Skoda has discontinued its most-affordable and much-popular Rapid Rider variant. The Skoda Rapid Rider was priced at INR 7.49 lakh ex-showroom and came with a single 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine and 6-speed manual transmission option. The Skoda Rapid Rider Plus variant which is next in line will assume the base variant position in the Rapid portfolio. The Skoda Rapid Rider was very well equipped for the price it demanded. The value for money sedan could even undercut some of the subcompact sedans in the Indian market.
The Skoda Rapid Rider featured a 2DIN Skoda Audio player, automatic climate control air conditioning, rear windscreen defogger, front and rear electronically adjustable windows with one-touch operation, steel scuff plates with Skoda inscription, Parktronic reverse sensors, black side foils in the rough road package, trunk lip garnish in silver or black options, ABS, dual front airbags etc.
The Skoda Rider was powered by a BS6 emissions-compliant 1.0-litre Turbocharged Stratified Injection (TSI) petrol engine that produces 110 PS of power and 175 Nm of torque matched to a 6-speed manual transmission. The successor the Rapid Rider Plus now comes with the option of a torque converter type 6-speed automatic transmission, which means now the new base variant in the Rapid portfolio is also available with an automatic transmission engine option.
The new Skoda Rapid Rider Plus is priced close to INR 50,000 more than the entry-level rider which means the new starting price for Skoda Rapid is INR 7.99 lakh ex-showroom. The Skoda Rapid Rider Plus comes with all the features from the standard rider but also gets a 16.51-cm touchscreen centrally mounted infotainment system, chrome window garnish and more colour options.
The Skoda Rapid range now includes the Rider Plus starting at INR 7.99 lakh ex-showroom for the manual transmission option and 9.49 lakh ex-showroom for the automatic transmission variant. The Rapid is also offered in Ambition, Onyx, Style and the range-topping Monte Carlo variant which is priced from INR 11.79 lakh ex-showroom for the manual transmission and goes up to INR 13.29 lakh ex-showroom for the Rapid Monte Carlo with the automatic gearbox. The complete range is powered by the same 1.0L turbo-petrol engine.
