So with out next child on way I need to reconsider my car. My fabia has been faultless (apart from flexi pipe recently). Had it 2 and half years and covered 50k. I would like to stick with skoda brand. I only wanna spend about £7.5-£8k so was thinking 13 plate 1.2tsi rapid or previous shape but face lift 11 plate Octavia. Around the 1.2tsi or 1.6fsi mark. Wasn't too sure to post on the rapid or Octavia bit. What's thoughts on these two cars vs each other ??

Get the Octavia or a Fabia Combi. Both more practical for pushchairs and prams etc.

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Thought about the estate fabia but I fancy a change as I have the fabia now

have had a few fabias, got an octy II when the kids arrived and now a rapid - I would say the rapid build quality is not up there with the octavia but boot size is and price is significantly below plus there's more leg room in the back but it does feel narrower inside, fine with 2 in the back though.

 

I was after a low mileage nearly new car with warranty as I do lot of miles so the rapid made sense to me.

The Rapid hatchback does have a massive boot. I have noticed it's a bit narrower than my MK2 Octavia but doesn't really put you off inside.

The MK2 Octavias are getting a bit older and troublesome now.

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Is it narrower than the fabia ?

My opinion I would say no.

Going by my garage I would say near on the same size as my Octavia when it's parked inside. The Fabia I think is very narrow.

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My opinion I would say no.

Going by my garage I would say near on the same size as my Octavia when it's parked inside. The Fabia I think is very narrow.

Funnily enough I've looked into this. My mum's Fabia II Combi is 2 inches narrower than the Rapid and 2.5 inches shorter than a Spaceback. However, the boot is enormous.

They say the Rapid is a stretched Polo.

We love our rapid as huge boot but easy to park in spaces.

Edited 23 April, 201511 yr by Rednaxela

It is an easy parking car I must admit. Goes through spaces my Octavia couldn't [emoji4]

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I would go for the Octavia, better std equipment than the rapid I think you will find

I would go for the Octavia, better std equipment than the rapid I think you will find

 

Or a Rapedo, better standard equipement than the Rapid.

I went from a 2004 Mk5 Golf 1.6 SE Auto to a rapid... we now have a little boy and have another on its way. The rapid's boot is HUGE! The car itself is compact (narrow, I agree it feels like a stretched polo) but the head room is not limited (its actually wider than my bosses old octavia 2). So its easy to drive, our 1.2 (105bhp) elegance returns 42-50mpg. If it has a downfall its the build quality... the golf mk5 felt like it was better put together and had around 80k on the clock where as our rapid now has 24k and feels about the same already...

i brought my 13 plate 1.2 tsi rapid 2 weeks ago and i love it massive boot and loads room inside , kids dont moan when sitting behind me lol

only had fault with water in 1 door but called skoda and was soon sorted out.

Thanks everyone for the information. I shall go see some at D M Keith and see which one would suit best.

Early cars (62/13 plates) have stingier specs, and notoriously bad ride, not to mention the booming issue.

 

If you decide on a Rapedo try for a newer one. The suspension and steering were sorted out after the Spaceback was introduced.

Edited 23 April, 201511 yr by camelspyyder

And to quantify the ride issue, the '13 diesel I test drove rode as poorly as the '01 Proton Wira diesel I was in at the time.

 

The '14 petrol, while no magic carpet, is way smoother - even on the option 17's.

 

 

 

Say hello to Elgin for me, I particularly miss the Al Bahar & Jimmy Chungs.

Edited 24 April, 201511 yr by camelspyyder

Can the jiggly ride and still booming noise on my 13 reg Rapid be fixed by Skoda or some after market suspension fixes? :<(

 

Its all doing my nut in,,, and i will be going down to one car (Rapid) come September when i will be retiring ;<)

Can the jiggly ride and still booming noise on my 13 reg Rapid be fixed by Skoda or some after market suspension fixes? :<(

 

Its all doing my nut in,,, and i will be going down to one car (Rapid) come September when i will be retiring ;<)

I think there are a few threads on cabin boom in the rapid, some appear to have fixed it by adding some stiffening / sound deadening material to the underside of the rear shelf

 

not sure about the suspension

Edited 24 April, 201511 yr by bluecar1

More than happy with our Spaceback TSI; it reminds me much of the excellent Octy I.

 

The Octy II and III on the other hand were not good cars, well for me anyway and my ownership in both cases was short-lived.

 

 

So obviously my recommendation would be the Rapid but as mentioned above go for as new a model as you can. However there are quite a few dealer pre reg out on the forecourts that are much older by date of manufacture than date of registration, so be carful (MY14 - tenth character in the chassis number will be a letter E and built between June 2013 and May 2014 for example).

 

 

TP

Can the jiggly ride and still booming noise on my 13 reg Rapid be fixed by Skoda or some after market suspension fixes? :<(

 

Its all doing my nut in,,, and i will be going down to one car (Rapid) come September when i will be retiring ;<)

The booming noise can be fixed by a minor adjustment of the bump stops on the boot lid.

 

Suspension wise, I've read that a saw bar will help the role...not sure if lowering the suspension springs will help but there are a few people on here that have had it done.

Done the bump stops and rechecked last week, but still there,,,not as excriuatingly bad but still annoying. ;<(

 

Whats  "saw bar" and i would love any inputs from suspension related "fixes" upgrades (not into lowered suspension, unless it improves ride quality??)

You can never improve comfort / ride quality by lowering a factory suspension, replacing the springs, unless it's already broken.

Edited 24 April, 201511 yr by harisma23

Ive got a rapid sport, I find the ride very crashy over bumps etc, but ive never driven an Octavia so wouldn't be able to say what the ride is like in one of those.

I think that the ride is far superior in the Rapid than either of my previous Civics and infinitely better than the Vectra that I had before them. I'm on 15"s and loathe to change them in case it does become a bit crashy and harsh.

 

The car does tend to wallow when going round tight corners very slowly but on the open road it's decent enough with no excessive body roll.

 

The booming issue is explained in a thread or 2 but it simply involves moving the black bump stops either side of the hatch up slightly.

Edited 24 April, 201511 yr by Delberthot