[Pferdestarke]

My candy white Skoda Rapid (MY14) TDI elegance

Note: This is my very first ownership thread on the forum. So, pardon me for mistakes and poor write-up. All suggestions on amelioration of this thread are welcome.

Quick Overview:

What I like:

• Clean design, stylish prism cuts at the rear.
• Fashionable grill with chrome strip.
• New Skoda logo and badging.
• Projector headlights.
• Solid build quality, consistent panel gaps.
• Peppy yet frugal diesel motor.
• Excellent handling and road manners.
• Well insulated cabin/low NVH levels
• Leather wrapped three spoke steering with audio controls and phone connectivity.
• No ergonomic faults, atleast that I could find.
• Humongous boot space of 460L

What I don't like:

• Notchy gear shifts (Hope they'll get sorted out with usage)
• Stock Apollo tyres can get noisy as hell on scraped roads.
• No Dead pedal.
• No key less entry.
• Skoda style trumpet horn is sorely missed.
• No lumbar support for seats.
• Rear tall hump.

Scenario:

I was looking for a sensible upgrade from my well served swift vdi and decided on Ecosport. Booked it on july 15th only to be let down by the lengthy waiting periods, still managed to wait till 15th of December which was 30days beyond the promised delivery date. Discontented with the Ford India's practises, cancelled the booking on 16th.

Back to the searching phase, I always had a thing for Skoda.So, filled up a query form on Skoda's website and got a call back within 30minutes, that was like blazing fast. Asked for a TD and was attended by a team of 3 (SA, Financial Advisor, TD vehicle driver) within an hour of disconnecting the call. They got a new, updated MY14 model for TD to my home. Took a detailed TD for 1 hour.

Called up VW guys for a TD in Vento to make a comparo. My findings from the comparision:

• Vento's interiors felt a bit premium both visually as well as tactilely.
• Rapid's ride quality is tad better than that of vento.
• NVH levels are better masked in Rapid.

So, I had finally cornered it to Rapid with the lucrative deals available on it.

Why didn’t I choose other cars?

• New Honda City: The new city didn’t appeal to me much. I would have gone for 3rd generation city, if made available in diesel. The 13L+ on road price made me disregard it.
  
  
• Duster: Loved the ride quality of this mean machine. Unadorned interiors and exorbitant pricing made me drop off this option.
  
  
• Verna: I am not a fan of Hyundai's fluidic design with lots of slashes over the body. Poor highway handling is another disappointment.
  
  
• Linea: There is no dealership for Fiat in my city at present. So, didn't even care to think about it.
  
  
• Vento: I like VW's clean and simple design and sturdiness. Noisy cabin, expensive spares when compared to Rapid made me choose Rapid over Vento.

I sincerely tip my hat to GTO, .anshuman, Samurai, Vid6639, caabhishek, achopraa for helping me choose this beautiful machine.

Dealership Experience:

Dealer name: Mahavir Auto Diagnostics, Vijayawada

I was really impressed with their politesse and courtesy.My dealer also deals with Mercedes-Benz in my city, so took an opportunity to TD A180D.They never insisted me on anything, everything was left to my decision. Booked a silver colour MY14 elegance on 20th. They were ready to deliver the car on 22nd but withheld it for an auspicious day and planned it on 28th. Did PDI on 25th and the only silver car available with them was August manufactured. I refused to take it, chose a November manufactured Candy white Rapid. Team-BHP PDI check list rocks and my sincere thanks to Wildon for decoding the VIN. The finance approval went smooth and took the delivery on 28th of December. Delivery experience was rousing.I wish for similar experiences with "After Sales Services".

Merc A180D TD car that I drove on the day I booked my car.


Deals availed:

• VW finance with interest rate @7.99%
• Free insurance worth 42000
• Free extended warranty worth 13000
• Freebies-mud flaps, mats and perfume.

On Road Price:11,38,000

Accessories added:

• Autoform U fly plus leatherette seat covers-7800
• Star 3D mats-2800
• Parking sensors (Skoda official accessory)-3900
• Roots windtone horns(purchased and installed at the dealershp itself)-750

The official Skoda parking sensors are Autocop made.They are available at a lower price in the local accessories shops (~2400 if I recall correctly). Still I chose to get them from the dealer since I don't want to mess with the warranty. Same applies to the horn upgrade.



Add ons in the new MY14 model:

Exterior:No substantial changes from the outside, except for the new chrome on black badging and projector headlights.

• New headlamps are a substantial upgrade from the previous ones, which suffered poor visibilty issues. Thanks to Skoda for bringing projector lamps (first in the segment I guess).The light throw and illumination are way better now, even with the stock bulbs. The projector is only for low-beam and high beam is taken care by a halogen lamp with reflector, which when turned on, the projectors are dimmed out. I am very pleased with the new headlamps.

Interior: Sizeable changes have been made in the inside of MY14 Rapid.

• The steering wheel is a fresh looking three spoke one unlike the typical Skoda four spoke wheel. Yeah, it now comes with the steering mounted audio controls, arranged as a track changing rocker, a volume control roller(comes handy than button type volume controls) and a call answer/end button
  
  
• The steering wheel now bears three chrome trims, neatly laid out and adds to the premium feel.
  
  
• New ICE sounds good for an OEM one. Infact, it is better than that in Ecosport, which grabbed quite a few ears. It now has Bluetooth connectivity and steering mounted call control button. USB connectivity has been added alongside the conventional aux-in and SD car slots.
  
  
• The AC vents now look richer with nice, shinier chrome rims around. The black rims in older versions of Rapid failed in eye-appealing.
  
  
• Gear knob, hand brake and steering wheel gets leather wraps, another premium adding upgrade.

[Pferdestarke]

First Impressions:

Exterior:

I love the clean and straight forward design of Rapid. The front grill is sure, a typical Skoda style grill with a chrome strip and new monochrome Skoda badging appeals well to the eyes. Prism cut creases on the rear end adds to the looks definitely. Projector lamps enhance the front looks fairly. I liked the 15” Antares alloys and dropped my plans to upgrade alloys. Paint job is splendid and flaw-less. The ORVMs provide a wide field of vision, aiding in easy driving. Looking from side, Rapid appears much longer than it actually is. The loose hanging parking brake cable, mentioned in the official review is still visible underneath the body.

Build Quality:

Oh, Boy! I am addicted to this solid thud that pleases my ears everytime I close the doors. The build quality is typically European with no compromise at any corner. Panel gaps are consistent everywhere and engine bay is neatly packed with good insulation underneath the bonnet. The bonnet itself is so heavy that I couldn’t bear it on a single hand for a while. Underbody comes with anti-rust coating from factory with 6 years warranty, which is a great relief for me as I am based in a costal area.

Interior:

I prefer beige interiors. So, to my liking Rapid’s interiors are well laid with beige and brown combination.The plastics are definitely of good quality. The dials look good and classy. Dials, instrument cluster and power window controls are green lluminated, where as ICE and AC display get white illumination. The green illumination is a boon to locate switches and easy on eyes while night driving. IRVM provides is really useless. I bought autoform U fly plus leatherette seat covers which match the interiors best.Fit is pretty snug and quality is absolutely good, with 2 years warranty.I am using Nexus 7(2013 version) as navigation and multimedia screen, mounted on Exogear Dashboard mount, which is an excellent product.The cabin space is enormous, the rear quarter glasses add to the feeling of airiness. Ergonomics are well designed, no major flaws except for the driver arm rest, which hinders using the parking brake lever, but makes the driver comfy on long highway trips. European style placement of wiper stalk on right side bemused me a bit, but got used to it in a couple of days. All switches and controls, especially power windows and ORVM adjustments are well laid out on the driver side door panel. There are ample number of storage spaces and cup holders, brilliantly placed (For instance the foldable cup holder below the rear aircon vents). Height adjustable three point seatbelts are comfortable and encourages me to wear. 460L of boot space is humongous and more than adequate for my requirements.The doors open wide in three stages and ingress is quite easy.Overall experience is quite fair.

Seats:

Seat comfort is quite good. The leatherette seat covers make it much better except on a scorching sunny day. Height adjust has a good range. Lumbar support would have made it better. Rear side lever to push the passenger side seat is a useful feature. Head restraints are pleasing during long drives.

AC:

Thanks to the climatronic AC, takes care of temperature without any hassles. Rear aircon vents help in cooling the cabin quickly. Overall performace is satisfactory but I have seen better ACs, for instance in ecosport. Airconditioner controls are easy to use. Just keep on rolling the fan speed control roller till ‘auto’ appears on the display and that’s it you’re done.

Gizmos:

There are no astounding gizmos, but the necessary stuff has been provided. MID with gear shift indicator, outside temperature, time since engine start, real time FE, service reminder, distance to empty,etc., control rocker for which is placed on wiper control stalk.
I must mention about the upgraded ICE, which sounds remarkably good for an OEM system. Thanks to Skoda for finally adding USB and phone connectivity to the new system along with steerig mounted audio controls.

Engine:

I am seriously in love with this engine. Churning out 104 ferocious horses, this engine never repudiates driver’s desires. When I get some stirring power, I don’t mind hearing some clatter. The sound turns into a nice roar on revving harder. The turbo lag is barely appreciable, easy to drive in city conditions with this super peppy engine. Out there on highways it will sure pump a surge of adrenaline in the driver. I am yet to unleash the engine to its full capability, as it is still in run-in period. The refinement is acceptable for a diesel engine, but Hyundai’s diesel motors are much finer in this aspect. The low and middle end torque is magnificient, which makes it easily driveable in city conditions. It is literally hard to stall this engine unless one does it intentionally. Past the 1700rpm mark the turbo sets in to give the sudden rush of power, which makes me enjoy every bit of it.

Ride Quality, Suspension, Handling and NVH:

There’s definitely an audible clatter from engine on cold start, which eventually fades off as the car starts to roll out. NVH levels are well dampened, compared to vento. The suspension setup is tad stiffer, but takes potholes with ease. My only grouse is the terrifying scraping sound while bumping the speed breakers, though it occurs only on full load. I guess this sound comes from the long mud flaps kissing the humps. Body roll is well controlled and playing around corners is much exciting now. Absolutely confidence inspiring in high-speeds. Undulations are well dampened and gives a secure feeling. The stock tyres, which are Apollo Alnacs, make hell of a noise on scraped and worn out roads. I am contented with the ride quality

Transmission:

Gear ratios are short particularly for 1st and 4th gears. 5th gear provides a wide range of play and easy to gain from the lower speeds makes overtaking effortless. The shifts are not-so-smooth, especially 4th to 5th. Hope they get smoother with time. The gear knob is grippy as well as cosy to hold .

Steering and Brakes:

New steering with leather wrap gets cosy in the hands. Thanks to the tilt and telescopic adjustments, which provide a wide range of length and angle adjustments. The steering feels a bit lighter, I for one felt so, as I am very much used to the stiffer steering of Swift. Maneuvering in city is so simple now. The steering weighs up considerably as the car hits higher speeds adding to the stability.
Coming from Swift, I must admit that Rapid is equipped with a precise braking system with a short braking distance. The safety features like ABS and Dual-rate brake assist are assuring during hard braking.

Run-in:

My dealer had clearly mentioned that no run-in is required for the car, as it comes pre-run at the factory. Yet, Iam running-in as suggested on the forum. Clocked 700kms so far. Went on a highway trip to Hyderabad as situations demanded but took all the necessary measures one should take during run-in period. Never revved beyond 2000rpm and never crossed 90kmph so far. Worked a bit to keep the rpms varying from 1500 to 2000 and trust me it’s a bit hard job to do so on a freshly laid, buttery smooth tarmac. Waiting to cross the 1000kms mark for changing engine oil as advised on the forum.

Usage:

My daily daily commute ranges from 12-20kms per day and occasional short trips for a stretch of 200-300kms once or twice a month. That roughly adds up to 700-800kms per month.

Fuelling:

Kudos to Team-BHP for enlightening me about choosing fuel pumps. I would like to praise my dealer again, for providing me a list of company owned fuel pumps in my city. I have chosen a club HP station close to my residence. They have a real time display of fuel density. Moreover they provide free nitrogen filling for tyres on bills above 1000 bucks. Got the first tank full at this pump just before my trip to Hyderabad.

Fuel Efficiency:

Didn’t give it much thought as the actual figures would need some time for the engine to set in. MID real time FE is useless in city driving, it shows drastic variations like from 0.4 to 86 kmpl. Highway driving showed figures ranging between 18-23kmpl.

Detailing:

I prefer DIY car detailing as I couldn’t find a proper car detailing service in my city. I have been doing it on my swift for the past 4 years.So, bought all the necessary stuff for detailing:

• Formula 1 carnauba wash & wax
• Formula 1 carnauba car wax
• Formula 1 glass cleaner with rain repellant
• Meguiars quick detailer spray
• Sonax car polish
• STP son of a gun protectant solution
• Armorall tyre shine gel
• X-static microfiber towels
• X-static water magnet cloth and glass cleaning cloth
• X-static microfiber washing mitt
• Clean cham chamois cloth

I know what’s on your mind now “Enough of rambling, let the pictures say the rest”
Sorry for the mediocre quality pics, I don't have a DSLR.


The new chrome on black Skoda badge.

The key to unleash the beast (stylish key fob).

Silicone key fob cover bought from eBay.

Exterior pics:





15" Antares alloys adds a fair bit to the sporty stance.


Projector headlamps.


New RAPID badge in all upper-case letters (Previous version had "Rapid" badge, also notice the TDI badge moved to a site beneath this badge)

Skoda badge on left side (older version had TDI badge here)

Proud to bear this sticker on my car.

Neatly packed engine bay.

[Pferdestarke]

Projector light in low beam

High beam (Projector dimmed out)

Headlight illumination:

Star 3D mats.(Added a jute mat on driver side for enhanced grip)

Autoform U FLY PLUS leatherette seat covers.



Interior pics:
New three spoke steering wheel with chrome inserts.


Upgraded stock ICE with USB and phone connectivity.

Aircon vents marginated with nice chrome rims.

Steering mounted audio controls.

MID

Exogear tablet mount(Grips the tablet very firmly).

Nexus 7 (2nd gen) serves the navigation and multimedia function.

[Pferdestarke]

Other bits and pieces.

Rear quarter glass adds to the airy feel of cabin.

Conveniently placed controls.

Rear aircon vents(Must have for my city's scorching weather)

Leather wrapped parking brake.

Tall rear hump says 'nah' for the fifth occupant.

Rear armrest.

My DIY car detailing kit.


Haven’t faced any niggles so far. Hope it goes the same way through out.

Verdict:

Rapid might not appear great in terms of equipment, but it has got that characteristic trait of an enthusiast’s car. Apart from the gizmos, the car values of Rapid are unmatched in C2 segment IMHO, but to each their own.

I shall keep updating this thread with my ownership experiences, cost of upkeep and maintainence, after sales service, etc., subsequently.

Thanks for visiting!

[torque18]

hello! Congratulations for your new car! The new upgraded Rapid is a stunner

Can you please check from the the owner's manual what specification bulbs have been used in the projector and for the high beam? Planning to go for the new headlights so wanted to order the bulbs in advance.

Thanks

[achopraa]

Many Congratulations on your new buy. Hope you get a lot of crunching miles with the power horse in your stable.

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

I sincerely tip my hat to GTO, .anshuman, Samurai, Vid6639, caabhishek, achopraa for helping me choose this beautiful machine.

Thanks!!!

Deals availed:

• VW finance with interest rate @7.99%
• Free insurance worth 42000
• Free extended warranty worth 13000
• Freebies-mud flaps, mats and perfume.

It was the mouthwatering Deal that made me favour RAPID over VENTO.
As discussed in a seperate thread, one of the nicest you got.

Accessories added:

• Parking sensors (Skoda official accessory)-3900
• Roots windtone horns(purchased and installed at the dealershp itself)-750

Parking Sensors are mentioned on Skoda's site at 3979, so compared to it, you got a better deal. Can you show a picture of the unit which displays and sounds the alerts.
I find the sensors extremely useful due to the lack of visibility via IRVM.

How does the horn sound? Is it a dual horn? And what happens to the Old Horn?

• New headlamps are a substantial upgrade from the previous ones, which suffered poor visibilty issues. Thanks to Skoda for bringing projector lamps (first in the segment I guess).The light throw and illumination are way better now, even with the stock bulbs. The projector is only for low-beam and high beam is taken care by a halogen lamp with reflector, which when turned on, the projectors are dimmed out. I am very pleased with the new headlamps.

The old Halogen headlights have a Pathetic Low Beam output. So if Projectors are good, they have hit 2 birds in one go.

[list][*]The steering wheel is a fresh looking three spoke one unlike the typical Skoda four spoke wheel. Yeah, it now comes with the steering mounted audio controls, arranged as a track changing rocker, a volume control roller(comes handy than button type volume controls) and a call answer/end button[list]

I am a bit confused seeing this 3 spoke wheel. The Rapid that I have is the one with new badging but still has 4 spoke wheel (but different from the Old Badging one). Will get this checked on my visit to Service Station.

I can just wonder how you managed to keep your baby under 90 at 2K RPM on a highway. I made sure that I do not go on a highway till the Run-in period as it is too difficult to control the urge to hit pedal to metal and have the grin on the face.

Do you have any further Add-ons planned?

About the Nexus-7 Tab, is it always hanging in there or do you take it On and Off? I am always skeptical of keeping my GPS unit hanging due to
a) The Heat
b) Fear of vandalism

[narsi_6989]

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

Exogear tablet mount(Grips the tablet very firmly).
Attachment 1194618
Nexus 7 (2nd gen) serves the navigation and multimedia function.
Attachment 1194627

Hi,
Hearty congratulations on the Rapid. This is a real good ride and the deals you have mentioned is really mouth watering .
Regarding the Nexus 7, I don't find any mention of it in the Skoda website. Does this come along with the car or is it an accessory that you opted for? Or, is it your personal Tablet?

[skyfire2892]

Congrats on the car. The 1.6 TDI is one of the best diesel car for enthusiasts.
I also use my Nexus 7 for navigation purposes. If you're into diagnostics, get a OBD scanner and use Torque app in the tablet. Believe me you'll love it!
I have been using anti-slip pad for tablet but the exogear mount looks fabulous.
And the SKODA background

[tejas08]

Does the 2014 model have some features changed?

I understand that a facelift of Rapid is also about to happen in the recent future.

Can somebody throw some light on this please?

[narsi_6989]

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

Deals availed:

• VW finance with interest rate @7.99%
• Free insurance worth 42000
• Free extended warranty worth 13000
• Freebies-mud flaps, mats and perfume.

Hey is the above finance scheme part of 'Buy now, Pay in 2015' scheme or any other finance deal? Also, did you have to haggle a lot for the free insurance and free extended warranty?

[Pferdestarke]

First of all, my sincere apologies to all of you for delayed response.

Originally Posted by torque18

Can you please check from the the owner's manual what specification bulbs have been used in the projector and for the high beam?

Thanks torque18. I went through the entire manual, but there is no mention of bulb types in it. I am planning to visit my dealer in the coming week for an oil change, I shall enquire my SA and get back to you on this.

Originally Posted by achopraa

Many Congratulations on your new buy.

Thank you achopraa.

Originally Posted by achopraa

Parking Sensors are mentioned on Skoda's site at 3979, so compared to it, you got a better deal.

My mistake, even I paid 3979. I was a bit lazy to check my bills.

Originally Posted by achopraa

Can you show a picture of the unit which displays and sounds the alerts.

Though I have bought the sensors, I am yet to get them installed from the dealer as the technician who does this job was on leave on the delivery day. I will get them installed in the coming week and shall post the pics then for sure.

Originally Posted by achopraa

I find the sensors extremely useful due to the lack of visibility via IRVM.

they are must have for Rapid owners, in view of useless IRVM.

Originally Posted by achopraa

How does the horn sound? Is it a dual horn? And what happens to the Old Horn?

The horn is a Roots Windtone trumpet horn. It sounds exactly the way a typical Skoda trumpet horn does. Yes, it is a dual horn. Old horns were left in situ and the new ones were placed on separate clamps.

Originally Posted by achopraa

The old Halogen headlights have a Pathetic Low Beam output. So if Projectors are good, they have hit 2 birds in one go.

The new projector lamps are exceptionally good. You can check the pictures to see how bright they illuminate the path.

Originally Posted by achopraa

I am a bit confused seeing this 3 spoke wheel. The Rapid that I have is the one with new badging but still has 4 spoke wheel (but different from the Old Badging one). Will get this checked on my visit to Service Station.

The new Skoda badging has appeared even before the launch of MY14 model, but the three spoke wheel has been added in MY14 model only AFAIK.

Originally Posted by achopraa

I can just wonder how you managed to keep your baby under 90 at 2K RPM on a highway. I made sure that I do not go on a highway till the Run-in period as it is too difficult to control the urge to hit pedal to metal and have the grin on the face.

I agree that it is difficult to resist ourselves on highways with such a revv-happy engine. I kept a close eye on the tachometer to maintain rpms between 1500 and 2000 with occasional revving to touch 2.2k.

Originally Posted by achopraa

Do you have any further Add-ons planned?

Nothing planned as of now. Will consider changing tyres, if the noise doesn't settle down after 1500kms.

Originally Posted by achopraa

About the Nexus-7 Tab, is it always hanging in there or do you take it On and Off? I am always skeptical of keeping my GPS unit hanging due to the Heat,Fear of vandalism

I usually leave it inside, as my car is parked in shade for most of the time. The exogear mount is an excellent dashboard mount. It holds the tablet so firmly that it barely sways even on rough roads.

Originally Posted by narsi_6989

Regarding the Nexus 7, I don't find any mention of it in the Skoda website. Does this come along with the car or is it an accessory that you opted for? Or, is it your personal Tablet?

Thank you narsi_6989. It is my personal tablet dedicated to my car to serve GPS and multimedia function. With a Belkin AUX cable taking care of audio, it provides a rich surround sound cinema experience inside my ride.

Originally Posted by skyfire2892

I also use my Nexus 7 for navigation purposes. If you're into diagnostics, get a OBD scanner and use Torque app in the tablet. Believe me you'll love it!I have been using anti-slip pad for tablet but the exogear mount looks fabulous.

Thank you skyfire2892. I heard about these OBD scanners and will surely consider buying one. Regarding the exogear mount, I simply love it.

Originally Posted by tejas08

Does the 2014 model have some features changed?
I understand that a facelift of Rapid is also about to happen in the recent future.Can somebody throw some light on this please?

I have mentioned the add-ons in MY14 model in my very first post on the thread, please go through it. And regarding the facelift of Rapid, there is a new version called "Ultima" ready to be announced at the autoexpo. There is also a possibilty for the launch of Euro-spec Rapid in India but that is likely to be placed in a higher price bracket.

Originally Posted by narsi_6989

Hey is the above finance scheme part of 'Buy now, Pay in 2015' scheme or any other finance deal? Also, did you have to haggle a lot for the free insurance and free extended warranty?

Nope. 'Buy now, Pay in 2015' was not applicable on MY14 model at the time of my purchase, not sure about the present terms though.
Free insurance and extended warranty were directly offered by the dealer. I had to negotiate only on freebies, rest all were part of the offer.

[AirbusA340]

Nice write up. CoNgRaTs on your new baby. Take care of her. Enjoyy!

pEaCe

[Pferdestarke]

Originally Posted by AirbusA340

Nice write up. CoNgRaTs on your new baby. Take care of her. Enjoyy! pEaCe

Thank you AirbusA340. I will do my best to keep her in top shape. Are you a pilot?

[Joe M]

Congrats on the new car. It's a real pleasure driving the Rapid on highways. I loved the engine's response even when going slowly over potholes. If you just practice to keep the rpm in the 1500-2500 range, you sure will get the best performance and mileage. Couple of weeks back we had a long trip in my friend's new Rapid, and we got some very impressive FE figures, with 5 people on board. Its road manners and overall feel is very good. Against popular belief, this Skoda is a zero-maintenance car, as per some very knowledgeable people, who work in the automobile systems research industry. The dealers and the technicians don't know how to properly service the car, and they often spoil it.

One guy in our place bought the new Octavia after using his old Octavia for 3.5 lacs km, because he was happy about the condition and the FE he was getting even at that mileage. I think it'd be very much useful if you too learn some maintenance and diagnostics stuff yourself, than just trusting the Skoda dealers. Even if your dealer is good-mannered, if they don't have the proper knowledge it's problem for us.

Enjoy your ride, always be a responsible driver!

[AirbusA340]

Originally Posted by Pferdestarke

Thank you AirbusA340. I will do my best to keep her in top shape. Are you a pilot?

Once our ride loses attention, it starts crying out loud man. Good color by the way!

Yes, I am. Do you drive to Hyderabad or elsewhere often?

pEaCe