While the Skoda Rapid diesel has been a popular seller in the mid-size sedan segment, Honda, despite having conquered the popularity charts with its City sedan, couldn't compete owing to the lack of an oil burner before. But now, the new 1.5-litre diesel in the latest City is expected to shake things up. We pit the two capable mid-sizers to see who holds the ace.
Performance and refinement
While the Honda City's 1.5-litre i-DTEC motor -- shared with the Amaze -- makes 99bhp and 20.39kgm of torque, the Skoda Rapid pushes out 105bhp and 25.5kgm, a considerable edge. Performance is obviously more exciting in the Skoda although where the Honda has shone through is with responsiveness and driveability. The City pulls forward with little throttle lag and this makes it very predictable and a breeze to drive in traffic. Push on and the performance tails off past 3000rpm. So, it's best to upshift early and enjoy the power. Power on the Rapid, however, is not as instantaneous as on the Honda. But once the turbo kicks in, it's a lot more prompt. In gear acceleration times are also a lot quicker. It gets to 100kph from standstill 3.3sec faster than the City. When it comes to engine noise, the Skoda Rapid is a lot more refined than the Honda City, which is quite noisy.
Uday Singh
Dipan Sur
Glenn Noronha
