Just nine days after Skoda announced the start of its production at Chakan, the new Skoda Rapid has now officially been launched in India, starting at a price tag of Rs 6.75 lakhs for the base petrol variant all the way up to Rs 9.19 lakhs for the top of the line diesel spec model
As a part of Volkswagen’s aggressive game plan for global automotive domination by 2018, its Czech premium car brand Skoda
recently announced the roll out of an all new product portfolio for
India and the world, the most impressive of which so far is what we know
call the ‘Mission L’.
But in the Indian context, the further
expansion of India’s already eclectic assortment of international
premium compact sedan offerings now sees worthy contribution once again,
in the shape of the all new Skoda Rapid that shortly after starting
production at Volkswagen’s Chakan plant near Pune, has finally gone on
sale in India.
Despite being styled around the same platform
as the Volkswagen Vento, the Rapid is a true Skoda in the making, and
this becomes amply clear when Rapid’s exterior body lines and curves are
looked upon closely. Targeted at a constantly growing customer base in a
segment, where whims and fancies are pampered by sheer diversity of
choice, the Skoda Rapid is surely no last minute compromise by the looks
of it.
Starting with the performance potential on this urban
Czech sedan for India, interested buyers have the choice of picking
from either a 1.6 litre turbo diesel powerplant or an MPI petrol unit of
the same capacity. Both units make the exact same power as well at 105
horses, but torque differentials are massive between the two models,
with the TDI putting down 250Nm between 1500-2500rpm and the petrol
making 153Nm @ 3800rpm.
Just like we saw earlier on the Volkwagen Vento the new Rapid
will factor in both a 5-speed manual and a 6-speed automatic
transmissions in its buyers wish lists, but the auto box will be
features only for in the top petrol variant.
The diesels
will be offered only with the 5-speed manual gearbox and these are the
ones you should really keep your eyes on. Pricing will be crucial and
expect the Rapid to cost slightly lower than the Vento variant by
variant. To sum it up, Skoda seems to have another winning product to
add to their portfolio – this time courtesy the big guys at Volkswagen.
The
Rapid from Skoda will come factory fitted with a 2-DIN audio player on
the top of the line Elegance variant with AUX input as well as an SD/MMC
card reader connectivity options. Top variants on this car also get
electronically regulated climate control while the base Active and
Ambition variants have to make do with a manually regulated air con.
Priced
between 6.75 – 9.19 lakhs, the Skoda Rapid, like its name suggests
could turn out to be fast paced contender in the current crop of premium
sedans here in India. For a complete performance overview on the new
Skoda Rapid read our first drive report
1 comments:
Up till now all skoda Cars are involving great service charges and spares are having extra high cost. Overall this vehicle is not economical.
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