Skoda tests a brand new sedan. It concerns a compact four-door that will be placed on a cheaper version of the MQB A0 platform. It is not yet entirely clear what we have in front of us here.
Skoda has sent a packed test sample of a new sedan into the Austrian Alps. For those who were not yet completely clear why this Czech is so strikingly decked out, Skoda has just stuck a message on the back of the car. Less clear, however, is what exactly it is.
Skoda Rapid (India)
Skoda recently announced a new sedan-like for the Indian market and we suspect that this is the most famous model hiding under this tight sticker sheet. If we look at the Indian model range of Skoda, we come across the Rapid Sedan, which has now become quite old. That is one of the many budget sedans of the Volkswagen Group. For example, Skoda presented a renewed Rapid Sedan in China at the beginning of last year, but that is in fact a different car. The Indian Skoda Rapid is basically a Volkswagen Vento, which is secretly just a Polo Sedan of the previous generation. The Indian Rapid was last refreshed in 2016 and that means that the model is on its last legs. The packed test car in these photos could just be its successor.
Volkswagen Virtus
The new Indian Rapid, which may be called Slavia, named after this stubborn student project, in profile is quite similar to the Volkswagen Virtus presented in South America in 2017. The Vitus is in fact the sedan version of the current Polo generation. It is not inconceivable that Skoda will park the car placed on the MQB-A0 platform on a slightly cheaper variant of that platform. That is the so-called MQB-Ao-IN base that Skoda introduced under the Kushaq.