Skoda Rapid facelift spied

A few months ago, we confirmed the fact that the new European Skoda Rapid will not be making it to India. The new Euro Rapid will not be making it to India primarily due to the fact that it is based on the MQB platform, which would make it too expensive in India. That said, since the Skoda Rapid in India desperately needs a refresh to keep it relevant. According to our sources, Skoda India will be giving the Rapid a refresh and it will make it to showrooms later this year. 

From the images we see here, it is quite obvious that the new Skoda Rapid will not be much of a departure from how it is right now and it will pretty much be a mild update of the car rather than an all-new model. Expect daytime running lights to make an appearance in the headlamp cluster adding to the projector light setup you already get for the car as of now. Just like with its sibling, the Volkswagen Vento, also expect the Rapid to get LED tail lamps along with a slightly updated and refreshed lighting pattern. There will also be updates to the grille and front/rear bumpers to make them look sportier. We also expect updated wheels although we highly doubt anything larger than the 15-inch size making an appearance here. All said and done, the new Rapid will look much better than it does now but nowhere near as good as the one available in Europe. 

On the interior front, the seats and basic layouts will continue to stay the same with just an updated infotainment system with a touchscreen interface making an appearance. The new Rapid might also get Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. On the engines front the 1.5-litre diesel and the 1.6-litre petrol will continue to do duty with the diesel also getting a 6-speed DSG gearbox along with the 5-speed manual that the car gets. Expect prices to be about the Rs 10 lakh range when the car makes it to the showrooms later this year.

Image Courtesy-Autocar