SKODA Rapid
Generations Timeline, Specs and Pictures
The Skoda Rapid released in 2012 had a great impressive design, offered a roomy cabin and a great sized trunk, but the most important thing, the price-value ratio was excellent.
Designed for people looking for comfort and practicality, the Rapid was a good choice with the massive 550 liter load area.
The Rapid could have fitted into the small sedans segment, being bigger than a Fabia, but still smaller than the Skoda’s best selling Octavia.
The engine options were two 1.2-liter gasoline engines developing 104 hp, a 1.4-liter gasoline producing 121 hp and a 1.6-liter diesel. While the engines were not as powerful, the Rapid was still fun to drive.
The Rapid had a clean, nice looking interior and good quality materials. The seats were comfortable and the overall feeling was of roominess.
Safety wise, the Rapid was equipped with ABS, ESP, tyre pressure monitoring, foglmaps, hill-hold control, front and side airbags, along with adjustable-height 3-point sagety belts.
The Rapid was available in three trim levels: Active, Ambition and Elegance. Several interior color combinations for the dashboard and the door panels were available as Satin Black and Satin Black, Satin Black and Telluride Grey and Satin Black and Stone Beige.
While the Rapid was not as exciting as the rivals in its class, it was definitely the cheapest to afford with quite great features.
Skoda Rapid nameplate appeared in Europe in 1935, but it took other decades to return on the market in 1984 as a fastback and later on as a sedan in 2012.
But there was another Rapid in India.
Volkswagen group successfully made its badge-engineering system all-over the world. For instance, India received the Rapid nameplate in 2011 for a sedan version based on the second generation of the Skoda Fabia, which was based on the same platform as the Volkswagen Polo. The Polo Sedan was sold in India with the Vento nameplate.
Apart from the different badges, the Rapid was a different vehicle. It featured the already known face of the Fabia II, with angled, swept-back headlights. The classic grille with vertical slats and chromed surrounding and the green badge on its top was completely different than the shapes offered by the Indian version of the Volkswagen Vento. In the rear, its taillights resembled the C-shaped letter, typical for the Czech brand.
Inside, there were just a few differences between the Rapid and the Vento. A manually controlled air conditioning system and the steering wheel with the Skoda badge were the most obvious. Its gray and light beige colors of the dashboard, with a black center stack, offered an airy sensation. In the back, there was room for three with decent legroom and headroom.
Under the hood, the Rapid was fitted with a choice of two engines, both rated at 105 hp. The base model was a 1.6-liter gasoline four-pot while the other featured the same displacement, but it was turbodiesel.