This is it - New Journey with Skoda Rapid


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Opel Corsa had been with us for more than 8 years now, have had really long drives (one time we did 800 kms in a day), she had never failed us. Sitting in Corsa on a highway always gave a safe and @home feeling. We decided it was time to let go of our Corsa and have a new companion. Our requirements were
  1. New car should be equal or better in sturdiness & comfort.
  2. We were accustomed to a nice suspension in Corsa, hence want equal or better suspension
  3. Should have a Diesel heart.
  4. Budget around 10 lakhs
We considered the following cars, test drove all of them and here is the feedback ( No offence to any vehicles [:)]
  1. Hyundai Verna – It’s loaded with amazing features at this price point. We test drove a new vehicle and the steering started shaking at speed of 60 kmph. Even the sales person told that there are steering problems above 120 kmph. Also rear window size is quite small , kid didn’t like that.
  2. Fiat Linea – A good package overall but there is some confusion on Fiat opening separate stores ( currently have JV with Tata), so decided to skip this. Also was looking for a 1.6 ltrs engine
  3. Renault Duster – Couple of plus point – Feels you are sitting high above the road and gives you a “high” of sitting in SUV. However it’s a 5 seater, huge turbo lag, ABS which is a must for me comes in 13+ lakhs version, so dropped this from the probables.
  4. Vw Vento – Loved the acceleration when turbo kicks in, suspension was good, however the ABS comes only in Highline which was over budget for me.
  5. Skoda Rapid – Looked to be refined version of Vento, priced less, ABS version in middle as well top end version. However read lot of A.S.S stories at a different auto forum. Enquired with the dealer about A.S.S. stories, he told yes for Octavia, parts were imported, were expensive and took time. But now Vw and Skoda are focusing on localization and hence that problem will not be there (made sense to me).
Others which were given a thought
  1. Tata Indigo Manza – Slightly low on pocket but heard about frequent leaks etc , so skipped TD part.
  2. Honda City – Have heard very nice reviews by owners in office, but doesn’t come in diesel , so skipped .
  3. Maruti SX 4 – Had a ride in SX4 a year back, was left unimpressed by the suspension, so skipped.

So grand finale was between Vento Highline , Rapid Elegance and Rapid Ambition( Other variants of both don’t have ABS). Searched internet, youtube, talked to couple of Vento owners and got very good feedback about Vento. Our mind was for Vento considering A.S.S. stories of Skoda but heart said Rapid. Rapid has much better looks in my opinion and seems to better at NVH.

Finally we went with the heart and the competition now narrowed down to Rapid Elegance and Rapid Ambition. I was not satisfied with stock music system in Elegance. Elegance was around 1.5 lakhs more than Ambition. We compared the features which we will miss in Ambition (Alloy wheels, Tyre size, Auto AC, Front seat adjustment lever, Electrically adjustable Rear view mirrors, front passenger airbag).We decided to Ambition with custom music system and Alloy wheels / tyre upgrade.

Buying Experience – The overall experience from test drive to delivery was pretty good at Mahavir Skoda , Jubilee Hills, Hyderabad. Accessories had to go to Somajiguda and the person in charge there was also too helpful

Modifications / Fittings – Alloy wheel / tyre size upgrade, Caska HU unit( costly but I love it), Seat covers, mats & flaps - Everything got it done from Dealer.

Have driven around 150 kms till now and the feeling is still sinking in. Trying to get used to the diesel beats [glasses]

Few things which we like

  1. Acceleration after turbo kicks in
  2. Suspension
  3. Dealer interaction till now
Few things which need improvement
  1. Dashboards are inclined in such a way that it’s very difficult to keep something on it ( e.g. tissue paper box)
  2. No switch to turn off rear A.C. vent

Caska – I went in for a Caska HU which has following features and am loving it.
Jul-13 - Read about Chinese Caska in thread on 4th page - WILL NOT ADVISE ANYONE TO BUY IT
  1. Touchscreen
  2. Bluetooth / Phone book
  3. Reverse camera
  4. GPS(MapmyIndia)
  5. Music / Photo / Movie / VCD/DVD
  6. USB / SD card / Ipod / Aux Support

We plan to do a highway trip once we cross 500 kms. Some people say that for Vw/Skoda “run in” is not required, whereas the manual says its required till 1000 miles, so trying to go by Rapid manual.
 
Last edited:
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Congratz for the new ride mate.

Few Questions:

  1. What's the on road cost?
  2. What color?
  3. Any freebies?
  4. Any discounts?
  5. Where are pics man?
 
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Congrats on your Rapid ssroadie.Rapid is one heck of the Car because it had addictive torque,comfort and space,ride and handling made Rapid best for average Indian,who wants performance,space and comfort.

BTW,How is your dealership experience while buying Rapid?

We are finalizing Rapid Elegance as our next buy replacing our Swift VDI 2010,which had done almost 73,000 Km in 2.8 Years.My father has almost decided to buy Rapid,after my Swift completes 80,000 Km and will be completing 3 years on February 2013.We will be booking Rapid on January 2013.
 
Thread Starter #6
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OTR ~ 11.2 lakhs including all discounts, Freebies -teflon coating / rough road package. I got some additional discount because i got everything fitted from dealer.

And here are few pics

Skoda Rapid-1.jpg

Skoda Rapid-2.jpg

Skoda Rapid-3.jpg
 
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Congrats for your rapid SSroadie

That's neat, very neat car. Elegant design, no quirkiness, looks solid as it should.
Can you post more details about the Caska HU specifically the price , and post some pictures of HU too.

Enjoy driving.
 
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Hello ssroadie,

Firstly welcome to TAI.
Congratulations for your new Rapid. It is a very good car and you will enjoy your ride with it. Saying it from my experience. I am one of the proud owners of Rapid.
 
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@ssroadie

Welcome to TAI !! and welcome to TAI Hyderabad club [:)]

Congrats on your new Rapid, it looks to be a good price and good decent color too

It looks to me that your dealer is MAuto at Jubilee Hills ?? a nice Skoda dealer in the city.
 
Thread Starter #10
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Congrats for your rapid SSroadie

That's neat, very neat car. Elegant design, no quirkiness, looks solid as it should.
Can you post more details about the Caska HU specifically the price , and post some pictures of HU too.

Enjoy driving.
Here are few pics of the Caska HU, the price is 48 k and got some discounts on the overall accessories package. I was looking for an HU which will have all features and it perfectly fits my bill.

IMG_0490.jpg

IMG_0493.jpg

IMG_0494.jpg

IMG_0495.jpg

IMG_0498.jpg

IMG_0500.jpg

IMG_0502.jpg

IMG_0503.jpg
 
Thread Starter #12
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@ssroadie

Welcome to TAI !! and welcome to TAI Hyderabad club [:)]

Congrats on your new Rapid, it looks to be a good price and good decent color too

It looks to me that your dealer is MAuto at Jubilee Hills ?? a nice Skoda dealer in the city.
Yes @Gurrala74, its Mahavir Auto at Jubilee Hills, their head office is at Raj Bhavan road. I had to go to Raj Bhavan to discuss accessories
 
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Yes @Gurrala74, its Mahavir Auto at Jubilee Hills, their head office is at Raj Bhavan road. I had to go to Raj Bhavan to discuss accessories
Good, There is one good sales guy in Jubilee Hills showroom Mr.Robert. He is really helpful any matter.

They got a wonderful state of the art world class workshop in Sanathnagar too !!
 
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ssroadie,

Is Ambition is getting alloy wheels as OE or got fitted from dealer only.

11.2 L seems to be okay for this price.If you shell out for another Rs.30,000,you could have bought Elegance version with 2 A/B,Climate Control and others.

What is the price of Elegance in Hyderabad?
 
Thread Starter #15
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ssroadie,

Is Ambition is getting alloy wheels as OE or got fitted from dealer only.

11.2 L seems to be okay for this price.If you shell out for another Rs.30,000,you could have bought Elegance version with 2 A/B,Climate Control and others.

What is the price of Elegance in Hyderabad?
@Music_Swift - Ambition doesn't come with Alloy wheels, i got alloy wheels + tyre upgrade from dealer.

Well Elegance is around 11.8 on road, i paid 11.2 after alloy wheels+Caska+Speakers, which i think is much better deal or put simply i didnt feel that extra features arent worth 1.5 lakhs.
 

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