2020 Skoda Rapid With New 1.0-litre Turbo Petrol To Launch In April

Published On Dec 18, 2019 05:21 PM By Dhruv for Skoda Rapid

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Skoda plans to bring in the updated Rapid once we cross over into the BS6 era and it will become a petrol-only offering

New Rapid will be launched in April 2020 once BS6 norms come into effect.
It will be a petrol-only offering with a new 1.0-litre turbo-petrol engine underneath the bonnet.
The design of the Rapid is expected to be tweaked; could draw inspiration from the global Fabia facelift.
Diesel Rapid will stay on sale till the end of March 2020.
New Rapid will be priced in the Rs 9 lakh to Rs 14 lakh (ex-showroom India) price bracket.

It has now been confirmed that Skoda will launch the BS6 Rapid in India in April 2020. The 2020 Rapid will get a whole host of mechanical and cosmetic changes.

The biggest change will be underneath the bonnet of the sedan. The Czech carmaker has taken control of both Skoda and Volkswagen’s activities in India and it has no plans to upgrade the current 1.5-litre diesel engine to meet the new BS6 emission norms. Even the 1.6-litre petrol engine is expected to be shown the door.

instead, a new 1.0-litre turbo-petrol will be the engine that all compact Volkswagen and Skoda cars will use in the BS6 era. This engine will be available in two states of tune, one that makes 95PS/175Nm and another that makes 115PS/200Nm. Transmission duties will be taken care of by a either a 6-speed manual or the 7-speed DSG that’s currently offered with smaller Skoda and Volkswagen cars.

Pictured: Euro-spec Fabia

On the outside, the design is expected to feature subtle changes to the headlamps, tail lamps and bumpers that could mirror the Fabia facelift sold in Europe. Inside too, expect few changes with Skoda likely to revamp the upholstery.

Also Read: Next-gen Skoda Rapid Teased In Russia; India Launch Likely In 2022

Skoda could showcase the new Rapid at the 2020 Auto Expo before its launch in April. If you are interested in buying a diesel version of the Rapid, do so before the end of March 2020 as after that, there will be no diesel variants left to buy. The current Rapid retails between Rs 8.81 lakh and Rs 12.44 lakh (ex-showroom India). Some of the variants of the Rapid are currently being offered at a discount, and you can know more about them here.

We expect Skoda to price the new Rapid in the same price bracket as the current car. However, the price of the higher variants could touch Rs 14 lakh (ex-showroom). The BS6 Rapid will continue to rival the likes of Honda City, Hyundai Verna, Maruti Suzuki Ciaz and the upcoming Volkswagen Virtus.