2014 Skoda Rapid Facelift India Launch on 25 September; Expected Features, Price Details

Czech automaker Skoda confirmed the launch of its Rapid facelift in India on 25 September, a day after the launch of Volkswagen's new Vento facelift.

2014 Rapid Facelift, the new contender in the sedan segment will take on the likes of Honda City, Hyundai Verna, 2014 Ford Fiesta, 2014 Nissan Sunny and upcoming Maruti Suzuki Ciaz in the sub-continent market.

Traditionally, the midlife facelifts of the car do not get many changes in terms of styling and design and it is likely to be the same with the new avatar of Rapid as well. However, the car is expected to receive a major makeover under the hood, which is a new 1.5-liter four-cylinder TDI diesel motor with an automatic gearbox.

The new 1.5-liter four-cylinder TDI diesel, which made its debut with the new Polo has the capacity to churn out 105 PS of power and 250 Nm of peak torque. It is expected to come mated to a six-speed DSG automatic gearbox and the petrol variant of Rapid is likely to pack the same 1.6 litre MPI petrol engine. As of now, nothing has been said about the price of the new Rapid avatar, however, rumours suggest a price tag in the sub ₹10 lakh range.

Recently, Skoda launched its new Yeti facelift in India with a price tag of ₹18.99 lakh (ex-showroom, Delhi). Under the hood, the new Yeti packs the same 2.0 litre diesel engine, which features in the current Yeti and continues to have two states of tune. The 4×2 Elegance variant gets 110 PS at 4,200 rpm and 250 Nm of torque and comes mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

On the other hand, the all-wheel drive version, 4×4 Elegance model, can churn out 140 PS of power at 4,200 rpm and 320 Nm of torque. It is mated to a six-speed manual transmission.

Inside the cabin, the Yeti facelift gets three spoke leather-wrapped steering wheel, keyless entry with push button start, electrically adjustable driver seat, electrically-foldable wing mirrors and an eight-speaker audio system.