Saw and sat in a Rapid today. Thinking of changing from a Mk 2 Octy 1.9TDi PD. Quick impressions. Dash is a huge expanse of not very nice plastic.

A neighbour has an Audi with a dash like something from a space ship (far too cluttered) but the dash on the rapid is plain and sparse to the point of saying to hell with it can't be bothered.

I hate door windows with spindly frames. Give me the Ocy style Guigiaro (Spl ??) doors every time. The way the doors as it were split the B pillar and produce a sharp point and edge is just rubbish. Who designed that bit --a kid on work experience?

I am trying to puzzle out why the front track is 37 mm narrower than the rear. The Octy is 27 mm wider than the rear. I always thought that pen-toed cars were less stable. Probably not then. Seems like decent rear leg room, more head room than Octy front and rear. Almost identical shoulder room. Am I imagining things but is the clutch pedal way over towards the centre of the car?

The rapid is shown as one Cwt lighter than the Octy but is rated as total weight at FIVE Cwt less than Octy. Is it made from tin foil so it might bend in the middle or is that weight to give the !.6 donkey a chance to belt up hills?

Overall it was better than I thought. I expected it to be down market from the Octy even my 8 year old one.

I am now going to read everything I can get hold of,especially your views here. And I hate that new Vauxhall type badge with no name or green in it.

How long do I give it for the real snags to surface? Time as they say will tell.

diesel car did a fair review against hte kia ceed

they were not impressed, gave the rapid 3.5 stars and the kia 4.5 stars out of five

nuff said i think

Every time I look at the awful Skoda Rapid I see the same thing:

Vauxhall front end.

Ford Mondeo rear end.

It truly is a desperate looking vehicle.

Dear 'HopeImRight'

I doubt many problems will surface with the Rapid as it's based on proven components underneath.

A mix of 'proven' mechanicals is also the reason for the smaller track at the front compared to the rear - like the Roomster it is more fabia/polo at the front and old golf/octavia at the rear. This should make it stable and enhance load capacity.

Reviews in the motoring press confirm that it offers great space for the money, good handling but that the ride may be a little firm (1.2 tsi better then the heavier diesels).

I think it looks quite neat and a lot of car for the money but, personally, I will be waiting to see what the new Fabia is like next year. This will have the new MQB chassis (new golf/octavia/leon) that will also underpin the new Polo and the newest generation of tsi and tdi engines (cooled exhaust manifold). It should be a little bigger than the present Fabia and may ride better than the Rapid.

Good luck!

Andy.

Where's the vRS ?