[tejascshetty]

31.08.2021 - UPDATE 2: KM's driven: 9000 KM.

Ownership Experience Thus Far:

The lockdown had brought life to a grinding halt. Long drives were all but out of the question. Managed to squeeze in a few airport drives (which if you have travelled to and from BLR Airport, will know that it would count as half a long drive.

Being a litigating lawyer meant that courts were more or less open during this period, and there were frequent drives to and from courts, both in Bengaluru and around Bengaluru (think Anekal, Chikballapur, Ramnagar and the like). These drives offered some fleeting opportunities to truly enjoy this gem of a TSI engine!

Visits to the Service Stations (Both Planned and Unplanned):

09.01.2021: Around 08.01.2021, while on my way back from office at around 1:00 AM, a drunk driver driving an i20, veered into my car, bounced off the side of my car, and crashed into the divider. First priority was to check on him, and ensure he was alright. Both his front airbags were deployed and his front end was smashed. Comparitively, my car escaped relatively unscathed. With some minor scrapes on the side profile, and my steering wheel alignment a little off, managed to call the cops, and have him sent to the nearby hospital for check ups. Due to his family being with him ,and their repeated pleading to not file a case, decided to let it go, and asked him to cover the insurance claim amount and the amount which would be deducted due to the reduced NCB amount, which he did. Not wanting to take any chances, called up RSA the next day and had the car flat bedded to Tafe Access Limited, Hosur Road to get it fixed. Car was in the shop for about a week during which period, to be absolutely certain and since I was getting the car fixed under insurance, got the panels replaced and the steering issues fixed. After a week, the car was back and good as new!

02.08.2021: Time for the First Service. Few new skoda service centres had opened up in Bangalore, and was spoilt for choice. Reached out to mod @Suhaas307, and asked him if he had any leads on which service centre would be preferable. He very kindly put me in touch with a person, who is also associated with Skoda, who had a word with me, and my location, asked me to contact PPS Skoda, Okalipuram, which is run by a gentleman named - Mr. Ashwath Hegde. (91 - 79953 33022 - *posting his number with his permission*) Got in touch with him, and car was picked up from my residence on the same date. The vehicle was returned to me the next day and was running well! I had one little niggle, which was a bit of a squealing noise emanating from the rear brakes, during slow braking. While it was fixed during the first service, I was told it was not a permanent solution, and if the issue resurfaced, I would have to look at getting the backplates changed under warranty. As luck would have it, the issue resurfaced in a few days, and this time, Mr. Ashwath personally ensured the backplates were changed under warranty, and touch wood, the issue seems to have been resolved.

Fuel Efficiency and Choice of Fuel:

As mentioned above, have been restricted to mostly driving within the city. Managed to eke out a fuel efficiency of around 12 kmpl regulalry, with fairly spirited driving. People driving a little more sedately can surely expect better FE from their vehicles.

About two moths ago, shifted to IOCL XP 95 fuel, and there has been a real difference! The car pulls cleans from low RPM's and generally is more tractable. Engine feels smoother as well. IOCL XP 95 is also not much more expensive than regular 91 octane fuel, and does not burn too much of a hole in the pocket (assuming the price of the normal petrol isn't burning a hole in your pocket already). Fuel efficiency has seen a minor drop though. While earlier I was managing to extract about 550 KM from a full tank of fuel, it has dropped to about 520 KM now. That is a decrease in range I can live with, considering the beneifits of the 95 octane fuel!

Planned Upgrades:

Safe to say that due to the pandemic, I never got around to any of the upgrades I had detailed out in my previous Update. This was possibly a good thing. The desire to get an exhaust upgrade has not been as strong as before, and I plan to keep the exhaust in stock condition for a year or two, until the itch develops again.

However, the following upgrades are definitely due:

1. Change of Seat Upholstery: Bless the people who prefer fabric seats due to the fact that they do not trap heat. But I find them plain annoying. They manage to capture more grime than ever possible. And due to the beige fabric, they get so dirty, before I have to get them cleaned. Need to change the seat covers asap, and possibly get a nice steering wrap while at it.
   
   
2. Steering Audio Controls: This has been a pet peeve of mine throughout my ownership experience. I hate the fact that I cannot control the volume, change tracks, etc, from the steering wheel itself. It's plain annoying, and one feature which I really feel needs to be made standard, at the very least, considering its a safety issue, and would ensure people do not need to take their eyes off the road for mundane tasks like changing tracks or increasing/reducing the volume. Played around with the idea of getting steering mounted audio controls installed. However, the same, while being a possibly rewarding DIY project, has too many variables with regard to long term efficacy. Also, battery life of the steering mounted units, will be an issue. Planning to save up some cash, and just get a steering swap and be done with it.

Final Thoughts & Observations:

• Does my car guarantee Maruti levels of 'peace of mind' ownership? Definitely not. I have had minor creaks creep in, and the squealing sound while braking issue was definitely off putting. In my years of ownership of my Maruti Swift VDi, I don't recall ever facing such issues.
  
  
• Would that detract me from the Skoda ownership experience? A resounding NO! While the general perception of Skoda dealerships and service centres have been generally bad accross the board, I must give a shout out to the delaers and service centres I've interacted with thus far. The experience with Tafe Access Ltd., and PPS Skoda, Okalipuram coupled with the experience of interacting with individuls like Mr. Ashwath Hegde, have been hassle free to say the least. In fact, they have gone out of their way, on more than one occasion, to ensure that every single detail was as per my satisfaction. I for one, will definitely be recommending people I know in Bengaluru, to consider a Skoda.
  
  
• The Skoda owners community! A huge shout out to the the other Skoda and Skoda Rapid owners. Being part of a slew of whatsapp groups, whose members regularly plan drives and discuss issues/nuances of ownership, with each other lends to a sense of camraderie, and it feels great to be a part of such a close knit community. Dont think there are too many 'Maruti Owners of Bangalore' group, or maybe I just was not a part of them.
  
  
• More than a year of owning my Skoda Rapid Rider, and the experience has been brilliant and enriching. I enjoy the effortless accelleration, the precise gear shifts, the sorted handling, the audio system, the performance and ride of the Perfinza tyres and the tight suspension. Have learned to live with the odd ball decision of not having rear window control switches (which to be honest have only been an issue about twice in the last year, when i've had to reach back and raise the windows from the switch placed there.). The lack of automated ORVM folding has been slightly annoying, however due to the fairly small ORVM's, these have not been much of an issue either, and I just leave them open nowadays and keep my faith in the motorists of Bengaluru, which has been rewarded thus far.

Leaving behind a few snaps of my car taken today, after a 3M Car Care treatment yesterday!

Thanks all for reading! Until next time!

[hariShankar]

Originally Posted by tejascshetty

30.07.2020 - Modification 1: Tyre Upgrade and Alloys

After reading multiple reviews on all of the above tyres, I had decided to go ahead with the Perfinza's. After speaking to Nikhil about the same, he assured me that the Perfinza would indeed be the right fit for me considering my needs. He also informed me that normally, they do not suggest upgrading the stock tyres as the stock tyres are usually sufficient as long as they are not JK Tyres. However, since I was getting a good price for the exchange of tyres, I decided to go ahead with my choice. After considering, multiple options of alloys, I decided to go ahead with the MOMO SCREAMJET EVO CONCAVE (Matte Black Diamond Cut).

Hello @tejascshetty. Could you confirm if upgrading thr tire to 195 / 60 / r15 voids Skoda warranty ? I heard it could be a problem if any problem comes up with steering rake.

I am expecting to get my rapid ambition delevered by the weekend and was planning to get the tire updated to Conti uc6 195 immediately. But if it void warranty I will have to think again.

[CafeRacer16]

Also, battery life of the steering mounted units, will be an issue. Planning to save up some cash, and just get a steering swap and be done with it.

Hi Tejas, thanks for such a detailed & unbiased review.
Regarding the steering swap, did you get an estimate from Skoda for the change & will the update have any affect on the warranty?

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by tejascshetty

With regard to the tyres, I had decided to stick to 15 inchers. Upgrading to 16 inch would have impacted my fuel economy and would have made my ride a little more stiffer. Considering that the vehicle would be driven mostly in the city, I was certain that I would prefer 15 inch tyres.

Not sure why you did this. You were anyway upgrading the tyres. You should have gone for the same pattern alloys in 16" and 16" Perfinzas. This would not have affected fuel efficiency. Since you drive in Bangalore, a slightly stiffer ride would not be a problem.