The Skoda Rapid has been around for a decade now but it still doesn’t show any signs of struggle. For a 10-year-old car, it still brings in decent numbers for Skoda, in fact, you could call it the bread and butter model since it’s the cheapest car in their line-up. The reason for the car to do so well despite its age is due to the fan following it gets for its strengths. Enthusiasts love the solid build, great handling and competent powertrains of the Rapid.
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The now-discontinued TDI diesel was loved by everyone for its performance and efficiency while the current 1.0 TSI has its own fair share of fans too.
The Rapid however, does fall short on other parameters such as its appearance, features and space when compared to the rivals such as the Hyundai Verna, Honda City and Maruti Suzuki Ciaz. The Rapid cannot be discontinued until Skoda gets in new products in the same price range to gain revenue and sales. The company’s director Zac Hollis recently stated on twitter that the end of the production for the Rapid is still being discussed which points out that Skoda is still not sure about the fate of it.
The replacement for the Rapid is already on its way in the form of a much larger sedan which will be based on the MQB-AO(IN) platform like the Kushaq. It will share its powertrain options with the Kushaq too which is the turbocharged 1.0 litre 3 cylinder tsi engine which produces 115hp and 175 Nm of torque mated to a 6 speed manual and 6 speed torque converter automatic transmission. It could also get a turbocharged 1.5 litre 4 cylinder tsi engine which produces 150hp and 250 Nm of torque mated to a 6 speed manual or 7 speed DSG dual clutch automatic transmission. The car is expected to come with LED lights, two spoke steering wheel, sunroof, touchscreen compatible with android auto and apple carplay, ESC and cruise control to name a few features. The name of the new sedan is rumoured to be Slavia and it is set to be revealed by the end of this year.