Skoda India has just launched the Skoda Rapid Sedan in the Indian market, at a starting price of INR 6.75 Lakhs, ex-showroom Delhi for the base petrol Active variant. Typical of Skoda, the Rapid Sedan has been priced under the Volkswagen Vento’s price positioning. Incidentally, the Volkswagen Vento, when it was launched in 2010, was priced at INR 6.99 Lakhs ex-showroom Delhi for the base petrol Trendline variant.
The Skoda Rapid Sedan shares its front end with the Skoda Fabia while the rest of the car is a straight lift off from the Volkswagen Vento. This parts sharing is expected to give Skoda India plenty of cost savings as the development costs for the Rapid sedan will be minimum due to the extensive parts sharing. This perhaps, has allowed Skoda India to position the Rapid at a competitive price tag of INR 6.75 Lakhs although the competitiveness does not seem very evident with the diesel’s pricing, which at INR 7.95 Lakhs for the base model is very close to the price of INR 7.99 Lakhs, the price at which the Volkswagen Vento Sedan was launched with.
Skoda Rapid Sedan in candy white
So, it seems that Skoda is making hay as the “diesel” sun shines, which seems to be the trend these days with even Maruti Suzuki hiking prices of only its diesel range of cars, citing rising input costs and the appreciating yen, even as its petrol line up surprisingly doesn’t seem to feel any pinch due to the aforementioned factors. The Skoda Rapid Sedan will be available with both petrol and diesel engine options, which is a carryover from the Volkswagen Vento Sedan. So, you get a 1.6 Liter 106 Bhp-160Nm MPI petrol unit and the 1.6 Liter, 105 Bhp-253 Nm, turbodiesel TDI unit in the Rapid Sedan.
Skoda Rapid Sedan in deep pearl black
While a manual 5 speed transmission is standard, Skoda has also given two variants of the petrol engined Rapid, an automatic 6 speed gearbox, which also features a tiptronic mode where the driver can shift gears manually. This automatic gearbox is the same one that is available on the Vento Petrol Automatic. By launching two variants of the Rapid Automatic, in Ambition and Elegance trim, Skoda India has pulled off a bright move as this will give buyers more choice, and also lower the entry price for an automatic car as Skoda has bucked the trend of most carmakers in India, launching automatic cars as the top end variant.
Coming to the variants and the price list, the Rapid Sedan will be available in three variants each, with the petrol and diesel engine while the automatic gearbox – petrol engine combination gets two variants. In total, eight variants of the Rapid Sedan will compete for the buyer’s purse strings and now that represents plenty of choice for the buyer, doesn’t it? The pricing for the different variants are as follows and further below, we’ve listed down what each variant offers you in terms of features.
Skoda Rapid PetrolActive INR 6.75 LakhsAmbition INR 7.09 LakhsElegance INR 7.99 LakhsSkoda Rapid Petrol AutomaticAmbition INR 8.09 LakhsElegance INR 8.99 LakhsSkoda Rapid DieselActive INR 7.95 LakhsAmbition INR 8.9 LakhsElegance INR 9.19 Lakhs
Meanwhile here are variant specific details of the Skoda Rapid Sedan,
Variant: Active* 14 inch steel wheels* Manual central door locking* Manual dimming inside mirror* Front and rear power windows* Heat protection tinted glasses* Rear windscreen defogger* After-market radio preparation without speakers* Manual AC* Rear AC Vents* Tilt and telescopic steering wheel* Power steering* Height adjustable front seatbelts* Front center armrest* Engine immobilizerVariant: Ambition, adds on to the following features of the Active,* ABS* Foglamps* Remote central door locking* Metallic body paint* Body colored wing mirrors and door handles* Driver airbag* Height adjustable driver seat* Rear center armrest* Rear reading lampVariant: Elegance, adds on to the following features of the Ambition,* 15 inch alloy wheels* Electronic adjust for wing mirrors* CD MP3 Audio Player plus Audio Socket* Front passenger airbag* Front and rear speakers* Automatic climate control* On board computer
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