What Car so-called "full" review of Rapid 4 stars out of 5

[Fellwalker]

Just found this and was surprised by the lack of facts. They say they cannot fault the storage in the cabin, but I cannot see anything except small door pockets. They say the boot is huge, but give no size. Lots of fluff, little meat. All in all, a poor review.

Also found Autocar's firsst drive review here. Not particularly supportive...

First drive review: Skoda Rapid 1.2 TSI S

The Skoda Rapid is a spacious, value conscious effort from Skoda hampered by a chassis that feels unsophisticated

Edited 26 June, 2012 by Fellwalker

[Evening Star]

This is the better review with pictures: http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/2012-skoda-rapid-review/263334/

Still not overly impressed, now going to look at Kia Sportage 3.

[RapidRonnie]

Still not overly impressed, now going to look at Kia Sportage 3.

Ok then....

[cheezemonkhai]

Ok then....

Skoda are not in the same space they were a few years ago.

They are no longer a cheap, quality car.

The quality may be there (depends who you ask and what you compare to) but they are not exactly a cheap car.

Kia do seem to be picking up there, especially with the 7 years warranty.

[RapidRonnie]

But the starting price of the Sportage that the honorable gentleman is looking at is £17,300.

[Evening Star]

The Sportage I'm looking at is £26,945, which is about the same as a vRS & is cheaper than a Yeti, yet comes better specced that both of them, and if you spec up the either of them then the difference is even more pronounced.

OK it's not as fast as a vRS or Yeti, but it's still capable of just under 120, which is academic and the best thing of all is it has 4WD which a vRS doesn't have, which as I'm someone who lives out in the sticks will find quite useful.

I will still wait & see what the Rapid specification throws up though.

[Delcac]

The Sportage I'm looking at is £26,945, which is about the same as a vRS

I paid about 18k for my Octavia vRS? How is that the same as 27k, just asking.

[lemonvrs]

Kias have a bad reputation for fuel economy, they seem to over state the figures more than anyone. Id not buy one myself, they arent there yet with terms of quality and are now expensive too.

[Evening Star]

I paid about 18k for my Octavia vRS? How is that the same as 27k, just asking.

If you've got a basic manual vRS then that's about right, however I want DSG + a whole load of extras & when it comes to adding it all up it comes to nearly £26½k. The benefit of the Sportage is not only is it fully specced from the outset, but it has 4WD + 7 Year warranty.

Having seen the value of my Octy "bomb" then I think I may have to look elsewhere, as I said previously, as I live out in the sticks, the 4WD will be very useful indeed especially if the bad weather we've been getting in the winter is going to become the norm, it also means I can get through floods a bit easier too.

[RapidRonnie]

I will still wait & see what the Rapid specification throws up though.

You're going to be disappointed. Spec wise, the Rapid is on a par with the Fabia in terms of available options, but then it is a budget car costing around half of the Kia you mention.

What does the Kia have that the Yeti doesn't out of interest?

Someone mentioned that KIA are filling the "cheap quality" gap. Might be good value (haven't looked at the specs in detail) but I certainly wouldn't call a £27,000 list price cheap!

[lemonvrs]

You could get two Dacia Dusters and have change for the price of that Kia!

[Evening Star]

You're going to be disappointed. Spec wise, the Rapid is on a par with the Fabia in terms of available options, but then it is a budget car costing around half of the Kia you mention.

What does the Kia have that the Yeti doesn't out of interest?

Someone mentioned that KIA are filling the "cheap quality" gap. Might be good value (haven't looked at the specs in detail) but I certainly wouldn't call a £27,000 list price cheap!

A far better specification as standard, if I want a built in Sat Nav on Yeti, I have to pay extra for it, if I want the off road protection I have to pay extra for it, a Yeti has a pathetic sized boot, Sportage has a boot bigger than an Octavia. Sportage has a level boot, Yeti - Pay extra for it.

And then there's the warranty of 7 years, then there's not a 6-7 month waiting list either for a Sportage, the Sportage is now starting to get nearly the same residuals as a Yeti...

[Evening Star]

You could get two Dacia Dusters and have change for the price of that Kia!

But who wants to buy something that ugly? You'd have to be mentally challenged to want to buy something as ugly as that!

[Delcac]

If you've got a basic manual vRS then that's about right, however I want DSG + a whole load of extras & when it comes to adding it all up it comes to nearly £26½k. The benefit of the Sportage is not only is it fully specced from the outset, but it has 4WD + 7 Year warranty.

Having seen the value of my Octy "bomb" then I think I may have to look elsewhere, as I said previously, as I live out in the sticks, the 4WD will be very useful indeed especially if the bad weather we've been getting in the winter is going to become the norm, it also means I can get through floods a bit easier too.

If you look at my sig you can see the spec of the car, lots of options including DSG. Mind you I did not pay the VAT as that was the deal at the time. Personally I don't think there is a car out there that comes near the Octavia vRS in terms of value for money as an overall package. I live out in the sticks and on high ground so like an idiot I bought a 4x4 to cope with the snow, I used it once this year. lol

['daiking']

Dang, I need to get me a train driving gig.

Can't say I'm over-awed by the Rapid yet and I don't think £12K is that cheap for a fabia platform based car, whatever the size. Skoda were knocking out end of line MPI Octy2s for £10k recently and how much is a comparable octy with the VAT offer?

[Evening Star]

Put it like this.

Can you afford to lose just short of £250 a day (yes that's roughly a days pay) because of weather related problems. That's what it is to me!

After all of the difficulties Ive had with this car in the snow and with local roads getting flooded I think it maybe time for a change. I might consider the Rapid, however I'm starting to wonder if the quality of the Rapid is there, also the Octy 3 is nowhere in sight yet, so I am looking elsewhere at the moment.

[RapidRonnie]

I don't think £12K is that cheap for a fabia platform based car

Heard of the Polo?

['daiking']

Heard of the Polo?

?

[Evening Star]

You can never buy a bad condition polo... They're always in mint condition!

[Mike Wrightson]

I don't think £12K is that cheap for a fabia platform based car, whatever the size. Skoda were knocking out end of line MPI Octy2s for £10k recently...

What about the Roomster??

Those Octys were cheap as they were heavily discounted to get rid of the old engines.

['daiking']

I never mentioned polo and roomster let alone say cheap.

Not so rapid, poverty spec 1.2 htp Rapid for 12 large?

Not so rapid Octy SE for 10 large?

[Mike Wrightson]

Rapid for 12 large - normal price

Octy MPI SE for 10 large - discounted price because nobody would buy them otherwise.

['daiking']

Rapid for 12 large - normal price

Octy MPI SE for 10 large - discounted price because nobody would buy them otherwise.

Rapid is going to need LARGE discounts and generous spec.

Otherwise no one (with any sense) will buy it.

[lemonvrs]

Evening Star..... the Duster might well be ugly, but that Kia youre looking at is indeed uglier. The Yeti is about the only half decent looking SUV thingy out there.

[RapidRonnie]

Rapid is going to need LARGE discounts and generous spec.

Otherwise no one (with any sense) will buy it.

How can you say it is going to need large discounts without having seen either the UK pricelist or specs?

Beginning to think some people had decided to dislike this car before it was even released.