Why my family bought another Skoda Rapid after owning one for a lakh km

I think Skoda should never have stopped selling the Rapid in India. It is still a great car to have over the Skoda Slavia or Kushaq.

BHPian Carradio_ewan recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

The first half of the story was told to me by my Appa and my Uncle, I lived through the second half. This is a special story close to my heart.

Background

This story happened in 2011, My grandparents were nearly in their seventies, they live in a high range (mountains) in Kerala, a place called Idukki. Idukki is not connected by air or rail and the only connectivity till date is via road. The roads are quite rough and there are many hairpins up the mountain to get to their house. They wanted a vehicle which would make their travel easy without many hassles. A vehicle which can take them in all comfort and speed. Their usual travel companion was a Mahindra Scorpio, as the age caught up it was becoming a problem for them to get onto vehicles with high ground clearance.

They picked up their first Scorpio in 2002 (the initial batch) and continued changing the Scorpio to another Scorpio over the years when the updated version was launched. We were the first families in Kerala to get a Scorpio in 2002, in fact, they were kind of rare in that area, but in 2011 Scorpios became common sights. Also, travels have increased over the period and their primary need for this vehicle was to visit my parents, who were settled in Bangalore / Cochin, they had to travel 525Km to reach Bangalore and close to 150 Km to reach Cochin.

Car Scene at Idukki

During 2011, people using cars are very rare and people depend majorly on Jeeps due to the road conditions and their off-road ability. There were cars but it was not a regular companion of any high ranger, any premium sedan was seen as a crime and people were reluctant to pick one owing to the road conditions. High end cars are a Big No as most of the roads have a minimum of 15 to 20 cm depth on the sides (Tarmac and the mud gap).

Most of our driver uncles are specialists in Jeeps and off roads, for them cars were toys, and they hated it. They were all happy with Jeeps, Scorpios, Boleros, Sumos, Taveras, Qualis-es and anything of that kind. This is when my Appa an extreme auto enthusiast put forward the idea of getting a premium sedan like a Corolla, Octavia, Laura, Jetta or anything from that segment. A sedan? Premium sedan? Will these cars survive these roads? Do we get easy service nearby? was the hottest topic which was making rounds for a few days.

Initial reality checks

My Appa and Uncle were clear that we should pick a premium sedan as it would be easy for my grandparents as their comfort was the highest priority. Next challenge is who is going to drive this and if it’s our driver uncles for most of the time, then will it survive the test and what will be the fate of it? It’s not that they are bad drivers, they are the best drivers, very enthusiastic and serious about what they do, rough terrains are where they belong with the tough vehicles, and it was the point of doubt.

The next issue was upgrade or downgrade from a Mahindra Jeep to a premium sedan, will it be a challenge? Slowly my Appa and Uncle started accepting the fact that premium sedan is something we need to do as step two. As the first step we will get a sedan and let’s try this out for some time and if we succeed and if the car survives the driving pattern and the challenges the high range throws then we will look at upgrade to premium.

The Options

Now the question was which car to pick if not the above-listed ones, options in that segment were not great. My Appa was not in favor of any Maruti sedan, there were good cars from Ford, Fiat, Renault, Hyundai which most of the people were aware of and very few were there in the vicinity. Days passed and my Appa and Uncle checked out cars like the VW Jetta, Skoda Octavia and Laura, they found something missing or were not sure if these cars would suit the road conditions.

It was then on that spectacular day the Skoda Rapid was launched! Skoda was there in the market for the last few years, and they were not able to penetrate the high-range market due to the concerns people had. This is when my Appa put forth the idea of why not Skoda Rapid? And at that time there were not many Skoda or VW service centers nearby. We need to travel close to 150+ kilometers to the nearest service center which will take close to 3 hours one side. My Appa was aware of what we were getting into, he was familiar with the German automotive scene and had good connections in the industry to pull a few strings if needed. My Appa always wanted to pick a German car as he was aware of the build quality, he was a part of a company that made parts for “Ze Germans”.

Decision Making, Test Drive & Buying

My Uncle was very well with the plan, and they decided to have a look at the car at Cochin, at that time the dealer was St. Antonys Skoda, and the dealer was excited to hear someone from high-range calling to have a test drive of Skoda that too a newly launched vehicle. As we were not sure if we would pick it, we went all the way to Cochin to take the test drive.

After the test drive, they figured out that the Rapid was quite Rapido (fast in Spanish). They felt thrilled during the test drive and liked the comfort, design, looks, the TDI engine and felt much more premium than other cars in that segment. Only issue was Skoda’s after-sales service, availability of spares and the distance to the service center. Skoda service had already taken a hit with the maximum number of negative comments on their service support and cost for spares, however, the machine created envy and was found to be a driver’s car. The positives that came out were more than the negatives. Appa and Uncle felt that we should give it a chance and decided to book the Rapid if the family loved it.

Immediately the next day, my grandparents showed up and they loved the car! But doubts remained. My Appa and Uncle assured them that the car would be great, my Amma also really liked the car and thought it was a nice car. My grandparents agreed to the plan, and they booked Rapid.

Ownership and first impressions

We bought the top-of-the-line Rapid in white, with manual transmission (1.6 TDI 105PS/250NM with 5MT) and we got the delivery in the next few days. The car was pampered with the market's best leather seats and all coatings were done to enhance the looks. My family was among the first few Rapid owners in Kerala. When the car came home, people came to see the car and treated it like a Merc or a Beamer, since these sedans, especially German ones were so rare in that area and many believed these cars weren’t made for rough off-road conditions.

The car blew everyone away while parked and while on the road. From day one, this car was a head-turner, and we had many people coming and checking out the car. Rapid was not a high-end premium car but it was perceived as a high-end car by the onlookers. This was purely new and not many at the high range had seen this. There were doubts about ground clearance, fuel, service and many more questions. Rapid slowly and studly gained our confidence and kept on clocking miles. Many of our driver uncles slowly started liking the idea of a car and how comfortable it was to drive this machine.

The ultimate users were my grandparents, and they loved this car and were very comfortable using it. From an SUV to a Sedan was a sweet transition and they enjoyed it. Car pulled well and my grandfather loves SPEED and Rapid won his heart. Our driver uncles loved the car as they saw this machine was giving them excitement in line with the off-road thrills. For them everything was new, the car bonnet had a huge engine, and it had many things which were new when compared with a Mahindra Jeep / Bolero / Scorpio and they took turns to ensure the car was always kept clean.

All our driver uncles were ready for any long drives, and they enjoyed these drives. My grandparents started visiting my parents often and when I was born the visits became more frequent. Slowly the question of will CARS work for us got dissolved and they all started loving cars. Many times, Scorpio, XUV 500, Jeeps slowly started getting ignored by my grandparents, and this car has become an emotion for them. From a Jeep life, they slowly started enjoying CAR life and very soon the 1Lakh mark was hit without much fuss. Few things which impressed my grandparents are the Comfort, Huge boot space which accommodated anything and everything they wanted to carry, Speed and especially the back armrest.

My Experience

By this time, I was born (That is me). My very first trip was in this Rapid from Cochin to Bangalore and back, a 1200 Kilometer, race against time. The car handled it like a champ and didn’t break a sweat and mind you this is in 2 continuous days. My parents still speak about this, how I stayed calm and composed for the whole drive. As always, I was a good boy and I relaxed comfortably in my mom’s hands looking around, enjoying the view. We started from Cochin at 11:00 am and we hit Bangalore by 7:00 pm and travelled back the next day, we started at 4:00 pm and hit back Cochin by 1:00 am.

Our Rapid never put us down and I am a huge fan of Skoda, I always try to ensure that whenever I am around at my grandparents’ house, I influence my grandfather to get me driven in Skoda. The back seat arm rest was my favorite space to sit and give my guidance to all around with the best view in the car. Many times, I ensured to get Rapid to Bangalore and I enjoyed the ride.

Service

The car had its initial services at cochin and slowly moved to Bangalore with Taffe Access as the car kept shuttling between Idukki and Bangalore. Soon the time went, and we crossed the magic number of ONE Lakh kilometers. There were no issues with Rapid, it stood strong and survived all challenges, we never had any issues apart from brake pads and a few sensors giving off. The ownership continued quite well with minor irks related with sensors, but all was well. By this time few dealers had changed hands for Skoda at Cochin, it moved from St Antonys to Marikar to Manikandan.

Then comes a New Car – Yes, again a Rapid

When the Rapid hit One Lakh kilometers, we started considering a new car! Now again we all were in dilemma on which car to pick, many contenders were there from the premium segment. But this time the decision maker was clearly my grandparents, for them Rapid has created a good impact and they wanted to pick a new Rapid. New Rapid? we all had the doubt, and the answer was YES. My parents pushed the idea of Camry, Merc or Beamer, but my grandparents felt comfortable with the layout and they don’t want to go through a new exercise of getting used to new things. It made really sense for the family and we decided to get the Rapid back.

We went to Manikandan Skoda at Cochin to book a new Rapid, I was six years old when we checked out the new facelifted Rapid. When we walked in, we were shown a smoking hot red Rapid with a new look. It was sharper and the interiors were more premium, and it had a bigger screen for the center console and a shark fin antenna, the car was looking sportier. I told my parents and grandparents that we should get the red one. My grandfather was so sweet and agreed to my choice of Red, but my parents shut the idea down and convinced me that a light colour need to be picked. At first, I refused but when they promised me a red hot wheels car in exchange, I thought of the importance of a new car in my collection, so of course like any kid who was bribed with a hot wheels car, I agreed to a white Skoda!

While choosing the options my uncle said he wanted a DSG gearbox this time, my Appa was “ok DSG will be fun”. Are they (driver uncles) ready for the fun? Was asked as they have never driven an automatic. My Appa warned my Uncle to be ready to change wheels frequently. Yes, my Appa was right, we changed 3 set of wheels till now, Apollo the stock to Yokohama Earth was the quick upgrade after the initial 16K km and then after 45K km, the hairpins, road conditions with the leg on brakes along with the thrill of DSG is doing the magic. Once again, we picked the top-spec Skoda Rapid. This one had dot patterns on the leather seats, a bigger Screen, a lip spoiler on the back in white and white lead daytime running lights (DRLs), new Fog lamps, new radiator grille, headlights, slight change in the front and rear design was also updated with a restyled bumper, chrome strip on the boot lid, and revised tail lamp. Rapid was familiar and only very few things were changed.

Specs

The car we have today has 109 BHP @ 4000 RPM and 250 Nm Torque @1500 RPM. It gives a mileage of 21+ KMPL , the DSG gearbox with 7 gears does the magic on road. It has the common VW/Skoda drivetrain which is FWD. This model follows the BS 4 emission standards.

Cool Features

When you aren’t using the radio or anything on the infotainment system a clock will appear on the screen that looks like the one you see on luxury cars. The lip spoiler I mentioned earlier is a game changer, without it the car wouldn’t look as good as it looks now. The car has cool ambient lighting which glows green on all switches and buttons inside the car. The DRLs are also super cool and make the car look intimidating at night and even during the day. This feature isn’t cool its luxurious, I’m talking about the rear armrest confined into the seat, I used to love it as I could sit on it and get the best view you could get in the car.

Incidents and experiences

The first time I saw our new Rapid I was in pure awe. It was sharp and it was quicker than the old one it felt more prominent on the road. You feel like a boss when you are on the road. This car was much classier than the old Rapid it was also classier than the facelifted Vento at the time! Skoda thrills was going well, and very soon after the purchase within 15K kilometres, we had an incident where a drunken truck driver hit the stationed Rapid from the back at a signal. This happened while my grandparents were travelling back to the hometown from Bangalore.

There was no impact, and they never realized the truck hit the car, Skoda absorbed the hit well and grandparents came to know when the nearby auto guys informed them about the hit. Damage was done to the bumper; taillight and the wheel arch had a few scratches. The car acted well like a high-safe car which costs 40 to 50 Lakhs more than Rapid. Rapid never put us down and it showed the German gene, after the incident they were able to drive back home ( 300 + kilometers ). The next day Skoda arranged a pickup and the repair was done without any issues. Even though the Rapid isn’t a luxury car I have no doubt that it carries the pride and elegance of a European luxury car. Till this very day, we still have the car, and we still have faith in it.

Car Scene @ High Range & My Opinion

During these years we noticed there were more and more Skoda and VW cars made its entry to the high range and we always felt the decision to introduce this brand to the high range was great. There was one more dealer who got introduced at Kottayam for Skoda. The VW cars were making good progress in Kerala with VW, Skoda & Audi, we also kept adding a few more cars from VW to our family and kept recommending this brand to many more friends and relatives. At Kerala there were challenges in terms of service support as the dealers changed hands at Cochin and many new entrances were keener on making money. This forced us to slowly move to Tamil Nadu for service. Now our trusted dealer is Maverick Skoda located in Madurai. They have been supportive and do a good job and we feel comfortable dealing with them.

In my opinion, they never should have stopped selling Rapid in India. I am not a fan of the new Skoda 2.0 cars. I think the Rapid is still a great car to have around over the Slavia or Kushaq.

Your little Ewan

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