The downshifts are quick and can be felt in the cabin if you ask for an aggressive downshift. This gives you a clean and fast acceleration no matter when you put your foot down. This means it does not upshift until the next gear too is within turbo range. Because going under the turbo will spoil your experience, the transmission always holds revs high. If you are an enthusiast driver who loves going for gaps and is often driving closer to the speed limit than most, the Rapid is going to be a rewarding drive. Depending on what kind of a driver you are, this will either make you enjoy your drive or get you a bit annoyed. The Rapid’s engine feels the strongest in the mid-range and the transmission has been tuned to complement that nature. This is where the new transmission comes in. Highway (100 kilometers test on Expressway and State highway) Initially, it can be a little confusing finding the right driving position, although a few days of driving and you’ll find that sweet spot.ġ7.48s (50 kilometers test through mid day traffic) You will find its long travel a bit odd though, considering that the biting point comes quite early in its range of motion. The clutch is super light so even Bombay traffic jams won’t leave you with worn out cartilages in your knee. It slots in smoothly and the short throws work well in tandem with the sporty nature of this engine. In our tests, the Rapid returned 17.13kmpl on the highway.Īnd lest we forget, the new 6-speed manual complements the engine well. In such a scenario, you’ll find this engine to be quite fuel efficient as well. This offers a rather calm cruise on the highway. And if you are not chasing redlines, looking to extract every ounce of performance, you can calmly slot it in sixth gear at 90kmph. What it also means is that you end up seeing high-triple digit speeds in third gear itself if you are really going for it. The tall gearing allows you to keep pulling past traffic without feeling the need to change gears. It might have its limitations in the city but you’ll find that this small petrol motor feels right at home on the highway. It returned a fuel efficiency of 12.79kmpl in our city test. The Rapid will also be easy on your pocket. The surge in torque is surprising, but you can easily modulate it using the throttle once you get used to it. So if you are driving around sedately, you’ll have to work a little to make quick overtakes, like dropping a gear. Prod the throttle and hold it there and you’ll suddenly be greeted by a huge surge of torque that comes in at around 2200rpm. Nothing that won’t get you around town but you won’t have any power on tap. However, drive constantly below 2000rpm and you will find that the Rapid feels sluggish. It revs quite cleanly and power in the top part is quite evenly spread out. Get going and you’ll find that the Rapid TSI is an easygoing partner in the city. And that is where you’ll find that ‘small’ three-cylinder story come to an end. This is something you can expect from a three-cylinder engine. Strangely enough, the only vibrations you’ll feel are at idle, and that too, tiny amounts from the seats. Slot that key into the ignition and turn it (yes, you still don’t get push button start/stop) and the new engine comes to life with a thrum that your ears will instantly recognise as the clattery noise of a three-cylinder engine. The only transmission option for now is a 6-speed manual, although a 6-speed torque converter will be offered in the near future. And the turbocharger helps it dish out a healthy 110PS and 175Nm of peak torque. Your only option now is a 1.0-litre, three-cylinder turbo petrol engine.
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