Skoda Rapid [2011-2014] User Reviews

Exterior Sporty exterior as compared to Vento. Only issue is the wiper on the driver side which can not be folded.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Good color combination. lacs USB port in music system provided therefore buying a top end model does nt make a point rather a good music system can be put from outside by buying an Ambition varient which does not carry inbuild music system. Specious interior. Features like rear AC vents and hand rests are good. Lacs door locking from inside.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Just superb. No other word.

Ride Quality & Handling Superb on long rides. suspension is hard on short drives.

Final Words Go for the vehicle guys. But please please think before you buy it from Asset Auto - Pune. The service is real bad or I would say its pathetic. I am happy that I bought this vehicle but regret that I bought it from Asset Auto Bhandarkar Road.

Areas of improvement Internal door lock. wiper folding. Engine noise.

Superb pick up. Specious interiors.Engine noise.

Exterior

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort)

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox

 Engine abnormal noise

Ride Quality & Handling

 

Final Words

 Don't go skoda,Don't go skoda ,Don't go skoda ,after sale service very very poor,if you buy,will cry while service.

Now my rapid have abnormal engine noise,over 4 weeks car is in service centre,even i purchased march 2012,after 2 months major problem in engine,finished 3000 kms only.

Dont buy any skoda car,your valuable time will waste with car service.Further want to buy ,once visit the nearest service centre and ask  any customer ,you realise the worst service.

4 weeks i am going to my office with out car,after i purchased world class brand new car worth 10lacs,they never arrange the alternate vehicle also,even the reponse also very worst.

Areas of improvement  

 

 Customer care very very poor.customer care service not attend the phone call also,

Even a 2 wheeler service centre also far better than skoda.

even under warranty horn problem also need to wait 2 days.

StyleEngine abnormal noise

Exterior good

 

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) good

 

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox good

 

Ride Quality & Handling dont  good

 

Final Words dont buy this car unless they improve there service quality .the sales persons are very talanted tey sell the car to us and their job gets over but the service persons are really the worst. they have to go a very long way in improving their service.our brand new skoda rapid diesel is in service station for past 6month the door was damaged and front wheel align ment was defective in a small accident. they changed the door but they failed to report the wheel problem to the insurence person and closed the insurance durin delivery they notised that there is some sunpension problem in the front wheel and they accept that it was there mistake but not ready to rectify the car and also not reporting to their higher athourity about their careless mistake .if v send mail to skoda customer care they are also not responding properly each and every time some new person takes the phone and the just say their server is slow or they will inform to their higher official for the past 15 days dont know what to do not only me most of the skoda customers face many such problems in service side

 

Areas of improvement  service persons and service persons

 

 

overall a good carvery worst service never buy this car and regret during servicing

A lot needs to be done if Skoda is thinking to take India seriously. They need to hire a PR agency to undo all after-sales horror stories. I just chnaged my mind at the last moment tpo buy this car due to ugly perception on after-sales.

Surprisingly they are sponsoring several ads and banners on carwale.com but they aint doing anything on perception management.

Some of the reviews were unthinkable. Thus its better to be wiser than a fool and would go with the better winner - VW or even for that matter - Hyundai. (in necessary order)

Skoda Wake-up (this is India we dont scrap cars after a few years, its our second-home as we spend more than 6-7 hours in our car) Please clear the air if it exist as the decision to purchase gets hampered. It is a sad state of affair.

Took a test drive and my friend owns it. Its a superb car, packed with raw power as you accelerate beyond a point. Comfortable and a good family car. 

Spacious but interiors seem to be tacky and cheap! Verna scores better than all of them here.

Features- as if Skoda missed the entertainment and basic integration. They have seriously taken this very lightly.

Exteriors- Fabia's elder sister. VW's lost brother.

Safety- Scored well here with saferty features even on lower versions.

Power & RushAfter-Sales Perception

I booked the Rapid automatic - was offered a 10K discount against cost of car and an additional 24K worth of accessories. This was later chaned to 20K discount and 14K worth of accessories. I paid the full amount by cheque.

However when I took delivery of the car, to my horror I found that inorder to save money and make more profit for themselves, they had reduced the WDV value of the car and insured it for a lower amount so as to pay less premium... and that after taking the FULL insurance amount from me as quoted by them in the contract!

The slae person (Majid) lied thru his teeth and sai this is normal and the insurance value of the car is never the ex-showroom price of the car! Hence though I paid 9.6 lakhs for the car, the insured value is only 8.19 lakhs!!! what a rip off!!

I guess the Skoda sales guys only reflect the policy of the company! I am regrettingthe decision to buy a Skoda! I do intent to go legal with this and take the matter to the consumer court!

The attitude of the sale staff has ruined my skoda experience - however good the car!Check and see that what you sign for is what they have promised to deliver check the fine print!

Exterior To be honest, I liked its simple elegance look than fluedics too curvy. It looks business class car, or may be simple taste minded. Mine is with Capuccino Beagie, I believe after BLACK, this color suits the RAPID.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Most needed feature inside was (more power for rear A/C vent), rest like audio controls at steering and other cosmetics i never liked in my other cars since while driving many times those looks distractive.

I liked the space at back seat, believe it is one of the good car in the segment considering the back seat comfort. At high speed - when you'r sitting back you wont feel the speed, rather you feel as if you are sitting in a volvo (i felt it many times the way its suspentions works & gets you the feeling), My younger bro. complained initial about bucket seats at back (he used to in the FLAT seat) however sitting back for BLR - PNQ journey, he didnt claim the back pain / seat problem. (I consider his opinion since he only loved the back seat comfort of Nissan's Bluebird Sylphy as the best under 1 cr)

Very minute but most important 2 features I liked in it is : Back Seat Reader's light is not just above the river head (as seen in many cars), instead it is placed above the rear passengers seat with 2 bulb fair enough to read and wont disturn driver. Even if car is centrally locked, insider can get out of the car any time. (remember the mumbai flood trapped people inside car).

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox While running at 2000 KM on ODO, millege was on highway = 21.8 km/l (diesel).

Story : Filled HP normal diesel at Pune (Baner-Chandani Chowk) and drive to bangalore (1 hr hault at Belgaum & 1 hr hault at Davangere) when reached BLR - JP Nagar, odo was showing 865 KM and 1/4 th tank dielse was still remaining. My driver & I maintained speed at 130 most of the time, however reached 170 3-4 times for 30 sec duration.

I am amazed to see the heat of the engine after driving almost 350 KM @ strech, engine was not boiling when opened the hood.

Engine Sound @ speed : Once you cross 50+ you do whatever - you only hear wind wistel, no engine noice. I park entire week and remove on weekend, first 3-7 KM you will see little rattle sound (if your windows are open) post heat up, it goes off and becomes more smooth.

Cruising : is very good. I must say 130+ is what i drove many times when the road permitted, you still have the stability & continuation of the speed at many times. It runs like crazy, I had no break issues, (it depends on how you drive) as long as you manage your drive on proper use inbetween accelator pedal & breakes.

Ride Quality & Handling Ride qualty I stated above. I have never seen (even at 170 km/h speed) that car looses its gravity / shakes, it just tells you to push hard. Most importantly: I was driving at 150 + It was very long streck (one strech you have inbetween Kolhapur & {Nippani}Belgaum for alomost 15-20+km) I just thought of ending the accelator pedal, with no response time - it just jumped ahead pushing me back and it was crosing 170 with in 3 sec, I had to remove accelator to hold the breath. Meanwhile it was cruising at the speed without immedietly slowing you down (another best quality in highways that you dont have to keep pressing pedals, just let it relax).

No Bodyroll, No Vibration at high speed, no engine revv sound at high speed, not at all time lag in boosting power.

Slow Driving @ City : Just put it for 1st gear - it goes at 12-15 KM/Hr speed all the way untill you put breake or change gear. 2nd Gear - goes at 15-18 km/hr no matter up / down. Low RPM works fantastic at city slow moving trafic, you feel is it auto??

Story : from Tar road to my home is 5 km, ghat + muddy + slippery - hence we only use GYPSY at rainy seasons, this time too i had my uncle waitin to help RAPID get through when we went from BLR on rainy day.  We were 3 inside rapid and i put it in 1st gear, it was just working like an auto and going easy, I had no issue keep changing gears & applying clutch and breaks, my odl 1995 Gypsy was jealous for not taking help. 

Final WordsGood Car, Practical, Easy to drive, True Performer, It Just loves you the way you take care. 

Stability @ High Speed, Suspension & Built Quality & Fuel Economy@10.50 Lakhs- it looks basic, After Sales, Services, Parts, not much issue with car.

I have a tendency to appreciate good things in life.

Driving has always been my passion owing to which I have tried and tested different cars. I have participated in Mud rallies, mountain driving and long distance driving since a long time.

I thought about sharing an incident with everyone. I recently met up with an accident at Mumbai's eastern express highway where I was hit by a truck from the side. I had stoped my car at a signal and a truck was trying break the signal through the narrow space available from my right side. It banged my right door and pushed my car to a distance of 10 meters. My car had taken a 45 degree turn towards the right side due to the impact of the accident as the truck hit me completely from the right side. What I am trying to explain here is that at the time of the accident me or my 2 friends who were inside with me in the car could not even feel a jerk due to the impact of the accident. It did not cause any damage to the main body parts of the car apart from the two doors that got damaged due to the impact.

I always had a perception that Skoda gave poor after sales service due to the lack of enough service stations. But the company arranged for a pick up to the service station post the accident and the necessary replacements and repairs of the doors done with in a span of 15 days.

The car also gives a mileage of 20 - 22 KM / hr without any compromise in the pick up. It is also steady and comfortable for driving long distances.

I strongly recomend this car to my friends vis a vis to the new cars which is in the 1.6 diesel category launched recently.

Anil Mathews

SteadinessServicing to be improved

Exterior Excellent.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) comfortable space and pleasing interiors. Good family car.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine runs smooth and gives an excellent feeling during driving; I got 14 KM per litre of diesel when driving in bumper to bumper slow traffic; on normal city traffic which is somewhat ok, it gave 17 to 18 KM per litre. I have not gone long distance yet. Gear shifting if done without hurry is very smooth whereas while pushing it fast, I observe there is a resistance to change of gear.

Ride Quality & Handling Really very good. Easy handling. Can take U turns within almost the same space as in my earlier Zen Estillo. One has to be careful in city traffic since the car always has a tendency to accelerate even though your foot is away from accelerator.

Final Words I am enjoying the ride. Good buy.

Areas of improvement NA.

Styling, ease of use of steering, pick up and powerDifficult to control on low speeds less than 20 KMPH; picks up speed on any pertex

Exterior Good.

Interior (Features, Space & Comfort) Seats and space is quite nice. Built for 4 people. 5th seat (rear middle) is quite small and not comfortable due to rear ac vents.

Engine Performance, Fuel Economy and Gearbox Engine performance is good.

Fuel economy is not good, I am getting 15-16 km per liter while I was told that it's 20-21 km per liter. I drive about 80 km per day.

Ride Quality & Handling Very good.

Final Words I bought Rapid about an year ago and done more than 19K on this car. Here is my assessment.

1) After Sales is not good at all. Various pending items got closed after 4-5 months of car delivery.
> Car registration, proper accessories as bought.

2) Mileage is not great. Particularly in summer with AC running. At best 15-16 km while they claimed 19-20 km per litres.

3) Parts availability is major concern. Once your car goes for any part, just pray to god to get it back soon. I had it 2-3 times and I was really disappointed.

4) Engine is not covered underneath. My car's engine chamber got broken after being hit by a small stone. Luckily my house was very near otherwise engine would have got seized.

5) After visiting service centre few times, I felt that expertise is missing from technicians. Recently, there was a noise coming from my car, about 7-8 technicians heard that noise but nobone could identify the reason. They recorded it to probably send it to Skoda.

6) You cannot get your car serviced other than Skoda dealerships otherwise your warranty gets void.

Overall not recommended to new buyers unless skoda improves it dealership in short run.

Areas of improvement Mileage, Underneath protection, After Sales service, Parts Availability, Service technician expertise.

Overall solid built, good pickup, electronic console for displaying statistics on mileage etcParts Availability, Service technician expertise