Not so bad!

[pinkpanther]

A lot of negativity on here regarding the Rapid, although my experience is generally a OK :clap:

I noticed when filling the car earlier that I'd now covered >11K miles, since I took ownership in June 2014 (Fuelly link below). The car has averaged virtually 40 mpg and has required one (minor) service at £139, but no repairs.

I've experienced none of the issues frequently mentioned on here (waterlogged doors, dodgy fuel gauges etc) and have found the car to be dependable (and relatively spacious) family transport. It by no means excites, but I've owned numerous vRS's and didn't buy it to give me a buzz every time I turned the key.

It cruises well (just over 2K revs at 70 mph) and stands comparison with numerous similar cars owned by friends and family (Focus, Civic etc).

I purchased it as a "second" car, as we run a 4x4 Yeti as our main family vehicle. I'd initially decided to buy a new Citigo, but settled on a year old Rapid petrol Elegance instead (same cost), as it offered considerably more "bang for the buck", in terms of equipment, space, driving experience (NVH) and relative performance (<70 BHP vs 105 BHP) and 6 gears.

I readily accept the car is built to a price, although in all fairness don't recognise my 2013 model from the copious posts on here discussing the Rapid's many shortcomings.

Horses for courses!

[chrisgreen]

As always, other opinions may vary.

Have your rear doors already had the seal mod done? As you've bought it second hand (by the sounds of it) it's probably already been done during the previous owner's tenure.

[pinkpanther]

As always, other opinions may vary.

Have your rear doors already had the seal mod done? As you've bought it second hand (by the sounds of it) it's probably already been done during the previous owner's tenure.

Rear door seals unmodified.

Purchased at 1 year old from local main dealer.

[The Plumber]

Likewise been happy with ours, despite the premature need to replace the brakes and the odd squeak or creak but the roads are rubbish round here and as a result just about every car we have had has developed in cabin noises.

 

Oh not really noted any problems with water in doors either (seals are not modified), apart from the very odd small trickle on opening the doors after washing and quite a few other cars do the same.

 

 

TP

[JonBRapid]

I had experienced water retention in the rear doors and had other minor issues BUT still think it's great value for money... Hence why we replaced it for another one (nearly looked at a superb but wife thought it would be to big and there wasn't one locally to try). We'd had it for a year and the cost to replace was more than what we paid for our first one. Like I say great value car with loads of space and relatively economical.

[RapidPaul]

Likewise I've been very happy with mine. I needed a decent but affordable car that was comfortable enough for me and big enough for my family. My budget was around £9-10k for something a year or two old with reasonable mileage. The only cars that fitted the bill within a reasinable distance were Hyunai I30s (not many petrol models to choose from, slow, ugly) and Vauxhall Astras (had one before. Was alright - and in a couple of respects better than the Rapid - but overall the Rapid is better. Cheaper to own, much faster, more comfortable, more space etc. I've not had any problems with mine (door seals appear to be unmodified but do not collect water) and in all likelyhood will probably buy another.

[pinkpanther]

I readily admit there is evidence of cost cutting around the car - multi-function wheel only has half the buttons of my Yeti, the central storage area / arm rest is virtually identical to the item in my old Mk 1 Octavia, I'm unable to operate the rear electric windows from drivers door, exposed wiring connectors for heated rear window etc.

 

The door cards are fairly flimsy affairs, but I was recently surprised to see these aren't too dissimilar from those in both the new Fabia and Octavia. The newer Superb is the only current model with soft touch material on the tops of the door cards.

 

My only major irritation is the odd tyre size used by my 2013 Elegance. I'd previously run Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance tyres, but these aren't available in a size to suit my car.

[GTWaites]

A lot of negativity on here regarding the Rapid, although my experience is generally a OK :clap:

I noticed when filling the car earlier that I'd now covered >11K miles, since I took ownership in June 2014 (Fuelly link below). The car has averaged virtually 40 mpg and has required one (minor) service at £139, but no repairs.

I've experienced none of the issues frequently mentioned on here (waterlogged doors, dodgy fuel gauges etc) and have found the car to be dependable (and relatively spacious) family transport. It by no means excites, but I've owned numerous vRS's and didn't buy it to give me a buzz every time I turned the key.

It cruises well (just over 2K revs at 70 mph) and stands comparison with numerous similar cars owned by friends and family (Focus, Civic etc).

I purchased it as a "second" car, as we run a 4x4 Yeti as our main family vehicle. I'd initially decided to buy a new Citigo, but settled on a year old Rapid petrol Elegance instead (same cost), as it offered considerably more "bang for the buck", in terms of equipment, space, driving experience (NVH) and relative performance (<70 BHP vs 105 BHP) and 6 gears.

I readily accept the car is built to a price, although in all fairness don't recognise my 2013 model from the copious posts on here discussing the Rapid's many shortcomings.

Horses for courses!

Hi five for the positive post! Had mine for a year and still loving it!

[camelspyyder]

 

My only major irritation is the odd tyre size used by my 2013 Elegance. I'd previously run Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance tyres, but these aren't available in a size to suit my car.

 

Your fuelly pic looks like it shows 16 inch wheels. Goodyear EU/UK site lists the 215/45R16 for Goodyear E G P in 2 load and 2 speed ratings

 

However if you're on 17 like me, the 215/40R17 isnt available!

Edited 30 August, 2015 by camelspyyder

[pinkpanther]

Your fuelly pic looks like it shows 16 inch wheels. Goodyear EU/UK site lists the 215/45R16 for Goodyear E G P in 2 load and 2 speed ratings

 

However if you're on 17 like me, the 215/40R17 isnt available!

 

Thanks for the heads up - I'd previously looked for them in my size, but didn't think they were available (not listed on Mytyres / Camskill etc).

 

I see they are however available from Reifen.com, which at least gives me an option when the existing tyres are due for a change.

[The Plumber]

Also noticed the Goodyear Vector 4 Season is now available in the 215/45 R16 size; just a shame I'm on 17's.

 

 

TP 

[kenreid7]

16k and no issues either. I am quite fond of my wee rapid. Ok it needed some tweaking, but now that's done I'm rather happy with mine too!

[Stormchaser]

I'm just going to say mines on 5K now. That's it I daren't comment haha.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Nels]

I'm glad to hear your Rapids are between ok for the money and great. I only speak of my personal problems with my car, which are many and frequent and not to be expected on a nearly new car from a main dealer. Not to mention the appalling response from Skoda UK when they cocked up my two free services. It's a Skoda forum so I feel it's somewhere I can mention good and bad points about my Skoda.

[GTWaites]

Mine did go in for the Advisory Campaign, but had no issues with that. The only issue I did have was another member on here who kept asking pointless/pedantic questions about what my garage did....

[theandywaite]

Yeah, I'm in the "not so bad" camp, although we're only a week into ownership so there's time for my opinion to change!

 

Having said that, I had a Mk2 Octavia VRS and a Mk1 Fabia VRS and if the Spaceback is anything to go by, I don't think Skoda are producing cars of the same quality they once were.  Nothing specific has broken or gone wrong in order for me to say that, but it just doesn't seem to oooze quality like the other Skodas I've experienced.

 

Even so, it's more than adequate for our needs and a bargain at the price.  I have a Fiesta ST which is great on the twisties but not so good for a long motorway schlep or transporting my mountain bike - the wife's Spaceback fills those gaps perfectly.  Here's hoping we won't run into any of the issues mentioned here.

 

Oh and regarding door seals - ours are unmodified but I've been outside every time it's rained heavily since we've had it and there is zero water being retained.

Edited 31 August, 2015 by naxtek

[Nels]

Depending on when your Rapid was made, they might have fixed your door seals at the factory. I had to let the garage cut mine with a pair of scissors believe it or not.

[NigNB]

Really happy with mine..... Great car for the cash

[eastbam]

Totally agree, absolutely not to bad . Mine is exactly 2 years old and reached 22000km. It is the low-powered 1.2TSI. The only problems were the water in a rear door (solved by the garage) and an unexpected acceleration (the guys from the garage told me that it probably was the acceleration pedal that was somehow blocked by the mat; I'm not buying that entirely but it never happened since). I'm satisfied with the fuel consumption, it is around 5.2l/100km, outside of the city area. I tend to use it only in the weekends for longer trips and prefer the tram for commuting daily because the traffic is awful and the fuel consumption goes up really fast.

So far I'm satisfied with the choice,

All the best from Timisoara!

[Bidey]

Love our 1.4 TSI DSG Rapid, apart from a the still in the backrground booming noise and slightly "jiggly" drive at low speed. Assume newer car have the suspension changed to help this?

 

Its still a great car to drive. Its a relaxed and fab cruiser for long motorway journeys. The engine is as quiet as a mouse and we have now done 32K miles no issues

 

Cavernous boot and good sound from BT for phone (not so easy to phone out)

[pinkpanther]

Your fuelly pic looks like it shows 16 inch wheels. Goodyear EU/UK site lists the 215/45R16 for Goodyear E G P in 2 load and 2 speed ratings

 

However if you're on 17 like me, the 215/40R17 isnt available!

 

I'm struggling to find a UK based supplier for Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance in 215/45/16 86H, so will more than likely need to place an order in the EU (I've used Reifen.com in the past)

[Bidey]

Hi,

The Dunlop SP Sport BluResponse is basically the same tyre made by the same company

 

Not sure how available they are in the size you want?

 

see below From WHICH Magazine

Dunlop tyres

Price band: Middle to high
Pros: Very good dry grip, good wet grip, widely available
Cons: Relatively expensive to buy

Dunlop, which used to be Britain’s premier tyre maker, is now owned by Goodyear. Dunlop tyres can be quite pricey, although you can often get similar performance for a lower price than from Goodyear. They are readily available from national and regional retail chains, independents and online retailers. If you're feeling nostalgic for Britain's industrial heritage, John Boyd Dunlop developed the first pneumatic (inflatable) rubber tyres. 

[camelspyyder]

http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Dunlop/Sport-BluResponse.htm

[GTWaites]

I would have to say some of the comments in this forum would come under a section i would call "twist on 21 category..." But that's just my personal view!

[zombiebenny]

I'm struggling to find a UK based supplier for Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance in 215/45/16 86H, so will more than likely need to place an order in the EU (I've used Reifen.com in the past)

have you looked here http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&typ=R-160091&Breite=215&Quer=45&Felge=16&Speed=H&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=20&Transport=P&sowigan=So&dsco=110&rsmFahrzeugart=PKW&rsmFahrzeugart=PKW&cart_id=46573970.110.31064&plz=ws2+8sq&montagebutton=Search+for+fitting+station&Monsuchen=1#station_search