My father in law is looking at buying one of these.
It’s 1.6 Tdi , top of the range (so the dealer told him) with all the toys. It’s a main dealer ex demo model they’re knocking 4000€ off the new price with 2,500km on the clock. It was first registered in January of this year.
Are they any good? I know Skoda’s are supposedly bloody good cars now but having never driven one I have no idea.

I had a poor dealer experience with Skoda which partly involved one of these. Sat in one when dealer chap picked me up to go and view a car that wasn’t there (they’d already sold it).

I must say I’d been thinking about buying one, but they were pretty new (and over budget). The Spaceback IIRC is shorter than the hatch (which is a funny saloon hatch) and the petrol only went up to 1.2TSI. I thought they were pretty plasticky inside, big sunroof which would get very hot in summer, the man was trying to assure me that a 1.2 would be all I’d need (that was what they sold, he meant) when he’;d no idea how much kit an active family of 4 could stock up on for holidays!

They’d been described as the front of a Polo bolted to the rear of an old Octavia which is probably about right. I wasn’t sold on them at all and we got an Octavia in the end..

I just had a quick look on drivethedeal….similar car, I think, going for £3.500 off brand new.
Not sure how much of a favour the dealer is doing there?
I think they’re pretty good, but not astonishing, which is probably why they’re giving good deals.

….and I hate to say it….but it reminds me of an Allegro!!

The Rapid is the only Skoda that get poor reviews. Might be better of with a Hyundai or Kia if a new car is a must.

Had a Rapid saloon as a courtesy car and it was fine. Nothing more, I’d not buy one especially as they don’t seem a good deal. The space back is smaller and more expensive and the interior isn’t very nice.

Skoda fanboi here, my expectations are high though.

angeldust – Member
They are not ‘bloody good cars’ really. They are average. People that buy them (Skodas) tend to have low expectations, which skews the perception quite a bit. People are also defensive about having bought a Skoda, and thus over compensate by telling everyone how great they are.

Can’t speak for the Rapid, my only thought on seeing the name was a mental picture of the much maligned Skoda Rapid from the bad old days of Communist manufacture.
I own an Octavia, had it for somewhere around ten years, and apart from it occasionally dropping into limp-mode, it’s a great car for extended runs, it’s very comfy, handles pretty well, goes like the clappers if you boot it hard, for a 110bhp 1.9TDi, and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to run.
I test drove a VW Bora, 105bhp 1.9TDi before I drove the Skoda, it was older, W-reg, against a 51 plate, and was £1000 more expensive, and it was horrid! It was sluggish, very uncomfortable, poor brakes, poor gearbox, and it handled abominably.
I had prior extensive experience driving a W-plate Audi A4 1.9TDi, and driving the Skoda was just like driving the Audi, even the dash layout was identical.
I guess I just had low expectations going from an Audi A4, and my own, sadly missed Puma 1.7, which caused me to buy a Skoda…

I had a Rapid as a courtesy car when my Superb was in for a service.
It didn’t ride well, it never settled on the road, always twitching, but space was OK. Engine was great -1.2 Tsi 105ps

I wouldn’t get one because of the ride quality. If that doesn’t bother you…

I am a Skoda owner, Came from an A4 3.0 Tdi Quattro Avant to a Superb 2.0 170 4×4 estate. The only thing that was significantly better in the Audi was the V6. I am not ‘defensive’ about my choice, just appreciative. Like 5th gear were

angeldust – Member

Like I said…..defensive Skoda owners.

Is it not more a case of a person having good reasons for their choice and them being happy to share them?

IME the majority of car owners will have very good reasons for their choice of vehicle, if it works for them then fair enough.

I currently drive a Skoda and I chose it for what were and still are, to me, valid reasons.

I had equally valid reasons for choosing the Mazda that preceded it and the Ford that came before that and I’m sure you had equally valid reasons for your choice of vehicle.

angeldust – Member

Like I said…..defensive Skoda owners.
The fact that you are running a 10+ year old Skoda with an older technology diesel engine suggests your car expectations are not that high.
If it works for you, great.

Or his expectations are diffetent from yours.

I had a Rapid as a courtesy car when my Superb was in for a service.
It didn’t ride well, it never settled on the road, always twitching, but space was OK. Engine was great -1.2 Tsi 105ps

I think it’s common failing with the MQB platform. The lower powered models get a torsion beam set up on the rear. A chap at work who is a huge Skoda fan boi has a new Octavia and hates the ride on his car. So much so that he’s changing the shocks and springs.

With regards to Slodas feeling like Audis, these days there seems to be more distance between the two with no common dash architecture and Audi getting the tech first. The underpinnings are very much similar but the stuff yiu look at and touch inside is different.

Blimey, Skoda have started doing the Rapid again? I was thinking of this…

No wonder they look like Austins.

I think it’s common failing with the MQB platform

The Rapid’s not on the MQB platform though I suspect the ride’s worse than the torsion beam octavias.

@angeldust….did you get your car on Pcp? boom boom 😆

The whole dismissive “defensive skoda drivers” gambit is a bit nonsensical. People defend them as they have a difference in opinion….maybe more so with you as you are obviously quite opinionated on the subject.

The Rapid is based on the last gen. Polo/fabia platform as I understand it

They are not ‘bloody good cars’ really. They are average. People that buy them (Skodas) tend to have low expectations, which skews the perception quite a bit. People are also defensive about having bought a Skoda, and thus over compensate by telling everyone how great they are.

Most Skoda owners seem happy with their cars, see JD Power surveys, and although I have owned a variety of makes in the past, some viewed as prestige and some as run of the mill, I am quite happy with mine. I hate paying through the nose for the badge and am quite comfortable with driving an engine, gearbox and running gear designed for a top end audi in a skoda body that is more practical for my needs and cost me half the price of the audi.

Some people who are happy to pay a hefty premium for the “right” badge tend to get fairly defensive when those who are not prepared to pay the same premium don’t seem to regret that decision.

Your comments suggest that you are, or would like to be, in the former grouping and if so then good luck to you if it makes you happy.

Following on from this thread he decided to go and look at other cars.
He came back with a B Max brochure. He was very impressed especially with the back doors.
I had a 60 plate older shape C Max that didn’t skip a beat in the 90,000 miles I put on it.
What’s everyone’s thoughts on the B Max?

Looks alright to me:

The Rapid is the only Skoda that Top Gear mag doesn’t like. As mentioned it’s not MQB, it’s old tech. From what I remember reading it’s based on a car sold in the emerging markets that don’t tend to be up to European standards but Skoda needed a car to fit a catagory. Ford did the same with the Eco-Sport.

As for the B-Max, it’s based on the Fiesta that’s a great car so should be good. Reviews back this up. I’d get a 1.0 turbo petrol.