Everything you need!!

Exterior : It is a bit redundant to qualify exteriors, because everyone has their own sensibilities. For me personally, I do not like the typical 'fluidic' design with unecessary lines and creases running along the side and prominent slants. In relation to the rapid, the front still catches my appeal with the ridged bonnet and accented front grill which makes it look a bit butch. The rear is a little plain and the tail lights are a bit early 2000's and not in a very good way. All in all, i love how this car looks in terms of design simplicity and great front and its a winner for me across all segments.

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort): Quality of plastics is great and even after 3 years of rigorous driving, you wont hear any irritating creeks and sounds which your typical maruti's hondas and hyundai's suffer after prolonged driving. The cabin is just right... plenty of room and the driver side has the necessary snugness that will give you immense confidence in the drive. On the downside, it doesnt offer ground breaking features and the console can look a bit dated. I upgraded my infotainment system to touch screen and got great speakers to go with it, so im not really complaining.

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox: You can make any comparisons you like, but honestly, across the segment, this is probably the best engine on offer. 0-100 is probably fractionally less zippy than the verna for eg... but the real test is the mid range - your regular 40-70 kmph or 60-90 kmph where the rapid takes a major edge. Overtaking is therefore effortless and you get a feeling that you are driving a car which is a lot more powerful than the specs actually qualify. Gears are seamless and they fit the slots quite comfortably. It makes for great city driving as well and the turbo in the diesel mill kicks in at about 2200 rpm. I know that we, as a people are obsessed with fuel economy. This offer 13-14 kmpl in the city and about 16 kmpl on the highway. This is laregly due to my slightly aggressive driving style. However, it will fall short of what the vernas and city's offer - but i am not too fussed - the net effect is Rs.1200 a month and I will gladly pay it for a better drive.

 

Ride Quality & Handling: I havent driven the verna and the city excessively to make a fair comparison on handling - this typically requires longer exposures to a drive. However, in my assessment, for a car in this price range - it offers unparalleled ride quality and handling. You feel immensely safe in tough corners. the suspension is super - especially for the highway and you dont get any unecessary wobble. Hill driving is an absolute pleasure and you dont feel like you are dragging an unecessarily large rear (for eg in the Sunny). I have driven it up to 185 kmph (with 5 ppl) in straights and up to 130 kmph in a momentary flash of exhileration in the hills. on the downside - if your car is filled to capacity i.e. 5 ppl ad weekend luggage - the ground clearance suffers a bit and you would expect to hit your under-carriage a few times.

 

Final Words: This is a great car to buy. I have driven close to 43,000 kms. I know people complain about service costs - but it is steadily evening out across the segment. Whether its an annual service (like skoda) or a bi-annual service like some other cars - you will spend anything beteen 7-13k a year. You muct be aware as a customer - for eg: when i sent my car - I specifically told them that the cost must not exceed the online service cost esttimate which they offer. I got on top of them and my bill went down from 14k to 11k for the second service. I have the pleasure of a interacting with a great service team in gurgaon and I have never had any major problem.

 

Areas of improvement : Better tyres, better features

 

 

Styling, engine capabilities, build quality, handling, stabilityfeatures, stock tyres