Exteriors - The Vento vs. Rapid Story:
Look-wise,
the Skoda Rapid looks to be a
Volkswagen Vento having the Fabia front end. In fact, this all new levels of
badge engineering has resulted in Rapid and Vento to be almost identical cars,
which might create a little problem for the Vento Sales figure since Rapid is
underpriced. However, even if each of them individually do not go on to become
category leaders in their segment, nobody is complaining if the combined rapid
and vento Sales outnumber Honda City and Hyundai Verna.
So on
first glance it’s hard to differentiate between a Rapid and a vento with both
of them having the same A, B, C pillars, but wait, when you take a closer
profile look, you notice things that aren’t the same. There’s certainly more to
the Rapid. The treatment of Rapid’s front end is definitely like the Fabia but may
be slightly longer and not as sharply raked as the hatchback. The bonnet
extends over the fenders with a redesigned front bumper as well. The mustache grill is also slightly different
to Rapid’s large nose and the strong and sturdy grill makes it look to be a
more matured car. The 5 spoke alloy wheels are brilliant in visual terms and
look to be chunkier than vento. The lines all over are smoothly integrated
along the body of the car as is its boot, which though being a straight life
from vento, but finds its distinct identity due to the taillights and crystal
cut, that has the very Skoda touch. The rear bumper, boot lid and tail lights
are all new with the Vento boot lid kink disappearing into a straight line in
case of Rapid. Rapid sports a prism edge with the two sharp edges on either
side of the number plate that ushers in the new Skoda design theme. All in all,
Skoda rapid turn out to be a handsome looking sedan.
Interiors: Can you spot the difference?
Sit
inside the Skoda Rapid and you’ll have deja-vu if you have ever been inside a
vento or a Polo. With identical interiors with that of the Vento, only very keen
observers would identify the differences in the dashboard brownish tinge and
the four spoke steering wheel, which again is similar to Fabia’s. While it is
extremely comfortable to grip with a surprisingly easy press-able horn despite
having the inbuilt airbag, what is missing is the steering mounted control.
Other slight points of difference lies in Rapid’s white console needles instead
of red, different font on the dials and the every 500rpm markings on the
tachometer. With a similar 2552mm wheelbase, there’s enough space and legroom
in the Rapid making it comfortable for even 6 footer drivers or back
passengers. The only issue might be the tall transmission tunnel that might make getting in and out a tad difficult.
Skoda
Rapid Variants: Actively ambitious and elegant!
One of the main differentiating factor for a
common potential buyer could be the range of variants that Skoda Rapid sports
compared to the Vento. While Vento strangely has only 2 variants, Skoda has
done much better by offering Rapid in 3 trim levels – Active, Ambition and
Elegance. While Active is the base model, Ambition and elegance are the
mid-level and highest trims respectively offered in the colorsof:
·
Flash Red
·
Deep Black Pearl
·
Brilliant Silver
·
Candy White
·
Cappuccino Beige
