VW China have launched a "Spaceback" version of their Santana, which is a rebadged Rapid: http://www.autorevue.cz/skoda-rapid-spaceback-dostane-cinske-dvojce-bude-to-vw-santana

Other way round, the Rapid is a rebadged Santana. But good to see the Spaceback going on sale in China, should improve the range of mods and accessories for it.

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Other way round, the Rapid is a rebadged Santana.

 

 

Why do you hold that opinion? The Rapid came out first, and the Spaceback versions thereof.

Why do you hold that opinion? The Rapid came out first, and the Spaceback versions thereof.

Quite simply - The car that Skoda sells as the Rapid was originally intended for the Chinese market as a low-cost shared-parts option to replace the ageing VW Santana being sold there. The subsequent decision to bring the car to Europe, duplicate the tooling and rebadge it as a Skoda and Seat in order to fill the gap between the Fabia and ever-enlarging Octy came after the car was green lit for its original market of China. The Czech-built variant did indeed beat the Chinese Santana to market (by a very slim margin), but the car was commissioned for China in the first instance.

The Spaceback variant went on sale in Europe first, and I'm surprised it is going to China at all as that market much prefers small saloons and cars that look like small saloons (hence the design and the success of the normal Santana there.

However, in both cases, Rapid or Santana, both are based on the 2010 VW Vento that started life in India.

Maybe there's a market for a hatch, the Santana doesn't have one.  It looks like a Rapid and the dimensions are identical but it has a conventional boot.

Maybe there's a market for a hatch, the Santana doesn't have one.  It looks like a Rapid and the dimensions are identical but it has a conventional boot.

It could well be that the Chinese market is finally starting to warm to the European hatchback style. That'll please the likes of PSA and Renault, who have had to redesign cars like the C4, 308 and Megane for the Chinese market at great expense to add a saloon boot in place of the hatch.

However, in both cases, Rapid or Santana, both are based on the 2010 VW Vento that started life in India.

 

The Indian Rapid/Vento is a completely different car.

The Indian Rapid/Vento is a completely different car.

Didn't say it was the same car - said it was based on it. Large amounts of the underlying Vento platform are used for the Santana and European Rapid.

"Large amounts of the underlying Vento platform are used for the Santana and European Rapid"

 

And it bl@@dy feels like it !!  And sounds like it as well.  Explains a lot..A carefully organised and camoflaged con.

"Large amounts of the underlying Vento platform are used for the Santana and European Rapid"

 

And it bl@@dy feels like it !!  And sounds like it as well.  Explains a lot..A carefully organised and camoflaged con.

 

You've driven the Indian Vento have you?

Didn't say it was the same car - said it was based on it. Large amounts of the underlying Vento platform are used for the Santana and European Rapid.

 

Depends what you mean by "based on" really. I'm sure some components are the same, as across the whole VW Group.

"Large amounts of the underlying Vento platform are used for the Santana and European Rapid"

 

And it bl@@dy feels like it !!  And sounds like it as well.  Explains a lot..A carefully organised and camoflaged con.

Welcome to the world of Frankenstein cars, built to a price out of existing old-generation bits from the parts bin. Every car maker does it, with varying degrees of success.

Well I suppose Ford could cobble together new models from old bits in the bin.  After a few years they would arrive at a model "T".

 

Always wanted one.  Probably ride better than early Rapids as well.

Certainly wouldn't rattle as much as a Rapid

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Wow! a lot of anti-Rapid sentiment on here lately.

 

They only sell for £11 or 12k new - what do you expect for that kind of money?

 

Agreed it wouldn't be a lot of car at RRP - but who pays anything like that?

I paid £14770 for my heap of a Sport [emoji19]

Lot of money for sh!te quality car [emoji15]

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Wow! a lot of anti-Rapid sentiment on here lately.

My thoughts entirely!

Personally I'm as happy as can be with my Rapid at this point... It's one of the nicest cars I've driven to date, and the positive comments I've received (albeit just from an aesthetic point of view) say a lot in my opinion. Can't imagine I'd have got the same response if I'd been a Peugeot driver!

Stormchaser, on 09 Mar 2015 - 00:05, said:

I paid £14770 for my heap of a Sport [emoji19]

Lot of money for sh!te quality car [emoji15]

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Thats a lot of cash.  I'm sure there aren't very many customers on here who spent that much on a TSi Rapid or Toledo. I certainly couldn't have afforded that.

 

Such a shame how it's turned out.

Edited 9 March, 201511 yr by camelspyyder

Thats a lot of cash. I'm sure there aren't very many customers on here who spent that much on a TSi Rapid or Toledo. I certainly couldn't have afforded that.

Such a shame how it's turned out.

Can't remember the exact cost but mine was around £16-18k. Loaded it with every single addon bar a few useless ones like smokers pack etc.

Edit: It was around £18,600 when I configured it but I remember I got it down to £15,900

Edited 9 March, 201511 yr by mcdl

Thats a lot of cash. I'm sure there aren't very many customers on here who spent that much on a TSi Rapid or Toledo. I certainly couldn't have afforded that.

Such a shame how it's turned out.

I think I payed exactly the same! Although I love mine. No rattling, no problems better than my Fabia and it was brand new! Something I thought I would never be able to buy as I grew up watching my mum and dad scrape together pennies to buy old Vauxhall Cavaliers which needed replacing every MOT. So I'm happy!

Don't mean any disrespect to anyone that has a spacebook but my god in VW form thats a boring car! I would rather have a white Dacia Sandero..... Very little difference!?!?!

Don't mean any disrespect to anyone that has a spacebook but my god in VW form thats a boring car! I would rather have a white Dacia Sandero..... Very little difference!?!?!

No disrespect taken and I agree with you. Before I settled on the Rapid Spaceback I was looking at the Dacia Logan MCV. The Spaceback is a very functional car (a very good thing), but it's low-rent and very unadventurous. There's clearly a market for it though, as brands like Dacia have proven.

We might think the Spaceback is a bit low rent, but I took someone to hospital in mine and he thought he was in a BMW....

Wow! a lot of anti-Rapid sentiment on here lately.

 

They only sell for £11 or 12k new - what do you expect for that kind of money?

 

 

Yep.

 

Didn't really expect this to turn into another whinging thread, but perhaps should have known better. Don't know why I bother at all with this site sometimes.

No disrespect taken and I agree with you. Before I settled on the Rapid Spaceback I was looking at the Dacia Logan MCV. The Spaceback is a very functional car (a very good thing), but it's low-rent and very unadventurous. There's clearly a market for it though, as brands like Dacia have proven.

What stopped you buying the lowest of the low rent Dacia Logan then, I know the Rapid is a parts bin special but it can't be compared to a Dacia, it's not that bad.

Edited 9 March, 201511 yr by Gazbull17