Rapid Action

The new Škoda Rapid takes the compact sedan game further with sportier styling and a global engine that offers an impressive rush in the low- and mid-range. Just what we need, then?

- Jim Gorde

To say restraint and forward-thinking are the need of the hour would be a gross understatement. while many the world over spend time, money, and fuel with reckless abandon over trivial activities for momentary satisfaction, their actions have a far worse effect on a consequence. thankfully, Škoda, and indeed the entire Skoda-Vw group, don’t have such an aversion to vision and foresight. with a new range of globally accepted and popular cars that have appropriately downsized and even electrified powertrains, the future seems to be in focus; at least the foreseeable part of it.

The new Škoda rapid is the latest model to be introduced into their indian portfolio and is the most potent one yet. and in all the right ways. for starters, there’s the style.

This one here is the Monte Carlo, the top-of-the-line variant, priced at rs 11.79 lakh (ex-showroom) and gets all the bells, whistles, pillows, 16-inch dual-tone alloy wheels, and black-contrast roof. all variants, whether the entry-level — and returning — rider badge, priced at rs 7.49 lakh, the black-theme onyx above it, the high-end style or this Monte Carlo at the top are testimony to the group’s engineering prowess with a robust and planted feel and an inherent encouraging feeling of safety thanks to the solid build quality. Particular to this variant, now, the sporty red exterior finish complemented by black elements — front grille, B-pillars, boot-lid gurney flap — and a Monte Carlo badge as well.