Rapid with hatchback appeal

Warming to the Skoda Rapid Spaceback took me some time; I liked the look of the car, the space and the features, but it wasn’t an instant attraction. But then the Skoda Rapid Spaceback is not that sort of car – sport in style, but not necessarily so in nature. The car did grow on me and the longer that I drove it the more I came to appreciate it. But why did it take so long?

There may be a certain blandness to the design, but there’s a practical feel to the car. The entry-level model was my steed for the test drive. It comes powered by a lively 1.2-litre turbo-petrol engine with a TSI badge at the rear. The entry model has 86bhp output and there is a slightly more powerful version available.

I have driven this engine in a number of other cars and I was surprised at how well it powered the Rapid Spaceback. It won’t turn you into a boy racer, but it has enough pace, even with a good load on board.

The Rapid Spaceback is also available with diesel power, but this petrol engine option is almost as economical and comes with a similar €200 annual road tax rate. The 1.2 TSI acceleration was impressive for the size of the car at 11.7 seconds from 0-100km/h, but I had to work at it.

The engine remained smooth through all five speeds in the gearbox, even if I needed some revs to get there. When cruising at close to the 120km/h limit, the engine was revving at close to 3,000rpm and it was getting a shade noisy.

It remained reasonably economical, as I came close to within 20% of the official 19.6km/litre (5.1l/100km or 55 mpg) rating. That impressed me for a petrol engine and made it a competitive car to own and run. I felt that in the Rapid, petrol was making a comeback.

With a large 55-litre fuel tank, that level of economy gave me a range of over to 800km. That’s confirmed in my mind as impressive petrol-car economy, with lower annual servicing costs, giving the Rapid Sport petrol a competitive three-year ownership cost.

Moving through the gears was smooth and easy. The new electro-mechanical steering system gave a confident feel.

For a car that feels big due to the panoramic sunroof on the test model, the towing rating is very low at 900kg with a braked trailer.

While there’s loads of boot space, the low pulling power is a downside for rural drivers, even if the car is factory-kitted out for the addition of a tow bar. Diesel power adds 300kg to the towing rating – still reasonably low.

The dash layout is simple and clear, but a shade on the plastic side. The dials are easy to use, as it the Bluetooth mobile phone set-up. The radio itself seems a little complicated; I just like easy-to-use big buttons.

The test car had satnav, which is part of an extra price deal. I was surprised that a driver’s height adjustable seat was on the options list. The test car had a spare wheel, but unfortunately it’s not part of the standard deal.

There’s loads of safety kit in the car, including twin airbags, side and curtain airbags. The rear seats are ISO-Fix compatible for child and booster seats. The Euro NCAP rating is good at five stars, which was for the older saloon car model, but will surely carry through the Rapid Spaceback.

The boot is spacious and it’s easy to fold the 60:40 rear seats to give more storage room, but you don’t get a flat floor for the effort.

The Active version entry price is competitive at €17,495 or £14,340 in Northern Ireland, but you need to go up to the Ambition grade to get alloy wheels, multi-function steering wheel, Bluetooth and air conditioning, and that costs almost €2,000 or £1,000 – a bit of a hike. You’ll pay a lot more for an entry-level Volkswagen Golf or even a Seat Leon Sportback with less space. And this leaves the Rapid Spaceback a more attractive deal.

This car grew on me for lots of simple and practical reasons. It’s easy to drive, spacious and affordable, with a growing Skoda reliability record.

Don’t be taken in by the entry price – you need to spend more to make the Rapid Spaceback love last.

Skoda Rapid Spaceback