[anandharamanp]

Congrats on your New purchase. Welcome to VAG family - Happy motoring!
I drive a Carbon steel Vento TDI and i would say VAG cars has a blend of best engines and solid build quality.

[Moto_mo]

Congratulations!
9.13lacks OTR seems an awesome deal.
Nice choice of alloys. Any plans for a rear spoiler or front lower lip/bumper mods?
That color suits well.
Best wishes for miles crunching, from JP Nagar

[sathya.bhat]

Congratulations on you new wheels. Must say it looks smashing. by the way, If I remember correctly rider was launched only in white colour right? I just checked the Skoda site it still shows white colour for Rider. Am I missing something here?

[srinath34]

Originally Posted by sathya.bhat

I just checked the Skoda site it still shows white colour for Rider. Am I missing something here?

The Rapid Rider variant was launched only in White and Carbon Steel @ Rs 7.49 L. The Rider Plus added recently brings two more colors (Silver and Brown) plus more features for Rs 7.99 L.

[sathya.bhat]

Originally Posted by srinath34

The Rapid Rider variant was launched only in White and Carbon Steel @ Rs 7.49 L. The Rider Plus added recently brings two more colors (Silver and Brown) plus more features for Rs 7.99 L.

Attachment 2045872

Agreed. I too thought it is Rider+ variant. But, Rider+ comes with touchscreen unit. Not the one you see below.

Originally Posted by tejascshetty

This is how the Stock RCD320 unit looked. Not bad looking, but not great either. Also, connecting my iPhone to it was a real pain, as my phone would be connected but there would be no audio output at times.[/b]

Attachment 2045275

See the official release. It shows touchscreen unit clearly.



Also, 9.13 Lakhs on-road in Bengaluru as mentioned by Tejas is for Rider. Rider+ is around 9.66L.

[Shome]

Congratulations on the purchase and the upgrades! I can only imagine how awesome the 1.0 TSI is. I'm driving a pre-worshipped 2012 1.6 MPI AT for the past 3 years, it still drives like it's just out of the showroom. Wish you 100,000 kms of trouble-free ownership, this car's a keeper. A very well written review, rating it a 5*

P.S: I half expected to see you poking around with the "stick of truth" if you know what I mean

[neo_narender]

Congratulations tejascshetty on the purchase of the most VFM car in 2020, which appeals to all enthusiasts alike. Also a very good choice on the selection of MOMO alloys with tyre upgrade to 195 section.

I can see (or dream) myself doing the same since the launch of the Rider variant in white, minus the audio upgrade, as I am not much of an audiophile. All I care is the Apple CarPlay which is offered in Rider Plus, although ₹50,000 for just that seems very expensive to me without at least a rear camera being offered.

Anyway, I wish you lots of happy miles ahead. Ride safe!

Neo

[tejascshetty]

Originally Posted by Lowflyer23

Heartiest congratulations sir for getting one of the most vfm (IMO) enthusiast's car under 10 lakhs on-road.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Mynameis

Superb pictures. This carbon steel grey colour suits perfectly to this sporty nature of this car.

Thank you! Completely agree with all your points!

Originally Posted by tanaysn

Congrats tejascshetty on the purchase and loved your writeup as well.

Haha! Thanks You! Minor undulations aside, the 'NICE' road is not too bad actually.

Originally Posted by Simha13

Congratulations! very nice and elegant choice of upgrades.

Thank you! We should catch up soon!

Originally Posted by anandharamanp

Congrats on your New purchase. Welcome to VAG family - Happy motoring!
I drive a Carbon steel Vento TDI and i would say VAG cars has a blend of best engines and solid build quality.

Thank you!

Originally Posted by Moto_mo

Congratulations!
9.13lacks OTR seems an awesome deal.
Nice choice of alloys. Any plans for a rear spoiler or front lower lip/bumper mods?

Thank you! I haven't thought of any other cosmetic upgrades for now. Maybe a ceramic coating. Would think of the proper visual upgrades at a later date. Want to maintain the stock look for a while. After the first service, would consider getting an exhaust upgrade.

Originally Posted by sathya.bhat

Congratulations on you new wheels. Must say it looks smashing. by the way, If I remember correctly rider was launched only in white colour right? I just checked the Skoda site it still shows white colour for Rider. Am I missing something here?

Thank you! The Rapid Rider was launched only in Candy White and Carbon Steel. The Rider Plus variant comes with 2 additional colors i.e Toffee Brown and Silver.

Originally Posted by Shome

Congratulations on the purchase and the upgrades! I can only imagine how awesome the 1.0 TSI is. I'm driving a pre-worshipped 2012 1.6 MPI AT for the past 3 years, it still drives like it's just out of the showroom. Wish you 100,000 kms of trouble-free ownership, this car's a keeper. A very well written review, rating it a 5*

Thank You! Fingers crossed for an ownership experience as blissful and fulfilling as yours! Well, i'm glad Skoda didn't resort to putting in fake vents or a fake diffuser to go for that sporty look which would have been a good reason to start poking around with the stick of truth!

[WhiteSierra]

Very nice write up! Congrats tejascshetty on an amazing purchase. As GTO said, you should subscribe for the 5 years extended warranty. Skoda is a great brand and VFM. It gives all creature comforts of a BMW and Mercedes, but I had a very tough time with A.S.S and exorbitant bills post warranty for our 1st gen Skoda Octavia TDI.

You have a fantastic machine, your Rapid in Carbon Steel and Momo Alloys is absolute drool worthy. Your Blaupunkt + Infinity reference audio set up is good. Like you, I too love incremental audio upgrades. That way, the car doesn't age fast and feels brand new after each and every addition. Wish you many happy Kms on your new ride.


I want to suggest you a nice spoiler lip on your ride, this carbon fibre color will enhance your car's rear look completely.



For your reference:

https://www.amazon.in/Semaphore-Samurai-Carbon-Spoiler-Sticker/dp/B07PLWQNBT

[AutoConsultant]

Congrats tejascshetty! The Alloys couldn't have been more perfect. A very detailed write-up as well. Have a couple of queries :-

1. I read somewhere that some dealerships are willing to install the Monte Carlo Steering wheel with audio controls on the Rider variant for around Rs 12,000 - Did you check this with your dealership?
2. I have heard that Skoda is very finicky regarding modifications and this would impact your warranty (Especially the Music System installation) - Did you have any such conversation with the dealership?

[apache_aayush]

Many many congratulations for your new ride from a fellow rapid tsi fanboy

The alloys look fab and perfectly synchronize with th carbon steel color. I wish you many enjoyable drives and memories with your new found love. Only if the rider had seat height adjust it would have been perfect. But i did not give up on my love for the tsi and got the ambition variant

[tejascshetty]

Originally Posted by neo_narender

Congratulations tejascshetty on the purchase of the most VFM car in 2020, which appeals to all enthusiasts alike. Also a very good choice on the selection of MOMO alloys with tyre upgrade to 195 section.

I can see (or dream) myself doing the same since the launch of the Rider variant in white, minus the audio upgrade, as I am not much of an audiophile. All I care is the Apple CarPlay which is offered in Rider Plus, although ₹50,000 for just that seems very expensive to me without at least a rear camera being offered.

Anyway, I wish you lots of happy miles ahead. Ride safe!

Neo

Thank you! The Rider Plus variant would still make sense as you get the option of two additional colours. The Silver looks quite good I must say. The RCD330G Plus system available on the Rider Plus too is great. A stock setup which supports both Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, without any risks of voiding warranty at an incremental cost of 50K is still a great deal. For 9.6 lakhs approx onroad in Bengaluru (which may reduce in the upcoming festive season), you should surely consider it!

P.S: At a dealership level, they also do install a Rear camera at an added cost of course. However, the Head Unit too comes equipped with a port for the same. So, you could get one installed aftermarket as well.

Originally Posted by WhiteSierra

Very nice write up! Congrats tejascshetty on an amazing purchase. As GTO said, you should subscribe for the 5 years extended warranty. Skoda is a great brand and VFM. It gives all creature comforts of a BMW and Mercedes, but I had a very tough time with A.S.S and exorbitant bills post warranty for our 1st gen Skoda Octavia TDI.

You have a fantastic machine, your Rapid in Carbon Steel and Momo Alloys is absolute drool worthy. Your Blaupunkt + Infinity reference audio set up is good. Like you, I too love incremental audio upgrades. That way, the car doesn't age fast and feels brand new after each and every addition. Wish you many happy Kms on your new ride.


I want to suggest you a nice spoiler lip on your ride, this carbon fibre color will enhance your car's rear look completely.

Attachment 2045908

For your reference:

https://www.amazon.in/Semaphore-Samurai-Carbon-Spoiler-Sticker/dp/B07PLWQNBT

Thank you! I must confess I was toying with the idea of getting this spoiler lip. Thank you for providing the link as well. I am just a little uncertain as to how it may look on the Carbon Steel color. Feel like it may almost go unnoticed. Anyways, let me take a flyer and get it. Its fairly reasonable at around 1K. If it works well, great! If it doesn't, lesson learnt.

Originally Posted by AutoConsultant

Congrats tejascshetty! The Alloys couldn't have been more perfect. A very detailed write-up as well. Have a couple of queries :-

1. I read somewhere that some dealerships are willing to install the Monte Carlo Steering wheel with audio controls on the Rider variant for around Rs 12,000 - Did you check this with your dealership?
2. I have heard that Skoda is very finicky regarding modifications and this would impact your warranty (Especially the Music System installation) - Did you have any such conversation with the dealership?

Thank you! The Tafe Access Limited Dealership at Bangalore is not very eager to supply OEM equipment like fog lamps, Head Units,etc. I had read elsewhere that some dealerships are doing the steering swap with the ambition variant for around 22K. (This would be a little out of budget for me.) Therefore, I think it is a little unlikely that dealerships are going to do a steering swap with the Monte Carlo steering for 12K. I'll ask them for sure. I also toyed with the idea, with getting the steering wrapped. However, the steering of the Rider variant is completely cast, so there are no grooves around which the leather can be wrapped. I do not want the leather upholstery chaps to remove the steering wheel and try to do a better job, as I am also concerned to not mess with the Airbag sensors. This is a little tricky. Will need to think on this a bit more before taking any call.

With regard to your second query, I was assured by the dealership that a coupler to coupler fitment of the head unit should not void any warranty. Therefore, I have ensured while doing the audio setup that there is no wire cutting or splicing at any point. Therefore, I do not anticipate any warranty concerns for the electrical unit. However, truth be told, my suspension warranty may have already taken a hit due to the tyre and alloy upgrades. So, I have made my peace with a certain section of the warranty being void. Therefore, I am going to be careful and responsible with my upgrades and trying to source genuine/good quality parts for as long as I can to ensure that I do my bit in taking car of the car. Fingers crossed!

Originally Posted by apache_aayush

Many many congratulations for your new ride from a fellow rapid tsi fanboy

The alloys look fab and perfectly synchronize with th carbon steel color. I wish you many enjoyable drives and memories with your new found love. Only if the rider had seat height adjust it would have been perfect. But i did not give up on my love for the tsi and got the ambition variant

Thank you! I am fairly tall at around 6'2 and found that the height of the seat in the Rider variant was perfect for me. I do understand that it can be bothersome for others. I am just pleased with the fact that even the Rider variant gets the tilt and telescope function to adjust the steering wheel. This to me goes a long way in getting into the perfect driving position as they say.

Also, congratulations on your buy as well! Wish you many a mile with it. Hope to read your ownership thread soon!

[AutoConsultant]

Originally Posted by tejascshetty

Therefore, I am going to be careful and responsible with my upgrades and trying to source genuine/good quality parts for as long as I can to ensure that I do my bit in taking car of the car. Fingers crossed!

Yes, at 22k it doesn't make much sense. It's just that steering mounted controls is such a necessary feature which should be standard or at least offered as an optional by the company - a big miss there by Skoda. Regarding a steering wrap, this can be avoided if it requires removal of the steering wheel.

Yes, they can use the alloys as an excuse to void suspension warranty. But the clubber alloys cost around 80k (if you want to go for OE parts and keep the warranty) which is too high. Given the overall enhancement your alloys bring to the car, I would say it is worth the trade-off

Happy motoring!

[Pastey93]

Congratulations on your carbon steel beast! That tiny TSI never fails to amaze you when you step on the gas. Here’s a picture of my Rapid Rider - white blizzard at NICE. It’s an absolute hoot to drive on open roads. Maybe we Bangalore VAG boys could do a meet-up.

[BLACNWYTE]

Congratulation on your new car and wish you many miles of happy motoring. The Rapid looks swell in Carbon steel colour.