Skoda is just one of the many brands under the VW AG banner today, selling cars that are nothing but cheaper Volkswagens. Designers change the styling a bit, while the engineers stay on their buttocks or start work on the next platform that can be exploited massively in a next car generation.
As a consequence, I’d much rather buy a Skoda than a VW. Both brands tend to be a bit clinical in look and feel and not directly aimed at those that are brutally passionate about cars. So with that as a personal given, why buy the more expensive choice? Not that this is relevant, because I’ve never actually bought a Skoda – nor a VW by the way – because quite frankly they do little to my visual taste buds.
But that’s a fact that’s slowly changing. Showing me an Octavia or Fabia is a bit like showing me a roll of toilet paper; it does nothing to me. Show me one of those big and newer ones, the Superb, and I’ll unconsciously admire a couple of lines. I can absolutely see myself driving a luxury one of those when my budget would otherwise allow for a meager Passat. I quite like its unorthodox and fresh looks, even now, almost four years after the introduction of the second generation of the model.
I find it quite pleasurable to read then that Skoda has ambitions. In the coming years, the brand aims to release a new model onto the global automotive market every six months, according to the company’s CEO Winfried Vahland, during the Beijing Car Show. To kick that off, Skoda will hurl its all new Rapid into European dealerships by the end of this year. If you look through the hairs of your eyes, you’ll find it looks unsurprisingly much like a Jetta, but unlike that, it has actually got a differentiating snout.
Love the cool rims and the black roof. I’ll take one with a 180 hp 1.4 TSI, thanks.
