Skoda Rapid

There’s much more to Skoda’s aptly named five-door than some unusually raked lines.

The first thing you completely fail to see from the outside is the Skoda Rapid’s super-roof. Simply clever panel and paintwork as well as the vehicle being just the right height on seemingly odd-sized alloy wheels, means passers-by have no inkling that the roof panel from fore to aft is an immense ‘open sky’ glass panel. The glass panel – which does have a retracting inner shield by the way – could be considered the Rapid’s party piece, but then why not call it the Skoda Skyview? Well, that would leave those who drive the little Skoda for the first time wondering why Skoda didn’t call it the Rapid, because the car is so damn quick! Under the bonnet is the Rapid’s party piece, a 1395cc TFSI turbo petrol engine throwing 92kw of power through a sevenspeed DSG automatic gearbox to push the 1691kg of Czech pocket rocket into warp speed on any given highway. Interestingly, the linear power delivery is not borne out by the ‘clicky’ progress of the rev counter. This seems to be a consistent consideration with the smaller Skodas. But if this is an issue, it is only a small one, and certainly the Rapid compensates for a little perceived reticence, offering road holding grip to rival the tractive qualities of a black hole, as proven on a spirited run through Auckland’s mossy Scenic Drive. No officer, I wasn’t driving too fast, I was flying too low. When driven blandly around town – and you can – the Rapid is an innocuous hatchback, pleasantly inoffensive, wellappointed and nicely tailored to suit pretty much any body shape. The cockpit, well in keeping with the Skoda family look with piano black inserts amid durable grey and quality plastics and interspersed with a practical and predictable layout of switches, dials and buttons, is dominated by a seven-inch touchscreen interface with a readout large enough to be seen from a passing satellite (through the skyview roof, obviously) in high orbit. Nomenclature aside, the Rapid is all about demonstrating that award-winning Skoda trait of putting a big space in a small package and, despite the Rapid’s diminutive size – the car delivers on this promise. Even if you or your left-seat passenger are a little on the generous side, you’re going to enjoy your own personal space. On the subject of space, I was convinced Skoda had cut some corners somewhere, and the most obvious sacrifice would have been in rear-seat accommodations. I don’t usually check, but this time I did and nope, there’s space aplenty back here too. The boot then? Sorry. The Rapid won’t swallow everything a three-times larger Superb will, but with 415 litres expandable to 842 litres – or six modest suitcases, according to Skoda’s marketing bumph – back there, you’re not short sold on space in the back. If it’s so good then, why aren’t there more Rapids around, or are they that quick they vanish from sight? Oh come on, I’m big on hyperbole, but that’s just ridiculous. No, the truth is that Skoda NZ has been somewhat challenged for stock supply with the Rapid, mostly because Europe loves them, but that shouldn’t stop you from taking one for a spin if you want the automotive equivalent of Dr Who’s TARDIS combined with Han Solo’s Millennium Falcon. The Skoda Rapid then, is possibly best summed up with a mangled quote from the movie The Gumball Rally: if you can catch one, you should have one.