Been allowed to replace the car by my wife.. Got options of brand new rapid or a second hand 2013 reg Octavia don't know which to pick lol

Have a sit in a rapid, you'll then buy an octavia.

If the Octy is as new/a low milage example it will make more financial sense too as you'll loose less than buying a new Rapid (or any other new car)

I'd suggest you check out what the residuals are on the Rapid compared to the Octy too, but do test drive both before ypu make your mind up.

Missus said I could have a Rapid (cos it was the cheaper option), I left buying the Octavia

If I remember at the time of launch, the motoring press weren't too exited on the Rapid. However the Octavia, they were.

I had a Rapid whilst my Octavia was in for a service. Would strongly advise steering clear of the Rapid

Have a sit in a rapid, you'll then buy an octavia.

I sat in an Octavia and bought a Rapid instead

I had a Rapid whilst my Octavia was in for a service. Would strongly advise steering clear of the Rapid

And why steer clear of them?

Octavia mileage is low.. Dealer kept saying they always get loadaa t 1 yr old rapids in for sale guess that says something!

Had a 56 Octavia a while ago how do they compare with the 2013 models?

Why not have a look at some of the nearly new Rapids?

There are some stunningly good buys.

What sort of spec Octavia are you looking at? If it's quick or packed with gadgets then the rapid won't compare well, but if it's just a normal mid range car there might not be as much difference.

And why steer clear of them?

 

Cos it's like a slightly smaller octavia with all **** stuff from the fabia, proper tat, the interior is shockingly bad.

The rapid is a nice car was going to get one but it not all that better than the fabia and there is not much in the way of engines you can have the octavia is a lot better car for your money

Octavia mileage is low.. Dealer kept saying they always get loadaa t 1 yr old rapids in for sale guess that says something!

So has my dealer.He says they are ex rentals.Theres alot of them out there

Octavia mileage is low.. Dealer kept saying they always get loadaa t 1 yr old rapids in for sale guess that says something!

I have seen a lot of rapids in the hire car centres at the airports. I guess it depends on when is the best time for a fleet seller to get shot of the car before depreciation is greater than the savings made at purchase if there are a lot of 1 year old ones.

Not driven a Rapid but had a Seat Toledo (sister car) for a few weeks as a loaner. It was ok to drive with good economy. However the interior was pretty sparse and the plastics were not the best and obviously it was not as large or comfy as the Octy. It was functional and a perfectly good car I guess is the best way to describe it. Given the choice you have made I would choose the Octy if all things considered and price was competitive. Happy hunting!

Cos it's like a slightly smaller octavia with all **** stuff from the fabia, proper tat, the interior is shockingly bad.

I love the interior of my Sport. It's nothing like a Fabia inside as if it was I wouldn't of bought it. It's finished beautifully inside with Piano Black trim

I had an Octavia for 7 years so fancied a change. I never really used the massive boot in all that time.

Rapid/Octavia no different.

And why steer clear of them?

Cos it's like a slightly smaller octavia with all **** stuff from the fabia, proper tat, the interior is shockingly bad.

I love the interior of my Sport. It's nothing like a Fabia inside as if it was I wouldn't of bought it. It's finished beautifully inside with Piano Black trim

I had an Octavia for 7 years so fancied a change. I never really used the massive boot in all that time.

Rapid/Octavia no different.

I agree with Neily if I'm honest, when I had the Rapid as a courtesy car it was awful inside, my VRS feels a lot more solid and well built.

As for the Rapid and Octavia being no different I disagree massively with that.

Edited 14 September, 201411 yr by Dalelfc89

I think the Octy is a better car all round.

to bring a little balance to this, a buddy of mine is a Taxi driver and bought a Rapid pretty much as soon as they appeared in the UK, trading his very high mileage Octy2 for it.

Since then he has clocked up approx 18k and is very pleased with it, it's performed faultlessly and his regular passengers are quite complimentary as well.

Most of the dealers round here have them as their courtesy cars (Rapids that is) - then they struggle to sell them at 6 month old.

 

If the nearly new Octy is a 1.6 diesel beware, there are loads of them about that are ex-rental cars.

Have a sit in a rapid, you'll then buy an octavia.

Too right!

My dealer gave me a rapid for the weekend before I picked up my Octavia. I thought I had made a terrible mistake buying an octy thinking the rapid was very similar. Thankfully the Octavia feels far more premium and is a much nicer car all round

Edited 14 September, 201411 yr by V6Jules

We have both a rapid and an octy 3.

Very happy with both but the octavia is a considerably more premium feeling, more comfortable machine. That said, I prefer the rapid for short about-town jaunts.

Test drove both before buying the Octy....

 

Rapid looks great on the outside, especially in sport guise in white / black alloys.

 

The problems start when you get inside - lots of recognisable bits from the ageing Fabia, very bland / basic interior and any tech inside there feels old. You essentially feel like you are getting into a car from 5yrs ago. :(

 

However, you have to remember the price of this car, which is firmly in fiesta / basic focus territory. A basic car with not much to go wrong.

Forgot to say the Octavia is a 7 spd DSG and Rapid is a manual... anythting to worry about when looking at second hand 1 yr DSG's? Thinking im going to try and sneak a test drive of that one as well

I guess it depends what you want, they're quite different cars.

 

We have an O3 VRS TDI and a Rapid 1.6 TDI, both bought secondhand. The O3 is much nicer (IMHO) but it should be, it cost nearly twice as much!

Drive both see which you like best. The Octavia is a better car but then even used it's probably going to be a bit more expensive than the Rapid...IMHO a 1.2 Rapid Sport is a lot of car for the money and also looks good.