Overall rating:

Skoda adds more diversity to the Rapid range with the new Sportback, a compact choice that it says promises "a bit more car".

Key Facts

Model tested: Skoda Rapid Spaceback 1.2 TSI
Pricing: £15,480
Engine: 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol
Transmission: front-wheel drive, five-speed manual
Body style: five-door hatchback
Rivals: Hyundai i30, Kia cee'd, SEAT Leon
CO₂ emissions: 119g/km
Combined economy: 55.3mpg
Top speed: 111mph
0-62mph: 11.7 seconds
Power: 84hp at 4,800rpm
Torque: 160Nm at 1,500- to 3,500rpm

In the Metal:

The Spaceback is a hatchback, of a hatchback. Confused? So are we, particularly as the space in the back of this new Skoda isn't actually as generous as in its regular Rapid relation. It looks more conventional though, and while it might lack a bit of its relation's ultimate boot volume it's pretty comfortable if you're sat in the back - leg- and head room impressing. There's nothing to get overly excited about inside, as it's all clear and functional in that typical Skoda way, and solidly built too.

Externally, it's a Rapid with a more conventional hatchback rear. Squint and there are echoes of Audi's A3 Sportback, though Skoda's designer's talk of it being a more 'emotional shape' don't really ring true. Simple and crisp, as it should be with a Skoda, and there's nothing wrong with that.

Driving it:

Powered here by the lower of the 1.2-litre TSI turbocharged petrol units the performance isn't particularly sparkling; it's adequate rather than exceptional. The 1.2-litre engine needs working fairly hard to make decent progress, though the five-speed manual gearbox offers a relatively crisp shift - the bigger output model gets a six-speed unit.

It might need working fairly hard, but it remains refined when doing so and revs with some enthusiasm. If you want a faster one there's always that 105hp version or the 1.4 TSI with 122hp - though that's only offered in DSG automatic guise. The diesels consist of a 90- or 105hp 1.6-litre TDI, their greater torque making for an easier, less frenetic drive.

The DSG, when mated to the 1.6-litre TDI, keeps busy, and it's not the smoothest in its operation; likewise the engine, which delivers a marked clatter at various points in the rev range. The steering is accurate enough, the suspension doing a decent job of managing ride comfort and good control, the drive, like the styling, being ordinary rather than remarkable in any way.

What you get for your Money:

The Rapid Spaceback is a difficult car to position. Skoda might claim it's 'a bit more car', but the reality is it's not got as capacious a boot as its plain-old Rapid relation. The Spaceback is the more conventional hatchback to look at, the Rapid looking more saloon in profile. Entry S models are very basically specified for luxuries, though come commendably loaded with safety equipment and manual air conditioning.

SE features alloy wheels, Bluetooth telephone connection, steering wheel controls for the telephone and radio - which gain additional speakers - as well as rear parking sensors all as standard. Elegance adds some chrome, climate control and larger alloy wheels as well as an improved trip computer.

Worth Noting

All versions of the Skoda Rapid Spaceback are offered with Greentech specification, which adds brake energy recuperation and start-stop, dropping CO₂ by between 5- and 10g/km depending on model.

Summary

In isolation the Rapid Spaceback is a thoroughly competent, if unremarkable compact hatchback. Against its obvious Korean rivals it's worthy of consideration too, though the biggest competition it arguably faces is from other Skoda models. The standard Rapid offers a bigger boot and is cheaper, while it's not too much of a financial leap to get into the Rapid Spaceback's bigger Octavia relation - and that is the car we'd leave the showroom with.