Skoda Rapid becomes new this festive season with and undoubtedly it is one of the best gifts from Skoda to Indian automobile industry. Skoda Rapid which has been making its presence from some time and now it gets few tweaks in terms of outer appearance, features and increased output. Skoda rapid takes on Honda City which has been ruling the Indian sedan segment along with Maruti Suzuki Ciaz with premium features and excellent performance. So, now we bring to you some facts which will make you clear about how this New Rapid is different from powerful Honda City.
Price:
Both the sedans share almost same competitive price range, New Skoda Rapid costs at Rs. 8.34-12.67 lakhs while the Honda City comes between Rs. 8.29-12.65 lakhs.
Engine details:
In its heart, New Rapid comprises of 1.6 L MPI petrol engine and updated 1.5 L TDI CR diesel engine with the developing output of 103.5bhp & 153Nm and 108.5bhp & 250Nm, respectively.
On the other side, the all new City is also well equipped with both diesel and petrol engines by having 1.5 liter i-DTEC diesel and 1.5 liter petrol engine which also produces the max power n torque of 99bhp & 200Nm and 117bhp & 145Nm, respectively.
While New Skoda Rapid is mated with 5-speed manual transmission (diesel & petrol) and 6-speed conventional torque convertor automatic transmission in petrol and the diesel engine can be had in either with a 5-speed manual or a 7 speed DSG automatic gearbox, the all new City has improved by offering 6-speed manual in diesel and 5-speed manual/automatic in petrol.
As per its fuel efficiency is concerned, we all know that Honda City diesel is one of India’s most fuel efficient car. Even in petrol, Honda city reports to deliver excellent mileage.
Hence, the ARAI certified mileage figures are:
Honda City-
- Diesel: 26.0 km/l
- Petrol MT: 17.8 km/l
- Petrol AT: 18 km/l
New Skoda Rapid-
- Diesel MT: 21.13 km/l
- Petrol MT: 15.4 km/l
- Petrol AT: 14.8 km/l
- Diesel AT: 21.72 km/l
Performance:
In ride and handling segment new City has improved and it can be good for city drivability but for highway throttle Rapid is a better choice. Honda i-Dtec engine can rev only up to 4400rpm while in Rapid, Hyundai and VW can easily cross 5000 rpm. Overtaking and cruising at three digit speeds is not a problem in new City but Rapid is ted quicker it can reach 100 km mark in 3.3 seconds quicker than City diesel.
New City’s steering wheel is now more responsive and accurate but still it misses the feel of Rapid’s steering wheel. Major drawback in previous GEN City was the high NVH level which unfortunately has been repeated in new City diesel as well, outside noise is quite audible in the cabin especially during higher speeds. On the contrary new Rapid TDI is much quieter than the previous GEN 1.5L TDI though it becomes louder at high rpms, not as much as new City. During higher speeds Rapid behaves much more maturely than new City in terms of corner control and handling but new Honda city is not that bad either.
Space & Dimension:
These five seater sedans are slightly differ in their measurements. While the new City gets a little hike in its height, car boot and wheelbase length and now carries the new dimension of 4440mm x 1695mm x 1495mm along with wheelbase, ground clearance and boot space of 2600mm, 165mm and 510 liters, respectively.
The New Skoda Rapid is 4413mm in length, 1699mm in width and 1466mm in height and carry the wheelbase of 2552mm, car boot of 460 liters and clear height of 163mm.Front seats are comfortable place to be in thanks to side cushioning and same can be said for the rear seats as. However, you won’t get the same sense of feel like Ciaz and Honda City.
Interior & Exterior:
Skoda is one of those brands which known by its premium quality material, luxury features and hence same has been done with sedan Rapid. This trendy new sedan is designed with entire essential and premium features and justifies the badge of Skoda. This time around Skoda has introduced a familiar crystalline design in a pleasing manner thanks to new front grille with black vertical slats flanked by projector headlamps with LED DRLs, new front-rear bumpers and reprofiled tail lights.
Things inside includes a 6.5 inch touchscreen system with Mirrorlink, automatic climate control, ambient light, new fabric upholstery, one touchdown all power windows, rain sensing wipers, reverse parking camera etc.
While, Honda City is not only sharing the entire features of its predecessor but also gets many more. The added premium equipments in the new City are 15.7 cm touchscreen system with MediaNAV, one touch lane change indicator, modified dashboard in black along with USB, Aux-in, Bluetooth connectivity etc, also blue surrounded instrument cluster, smoothly touched Ac controls, cruise control & engine start/stop push, Ac vents at rear seats and many more. In short, this luxury sedan has been more luxuriant with this new launch.
So, if we compare these two cars on the grounds of its luxury and build quality Skoda Rapid has surely an upper hand but appearance wise muscular look of Honda City is much more likeable than new Rapid though new additions inspired by Octavia and Superb certainly makes new Rapid better than ever.
Verdict:
Honda City–
Pros:
- Badge of Honda, a one of the most trustworthy brands of India
- Excellent on road performance and fuel economy
- Ride and handling is excellent
- 510 liters of excellent boot space
Cons:
- Refinement still a notch lower than Vento, Verna and Rapid
- Ride quality lags behind new rapid
- Cramped headroom space at rear from 6 footers
New Skoda Rapid –
Pros:
- European built quality which is tuff to beat
- DSG 7 speed automatic transmission
- Brute power and 250Nm torque
New Skoda Rapid –
Cons:
- A bit expensive
- High maintenance cost
- Skoda’s after sales service is still hit or a miss
