NEW VE HICLE SK0DA RAPID The discontinuation of the highly-success- update it arose mainly from Volkswa- cated stance. The rear has been given ful Octavia sedan in 2010 left Skoda Auto gen’s strategy of sharing platforms quite a bit of different treatment and SKODA RAPID - BADGE India with a void to fill in the entry-level across various brands and models. The sports a slightly different designed boot sedan segment. Rapid, the car in discus- PQ 24 platform didn’t prove to be very lid. Between the registration plate and sion here has a similar background and is flexible in terms of creating new vari- tail lamps, one can see two diagonal ENGINEERING OR BEYOND? result of a combination of mechanicals ants due to its older technology. On the creases giving the rear a more pro- from the Volkswagen Vento and visuals other hand, the PQ 25 addressed this nounced look. The tail lights carry the from the Skoda Fabia. At first glance, the need by being more flexible in variant distinct Skoda “C” look integrated in the Rapid does seem to be a badge engineered creation and having the ability to pro- cluster and lend it a specific Skoda look. product with a Fabia front and a Vento duce an all-wheel drive vehicle if The result of all these subtle yet well- A large company with ownership rights of multiple brands has some distinct advantages. Such a company can body and underpinnings. Our detailed needed. The PQ 25 quite obviously, executed touches is a design that is easier launch one car in different body styles or under different brand names and slot it in various segments translat- review of the diesel variant will not only being a newer platform, is designed to on the eye than its VW sibling, and man- ing into better scale of economies and higher profit margins. Skoda Auto has benefitted from being part of the explain the technologies in the car, but be more cost-efficient as well. ages to create a separate identity as well. also try and answer if the Rapid is a car The flexibility of this platform is evi- Volkswagen Group. We review Rapid, the new Skoda sedan in the market. beyond badge engineering. dent from the fact that the VW Vento and Skoda Rapid sedans have branched POWERTRAIN out of the Polo Mk5 (present genera- PLATFORM tion) hatchback and reflect practical and A. :: CONSTRUCTION cost-effective engineering. Rapid is powered by Volkswagen The Rapid is based on Volkswagen’s PQ Group’s 1.6 l common rail 4-cylinder 25 platform, which also serves as the 16-valve TDI engine, the same found base for Audi A1 and Seat Ibiza. At this EXTERIOR in the Volkswagen Vento. The engine point one could think that the Fabia and is transversally placed as is the case the Polo share quite a few internals so As mentioned above at first glance the with most front-wheel drive cars. The how they could be from different plat- Rapid seems to be a Fabia front with a exact displacement derived from the forms. It’s possible since the PQ 25 plat- Vento body and a slightly different rear, bore and stroke of 79.5 & 80.5 mm is form is essentially just an evolution of but it’s only when you spend more time 1,598 cc. The car also comes with a the PQ 24 and allows the company to be with the car you realise that the differ- 1.6 l MPI petrol engine with the more flexible in terms of new model ences are much more. The bonnet is dif- option of an automatic transmission, creation. ferent from Fabia in being longer and is but the one we tested was a diesel The PQ 24 proved to be a very suc- of a new design. The side profile is the and from an Indian perspective, it’s cessful platform with cars such as the same as Vento and hence clean and free- the variant that will account for previous generation Polo. The need to flowing, lending the car with a sophisti- majority of sales. The diagonal creases on both sides of the registration plate lend a more pronounced look to the rear. 36 www.autotechwww.autotechreview.comreview.com autotechreview January 2012 Volume 1 | Issue 1 37 New Vehicle_Skoda Rapid.indd 36-37 31-12-2011 15:01:26 NEW VE HICLE SKODA RAPID Using the handbrake with the armrest down is a task. The side profile is the angle, which reminds most of the Volksawagen Vento. The Skoda steering wheels is a joy to hold and adds a premium feel to the cabin. Rear legroom is decent by segment standards. In order to meet the strict environ- higher rpm, while those with a The engine has a sufficient low- well-insulated from engine noise, tyre sion with lower triangular links and INTERIOR ment regulations and competitive per- shorter bore than stroke are known as end torque and responds well to sharp roll and wind noise even when cruis- a torsion stabiliser at the front, formance, it was essential to reduce undersquare engine and develop more throttle inputs with power surging in ing at about 120 km/hr in top gear. while the rear one finds a compound The interiors are again largely similar to weight. The cylinder head of the torque at lower rpm. A square config- freely till about 4,000 rpm. Fuel-effi- The diesel variant is offered only link crank-axle type setup. The sus- Vento but just like the exterior, there are Rapid was made of aluminium, while uration hence can provide an opti- ciency achieved by us as indicated by with a five-speed manual transmis- pension is largely neutral in behav- some minor changes to differentiate the engine block was made out of mum balance between low-end torque the on-board computer was about 16 sion with a single plate dry clutch and iour and offers a good balance both. The most visible and impressive grey iron casting. and power at higher rpm. kmpl after a mixed driving cycle com- dual-mass flywheel. Shifting action is between comfort and handling. one is the Skoda steering wheel, which is Special efforts were made to In addition, energy flow losses bining a 60/40 split in the city and effortless and precise with acceptable The car behaves well over pot- chunky and well-designed and offers reduce internal engine friction in were minimised in the oil and cool- highway. The gear ratios are well- level of smoothness. The only hin- holed roads and cabin intrusion is good grip, but misses out on audio con- order to minimise power losses and ant loops along with their air induc- sorted and make it easy to live with drance in shifting freely is the posi- minimal. The front disc and rear trols. The wheel can be adjusted for both increase the efficiency including opti- tion and charge air flows. The engine the car in dense traffic. One thing that tioning of the centre armrest, which drum setup does a very good job of height and length. Other changes include misation of the crankshaft, valve and is equipped with a Diesel Particulate could bother some people is the long creates an awkward position for the bringing the vehicle to halt and the a different interior shade and a few oil pump drive unit. Friction losses are Filter (DPF), which helps in cutting travel of the clutch, which is compen- arm each time one tries shifting down car is able to maintain its composure chrome touches at places such as the AC prone to occur at the cylinder liners so down emissions significantly. Over- sated to some extent by its softness. the transmission gate. More details even while braking hard at high vents. The instrument console houses a VW engineers employed a square coming these frictional and energy From the outside, the engine does about the powertrain can be found in speeds. The brake pedal offers a speedometer, tachometer, fuel gauge and stroke/bore ratio, wherein the bore flow losses results in an engine capa- sound quite noisy but once in the the specification sheet at the end of decent amount of feedback leading a Multi Information Display (MID). The and stroke are equal. Engines with a ble of delivering higher fuel-effi- cabin one quickly realises that Skoda the article. to a combination with predictive MID offers a wide range of information larger bore are known as oversquare ciency, while delivering a respectable has done a good job with the NVH B. :: SUSPENSION & BRAKES handling nature under varied including average and immediate fuel- engines and develop more power at power output. proofing of the Rapid. The cabin is Rapid features a McPherson suspen- conditions. efficiency, distance travelled, average The MID packs in all information one could need for The integrated audio misses out on USB and offers Door locks not opening automatically with the driver Headlamp controls not on wiper stalk like most cars Tail lamp cluster gets the typical Skoda 'C' treatment A 1.6 l common-rail diesel engine develops 105 ps daily drives. SD card compatibility instead. door could be an inconvenience for some. around. along with a slight change in colour from the Vento. and offers good low-to-mid range torque. 38 www.autotechreview.com autotechreview January 2012 Volume 1 | Issue 1 39 New Vehicle_Skoda Rapid.indd 38-39 31-12-2011 15:01:57 NEW VEHICLE SKODA RAPID SPECIFICATIONS SHEET in the safety package include ABS with dual rate brake assist, airbags, front & Type of engine 4-cylinder 16 V diesel engine TDI CR rear fog lamps and a fuel-supply cut-off Engine positi on Front transverse installati on in the event of a crash.