Skoda Rapid Facelift Vs Old Skoda Rapid: Top 10 Differences

The Skoda Rapid was first launched in India in 2013 and well it has enjoyed success. While, for the longest time, it was termed as a sedan version of the Fabia, the Rapid has managed to retain its identity giving cars like the VW Vento, Honda City and the Maruti Suzuki Ciaz tough competition. Skoda launched a few festive and limited editions to rake in sales but didn't manage to spike the sales up by much, which is where the facelift comes into play. The Rapid receives a major facelift both cosmetic and mechanical, compared to the older model. We've listed down the ten major differences between the new Skoda Rapid facelift and its predecessor.

1. The older Skoda Rapid came with a more composed face with a small U-shaped grille flanked by a chrome slat on top and the company logo at the centre. As for the facelift of the car, it comes with an all-new face which is modern and contemporary with the highlight being the new, more prominent, butterfly grille design. It is very similar to the one seen in the new Skoda Superb, thus giving the car a more imposing look.
2. The predecessor came with a curvy front bumper (similar to the Fabia hatchback) with a small central air dam and boring round fog lamps. Compared to it, the facelift Rapid gets a sporty front bumper with sharper lines and houses a new wider air dam with a honeycomb patterned grille and horizontal fog lamps giving the car a sporty and premium character.
   

   Skoda Rapid Facelift
3. The older Skoda Rapid came with slightly bigger sweptback headlamps and integrated turn signal lights but the facelift gets new sharper projector headlamps with LED daytime running lights placed below the projector units. This new headlamp cluster is more in line with the global model.
4. The facelifted Rapid is also in line with Skoda's crystalline design language and features more prominent and bolder character lines running across the hood and the side profile of the car. As for the former version, the lines were a bit dull which made the car look slightly boring. The facelifted model also gets new stylish ORVMs with integrated signal lights, which weren't available on the older version. The facelift model is also longer by 27mm compared to the older model.
5. With the launch of the Rapid facelift, Skoda has also introduced two new colours - Flash Red and Silk Blue in addition to the previously available colours. The previous model too had the red on offer in one of the earlier models but not in the foregoing one.
   

   Old Skoda Rapid

6. The cabin of the outgoing Skoda Rapid came with a dull brown/beige dual colour tone and missed out on features like a cooled glove box or a touchscreen infotainment system. The new Rapid comes with an updated cabin with dual-tone black/beige interiors with leather seats and chrome throughout the cabin, so its more premium now. There are new cubby holes and a cooled glove box as well. The car now also features a new 'Drive' Central Infotainment System with 6.5-inch colour touchscreen and MirrorLink technology.
7. The updated model also comes with a host of comfort and convenience features which includes electrically foldable and adjustable ORVMs, Climatronic Technology and Rain Sensing Wipers. These features were not available in the older model, which came only with conventional wipers and the ORVMs only electrically adjustable. In fact fit and finish is better which makes the cabin look a bit more upmarket now.
8. The new Skoda Rapid gets the company's updated 1.5-litre TDI diesel engine that does duty on the recently launched Volkswagen Ameo diesel. The engine has been tuned to belt put more power, 108bhp to be exact and 250Nm of peak torque. The same oil burner produced a maximum of 103bhp and developed the same peak torque of 250Nm in the previous Skoda Rapid. There are no changes in the petrol engine.
9. In the previous Skoda Rapid, the petrol version returned a mileage of 14.3 km/l in the automatic variant and 15 km/l in the manual trim. Whereas, the diesel automatic returned 21.66 km/l and the diesel manual was good for 21.14 km/l. As for the petrol version of the facelifted Skoda Rapid, it returns a mileage of 14.84 km/l in the automatic trim and 15.41 km/l in the manual version, so there is a marginal improvement. As for the diesel option, the automatic variant is good for 21.72 km/l and the manual variant returns 21.13 km/l.
10. While the latest Skoda Rapid might continue to be at par with the competition in the pricing department, compared to the older model the rates have gone up by a considerable margin. Prices for the new Rapid starts at Rs. 8.27 lakh going up to Rs. 12.67 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi), while the earlier model came in the price range of Rs. 7.94 lakh to Rs. 12.19 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi).