The Rapid has always been a best seller for Skoda in Nepal, the name always makes you think of a slippery business sedan that provides great value for your hard-earned money. In a way it does make sense that Skoda has multiple versions of the Rapid sedan; we had tested the Rapid Onyx and the Rapid Rider not too long ago.

And now we have come to this, the Skoda Rapid TSI Automatic. This flavor of the Rapid comes with the same new TSI engine that made the Skoda Rapid Rider a value for money proposition, but you are now getting an automatic gearbox to go with this engine. So today, we are on a mission to find out if this flavor of the Rapid provides similar or even greater value than the Rapids we have reviewed in the past.

The Skoda Rapid Rider is Skoda’s new entry-level family sedan, with emphasis on ‘entry-level’. The extra money you pay for the Rapid Onyx over the Rider gets you black-finished, 16-inch alloys, blacked-out wing mirrors, trunk lip and side molding, a flat-bottom steering wheel with black stitching, and grey and black leatherette upholstery.

How is it to drive?

Now, coming to what we believe is the most important perspective, the driver’s. Once again, the seats are comfortable. For taller people, the low seating position is convenient. However, the lack of height adjustment will be cumbersome for shorter drivers. The seating position offers great all-around visibility and there are no blind spots caused by the pillars, although larger ORVM’s and IRVM would have been welcome.

What really sold the car for us, was the driving experience it provided. The Skoda Rapid Rider gets a tiny but very capable 1.0 TSI engine, in fact, it is the same award-winning TSI engine that you get on the Volkswagen Up! GTI. The stats show the 1.0L TSI engine churning out 108 BHP of power and 175 NM of torque. That’s a 5bhp and 20Nm bump from the previous 1.6 MPI engine.

The most important part here is the transmission; you see whenever we hear the word Skoda or Volkswagen coming together with the word Automatic… we connect the dots to a DSG gearbox. That’s not the case here, the Rapid TSI Automatic. Skoda has swapped its DCT gearbox – tech almost synonymous with the VW Group – with a six-speed torque-converter that it shares with the VW Polo and Vento. The Czech brand says this was done to reduce cost and dispel the perceived maintenance issues associated with dual-clutch units.

First impressions are very positive and this gearbox paired to the TSI engine feels very smooth and seamless. The real fun begins the instant you shift the gear lever into D and get the wheels rolling. It’s a preppy affair, to say the least. It sprints off the mark with spirit and the engine revs implore you to really push the car to its limits. And the engine eagerly responds. The primary job of any automatic is to go through the gears smoothly, and this new torque converter is adept at that job. It can shift up without any noticeable lag and even the downshifts between the higher gears are masked well.

Put the gear lever where it says S for sport mode and you’re darting off to a ‘rapid’ sprint on straight lines. You’ll be blown away by how quickly it gathers speed when you find the right RPMs in each gear. We advise you to drive this AT exclusively in its S mode. This feels like a far more natural fit to the Rapid’s attitude on the road. In this sportier mode, there’s almost none of the peaky power delivery you sometimes associate with such a gearbox setting. The engine usually stays in a higher gear than it would be in the Drive mode.

You are able to fully exploit that big gush of power this 1.0 turbo makes over 3,000 rpm. Here the Rapid will hold revs right up to the 6,000 rpm redline, with a few hundred more thrown in for good measure when you choose to shift manually. With the wide powerband and well-spaced ratios, the Rapid feels positively ‘rapid’ right up to highway speeds.

Direct it into corners and the car confidently veers into it, maintaining consistent rigidity and inspiring the confidence in you to fling it into the next corner. The lighter powerful engine, with a comparatively stiff chassis by class standards and a suspension set up which is hinting at the firmer side, all make for a very pleasing experience behind the wheel. But, the three-cylinder engine does make a fair bit of noise, and we would have loved a better gear shift throw.

Driving in the city feels like you’re really holding the Skoda Rapid Rider back. It gets off to a sprint with vigor, only to be cut off by one obstruction or the other. Nevertheless, quick overtaking maneuvers will put a smile across your face. What might not make you smile is the car’s ability to handle large potholes and undulations. But that is the compromise you will have to make in return for the engaging drivability that the Rapid TSI Automatic provides.

Is it worth considering?

Overall, the Skoda Rapid TSI Automatic is a great car for most auto enthusiasts, and that is all thanks to the amazing 1.0 TSI engine. If you are looking for engaging drivability in a mid-size sedan that fits a tight budget, this one should definitely be on your shortlist. The Skoda Rapid TSI Automatic comes in at a price of Rs. 51,90,000; for the driving experience it is definitely money well spent.

Yes, there are fewer creature comforts than you would expect from a Skoda, but it is still a bargain for the driving experience it provides. Not to mention, the passengers will not have much to complain about either. Overall, it would be completely safe to say that this particular flavor of the Rapid provides the same value for money that we have come to expect from Skoda.