Skoda Rapid Looks Cost and Postmortem

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Skoda just does not seem to live up to its reputation in India. The Volkswagen on the other hand in spite of a late entry has even managed to be the flavor of the season. One thing that could rapidly change the fate of company is the upcoming Skoda Rapid. The Rapid will be released as an entry level, C segment sedan that will look to bridge the gap between the Fabia and the Laura.

The Skoda Rapid will be available in both the fuel variants and three trim options based on the features. They are the Active, the Ambition and the Elegance. All the three versions will be available in both the fuel variants. The engines will come in a 5 speed manual gearbox. The higher Ambition and the Elegance is also available in the 6 speed auto gear option as well.

The Rapid is no out of the blue car and has a lot of stuff from the VW Vento. If you have driven the Vento then the Rapid will not be much of an alien. Even unique features like the adjusting of front passenger seat from the rear in the Vento are available for the Rapid as well. The Rapid is expected be priced reasonably at around Rs 6 lakh.

The petrol and diesel engines have the same capacity of 1.6-litre and even deliver the same power output of 105bhp. The torque is on the higher side in the diesel. The Rapid will run against the likes of the Maruti Suzuki Swift Dzire, the Toyota Etios and the Nissan Sunny.

The Rapid has a different front face compared to the Vento cousin. Other noticeable differences are the head lamps, the grille, and the front bumpers. The boot lid is also of a different design line on both the sides of the number plate. The insides of the tail lamps are once again the Skoda style. The tail lamps trail is similar to the Vento. The remaining part of the car is similar to the Vento and this is clearly evident, when you get to see the overall profile of the car.

On the interiors, the dashboard, the AC vents, the door trims, climate control are a Vento inspiration. The drive wheel is an exception. Even the high end Elegance model is bereft of steering mounted controls and is not leather wrapped either.

The clocks are also different compared to the Vento and has a comprehensive trip computer. The entire console has a black finish instead of the usual chrome trim including the AC vents.

The stereo is also different for the Rapid Elegance compared to the Volkswagen. The quality is much more perceivable. They also have an aux-in as well as an SD card reader which is a huge improvement from the Vento cousin. The missing of Bluetooth is still a sore in the eye for the Rapid.

The car has airbags for the driver, apart from the ABS, front and rear fog lamps, height adjustable driver seat and a central rear armrest which are all available even in the mid level trim model. It also saves some cash with some standard features even for the entry level variants like the front and rear power windows with one touch operation, rear AC vents, adjustable central front armrest with stowage and rake and reach adjustable steering. Truly, the Rapid looks set for rapid overhaul of the future of Skoda in India.