An undisguised spy shot of the upcoming 2016 Skoda Rapid facelift has surfaced on the Internet, ahead of the car's reported launch on November 03, 2016. The leaked spy shot reveals the car's front fascia.

As per the new spy shot, the Rapid looks like a smaller Octavia. The car's front gets Skoda's new grille, while the headlamps receive an angular treatment. Interestingly, the Octavia has a gap between the headlamps and the front grille, while the Rapid's grille touches the headlamp assemblies on both sides. The bumper houses a wide air dam, with laterally placed fog lamps on both sides.

Information on the interiors of the facelifted Rapid is still scarce. However, it is expected to get a new infotainment system and a few more feature additions.

Once launched, the 2016 Rapid will be taking on rivals like the Honda City, Maruti Ciaz, Hyundai Verna, and its reengineered sibling - the VW Vento.

Source: Autocar India

As per recent media reports, Skoda India is planning to launch the 2016 Rapid facelift on November 3, 2016. The car was recently spotted in its production-ready form. This will be the first update to the Rapid, after it was originally launched in the country in 2011.

On the outside, the Rapid facelift is expected to get a new pair of headlamps, Skoda's new front grille, a re-profiled front bumper, and some minor changes to the taillights. The interiors are expected to remain mostly the same, though there might be some feature additions, including a new infotainment system with MirrorLink, phone book and SMS viewer.

The rapid will also get Volkswagen's new 1.5-litre TDI diesel engine. This is the same unit that made its official debut with the Ameo sedan. Petrol engine choice will be limited to the same 1.6-litre MPI power plant from the earlier Rapid.

Source: Autocar India

The upcoming Skoda Rapid has once again been spotted testing on public roads. It is expected to be launched later this year. The facelifted model will get some cosmetic updates on the outside, some feature additions on the inside, and a new 1.5-litre engine.

The spotted car wears camouflage around the front and rear bumpers, headlights, and taillights. The Rapid facelift is expected to get sharper headlight assemblies, a beefed up front bumper, and slightly tweaked taillights. The spy shots also show that the 2016 Rapid gets the company's new front grille. Side profile remains identical to the current model. Though information about the exact changes made to the interiors of the Rapid facelift haven’t yet been revealed, the vehicle could get a new infotainment system with MirrorLink, phone book and SMS viewer.

The Rapid facelift is also expected to get Volkswagen's new 1.5-litre TDI engine that recently made its debut in the Ameo compact sedan. The 1.6-litre MPI petrol engine from the previous model is expected to be continued without any changes.

Source: CarNewsIndia

Earlier this year, we had reported that Volkswagen was planning to launch an updated version of its 1.5-litre diesel engine in the days to come. This engine is expected to get a larger turbocharger and will produce 108 BHP - 5 BHP more than the current output of 103 BHP. The torque figure of 230 Nm will remain unchanged.

The updated engine is likely to make its debut in October 2016. The Vento is expected to be the first car to be powered by this unit. The Polo, Skoda Rapid and upcoming Ameo compact sedan will get it subsequently.

The 1.5-litre unit replaced Volkswagen's 1.2-litre and 1.6-litre diesel power plants in 2014. At present, it is being used in the Volkswagen Polo, Vento and Skoda Rapid.

Source: Carwale

A test mule of the Skoda Rapid facelift has been spotted once again. The latest round of spy shots gives us a glimpse into the interiors of the car.

The images suggest that the Rapid will get new dual tone fabric upholstery for the seats. The vehicle could also get a new infotainment system with MirrorLink, phone book and SMS viewer.

On the outside, the refreshed Rapid is likely to get cosmetic changes such as a new bonnet, revised headlamp clusters, a restyled grille, a redesigned front bumper and reworked fenders. The car is also likely to get ORVMs with integrated turn indicators, redesigned tail lamps, a restyled boot lid and a reworked rear bumper.

Coming to the engine options, the Rapid is likely to use the same 1.6-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines as the current model. However, the diesel unit could feature a larger turbocharger.

Source: Motoroids

Here are some more images of the Skoda Rapid facelift that is expected to be launched in India later this year.

The images suggest that the refreshed Rapid gets some cosmetic changes. At the front, it gets a new bonnet, revised headlamp clusters, a restyled grille, a redesigned bumper and reworked fenders. These changes bring the car's styling in-line with the other cars in the company's line-up. Other changes include ORVMs with integrated turn indicators, redesigned tail lamps, along with a restyled boot-lid and rear bumper.

On the inside, the Rapid could get some styling changes and additional equipment as well.

There is no information regarding the engines that Skoda will use in the Rapid. However, it is likely that the existing 1.6-litre petrol and 1.5-litre diesel engines will be carried over. The diesel unit is likely to get a larger turbocharger, which could result in a higher power output.

Source: Autocar India

Earlier this month, Volkswagen India recalled 3,877 units of the Vento sedan with the 1.5-litre diesel engine and manual transmission (click here to read report). The recall was due to inconsistent Carbon Monoxide (CO) emissions that were observed to be exceeding the permissible limits during the Conformity of Production (COP) tests done by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI).

The company also announced that it was temporarily suspending sales of the Vento with the 1.5-litre diesel engine. According to media reports, sales of the Skoda Rapid with the 1.5-litre diesel engine and manual transmission have been suspended as well.

The Rapid shares its engines with the Vento. Skoda will continue to sell the other Rapid variants, which are powered by the 1.6-litre MPI petrol engine and the 1.5-litre TDI diesel engine with the automatic transmission. Skoda has not issued a recall for any of its cars as yet.

Source: The Hindu Business Line

Skoda Rapid, the company's most affordable car in India has been around in the market since 2011. While in the international markets, the Czech manufacturer introduced a different generation of this car in 2012, in India, we still continue to get the badge engineered version of the Volkswagen Vento. A facelifted version of the Skoda Rapid has been spotted testing in India and is scheduled to be launched in the festive season.

The Rapid sports new halogen headlamps, a new grill portraying its family face and a new front bumper and fog lamp housing. It also features ORVMs with integrated turn indicators, re-designed tail lamps, along with a restyled boot lid and rear bumper.

The interiors of the Rapid might get styling updates along with some additional equipment.

While there is no confirmed news about the engine and transmission options, we can expect the existing 1.6L petrol and 1.5L diesel engine to be carried forward on the new car. Recently, we had reported that VW is likely to introduce a bigger turbocharger for its diesel engine, which is likely to make its way into the Rapid, resulting in a minor bump up in performance.

Image source: MotorBeam

In 2015, we had reported that Volkswagen was looking to increase its localization levels for its 1.5L TDI engine, which powers the Volkswagen Polo, Vento and the Skoda Rapid in India. A few media reports claim that the company is likely to equip this motor with a larger turbocharger to increase its power and efficiency.

Volkswagen currently sources 25 major components such as the turbocharger, connecting rods, vacuum lines, flywheels and engine brackets from 18 local suppliers. The turbocharger in the present models is supplied by Honeywell. Now, Autocar reports that the company is likely to use a new, locally-sourced and bigger turbocharger that will bump up the engine's power to 110 BHP. The Polo GT, Vento and possibly the upcoming Ameo and Skoda Rapid are likely to get the 1.5L TDI engine in this state of tune.

The 1.5L TDI engine is produced at the Volkswagen plant at Chakan, near Pune.

Skoda has introduced a limited edition of the Rapid sedan in India. The Rapid Anniversary Edition, as it is called, is priced at Rs 6.99 lakh (ex-showroom) across India.

The Anniversary Edition comes with cosmetic changes and additional features. Changes to the exterior include decals on the doors and a contrasting roof.

On the inside, the car gets and wood decor trim. Skoda is offering the TrackPro car tracking device system on the Elegance Plus variant. This system enables a customer to keep a track of his vehicle's location 24x7, record vehicle trip history, assign over speed limit and boundary alerts and update tracking configurations like owner’s number, vehicle registration IDs, etc.

The owner will also be able to set-up mobile alerts to be notified on his car getting towed, over speeding, entering and exiting boundaries and whenever the tracking device is disconnected or re-connected with the vehicle.

The Anniversary Edition also sports features such as adjustable dual rear AC vents on rear center console, a 2-DIN integrated audio player, Bluetooth connectivity for phone / audio streaming / remote control via phone app, cruise control, projector headlamps, height and length adjustable steering wheel and a 7-speed DSG transmission with tiptronic manual gear changing.

Skoda is also offering dual front airbags as a standard fitment to all versions of the Rapid.

The Rapid Anniversary Editions will be available across all authorized Skoda dealerships and showrooms across India, till the end of September 2015.