Skoda updates Rapid with more features

Skoda India will be having a busy year with a slew of launches planned. To kick things off, they have updated their smallest car on sale in the Indian market, the Rapid for the 2017 model year.

What are the changes?

Skoda launched the new Rapid towards the end of 2016. The update included an all-new front end, which made the car look a lot smarter and elegant. The change got LED DRLs and projector lamps. The new Rapid looks a lot like Skoda’s global offering, which is what they wanted.

For the 2017 model year, they have added 16″ alloys to the Style variant, something that the whole VW group has been adding to their range. The Style variant is the top of the line variant. In addition to this, the Style variant now gets a rear view camera as well, something that was not on offer in the Rapid before. The Rapid gets a large 6.5″ touch screen system for infotainment, however it didn’t have a parking sensor display or camera previously.

Whiile these changes haven’t officially been updated on Skoda’s site, cars have begun to reach the dealerships for delivery. Like on the Polo GT, a price hike of Rs 30-35,000 is expected.

Engines?

The Rapid is on offer in two engine options, one petrol and one diesel. The petrol is a 1.6 liter MPi engine that produces 103 Bhp and 153 Nm. This comes mated to either a 5-speed manual or an automatic transmission. The diesel is a 1.5 liter unit which is tuned to produces 108 Bhp and 250 Nm. This too comes with a 5-speed manaul or 7-speed DSG. Sadly, Skoda doesn’t offer the 1.2 liter TSi unit on the Rapid, something that VW does offer on the Vento.

The Rapid is the cheapest Skoda on sale in the country. While the previous version wasn’t very successful, this one is doing a lot better. It has been selling close to a 1000 units over the past few months.

Source: Team bhp