Hi,

 

I've taken a deposit on my own car, which gets collected this weekend, as I'm trading down a bit due to divorce and want some of the cash out of my current car.  

 

Had a quick look at what's about, and it seems that 1 year old rapid 1.2 tsi SE's are abundant at circa £8.5k with around 12-15k miles - so in reality, this put's them at about £8k after a haggle

 

Apart from the relatively bland (sorry!) looks, are they pretty decent motorways cars, despite the 1.2 tsi?

 

Many thanks

The 1.2 tsi goes well on the motorway although there'll probably be a bit more cabin noise than you're used to if you're coming from an Octavia or Yeti. I'd recommend test driving one (insist on a motorway / dual carriageway route, I've test driven with some dealers in the past who insisted on sticking to low-speed A roads  ) to see if you'd be happy with it, it bothers some more than it does others

You can't go wrong at that price can you? I find the driving position very good and the aerodynamics make it very ecomomical on the motorway - about 55mpg. The steering is direct and it is nice to drive around town too. The 1.2 tsi is great and feels very strong at 1800 to 3000 rpm. The 105ps has the 6 speed gearbox but you probably have to change down less on A roads with the 85ps 5 speeder. either is fine. The rear seat is spacious and comfy and the boot is massive. Remember that very early 2013 Rapid se models were without front foglamps and cruise control. Good luck! Andy

I agree they are a good buy SH. I don't tend to agree with the haggling bit so much, I've tried, dealers are too tight fisted to give much of a discount these days. They have to pay for their fancy new showrooms, of which most seem to have these days.

The 1.2tsi is fine on the motorway.

It needs revs for power, so you might need to drop a gear to do an overtake (reasonably) briskly.

But it'll cruise in excess of the motorway limit all day long.

 

It is a nice quiet engine and very smooth.  So a relaxing drive IMO.

I think I would look at new.   The Rapid 1.2TSI Sport is on a very, very good offer at the mo, or the Rapid SE if you don't like all the bells and whistles that are being added - check her out

Factor in the free servicing and the £13,500 or £179 a month PCP deal is very good indeed! :

http://www.lookers.co.uk/skoda/offers/new-car-offers/skoda-rapid/ 

Edited 10 June, 201412 yr by bealine

Really happy with mine - 1.2TSI (105PS) Elegance Greentech 13 plate, almost a year old to the day when I bought it for £9K with 14K on the clock. The Skoda site reckons this model RRP is £16,630. So still have 2 year warranty, £110 road tax and (hopefully) 2 more years roadside assistance that I'm hoping I never need to use.

 

Get to your chosen motorway speed in 6th, click 'set' on the cruise and settle down for the ride! I had a 2007 Nissan Note with only 5 gears and that was buzzy at motorway speeds, this is so much more comfortable.

Edited 10 June, 201412 yr by fishwibbler

I was very surprised how much car you get for your money with a year old rapid. They don't seem that much more than an equivalent age Citigo.

They don't seem that much more than an equivalent age Citigo.

 

It's a fair point that, although the price of small hatchbacks on the second hand market has always seemed disproportionately high compared to bigger saloon/family cars to me in the 6 years I've been driving... which was very frustrating when I was initially trying to find small hatches at the right price point to keep insurance down and having to disregard larger cars for the same money due to silly insurance quotes :(

^^^ The reason small hatchbacks appear disproportionately high is because demand drives the price... Simples.

Lots of demand due to relative running costs/ease of parking blah blah...

Just go look at a big jaguar the depreciation is massive compared to a similar aged small car.

This is not a new phenomena.

Lots of dealers can sell/shift small cars all day long compared to the bigger cars.

Your original post/subject is so full of variables it is a difficult one to answer. IMO a 1.2 engine pulling a fairly large body lends me to say its under powered and will require a reasonable amount of gear changing to maintain a fully loaded car in all conditions.

Edited 10 June, 201412 yr by Defenderben

I agree they are a good buy SH. I don't tend to agree with the haggling bit so much, I've tried, dealers are too tight fisted to give much of a discount these days. They have to pay for their fancy new showrooms, of which most seem to have these days.

and the plethora of staff !