Comparison test : Skoda Laura V Octavia .

[Beemer]

Firstly, i know these two cars are placed at all together different segments but i had to check out and compare these two cos i had to choose between the two ... Having said that IMO these cars does make a lot of sense to be compared ,believe me they are very much alike ...

I took the test drive of both the cars on monday(sorry for posting a lil late as i was lil busy) ,the Laura and the Octavia ..

It was a short test drive though ,but was sufficient to open the mind .

DESIGN :
Laura : The front end is totally changed and that differs it from what looks like any other octavia . The side is exactly the same and the rear is somewhat kinda looks Facelifted ... Its only the front that makes it look different otherwise even a trained (Bhpian) eye would be in two minds(espically when we look from the sides).
I dont think there much to say between the two except that the Laura is margionally more Bigger(2-3 inches) Wider (1-2 inches) Taller (2-3 inches) .

ENGINE :
As we all know ,the engines are the same but the technology is different ...
I revved hard both the cars and TBH i did NOT find any difference in the acceleration of the two ... Both the engines are equally noisy .. the Laura def has a better tuned engine but i was unable to find out any difference in the initial acceleration. (it could be because one is a manual whereas the other has the DSG) .
The true comparsion would take place when we compare the Laura manual .

ENGINE - SAME(seems that way) .

INTERIORS
Now this is one of those areas where i was not able to distinguish between the two ,as i ve said many a times ,the Space is more or less the same in both the cars(except the rear passenger seat,which marginally has more leg room) but believe me guys no matter what ,you CANNOT seat 3 people at the back due to the lack of shoulder room and that is inexcusable in a car of Rs. 18 lacs

The Material used in the Laura is of a very High Quality ,better than the Octavia , Accord ,Camry , the best in the class ... The one with the black body color has a two tone (black+beige) interiors and let me tell you ,it looks fantastic ,very pleasing to eyes and the Doors shut with now even more of that "THUD" sound ... Once you shut the doors ,you leave the outside world where it belongs ,the car is very quiet inside(its only the engine sound) ,quieter than the Octavia ...
The drivers seat is electrically adjustable and there are host of
features you get in the Laura ....

SPACE - SAME(nearly)
QUALITY - LAURA .

GEARBOX :

We all are familiar with the fantastic gearbox the Octavia has ..
The laura has the DSG and guys believe me the best part i liked about the Laura is the DSG(all those guys who praised it and were going gaga over this new technology were not wrong by any means) ..

Man,the way it changes gear is just impeccable ,you dont actually feel it ... All you have to do is push the throttle and enjoy the seamless gear change .. In one word FANTASTIC .

GEARBOX - The DSG in a league of its own .

RIDE QUALITY :

The ride quality again was nearly the same in the two (atleast in the front) ,very comfortable and soaking up all the bumps with ease ,giving a plush ride on all kind of roads ... The laura seemed marginally better on the rough roads though . But overall excellent ride quality in both ...

RIDE QUALITY - Laura better but just by a whisker .

VFM Factor :

Now thats where the octavia which is priced at 12ish ON ROAD makes you feel special , i mean the car which is getting compared to the Lura priced at 18n lacs (i know the Octavia is not a direct competitor ,but when you sit in both ,compare both ,you do get a sense they are very much alike) must be truly something ... and after driving the Octavia i feel the Laura is way OVERPRICED ..

IMHO ,A car of its size ,catogery should not be priced this high . I agree the car has all the world class features and loads and loads of safety features too but that does not change the overall feel of the car ....

Now ,tomorrow if you get the same features in the Honda City and the price of 11-12 lacs ,nobody of us would go and buy it cos that place/category belongs to the Civic ,not the NHC .

VFM = Octavia by farrrr ...
Bring in the base version of Laura at 14ish and that could turn the tables .

The Laura as we all know in real is the NEW OCTAVIA and it clearly shows when you compare the two .

P.s. While i was standing at the red light, i was looking here and there to find out whether it is a Head-turner and if people were giving a second look to the Laura but i must say i was not impressed ... It was way less than the kinda impression a 18 lac rupee Newly launched car should get ..
I feel, even few years after its launch ,the Accord does make the Head turn when compared to the Newly launched "Laura" .

[GTO]

Extremely realistic review, Beemer. Everyone agrees that the New Octavia is "that much" better than the old Octavia but is it 50% better (as the price would indicate)?

A flat NO. Forget the new Octavia, people get confused in locating a Superb on the roads due to the extreme design similarities.

GTO

[MrBoombastic]

Nice comparison review, Beemer. Believe it or not, every morning, I still get tempted to book a Skoda Laura for the lack of a better choice as of now... Even this morning, I called the Skoda dealer to ask him how many cars with 8 airbags he has left, but Motormom's constant vigil/ opinion on the Laura keep me in check and now, your nice review has further made my mind stronger for me to drop the Laura as a choice... Thanks, bhai.

You are so right about not being able to seat three normal built people at the rear in the Skoda Laura... What's worse is that the Laura has that center bulge in the rear legroom area (something the new Civic will be free of) and rear a/c vents which thanks to that bulge would make the person sitting in the middle at the rear very uncomfortable.

Oops! I forgot to add this... You are so right about the engine too... If we would've got the 2.0PD engine, the Laura would've been in my garage by now.

[Insane Devil]

heya Beemer! very very good comparision

u r rite abt the Front and Rear looks, and well, i hope what u sayin abt the DSG gearbox is true, as i have not driven it yet, but just going for it by word of mouth, and the fact that as its a new technology, it will surely be better than the normal Automatics.

Well about head turnings... today, things are getting nasties, and ppl dont want heads turning their side. there are lots of ppl out there who can easily afford a E or S class, but still go around only in an Accord or something, coz the moment they get a "MERCEDES" they will have good heads and even the bad heads turning their side... by bad i mean, well in some cities, the problem of extortion and sh*t, and well the Income Tax guyz too.

In our case, we decided to go for the E-Class, but dad just couldnt go for it, coz as hez very active and popular in our religious community, the community ppl , whenever thye do some project, wud come right in ,and start pressuring for some big donation in gods name n all! and well, these religious things also have such politics, they get other bigshots of the community, so that in front of them if we say "no" we wud look cheapish kinda...

so in our case, its like, we wanted a car which is the best in feature and interior and engine wise, but from outside, should not turn any heads, should not grab any attention. Thus the reason ppl still buying Superbs. else, why do u think one wud go buy a Superb, which looks 95% like the Octavia, while a couple of lakhs more can get them the Mercedes C Class.

Beemer, thanx a lot for the comparision,

I would request u/mods, to post ur article in the "skoda Laura" thread itself as it wud be easier for ppl to read all reivews of Laura on one topic.

good work mite!

[Beemer]

Thanx tons to GTO ,Boombastic and ID .

Boombastic - Dost ,heres a salute to motormom for taking that exemplary decision ... After all its our own hard earned money, how can we let it go so easily .

Originally Posted by MrBoombastic

and rear a/c vents which thanks to that bulge would make the person sitting in the middle at the rear very uncomfortable..

Now, this was one of those things which made me laugh .. I mean ,how can they even think of giving such (luxury) things in a car, which cannot even make 3 people sit at the back .. Very Strange !

Insane Devil - Buddy , in your case Laura fits the bill completly . As for the DSG , its way superior than the normal Automatics , all i can tell you is ,at no point of time in your life ,you 'll ever regret your decision .. Go for it .

Its a well known fact that a person who buys a luxury car wants his car to be a head turner ,kinda different from others and raise his overall profile and the prime eg.(as you said) is the Merc C class ... We all know the Superb is way better car than the C class but just because it fails to raise the owners image ,people go for the Merc .

GTO - Buddy ,there was a time when i was one of those rare guys ,who never agreed to the title of the thread ,you started " Skoda india has been smoking dope" but having seen and driven the car thoroughly , all i can say is .. YES they definatly 've been smoking dope ..

[Insane Devil]

in our family its like, dad n mom live by themselves, and me seperate, and sis away for higher edu. so here the car will be used max for only 2 ppl! either me and dad will be travelling or dad and mom. it will hadly ever be more, but just in case there are more ppl, then 2 ppl will be sitting luxuriously in the back, the third will really suffer! atleast, if its all my uncles going together, i wud have a hard time sittin in the centre!

[GTO]

the Superb is way better car than the C class but just because it fails to raise the owners image ,

Oh boy, you were just about to start a debate out there. Driven the 220 CDI?

GTO

[MrBoombastic]

Why do we all forget that Skoda is nothing more than the poor man's (poor man= someone like me) Volkswagen? Like GTO has stated... Drive the 220CDI and you will know exactly what he means.

I hope y'all like the Skoda Auto logo in the above pic and I also hope MotorMom doesn't see what her son has been doing for the last 15 minutes at work

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by GTO

Oh boy, you were just about to start a debate out there. Driven the 220 CDI?

GTO

Skoda thinks C class isnt competition - they're aiming for E. I personally liked the Superb, but not at that price. Besides, your C is meant for a nuclear family...very nuclear.

[Steeroid]

Originally Posted by GTO

Oh boy, you were just about to start a debate out there. Driven the 220 CDI?

GTO

Skoda thinks C class isnt competition - they're aiming for E. I personally liked the Superb, but not at that price. Besides, your C is meant for a nuclear family...they must;ve been thinking in subatomic levels.

[Rtech]

Now, this was one of those things which made me laugh .. I mean ,how can they even think of giving such (luxury) things in a car, which cannot even make 3 people sit at the back .. Very Strange !

erm...the Maybach can seat only 2 in the back. I guess it shouldn't qualify as a luxury car as well by that logic!

[Insane Devil]

again guyz, the C class is an Entry level luxury, and its good for ppl like me, where the max sitting wud be 2 ppl only, that too both in the front.

yes, Superb is hitting at the E class, they aint giving no grass to the C Class!

yea GTO, i sat in a C class of our relative, and god i was shocked and VERY dissapointed seeing the interior space and the quality in the classic version!!! it was horrible! but i heard in the ELEGANT version, the interiors are much better, but legspace in the rear is good for kids only!

[MrBoombastic]

Originally Posted by GTO

Driven the 220 CDI?
GTO

Neither am I a defense lawyer for GTO/ Mercedes Benz nor do I have anything against Skoda, but I think GTO was referring to the engine performance levels and the driving dynamics of the 220CDI. Whether the Skoda Superb, Laura or Octavia, none of them can match the driving dynamics and engine performance levels of the 220CDI.

[tsk1979]

The octavia cant fit my 6'2" frame in front seat. my legs touch the dash. If laura is same, I guess skoda was really smoking banned substances

[GTO]

yea GTO, i sat in a C class of our relative, and god i was shocked and VERY dissapointed seeing the interior space and the quality in the classic version!!! it was horrible! but i heard in the ELEGANT version, the interiors are much better, but legspace in the rear is good for kids only!

Please feel free to check out my 220's interiors any time, or any other 2005+ C Class. The interior quality and presentation is light years ahead of what my 2003 C180 had. There is only one trim and no more a Classic or Elegant version offered in the C Class.

yes, Superb is hitting at the E class, they aint giving no grass to the C Class!

There is a subtle yet significant difference in what the company wants to position the car at, and what the reality is. Please study various international markets where the Superb is directly positioned against the Honda Accord / Toyota Camry gang. Initially, Maruti unsuccessfully tried to position the Baleno in the 8 lac Lancer / City bracket, did it work? The sales figures reflect how acceptable the market has found the Superbs positioning to be.

The ONLY advantage that the Superb has against the C Class is interior room. And size is not the only way to judge the "better" car. If that was the case, a Tata Sumo would have been crowned king for a decade.

I think GTO was referring to the engine performance levels and the driving dynamics of the 220CDI. Whether the Skoda Superb, Laura or Octavia, none of them can match the driving dynamics and engine performance levels of the 220CDI.

And Engineering depth. Spot on.

My only worry with the C220 is the surfacing of problems as I cross the 10,000 mark. Even the pitiable C180 was error free till 10 - 15 ks. Fingers crossed.

GTO