ODO at 17800 kms
The car has been performing really great. I recently did make a Delhi- Siliguri Trip again and this time around, I took a break at Gorakhpur
![Cool](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/images/smilies/cool.png)
The driving time was again flat 24 hours and the car performed beautifully.
The car has seen lots of country side and highways after the last service.
During my stay at Cooch Behar, West Bengal, I did make a quick visit to Darjeeling. The roads were awe-inspiring yet frightening. I did return back to Siliguri the same day. Gorged on some delicious momos and picked a few bottles of bamboo shoot pickles as well.
The car never ran out of breath on the hills even though the car was loaded with 4 passengers. If you are not stopping, you wont need to shift to first gear ever.
Few good pointers:
a) No niggles or issues faced during the entire trip. Touchwood.
b) This car is a mile muncher. You can cover long distances without getting tired.
c) The mileage is incredible. I got 21 kmpl with 4 passengers and boot loaded to the brim.
d) I recently did a high beams swap as well. Fitted the new Osram lasers 150%. The throw and coverage has improved by around 30% and I dont think I am going for any upgrade in near future.
e) For my kind of driving, the brakes performed well. However the feedback changes a lot after some hard highways breaking. Also, I am getting the infamous steering judders which I think is inherent in Skoda genes. Have to get the disks and pads checked.
Few Questionable Pointers:
a) I still get a clunk noise from steering column whenever the right tyre falls on uneven road undulations. More on this in coming post.
b) After a couple of long drives, when I turned off the ignition, I heard a peculiar noise from engine bay like "GRRRRRR" Not the usual fuel pump sound, something very rough and goes away after 3-4 seconds. Have to take it to service center to check out what can be the issue. Kindly note that it did happen only twice : Once after a 300 kms continuous driving and once after getting stuck in traffic for more than an hour.
Looking forward to hearing any leads or solutions on the said issue from BHPians.
I kept the twist for the end. Not every story ends in a good note. Especially when our highways are filled with idiots pulling off paranormal activities at own free will. Trailer to next post.
![45000 km with a Czech Beauty | My Skoda Rapid 1.5 TDI | Now Remapped to Stage 1-img_6733.jpeg](https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/attachments/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/2141063d1688031974t-45000-km-czech-beauty-my-skoda-rapid-1-5-tdi-now-remapped-stage-1-img_6733.jpeg)