Skoda Slavia test drive: Skoda Rapid owner shares his likes & dislikes

I found the car to be really stable in the corners & it felt supple and less crashy than the Skoda Kushaq on the same broken roads.

BHPian sachin_cs recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

I finally got the time to drop my Rapid at the service centre to address the battle scars I have picked up in the last one year.

And how could I not use this opportunity to drive some beauties?

It was a fairly long day at Skoda today, I took my besties along with me and they both own Fords now (Freestyle & Fusion). We had a long, long discussion with the sales team and sales manager Mr Praveen. It's always a pleasure discussing cars with like-minded people. We discussed India 2.0 to Goa to Zac to Octavia and everything in between. Finally around 2:30, we all went for a long test drive and below, I will be sharing my opinion after driving the monster of a 1.5 on the roads I regularly drive. In Goa, the roads were completely new for me and I could not do an apple to apple comparison.

Likes

• 1.5 TSI pulls like an electric locomotive.
• Engine note is lovely.
• Car is really stable at turns and even the rear passenger doesn't feel the body roll.
• Humongous boot, much bigger than Rapid and split seats add to the practicality.
• A very comfortable cabin to be in F & R both.
• I felt the NVH levels to be better in the Slavia than the Kushaq, road noise doesn't creep into the cabin.
• Slavia feels supple and less crashy than Kushaq on the same broken roads.
• Music system is very fluid and the subwoofer offers crisp bass.
• Ergonomics are spot-on as expected of Skodas.
• Ventilated seats are a boon in the scorching heat of Raipur.
• Looks, she's a beauty. Especially the red and carbon steel ones.
• Tyre size looks hefty and fills the wheel well.
• Both my friends are 6 ft and they could sit behind each other comfortably.

Dislikes

• The way I drive, I don't think my wallet will be very happy with my monthly fuel bills. I miss you TDI.
• Skoda, if you are listening - We need a Monte Carlo!
• Touch AC control still needs getting used to.
• I can't think of much to be honest, the car is an overall package in itself.

Some observations

• Car is really long but once you get hang of the car, you don't feel the size and you can chuck along in the traffic.
• Both my Ford enthusiast friends loved driving the Slavia and you never know next year they might as well bring home Czech beauties.
• Sunroof keeps the aam janta happy.

I have personally never seen so many cars at my dealer. Kushaq and Slavia have really taken the sales game to next level. Also, my friend who accompanied me today, his cousin crashed his 2018 Rapid DSG a week ago and his car was declared a total loss, he is buying a pre-worshipped 2017 Octavia now and the reason why he could buy one now is because he was in Rapid, had it been other car, things would have been different.

P.S. Since I left my car for insurance repair, Skoda offered to drop us at our respective places in smoking Red Hot Slavia 1.5 DSG and again it gave a very good perspective to experience the rear seat on our usual commute route. Thanks to the team for making our day a worth visit.

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