Is a Skoda a true Skoda when it has umbrellas in it's rear doors?
Is a Skoda a real Skoda when it's heavily spoilered and driving in the World Championship Rally?
Is a Skoda a real Skoda when it has a 'funny' roofline and all kinds of plastic around its bumpers?
All of these are good questions. Once the brand was so down to earth, but lately they've been busy...
with all kinds of stuff that's not really their core business. But that's about to change.
Because Skoda returns to its roots, with this new Rapid.
No... with this Rapid!
Skodas roots have always been making down-to-earth cars that excell in their combination of price, practicality and space.
This Rapid returns to that philosophy, but how should we place this new car?
It's based on the extended platform of the Fabia and Roomster, and its wheelbase of 2.60 meters is even bigger than the one of the Octavia five-door.
Thats the essence of this car: a relatively small body with a lot of interior space.
What, you want to see that? Well, okay!
The room in the front is not bad, let's see how it is in the back. Getting in is pretty easy.
And then... Look at that! Not bad for a B-segment car! Headrest up, and the head room is okay as well. This is a plus!
Another advantage of this Rapid is its boot. You have 550 liters which is only ten less than you get in an Octavia hatchback. That's big.
Too bad you can't fold the back rests flat completely, but overall this is a very useful little car!
Skoda had hidden some handy features in this Rapid. Like these nets, of the hooks, but this is even more special...
Inside the fuel filler cap you get this ice scraper. So when you're done de-icing your windows, you put it back here and you don't get the wet mess inside your car.
Another thing, you can put this safety belt inside a little socket, so it's out of the way when you want to fold the seat back. That it smart thinking!
The space is good, but how about the price? Skoda doesn't know the definitive price but aims it to be around 15.000 euro's. Pretty reasonable for a car this size.
Although I have to say it's easy to see where Skoda has saved the money. It uses known technology fron the VW Group, but the interior is pretty standard.
Don't expect very pretty materials, but the build quality is good. But here, I only have two buttons for the power windows, while the back windows are electric as well.
They save money that way.
Also nothing new in terms of engines or transmissions. The price list starts with an 1.2 MPI, so indirect injection without a turbo.
That's a way to keep the entry price low, but you'll want the TSI's. Today we drive the 1.2 TSI with 105 ps.
We know that engine very good, and it fits the Rapid pretty good. It's not a very powerful engine but the power delivery is good for an engine this size.
Don't expect too much and it's nice. Coupled to a smooth six speed manual, good choice.
The suspension is less well-mannered. It's pretty good in corners, it reacts balanced and doesn't hang too much.
The problem is the way this car handles bad road conditions. It has trouble smoothing out bumps and cracks in the road, it feels a bit jumpy. This can be improved, Skoda!
Next to that, I noticed that it's pretty noisy on the highway as well. It's safe to say this Rapid isn't the most refined car on the market.
But I've been asking myself: how bad is that? I have to say it's easy to understand why this car drives the way it does.
Skoda wants to have an alternative for people or families wanting a reasonable car with a lot of space without paying too much.
When you look at it that way, Skoda has done a good job.
But when you want a car that's more refined of dynamic than average, then I'd buy something else.
+ Impressive interior space. + Well thought-out details. - Suspensions lacks refinement. - Easy to see where they saved the money.