By chance in Pickering this afternoon, so I stopped to look at the new Octy through the window; showroom closed on a Sunday. Outside the showroom they had an unregistered early production Rapid (no fogs) in black magic. Thought it suited the shape very well particularly with sunset rear glass.

Front would be greatly improved with fogs but otherwise IMO anyway a smart looking motor in this colour.

Oh also impressed the the new Octy III to look at; become a bit of a beast of a car in size, with a subtle hint of Audi again IMHO. Overall having now seen them together, design wise Octy would be my choice but it's size would push me to taking a Rapid, as it's much more compact and user friendly on rural roads, the Octy on the other hand is designed for the Autobahn.

TP

The rapid wouldn't look out of place parked next to an a3 to be honest, I think yes it might be slightly less plush than an OctaviaIII or a Superb but it's certainly a step up from the Fabia II. It's a handsome compact saloon esq hatch!

The grill reminds me of this guy in a way!

Edited 17 March, 201313 yr by Leon-y-k

Yes, it is an improvment from a Fabia 2, look nearly as narrow as a Fabia 2 when driving along.

Sat behind one on the M25 last week, brake lights are puny. Did not have the road presence of an Octavia(2).

Does indeed, here's another one:

The outside definetly benefits from the Black paint, I saw the washed out Denim blue one and that really does it no favours. White was ok imo. Agreed, it really need the fogs in place! I spent some time in one at the weekend and overall the interior is a big dissapointment (admittedly I just stepped out of the Octy 3) but even so, if just feels cheap, really like its been built to a far lower budget than its being sold at!

I'd reckon once the Octy 3 has been on the road for a while, these will have to slide in price if they want them to sell. Spoke to a very pleasant chap in the showroom at the weekend and he'd just been out in both the Rapid and the Octavia. He said the ride and handling also felt 'cheap and under engineered' on the Rapid so it isnt just the interior that lets it down by the sound of things! :( This is possibly the only instance in the Skoda range that I'd take the Seat equivalent tbh (after looking over the Toledo and preffering the interior and overall looks).