[pvivek2]

"All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.”

Prologue:

I've been a silent reader of Team BHP for a while now and this here is going to be my first ownership review. Me and my wife are currently settled in Bangalore and we like travelling & taking vacations out of our work lives. It all started with the madness of COVID where suddenly public transport and flights became something to be wary of - confined in our homes, it was slowly and steadily becoming clearer that for the recent future at least the safest option to travel was probably on road trips by ourselves. My parents & sister live in TN and the same realization hit them too - so they had started to look out for a second-hand car that they can use (they don't own any vehicle as of now). I currently drive a Grand i10 manual (TN registered) and was contemplating registration change since it was now over a year here in Bangalore with the foreseeable future to continue this way too. And thus dawned the idea on one fine Saturday evening - why not handover the Grand i10 to my sister and get a new/second hand car for ourselves here with KA registration done too. And yes, this would solve the new car itch that I myself have been having for some time now, and thus began the search!

We decided to list down all the requirements that we would have from the new car to be able to arrive at a decision. The requirements were as follows:

Needs/Must-haves:
1. Should be an automatic/iMT. My wife has just learnt driving and would start using the car too - and an AT/iMT would be easier for her as well to drive around. Plus experienced the convenience of an automatic in a company leased car two years back and decided the premium was worth it. If Automatic, preferably a CVT/TC (no DCT because of reliability issues quoted and AMT being clearly inferior to the others).
2. Should be an upgrade from the current hatchback - in terms of driving experience/space/interiors/features - so this meant either sedans or CSUVs, the next immediate/higher segments.
3. Given that post pandemic usage patterns have shifted, the car should be one that is comfortable for long distance travels.
4. Should have support for either of Android Auto/Apple carplay/in-built navigation - we rely on maps a lot and looking up on a mobile/mobile-holder is painful. So a touchscreen with maps navigation system is a must.
5. We intend to keep this car for a long duration and thus decided it has to be a new car rather than a pre-owned one.

Wants/Nice-to-have:
These are features which were not a deal breaker per se, but sure would enhance the experience:
1. Higher than average ground clearance: Given our potholed city roads, the car should be drivable without scraping the bottom every now and then. All things considered (GC+wheelbase/other factors) - should be very worse off than our Grand i10, which I consider to be of a pretty decent GC for its size.
2. Sunroof: No surprises here - but this is again strictly just a nice to have feature.
3. Leatherette seats: Being in Bangalore, the problem of seats heating up is not a major concern, so the easy-to-maintain plus premium feel of leather seats over normal fabric ones.
4. Alloy wheels!

The budget for final OTR was 10 to 15 lacs in Bangalore prices. Our usage pattern was earlier 80% city and 20% highway, now it's the reverse - so there's no strict choice between within-city-drivability and better highway manners.

Chapter 1 - The search:

And thus began the search for a new car in September - spent almost two months pouring over multiple forums and ownership threads here in Team BHP and arrived at the following list of cars:

1. Ford Ecosport
2. Hyundai Venue
3. Tata Nexon
4. Nissan Magnite
5. Kia Sonet
6. Skoda Rapid
7. Volkswagen Vento
8. Honda City
9. Hyundai Verna

Cars which weren't considered - Mahindra XUV300 (only AMT and even then both of us didn't like the looks), Brezza/Toyota Urban cruiser (Ancient 4 speed TC).

Of the above list, Nexon and Vento were vetoed by my wife - purely on account of looks and we decided to revisit them only if none of the other cars met all of our requirements. Initially we were inclined towards a CSUV for the looks & city drivability, given the road conditions. So it was largely a fight between the Ecosport, Venue, Sonet & Magnite. But, then came the test-drives and the showroom experience - read on!

Chapter 2 - Test-drives and showroom experience:

1. Ford Ecosport:

Ecosport was our first choice and PPS Ford Yelahanka was the showroom we visited first. Was offered a test drive on the same day, did it - loved the handling and the build of the car - that door thunk does feel solid! We hadn't even tried the Venue/Sonet/Magnite yet but it was largely clear that if we were going for a CSUV, this was probably it. The auto-gear box felt quite smooth, no issues there too. The only concerns we had were the deletion of features over the years, plus a new facelift was around the corner. And the Ecosport S version was quite appealing, but wasn't available in the auto-trim (Only the S version has TPMS/ISOFix/Leatherette seats/Ford sync). Between the Titanium AT and Titanium+ AT, the latter clearly was the one to go for (6 airbags, sunroof, rear armrest, auto headlamps and rain sensing wipers, all for a differential of 90k!). The feature distribution within the different variants of Ecosport is quite a puzzle actually - for e.g. the Titanium MT is well priced at < 10 lacs ex-showroom and has a lot of takers - similarly Ford should've offered a sub 10 lac AT variant too (like the erstwhile Trend AT) , more on this later anyway. We were offered a discount of 40k on OTR price for either of the AT variants. Overall, a very pleasant experience with PPS Ford!

2. Hyundai Venue:
We visited Trident Hyundai next, couldn't get anyone to attend to us the first time. Then registered online for a test drive, but then no follow-ups and that was a dead end too. We visited the second time, the showroom was completely crowded (it was a Sunday) and half-heartedly one sales advisor attended us. Since weren't looking at the DCT, the point of trying out Venue was for the new iMT gearbox - to see whether it was a significant upgrade over the MT and if it could replace the need for an AT. The SA unfortunately wasn't great at explaining and was quite in a hurry to complete the test drive and not that eager overall. In any case, I hated the Venue - felt very much like my grand i10 just at a higher seating position and with a sunroof. And it was clear the iMT was not my cup of tea, the gear shifts still had to be managed and wasn't that drastic an advantage over an MT and definitely not as convenient as an AT. There were no discounts offered on the Venue too, it was a take-it/leave-it type of offer. Shortly therafter, the Venue was ruled out too.

3. Kia Sonet:
We visited Epitome Kia, did not take a test drive (the showroom was very much crowded considering the Sonet had just launched) and we didn't bother to follow-up since we weren't actively considering a DCT and the iMT was ruled out anyway, after the Venue test drive. The long waiting periods which started emerging did not help in any case, so Sonet was ruled out.

4. Nissan Magnite:
This was a very promising car, met all our requirements and had just gotten launched. We visited Surya Nissan newly opened branch in Kalyan nagar - they had one Magnite on display but test drives hadn't started yet. We took the price list and came home deciding to visit this at a later stage.

Now comes the twist in the story - I had been reading up on the whole crossovers vs sedans argument over multiple threads here and was quite sold on crossovers, given the popular opinion and enough & valid arguments. My main apprehensions in driving a sedan were a) Driving a longer car in city traffic b) Ground clearance - whether it was adequate for our potholed roads and c) Price - somehow always imagined 4m+ sedans to be more expensive than crossovers in the same segment (this is still true to an extent for MT, but not so much in AT). However after all these visits and test drives, felt there's no harm in trying out sedans once - and thus we visited Brigade Honda next.

5. Honda City:
The City obviously looked magnificent, the seats felt great to sit in and the driving position was quite comfortable. The CVT gearbox was butter smooth too - absolutely no issues in driving within the city or on the highway. The length or width of the car didn't feel like any hindrance even within city traffic and was easy to manoeuvre. Did two test drives of the city, one on the highway and one on potholed roads closer home. The latter experience was far from ideal but can be tolerated is what I felt. The highway experience though, is quite something - it was clear that for long distances, this or any other sedan was the car to drive in, considering that the ride was way smoother than the Ecosport (which felt bumpy compared to this!) and could handle curves better. The only hitch was that the entry level trim V-CVT was 15.1 lacs OTR in Bangalore and looked like ~30k dealer discount was probably all that we'll get if we sit across the table (we weren't offered it per se, but could sense from the SA's eagerness). The SA was very helpful, probably the best out of all the showrooms we visited, and had no qualms with the longish test drives that we did. If I have to pick out any niggles, the pale touchscreen (which is hard to squint in sunlight) and the slightly softer suspension would be it (could feel the car's rear go up and down at higher speeds), but both not being a deal breaker per se. The cost however was something we had to be conscious of.

We tried getting the Verna for test drive, but the car was unavailable apparently when we visited. In any case Verna CVT starts at the same 15 lacs OTR as City, but feels more pricey because of the lack of rear space and the lack of some crucial features (hill hold/ESC/side airbags/TPMS) was quickly ruled out.

6. Skoda Rapid:
And now comes the final showdown - we visited PPS Skoda last and were promptly offered a test drive. The SA explained the benefits of the car very well and encouraged us to do an elaborate test drive. We in fact, did two - one for 32km and one for 19km - the longest test drives I've ever done and was quite sold on the car. Between this and Honda City, it was evident this was the better handling of the two and the robust build + tested platform, made this a clear favourite. More importantly, on the same potholed roads, the Rapid held up better and didn't feel quite as bouncy. And that kick of turbo settling in when you tap the pedals is very addictive! The variants under consideration were Ambition (14.2 lacs OTR) and Onyx (14.5 lacs OTR) with hefty discounts on top of it going on. Rider plus AT was out of stock, and in any case missed out on some crucial stuff and the Style/Monte-carlo were too expensive for my budget while losing out on Android auto/Carplay. The Onyx variant in particular with the 16'' alloys, leatherette seats and the lapiz blue colour was very appealing!

And so it was narrowed down to 3 cars finally - The Ford Ecosport (Titanium+ AT), Honda City V CVT and the Skoda Rapid AT (Ambition/Onyx). All three have been around for quite a while and reportedly safe, so there were no concerns on that front. While the Ecosport seemed to be the best in its segment, the test drives pushed us towards the sedans because of the driving pleasure & passenger comfort while the ground clearance didn't seem to be a deal breaker. Both the City and Rapid held up well on that front, and from that moment on it was a contest between the two only. Have attached a short summary here against my original requirements and it's easy to see why I went with the Rapid!



*Note - The comparison on driving/handling/comfort are between the cars I had test driven. Prices are in lacs for final OTR, minus expected offers/discounts basis the initial round of negotiations.

Chapter 3 - The booking and delivery:

Once it was decided that it would be the Rapid, we decided to get it booked this very same month - like I mentioned, we are planning to keep the car for a long time and the resale value isn't as much of a bother right now. The next choice was the colour - white and silver were a strict no, and the colours that appealed the most were the Toffee Brown and the Lapiz Blue. Enquired at all both PPS & TAFE, and neither seemed to have the brown in stock for an AT, would be coming only in 2021 it seems, at which point in time there was a reported price hike (and possibility of lesser discounts than now). In fact, there was one brown in stock with PPS and got booked in the time that we were still stuck in negotiations. There was a last remaining vehicle in the Lapiz Blue colour and we ended up booking that - the final on-road price was 13.45 lacs including the essential kit/a few goodies/zero-dep insurance/HSRP plates/Skoda connect dongle and worked out to a total ~1.1 lac discount.

Booked the car on Dec 8th and the car was on its way to the dealership stockyard the next week - post PDI, registration and HSRP plates fitting, took delivery on Dec 24th, dot on the day the dealership promised. In fact HSRP plates were supposed to be delivered a few days later and I was concerned with driving around with a paper stuck to the windshield, but luckily the plates came ahead of schedule, just in time for a weekend trip the very next day!

Chapter 4 - The experience

The car is absolutely a pleasure to drive. Have done 760 km in a week until now, a large part of which was done over a weekend to Hampi and back. The biggest step-up for me is how effortless the car is to drive - I've done similar (~300 km) distances on the Grand i10 which would start vibrating at higher speeds with enough road noise creeping in, while this car does it with ease. The manual says the engine shouldn't be revved above two thirds of the maximum RPM in run-in period and with the automatic that seemed like a breeze to maintain, and yet managing very good speeds on the highway!

Likes:
1. Fun-to-drive, that turbo surging in at ~1.7-2k RPM has to be felt to experience the pleasure! The gear-shifts aren't that noticeable, have to keep looking at the screen to figure out. The presence of the sixth gear is a boon for the highways. In starting from idle, the car is eerily silent, can hardly realize if the car is on!

2. Great looks in the Lapiz Blue colour with the 16" clubber glossy black alloys and the DRLs - almost like a sports car. Leatherette seat covers in the Onyx variant fit well and look premium. Attaching a few shots of the exteriors here, fell in love with that instantly!

3. Comfortable front and rear seats. At this price point, it's a significant upgrade in terms of comfort from our Grand i10. Drove for almost 6 hrs with one break in-between Bangalore to Hampi and didn't feel tired at all and vice-versa for the return. Usually after a 6 hr drive, I usually start feeling tiredness.

4. The infotainment screen doesn't stick out like a sore tablet and instead fits in well on to the dashboard.

5. The steering wheel has a flat bottom and with the leather stitching, is super sporty to hold. The feedback is great!

6. The car handles extremely well, feels very confident during overtaking manoeuvres and at high speeds.

Dislikes:
1. Sole charging port below the infotainment screen - has to be used for Android auto/Apple carplay and the wire can potentially hang on near the gearknob. Thankfully on the auto, I won't be using the gear lever as much.

2. While the car has other safety features (ESC/Hill hold) and an overall robust build, just 2 airbags feels a little letdown, could've had the side/curtain airbags.

3. The center hump running through the middle, making it inconvenient for a 5th passenger. As far as 5 passenger comfort is concerned, nothing beats the Honda City in this aspect, the car that almost made it!

4. Driver footwell on the left side felt a little less spacious - the dead pedal could've been a tad wider. My left leg kept rubbing against the inside wall.

5. Turbo lag at low speeds within the city. Will get over it by learning to keep it in the turbo zone better I guess.

Other points/Key observations
1. The interiors while nice, feel a bit dated, comes nowhere close to the Honda City or other competitors out there.

2. ORVMs feel a bit tiny for a car of this size. They look dashing in that black shade though and didn't find visibility an issue.

3. IRVM provides a smaller view than what I had expected. But then I've driven only hatchbacks largely (Grand i10/Baleno/Polo) and compared to those maybe sedans have a smaller view? In any case, not a dealbreaker, still provides decent visibility of the rear. But I found myself using the ORVMs more for checking rear traffic in this compared to my Grand i10 (where the IRVM could show a better view).

4. The MID is basic, but contains the essentials. The distance to empty prominently being shown is useful - though above 80 kmph, that view gets stuck showing the speed at 80!

5. The seats get adjustable headrests - we didn't use it much, but good to have perhaps.

6. The sunblinds on the rear windows including the quarterglass, are great and look nice!



7. The doors open with a three stage action - at their widest, they are quite comfortable indeed for ingress and egress. All below 3 pics were shot from the same angle - notice the tree behind the window for the relative position to figure out how wide the door gets.

Door opening - Stage 1



Door opening - Stage 2



Door opening - Stage 3

8. Cupholders in front of the gearknob - not sure if that's a place where anyone will find it useful.



9. Front armrest with storage inside, very useful, this being an automatic. The parking brake is sort of under the armrest, though not an issue.

10. The Onyx variant comes with a cute little dustbin for the driver-side door!

11. The AC fan/blower sound above the 1st or 2nd speed is lesser than my Grand i10 but still what I'd consider loud. The auto AC works as expected, no niggles there.

12. The rear parking sensors are handy - for some reason, I can never bring myself to look at a rear camer even if there was one. The mirrors and the sensor sounds are what I usually rely on - so didn't go for a rear camera accessory (I even find bystanders guiding distracting).

13. Have done 760 km on the ODO until now with 85% highway and 15% city usage - got a mileage of 14.1 kmpl estimated using tank-to-tank full method. Might improve from here I guess, further later on.

14. Had read a lot about the after-sales woes of erstwhile Skoda owners here on the forum. With the recent developments however, the company seems to be making the right amends under Mr Zac though - so evaluated all this and then took the plunge. First thing I've done is to go for the extended warranty till 6 years.

15. The Automatic segment is still ignored by a lot of manufacturers in India is what I think, after having compared a lot of the cars. In fact, in the 10 to 15 lac segment for CSUVs and sedans, automatics don't have as many options as manual. Case in point - Ecosport, Venue, even Sonet, Verna, Vento all had automatics only on limited variants. Is this because there is a cost to offering wide no. of choices? Only the Rapid and the City amongst our serious consideration set, had AT on all variants and that also played a role somewhere in deciding the final car. In fact, had the Ecosport Trend AT still been in production, we probably would've gone for it all the way - less than 10 lac ex-showroom would've meant a lot of difference in the final price. It was only after we realized that a proper automatic in CSUVs will be 10+ ex-showroom and at least 13-14 OTR in Bangalore that we realized, at this price we can go for a mid-sized sedan with better interior space and handling!

16. I have not done extensive night driving yet, so can't comment on the headlight throw yet. Will be doing a test of that soon. The Onyx/Ambition editions are supposed to have projector lens which is not there in the rider/rider plus - not sure how much of an advantage that will be, just yet.

17. Got Fastag via Paytm through the dealer, initially only the VIN no. was linked to the Fastag wallet. Added the car registration no. via Paytm app itself with the vahan screenshot as proof, not sure whether that got accepted or not, but didn't face any hitches in any of the fastag tolls from Bangalore to Hampi and back!

And that brings me to the end of this review - A big Thank You to all the Team-BHP members whose posts were instrumental in me going for this decision! Apart from the Rapid ownership threads here (notably by TurboGuy/sachin_cs/tejascshetty to name a few), here are some of the other threads which I found to be really useful before I arrived at this car -

Which are the most comfortable cars to drive long distances in?
Honda City vs Ford EcoSport
Should you buy an SUV? The definitive Sedan vs SUV debate
Crossovers vs Sedans: Your choice & why?
Which type of Automatic Transmission do you prefer?
Top variant of lower segment vs lower variant of higher segment
The Comprehensive Guide to Automatic Cars (2019 edition)

Thanks everyone, once again - this is my first ever review on Team BHP and feels great to start contributing back to the forum that I've benefitted so much from! Will come back with more updates soon as I have them!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[V.Narayan]

An excellent well written ownership review - detailed yet brief. Congratulations on your new car, that eye catching colour and wish you many miles of safe motoring. I had two Skoda's - Laura and Superb for a total of well over 10 years of ownership time together. A joy to drive. The only fly in the ointment was their ASS. But the cars, both MT, were torquey and manly and accelerated like an arrow - fast and straight. Once a Tata 407, driving on the wrong side of a highway and then trying to suddenly swerve into a U-turn hit my Laura. Fortunately its solid built absorbed the impact and my wife and driver were unscathed. Repairs were extensive. So certainly a safe design.

Welcome to the forum.

[WhiteKnight]

Congratulations on the purchase. I'd say you made a very wise decision, by going for a car that do well in the most crucial aspects of being a competent automobile- power, handling, braking, ride, steering feedback and sense of being well built.

[ramnaresh_2000]

Congrats, the Rapid Onyx is quite a looker. I for a short period of time explored the options to buy Onyx or Monte Carlo manual variant myself, but coming from TUV, the ground clearance and view from driver side was a deal breaker for me.

I really loved the blue color on Rapid, it oozes character. Wishing you happy miles ahead.

[TheHelix0202]

For a first time thread maker, you kept it crisp and precise! Also, the car looks gorgeous in the pics. Welcome to the forum and have many a safe mile in your Rapid!

[kamilharis]

Congrats on your purchase.

The color looks excellent and some of the pictures looks beautiful. I haven't seen much cars in this shade and this color brings some fresh air in to the plethora of Whites and Silvers.

Keep us updated always, be it service or maintenance or upgrade etc. Wishing you a million miles with this beauty!

[buntee90]

Congratulations! the Rapid AT is an excellent choice under 15 Lakhs, it has a stonker of an engine, competent and (Hopefully since its an Aisin)reliable AT Gearbox, good dynamics and safe build.

It looks excellent in Lapiz Blue in a sea of whites and greys.

Please keep the thread updated with your ownership experience!

[thisissoumya]

Congratulations !! The car looks stunning in Lapiz Blue along with those black alloys. I am also glad to see the New 1 ltr TSI Rapid ownership number is increasing on the forum.

Wanted to know how is the drivability below the turbo zone and your overall feedback for drives within city. Does the gearbox respond with quick downshifts when the grunt is low below 1700 rpm? We all know that this is cracker of an engine on highway, I am also eager to know how the engine and TC gearbox combo work within the city (in terms of the fun to drive factor )

I recently test drove the polo AT and found the low end torque (below Turbo) is adequate to drive around the city. Given the higher weight of the Rapid how is your experience for the same?

Wishing you many happy and safe miles ahead. Keep revving !!

[yesyeswe]

Congratulations for your new car, the colour and the car is a looker, 10 year old platform doesn't matter when the car looks this good! The pictures and review were good and informative as well.

There's an underbody protection plastic shield accessory available for the underbody of the engine bay, it i think it costs around 5k and some members have got that, it would protect the engine area from loose stones or some misjudged bumps/potholes. Enquiry about it during your first service, it is a good thing to have.

[Exhuberance]

Wish you a many happy years with your new car !
It sure is quite good looking with those black alloys.
As an owner of a 2015 TDI DSG Brown Rapid, I can definitely relate to your joy.
The Skoda ASS in Gurgaon has so far been ok for me, hope you have thousands of trouble free miles ahead.

[PrasannaDhana]

Congratulations on the beautiful car!

Skoda Rapid is, in my humble opinion, the best offering in the C2 segment today. While Honda City is a nice car too, it's overpriced. The verna is also a good car but atrociously priced and the rear seat is cramped.

Rapid looks fantastic, like a mini Octavia from the front. A proper timeless three-boxer with great build quality, superb engine (loved it in polo tsi MT), spacious cabin, impressive suspension maturity and ride, fun to drive nature and moreover it is abuse friendly. The interiors though simple, is totally durable and there will be no squeaks or rattles even after lakhs of km.

I have said this a dozen times in this forum, but will say it again. We have a 2013 Rapid 1.6 tdi with 1,75,000 km on the odo, which still performs like a dream. Rapid is an underrated car!

I wish you don't face any bad experiences with Skoda A.S.S

Wishing you lakhs of km with the rapid.

Lapiz blue, Monte Carlo red, Silk blue(discontinued) and beige are superb colour choices for the rapid.

While the lapiz blue might be a bit difficult to maintain, it will remain a looker for years if you put in a little effort in maintaining it.

And kudos for not falling into the C-SUV/crossover bandwagon. You will thank yourselves for the superior driving experience that the rapid would offer.

[dsr001]

Originally Posted by thisissoumya

Congratulations !! The car looks stunning in Lapiz Blue along with those black alloys. I am also glad to see the New 1 ltr TSI Rapid ownership number is increasing on the forum.

Wanted to know how is the drivability below the turbo zone and your overall feedback for drives within city. Does the gearbox respond with quick downshifts when the grunt is low below 1700 rpm? We all know that this is cracker of an engine on highway, I am also eager to know how the engine and TC gearbox combo work within the city (in terms of the fun to drive factor )

I recently test drove the polo AT and found the low end torque (below Turbo) is adequate to drive around the city. Given the higher weight of the Rapid how is your experience for the same?

Wishing you many happy and safe miles ahead. Keep revving !!

The AT gearbox ensures that you're always in the right gear to have enough pickup even at city speeds (driven about 2k km in Rapid Tsi AT). I hardly ever feel the need for sport mode (except for single lane highways, where sport mode gives quicker downshifts and holds on to the gear till high revs, almost like I'd do in an MT)

[abhi_tjet]

Congratulations on your beautiful drive Vivek. Lovely shade you have got there. Rapid is one of the very few options which satisfies the enthusiast in you along with being safe.

TC transmission being quite reliable is icing on the cake.

Happy miles.

[cake]

Congratulations pvivek on your new car! I've always appreciated the Rapid's looks, especially from the side. The blue + black alloys look so sweet!
Tho it is a 10 year old car, I think it is still one of, if not the best option available in the C2 sedan segment. More points for being a looker!