At VW the sales guy spoke crisp english and was very informative about everything that I asked.

At Skoda the sales guy, was 'OK' if you know what I mean. He did a quick show-off of the car, and on with the test drive. The SA's know their strength, why give theoretical information when I can offer the customer a test drive, which to me made sense.

I've always been a fan of Skoda Octavia, and knowing that it is a part of the WRC circuit it has always been my dream car. Rapid was the next best thing when on a budget for me.

Ambition 1.6 TDI - I fell in love with how the car drove. I knew the Rapid was sporting the same engine as Vento, but somehow I felt that Rapid was more responsive, the cornering was much better, the braking to me felt better. Could have been a psuedo effect because they were sporting something called brake assist. Anyways, to me it felt better. The turbo kicked in a tad earlier than the vento, and to me Rapid felt more like a rally car.

Vento has the finess whereas Rapid is crude and raw.
Vento has charm, but Rapid has character.
Vento has poise where as Rapid is the trouble maker.
I loved the Vento, but Rapid loved me back..

Both Vento and Rapid were advertising the same mileage.
Ambition variant comes without alloys - which to me wasn't a deal breaker.
Comes without a music system - which wasn't a deal breaker as I had big plans for ICE anyways.

To me Rapid was more of a driver's car, raw, crude and pure testosterone.

Nissan Sunny XV - Believe me this car has space. Its ridiculous I mean the floor space of the car is pretty amazing. However, extremely noticeable turbo lag, and the 1.4L Renault engine is not good enough for a car of this size. It feels extremely underpowered. On a normal slope the car refused to go up in 3rd gear had to downshift. If I am spending 10L I would like to ensure it can handle a few slopes. However do note that the car is fully loaded. The basic model in the diesel segment has features which are listed in the top end model of Rapid/Vento. This car if for those who are keen on rear seat comfort rather than the driving feel.


The Where
To me the Rapid was a clear winner, it checked all the right boxes for me. And was one hell of a car to drive. Cannot miss on mentioning kryptonite's thread which really helped me understand the car. Got clean and realistic no bull reviews from his thread.

So the next step was to finalize the dealer. I had a good experience at Europa Auto, so ya the Sales guy wasn't all that fancy but that's alright. THe other dealer in Pune was Asset Auto, who never cared to call me back for the TD and also I've a friend who has had bad experience with Assest. And so it was going to be Europa.

The How
Called up the SA and said I wish to book and that I was coming over the coming Saturday. And during the week I also had him send the Showroom guys for the buy back of my 5 year old Swift. They quoted a value of Rs. 1.90.000 which I negotiated upto 2.00.000. The same was being offered by Mahindra First choice, Maruti true value and private dealers, so what the hell gave it to the dealer as that would then make my life easier.

With the Swift behind me, Booked the Rapid Ambition 1.6 for Rs. 10,000. Wife insisted on the Red, and since its not all that popular he said he could deliver the car in 7 days provided the loan work would get done.

Since I was giving back my Swift to the dealer itself, the down payment was taken care by the Swift's price.

Commercials :
Total discounts being offered by Skoda was :
corporate discount - Rs. 12,500
exchange bonus - Rs. 10,000
Ganpati festival discount - Rs. 12,500

Exshowroom- Rs 8,72,676/-
Insurance - Rs. 49,665/-
Logistic - Rs. 4000/-
Registration - Rs. 1,02,744/-
Skoda Assure – Rs. 8000/-
TOTAL- Rs. 10,37,085/-
Discount - Rs. 35000/-

Net Invoice Value – Rs. 10,02,085/-

Loan/PDI/Delivery:

Decided to go with ICICI for sake of ease. SBI is a very good option, but I have issues with my signature and didn't want to get that whole mess.

ICICI does carry a reputation of being aggressive. They did the entire loan process in less than 2 days. On the third day the cheque was already out and received by the dealer.

While the Loan was on its way, VIN number was emailed to me. Checked the Number online @ http://www.octinfo.com/index.php?p=vin_en . The car allotted to me was from Feb 2012, I was not very happy about this. This meant that I was buying a car almost 9 months old, rejected the VIN asked the SA to allot a newer car, got a April 2012 car.

Having read the horror stories about Skoda I insisted on doing a PDI before the registration was done. Following tbhp's PDI list looked for any exterior damage and verified the VIN number on the CAR. Couldn't stop smiling, the red beauty was pretty much amazing. I felt so proud doing the PDI, I had bought one hell of a car and it looked amazing.

From the day of the booking it took about 10 days - a couple to get the car to the showroom, couple of days of paper work, and 2 days for the registration.
Two days for registration and there it was the day of the delivery. In all the excitement I reached the showroom way before time, couldn't contain myself.

At the Showroom:
The car was rolled into the showroom :
1. Checked all lights
2. Checked accessories
3. Checked the tires, and spare
4. Verified documents - Insurance, extended warranty and registration receipt remained and were to be picked up after a couple of days.
5. Verified Vin number again

I had to wait a little while they setup the flaps, mats. During that time, all the paper work was completed and verified.

The only accessories I took were :

1. Philips 55/60 lights
2. Suncontrol film
3. ICE - HU - Alpine 2 din WE-233
Speakers - RockFord Fosgate prime 1652S comp speakers @ front
RockFord Fosgate prime 1653 co-axials @ rear

The accessories shop was very very insistent and would just not budge on the Skoda warranty getting void crap. No I did not want the standard OEM system, I wanted something fancy well not very fancy but ya. Did a bit of research and went to him with a couple of options. I wanted Hertz but he bad mouthed them, I think basically because he could not source them.

However I am very satisfied with the ICE, the HU is powerful enough to run the comp and co-ax speakers. I will probably replace the Co-ax with comps in the read as well.

No seat covers for now, let the stock get dirty then ya sure maybe. I did read through some fancy stanley stuff, but not for now.

With all the right checks in place, drove away in the all new Skoda Rapid.

Here are some pics from the delivery :

What was :

Became :

What was :

Became:


Running-In :
The Skoda SA proudly claims you don't need to run-in before going out full throttle. Yes, the engine's are honed in the factory but the manual claims you should not cross 2500 RPM and/or 80 KMP for the first 1000 miles. But there is a different approach, see krptonite's thread for more details.

Following krptonite's thread and reading up I did the following :

1. Don't lug the engine. Keep the revs above 2000 RPM for as much as possible in any gear. Every 400 kms I kept pushing a little more.
2. Don't hold steady throttle, keep accelerating and decelerating.
3. Don't let the engine idle alot.
4. Wait for the engine to reach to reach optimum temperature before pushing it, especially after a cold start.
It takes about a KM's worth of very grand mother like driving for the engine to start responding like it should.

5. Give the engine a good 30 seconds to a minute before turning it off. Din't know about this, but apparently the turbo can get damaged and its a good idea to let the engine settle down, especially after a drive wherein the car was pushed.

6. Use stop and go approach to bed in the breaks. Be gentle on them for the first 300 kms. (No hard braking for the first 300 kms, thats as per the manual).

The car and breaks seemed to be responding nicely once I reached the 1000km mark. Followed the above for 1600 kms.

Short Trips during the Running-in :
Because the car is so full of awesomeness you have to keep driving it. The first weekend after the delivery there I was off to Lavassa and Mahabhaleswar trying to hit two birds with one stone.
--> Do the run in exhaustively, accelerating to 80kmph then slow down and repeat. Each time pushing the rpm upto 2-2.5 while shifting gears.
--> Do the 1600 kms as soon as possible

Pune - Lavassa - Pune

I was excited to see how the car handles the ghat. The good old swift was pretty awesome in the ghats and generated perfect traction. The Rapid behaves a little differently, also it could be because I am was being a little conservative. It takes a while to develop confidence in your car and also the fact that there is huge difference in the driving styles for a diesel as compared to the petrol engine.
Hair pin bends in the third gear, is something that I am not used to and I din't expect it to be able to pull itself in 3rd gear. The engine made absolutely no complains.
There was an instance where I was going uphill on the second gear trying to over take, shifted to the third gear half way through and vroom there she goes pretty awesome. Though the car doesnt have alot of low end torque, the high end torque is pretty amazing. Have been driving the swift petrol for 5 yearss where going uphill sometimes meant I would need to be on the 1st gear, where as this baby has the torque to do the entire ghat in the third/fourth gear. Pretty awesome.
On my way back I got the opportunity to test the phillips 55/60 and it is excellent. Puneites have a bad habit always driving with high beam and the 55/60 cuts through the full beams as and when required. Very satisfied, that's 1500 well spent. Following krptonite's thread and other threads I knew the stock bulbs are not any good and hence got them upgrade during the delivery itself.

This trip added about 120 odd kms to the ODO.

Pune - Mahabhaleshwar - Pune
The very next day drove upto Mapro gardens, again so that I could run-in the engine. In the city it is difficult to do "acceleration - deceleration " cycles.
Katrej ghat was a walk in the park the Rapid doesn't even sweat on ghats like these, was easily cruising all through the ghat on the fourth gear.
The light steering is a joy, especially the cornering the car infact has a bit of oversteer. Am not sure if I can explain it correctly, when getting into a turn the car gets into the corner quickly. No roll in the body, the car feel nice and planted but the oversteer is something that will need getting used to.

The one thing I had a hard time understanding is how to efficiently handle the downhill drives. Because the torque generated is high, leaving it in a gear and using the clutch + breaking to control din't feel very efficient. I also read somewhere that the using the clutch to control the braking is not good idea for the diesel engines.

Straight line - Thanks to the turbo the Rapid takes off like a jet from 80-120 in the 5th, this is around the 2-2.5K. I didn't push the car beyond 80kmph alot apart from when doing the accelerate/decelerate cycles. I could the feel that the car is going to be a joy driving in and around the 100kmph line. Its like the car demands more from you, it wants you push the darn pedal and let the engine roar. At around the 100kmp the car feels nice and stable, the right amount of feedback. Skoda claims the Rapid comes with "break assist", not sure what its supposed to do and when , either way I felt the braking was strong and precise. You feel in complete control of the car.

Suspension - The suspension is stiff no doubt about it, but I believe that contributes to the awesome cornering that the car can achieve. As reported on various threads/forums, "thud" from the rear is common when you a hit potholes. I believe this is what it is, and can't do anything about it. Slow down over bumps and potholes. My wife keeps cribbing about the suspension, its stiff and definitely more stiffer than the swift and she hates that about the car. But then if you like to drive you will appreciate it because of the better handling it has resulted into.


Key features and Misses

Build Quality and Interiors :

• Solid exterior build quality. The Maruti's and the Tata's and the Hyundai's are no where closed to what Skoda has done.
• The lines on the Rapid make it look rugged and man-like.
• Driver seating is perfect, and with the height adjustment its very easy to find that perfect sweet spot.
• Not sure if this is worth mentioning but I love the dash, it is tilted at an angle which it makes it easier to access to the stereo, or the glove. And this is not present on the Vento.
• Love the four spoke Skoda steering wheel.
• Poor quality of plastic fitments. Its like they had to put something to cover the engine and whatever they could source they pushed it in.
• Interiors lacks quality - Apart from the head light switch everything lacks build quality.
• The dash board is a little high and hence there's a good reflection on the wind screen.
• Dash is high, your seating is a little high as well and sometimes the Inside rear view mirror comes in your line of sight.
• The push button for the boot is a little flimsy, the whole thing dislodges from the cut out pretty easily.
• The inside rear view mirror is a little small doesn't cover the rear screen completely.
• Ovrms are little difficult to pull/close. This on the swift was only little nudge.
• The horn is a little hard, I believe this is because of the air bag and I should get used to it basically.
• Rear hump is un-missable, but one has to learn to live with it
• Doors/Boot - The doors are nice and smooth, even with 7000kms on the odo I have absolutely no rattling and the doors feel super smooth. Same goes for the boot lid, all it needs is a nudge.

Performance :

• Car sticks to the road, the faster you drive the more confident the car feels. Its like the car has dual nature, at times its a sedan which will take your kids to school and at times its rally car meant to driven at 3000 Rpm and at 140 kmph.
• Handling is precise and cornering is excellent.
• Has the right feedback at three digit speeds, keeping you in check with the world. Unlike the Verna.
• Once the engine is warmed up, the diesel clutter is not all that apparent.
• Because you are driving at such speeds in the car, the braking needs to be really good. With break assist the Rapid does pretty good job. No complains there.
• Driving in the city --- Its like any other sedan, however as soon as you cross 2000 RPM its like car speaks to you.
• Driving on the highways -- This is an absolute dream come true. The car has so much more power left at 120, its pretty amazing. In the 5th gear cruising at 120, a slight push and baam 140..150.. Its a little scary at times the amount of power that this beast has.
• Gear shift -- Small and precise, to shift its like all you need is to tell the stick that it has to move and it moves on its own.
• Suspension -- Yes its stiff, but that has various advantages. The cornering and handling is outstanding. And at high speeds the stiff suspension glides over all the undulations and the pot holes.
• THUD -- This has been spoken about by many people all across the forum. The thud is unmistakeable, and you need to be gentle when going over humps.

Kitna Deti hai - In the City with 80% AC I am getting around 15-17Km/L of Diesel. I understand this should improve in due time. Am clocking around 600 KMs in 2000Rs worth of Diesel.


On the highway I got around 19 kmpl, with small spells of Air conditioning and with driving speeds of around 120/140 kmph.



Accessories :
Phase 0 -

1. Philips 55/60 lights
2. Suncontrol film - one with 70% visibility and 100% UV protection.
3. ICE - HU - Alpine 2 din WE-233
Speakers - RockFord Fosgate prime 1652S comp speakers @ front
RockFord Fosgate prime 1653 co-axials @ rear

The above required a panel for it to be fit into, as the stock is a little big. The panel, + harness + speakers + HU + installation set me back by Rs. 24,000.

4. Free accessories - Mud Flaps + Floor Mats
Both of these free accessories suck big time. The Flaps will brush againt all possibly humps and speak breakers, and the foot mats are small , keep sliding and build is extremely cheap. I would highly recommend not accepting them.

Phase 1 -

1. Mobile stand - http://www.ebay.in/itm/280968910255?...84.m1439.l2649
(Credit to kryptonite for pointing that out on ebay)

2. 3d Maxspider Ragu Mats
Having read about it, I knew this is exactly what I wanted. Edge to edge cover and the material is completely washable. And fits perfectly. Pics attached below.
COst - Rs. 5,000
Vendor - Poona Motors (East Street)

3. Mud Flaps - There is no such thing as free lunch, having spent Rs. 550 I was now happy --- http://www.ebay.in/itm/281039609767?...84.m1439.l2649
Am yet to get this fitted, this will need a couple holes drilled. Should happen soon.

4. Number Plates - No not the highly secure number plates, but the next best thing. The secured number plates have not been introduced in Pune yet. Got ones which look similar - Rs. 1,200. The guys at Poona Motors got these in a day for me.

Phase 2 'Project 2013' -

1. Upsize wheel - 185/65/r14 is what I have on mind. Am not sure if going to 15" makes sense. Either ways, Alloys+Wheels is a project on its own. Not in the immediate future atleast, maybe after the wheels run out a bit or something.

2. Diesel Tronic box by Race Dynamics/ Tune-o-Tronics Remap - I have my eyes set on these and will probably get them in 2013. The problem is that, these need to be removed anytime the car is being sent to for service. With Skoda's reputation I don't want to risk voiding my warranty.

3. Pioneer FH-X559UI HU - Damn this is one hell of a HU. The one thing that I miss the most in any car audio unit is that I have the listen to entire song, and cant fade in and out of songs. I have got to get me one of these - http://www.pioneer-india.in/shop/fh-x559ui/


From Lavassa -




Component speakers on the door :



Alpine W233


Mobile Stand from Ebay


3d Maxpider -

The very Important FRONT RIGHT


Front Left


With the all new Number Plates



A big big thank you to Kryptonite, without his thread I would probably never have gone this way.




Am done with about 7500 kms in less around 4.5 months and loving every bit of it. The 7500 km, oil top up is lined up in a couple of days.

Travelogue from Pondicherry to follow soon. Also another upcoming trip to Udaipur to follow.

[MetalBuff]

Let me the first one to congratulate you here !!! Party time !!!

Man, that solid red color looks absolutely smashing on your ride. Maintaining that shade's shimmer will give you a hard time but, that's just sweet pain

Please post some interior pics as well.

How about some smoking black alloys as well?

[pradyblr]

santoshr: Congrats on a fabulous purchase . Just love the smashing red color.
In my opinion, it is a perfect upgrade from the driving machine, Swift.
May Skoda service live up to your expectations.

More pics please and +1 to smoking alloys demand

[GTO]

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

[Sommos]

@Santosh : Many congratulations for your new car.
The red colour looks fantastic, but maybe hard to maintain.
Wish you many happy mile munching with the Rapid and absolutely niggle free performance from the red beauty.
Enjoy your ride and drive safe.

[volkman10]

Congrats on a fabulous purchase. Rapid is true VFM, nice and informative write up.

Drive safe!

Cheers!

[swiftnfurious]

Very well written report. Congrats on the acquisition of a fantastic driver's car. You did the good by opting for Skoda Shield as well.

Wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!

[Safari_Beast]

Hello santoshr

Congratulations for your new ride , dont change your existing alpine headunit with the alpine because its not worth it . Sound quality is not upto the mark as alpine .

[santoshr]

Originally Posted by Sommos

@Santosh : Many congratulations for your new car.
The red colour looks fantastic, but maybe hard to maintain.

You have no idea. I have been doing the 'wax-on' and 'wax-off' routine every weekends. Also plan to do a quick 3m visit in the coming weeks to have one of those wax thingies done.

Originally Posted by volkman10

Congrats on a fabulous purchase. Rapid is true VFM, nice and informative write up.

Thanks. Loving every bit of it indeed.

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Very well written report. Congrats on the acquisition of a fantastic driver's car. You did the good by opting for Skoda Shield as well.

Thank you. Indeed its a great drivers car. So ya it doenst have the fanciest interiors but I don't care.

Originally Posted by Safari_Beast

Congratulations for your new ride , dont change your existing alpine headunit with the alpine because its not worth it . Sound quality is not upto the mark as alpine .

Duly noted. Thank you for the feedback.

[Caffeinated]

@Santosh, Many congratulations for your new ride. Very good review; especially liked the "What was" and "Became" photographs. The HU looks good and well integrated with the dash as well.

[santoshr]

It had been about three months and I had reaped in close to 6000 kms of the car. Around the January 14th week decided to stretch her legs. The idea was to do Pune-Pondicherry-Pune.

Original plan was to go upto Vellore and break there but decided against it and took the break at Bangalore.

I was a little worried and wanted to top-up on Oil. Called the SA and was told I need not worry. With faith in him decided to move on. I need to follow Kyrptonite's advice and carry engine oil and break oil with me at all times and do a refill on my own.

Religiously went to Diamond Bakery to pick up sandwiches. Its like our thing, we do it every time we drive on highways. Because this Bakery opens up at 5, they have really fresh sandwiches early in the morning. This is like asking Diamond Bakery to bless our trip, and well ya it does.

The car behaved phenomenally. I would set foot on the accelerator and it be like a beast. I wonder how the re-mapped version feels. The stock map itself pushes you back in your seat as soon as you accelerate in the 5th. The car made me feel strong and aggressive. Overtaking buses cars everything that came my way. 'Orgasmic' is the only word which describes the turbo on the rapid.

There were about 10 diversions between Pune and Satara and that sucked. Every diversion has a hump before and after and that would cause my extra large mud flaps to scrap. It scraped almost every other hump.

Around the Khambatgi ghat a group of Royal Enfields engulfed us, and they were driving like maniacs. Usually when I see such driving around I hang back and let them do their thing.

So ya we reached Kolhapur at around 9-9.30, took a break at "Visawa Snacks". This is on the left side a little after Kolhapur right next to Hotel Girija, serves the most amazing Misal Pav. We breaked for about 10-15 minutes, quickly checked the tyres and survey'ed the vehicles periphery. No damage, the tyres looked good. Not too hot, the car looked sturdy and rearing for more.

At visawa snacks taking a breather ---




World's best Misal -- hehe


After the swift, the Rapid felt like an awesome upgrade. I used to average at around 80-90 and then push the car to 120 on empty sections. However with the Rapid all this changed, 120 was the new 80 and empty sections meant I could go upto 140-150. And i used usually break every two hours with the swift, but with the rapid the driving is effortless. And so you can cover great distances in these long stretches.

The second stop was just after the Chitradurga toll, which is almost 400 kms from Kolhapur. I was surprised I was comfortably now doing 400 kms legs, graduating from the usually 200-250kms legs with the swift.

Quick Narayal Pani a few pics and we were off :



Here is were fun happened. As soon as we left the toll, there were two scorpio's and an innova fighting for supremacy and this at around 100-110 kmph. Waited for them to figure out who wants to over take whom. The innova took the lead, after they had their issues sorted out I signaled and cut into the left lane and let my turbo teach them a lesson. And man it felt nice, smoked them!!. You don't mess with the Rapid, with the turbo 100-140 is in like seconds and there they were in my rear view and long gone., bought a nasty grin on my face.

Between Chitradurga to Tumkur there are about 15 diversions. THe third pitstop was at Tumkur for a quick refill. We had used about half of the tank and top-ed it up. Calculated an average of 18.4 kms. I knew it was a little low as advertised but then when driving at 120-140 I don't expect anything above 19. And this was so much more better than my swift pertrol. Was making it at almost half the price, more mileage and reduced per litre price.

Took the Dobbaspet exit as I wanted to goto Yelehanka. And because of that avoided the city traffic. And so with the breaks and the diversions we were took from door-to-door about 12 hours. And I was delighted.

Took a day in Bangalore with the family, Monday morning we were off to Pondicherry. Since we were in Yelehanka I did not want to cross the city again and so the plan was to take the Hoskote - Kolar road, which also meant I get to drive in Andra Pradesh for a while. Got lost a whole bunch of times but ya made it to Pondicherry by around 2-2.30.

When crossing into A.P the guy at the check post stopped us, looked around the car and asked for some chai-pani. But why there is no such rule that when crossing state borders I have to pay. Just because the car was an MH we were being bothered. And he was not very happy when I gave him 50, he was like want 500 and all. Threw a hundred at him and moved on.

Anyways here are some pics :

Look maa empty roads -- THis was the four lane section till Kollar


Empty toll booths, that is soo not common in Maharashtra :





The AP check point :


The Arcot - Pondicherry State Highway :




Can't be missed, its all the same guy in different dresses :


B.t.w Shout out to the guys on the forum. I wasn't sure about the route to Pondicherry and there are some very very good pointers here.

Stayed at two different hotels two nights each. Parked the car right in front of the hotel. Both of them had night gaurds and so I was a little relieved.

Pondicherry -- were time takes a break apparently. And that is correct.

While on our way back, left pondicherry after breakfast and reached bangalore at around early evening. On the way back from Bangalore, had to take an extended lunch break at a relative's place in Dharwad. Took about 14 hours door-door. On the way back averaged at around 19.6 kmpl.

Here is the entire album for those interested -- http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?s...0825628&type=3

The front mud flap had broken in half, and the infamous shuddering when breaking had started showing up. During the 7500km checkup I asked him to consider the directive from Skoda and replace the rotors, but was denied. The SA said this is because of balancing/alignment. Let me fix that you can then test and check again. Took the entire freaking day to get the checkup done. If its just a oil-top up then give us the oil and we will top it up ourselves. But I think they run a diagnostic test which should give red flags if something is broken.

However after the 7500km checkup, the car felt nice and zippy again. In about a month's time there was a badass trip coming up and I was insistent I will only go if there's driving involved. And so it was -- Pune - UdaiPur - Pune over a extended weekend.

[Batfreak]

Congrats on the buy. Please keep the thread updated with mileage figures. Wish you a happy ownership experience.
Cheers!

[stringbh]

Congrats on your purchase. Red color really rocks. I had not chosen red only because of maintenance issues. I always felt rapid beats vento in looks! Do keep the thread updated and the paint protection activities you undertake.

[santoshr]

Finally! After a long break back to posting updates :

Highlights being :

* 14500 kms done
* loved every bit of it.
* personal best of 16 hours in a day with the Rapid
* pimped up the ride.

In totality have done in the last eight months of ownership :

* Pune - Lavassa
* Pune - Mahabhaleshwar
* Pune - LOnavla
* Pune - Pondicherry
* Pune - Bhandardhara
* Pune - Udaipur
* Pune - Dharwad

The Udaipur-Pune drive in a single day would not have ben possible with my swift. The torque, the handling, its like with the Rapid one owns the road. Its fast, its grounded and the turbo is orgasmic.

I have been averaging at around 18-19kmpl when driving at around 140kmph. I usually use the tank full to tank full method and depending on what speeds I drive the mileage increases/decreases by a couple of kms.

Originally Posted by stringbh

Do keep the thread updated and the paint protection activities you undertake.

For the paint I have been doing this every weekend if possibly :
Step 1: Wash the car with a good shampoo. Use a good shampoo, I have the one I purchased from Auto dealer. It's authentic Skoda and hence is very effective. I take about 2-3 caps worth of Shampoo in half a bucket

Step 2: Take another half a bucket of water and rinse off the shampoo

Step 3: Wax the car. I use the wax purchased from the dealer again it is authentic Skoda accessory and does a pretty neat job.
*Do note that one should always be applying the "wax" in the direction of air. I use to randomly apply blobs but that takes more time to rub-off. Applying the direction of wind makes it easier when doing the "wax-off" routine.

There are a whole bunch of Shampoo's and wax available. Ranging from 100 rs to a 1000. Recommended brand is Meguiars, one can find all or almost all of their products at any 3M car detailing shops.

Following a fellow bhpian's suggestion, I now use the Meguiars washing mitt, Meguiars water magnet and Meguiar's micro fibre cloth. I used to have a couple of those rs. 15 cloths but they are basically useless, can't absorb water and leave a whole bunch of swivel marks.

B.t.w That water magnet towel is pretty amazing, Cuts the time to wipe of the car by more than half.

http://www.meguiars.co.in/home/

Step 4 : To top it off, get yourself one of those Optimum No rinse no wax (ONR) thingies from "Eco Car Care" Bangalore.
This is to be diluted using water at 1:25 and sprayed on the car. And then rub it off. This helps protect the wax and apparently help protect the paint.

I just got the ONR delivered and am yet to do step 4. And yes the eco car care guys are pretty amazing, they have their portal running off facebook. And so when you buy a product they will email you the bank account details and then ship the product.

Accessories update :

Phase 2 -- As originally planned this was project 2013 and so I did :

1. Upsize tyres and Alloys - Plati premium 15" alloys with Yoko S drives 205/55 tires.






2. Sparco Steering cover -- Bought this from Japan, costed me around 1500 INR, bought the size small I had to struggle a bit to make it fit But ya it worked.


3. Sparco Seat belt pads -- These also get clipped onto the seat belts. Look nice and the feeling on the shoulder is much better



4. Razo racer pedals - These get clipped onto your existing pedals, nothing changes but the feeling on the feet is a little better. And the looks are killer.




Had to rotate the break pedal by 90degrees. Thts because the rod connecting to the pedal is wider and so was unable to wrap the clamps around the pedal.



Sporting the brand sticker --


5. OVRM mirror extensions - These are stuck on the mirrors, unlike the ones we usually see which are round and ugly. These are horizontal and the viewing angle can be changed.



Phase 3 -- Possibly H2 2013

1. Tune-o-Tronics - Remap
-- This is now more so required because of the upsized tires.

2. Stanley 50-50 Scandinavian leather seats
-- Was really keen on getting Karlsson done, but they only operate out of Bangalore. Stanley's guy in Pune is 'Rahul Enterprises' at F.C. Road, he's quoted about 45K inr for full Scandinavian leather. 50/50 which means skin touching parts will be leather and back will be art. This should cost 10-15K less. The 0.9 mm leather will cost around 20-25K.

Lets see how things pan out. First service is up in a week's time. Will post back after that.

[santoshr]

Following fellow bhpian @el_lobo_6061's advice procured the Optimum no wash and wax and man is it awesome.

Here are a few pics after the detailing work :

Process --
1. Wash wish Shampoo
2. Rinse
3. Wipe off water
4. Wax On- Wax Off
5. ONR solution, spray and rub off

Pics --