Skoda Rapid Successor To Have Longest Wheelbase In Its Segment

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Skoda Rapid replacement will debut in early 2022 and it will be based on the heavily localised MQB A0 IN platform

Skoda Auto India is certainly working on a replacement for the Rapid mid-size sedan and it could go by the name Laura or Slavia. It is the second model from Skoda underpinned by the MQB A0 IN platform as the Kushaq will go on sale in the coming weeks. Both come under the India 2.0 project, in which, a billion euros have been invested over the last three years.

The outgoing Rapid is based on the PQ25 platform, which is no more in the business in the international markets. The five-seater has remained unchanged internally since its debut in India back in November 2011, and it will soldier on past a decade mark, as a brand new generation (or we can call it as a replacement) will arrive in early 2022.

The mid-size sedan segment saw the introduction of the fifth-generation Honda City last year while the Yaris will be replaced by Toyota Belta and the latest Hyundai Verna has been available since 2017. In a similar fashion to Skoda, Volkswagen will bring in a Vento replacement based on the Virtus sold in the global markets.

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Both the sedans had already been spotted testing on public roads. The Rapid replacement sits on the heavily localised MQB A0 IN architecture meaning that it could be priced aggressively and it will offer bigger proportions to liberate more space on the inside. It will reportedly enable the largest bootspace as well as the longest wheelbase within the segment.

As for the styling, the Czech Republican automaker will utilise design cues following in the latest crop of models sold abroad. It will likely have a slender headlamp cluster with redesigned Butterfly front grille, sporty fog lamps and wide central air intake, a large greenhouse, sculpted boot structure, elegant character lines, and so on.

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Under the bonnet, it will use a 1.0-litre three-cylinder TSI turbo petrol kicking out just over 110 PS while a 1.5-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol engine producing 150 PS could be offered in the top-end variants as well. A six-speed manual transmission will be standard while a six-speed torque converter AT and a seven-speed DSG could be optional.