Rapid Short Term Review

[sdabel]

Have had a Rapid DSG as a loan car for last couple of weeks and thought I might share my thoughts.   In general I really don’t like auto transmissions on small cars, but the DSG has convinced me that it can work.  It is smooth, and once you learn how to work with it, frustration free.  As a manual driver I had to unlearn the habit of lifting my accelerator foot during gear changes but am enjoying it now.

 

This loan car is povo spec however, still very well fitted out.  Seats are excellent, quality tyres and including tyre pressure monitoring, a great feature in our family where tyre pressures are not checked between service. 

 

Very quiet and comfortable to drive, with a lot of room in the back as well as the boot.  Performance is adequate although fuel consumption seems a bit lacking, perhaps since this is a brand new car it will get better with time.   Fit and finish is of a high standard with a nice solid feel to the doors.  Handling and ride is good balance, with a smooth ride and no wallow.  

 

Some lacking features, no AM band on the radio, yes some people still like to listen to AM!  The standard sound is still very  good, and plays CDs as well as music from USB sticks.  Also Bluetooth connections allow playback but with limited functionality.  In general the features are very intuitive and after a single drive I felt like I could use all the features. 

 

Rear view mirrors are smaller than I like, but do include heating a bonus even here in Australia.  One touch windows are for the driver only, and only down- something I really miss from previous cars.  It has good headlights, as well as front and rear fog lights.

 

The style is inoffensive and has grown on me, so far people either don’t notice it or like it.   If I was in the market for a quality small car it would have to be top of my list although I would try to get a higher spec version.

 

[camelspyyder]

Yep. It's an OK car.

 

The price is what makes all the difference. At the MRP it's too expensive and competes with better quality cars, but it's worth having if you can swing a 15, 20, 30% discount.

 

Is it cheaper than Golfs and the like in OZ?

Edited 7 August, 2015 by camelspyyder

[MickA]

I'd hardly call it small, medium sized yes. Agree with everything else you say although I personally have never driven a DSG before, have read they are very good.

[IulianE]

In Romania the rapid is quite cheap.... 15.300 euro for top spec Style version 1.2 tsi 110 hp 6 speed manual.I added xenon,cruise control, boot nets, metalizes colour,leather steering wheel and other small stuff and still under 17k wich is allmost full option.The value for money is huge.I tried the touchscreen with smart link and found it rubbish, I use IOS anyway.

Edited 7 August, 2015 by IulianE

[RapidPaul]

Some lacking features, no AM band on the radio, yes some people still like to listen to AM! The standard sound is still very good, and plays CDs as well as music from USB sticks. Also Bluetooth connections allow playback but with limited functionality. In general the features are very intuitive and after a single drive I felt like I could use all the features.

Are you sure it doesn't have AM? If you press and hold the radio button it should give you the option to switch between AM and FM.

[sdabel]

Are you sure it doesn't have AM? If you press and hold the radio button it should give you the option to switch between AM and FM.

Just tried and it works, thanks for that.   

[sdabel]

 

 

Is it cheaper than Golfs and the like in OZ?

Hard to work out pricing, here VW seem to be priced as an almost premium brand.  As far as I can see Rapid is priced at the same as Polo.  Or even a bit less on similar spec.   Given that this is a loan car I am not going to start a war by commenting that I don't like the golf styling as much