Hi guys - planning to start an ongoing thread WRT the Skoda Laura as I have not found too many here.
I got this used, 1 year old [to the date], with 10K km on the odo and in pristine condition [white] for 16.3 L [including dealer commission]. Picked it up on 11/08 at about 4pm.
Enjoyed the drive back to Indiranagar from Hosur Rd [as much as you can enjoy driving on Hosur Rd]. While the car was in pristine condition externally, the interiors were pretty dirty but not damaged. Made a mental note to get a polish and interior detailing done at the earliest. Found that the ORVMs were pointing down every time I got in the car even if I had set them before. Thought that this was a fault and only later realized that they have a memory which needs to be set.
Came home and went out for a party close by so no chance to drive much. Next morning went for 20-30 Km drive on ring road. Tried all the functions, tiptronic as well as the sports gear.
Came to notice following were not working: [Still with a year of warranty so was not worried]
- Audible as well as visual indicator for seatbelts
- Audible alarm for low fuel, door open etc
Driving:
There is a very marginal lag between when you press the accelerator and the car really picking up - just a few milliseconds and then the torque comes in and it surges. Pick up to 100 is better than any car that I have owned and the feeling is exhilarating. Torque and pick up compare very well with the Accord which was my other choice but decided against it because of it size. Low end torque is great and
gear changes are buttery smooth - far smoother than the only other Indian AT that I have driven, the Accord. This is probably because of the DSG box. Reached top speeds of 120 only as ring road has loads of traffic even at 7 am.
Suspension seems a bit firm but that was what I had expected from talking to other owners, the test drive and the reports that I had read. Certainly firmer than the Accord, but I think the handling is also better because of this.
Loved the feel of leather all around and the steering is very comfortable though the
horn takes a little getting used to.
Cruise control is great but not much chance to use on this drive.
Parktronic is integrated into the stereo and is great for parking. Word of caution here - it takes a wee bit of time to detect the change in distance so if you are driving a bit fast you may make contact [bang into
] the obstruction before the increase in pitch of the audible alarm has time to warn you. It gives a continuous sound when you are 30cm from the object. Another word of warning - this will not detect [I think] low lying obstructions like high kerbs/dividers etc.
While the
Tiptronic is great fun, I dont see myself using it that much [I may be wrong here though as I have yet to do a long highway drive]. The
sports mode really lets the engine rev higher before gear changes.
More on the driving aspects as I get to drive more [need to wrestle the keys from the wifeys hands to get my hands on this car].
Bit of
tyre noise which reduced when I corrected the tyre pressures - one was 4 psi above the recommended level [after the service too]. Manually checked the
oil and it was on the lower limit. No obvious leaks however and it was changed at the service.
The car feels very solid with solid doors and no hint of any body noise/rattle.
Goodies:
Here is a list of goodies which the Laura has that are not advertised so many [like me at least] don't know of.
Doors, Entry, Windows & Seating
- Seat/mirror memories for different drivers and different keys
- Coming home and leaving home lights - duration of which is adjustable and will not come on in daylight
- Removable rear seats to increase carry space hugely
- Doors which can be set to lock when car speed crosses 15 kmph [unlike my earlier cars where doors would lock with ignition and I had to open the doors for passengers yet waiting to get in
- Opening/closing of windows with the remote/central lock button inside the car
- Single touch closing/opening of all windows from the drivers seat
Driving
- Xenon headlights which automatically adjust to load and slope
- Auto dimming int/ext mirrors
- Auto light control - lights come on automatically when required
- Rain sensors and auto wipers - speed of wipers change with rain and car speed and sensitivity of this is user adjustable
- Mirror which automatically tilts down in reverse to see the kerb while parking
- Wipers give a courtesy wipe after 5 seconds of final wipe after a wash/wipe
- Traction control, Electronic Differential Lock, Electronic Stability Control, Brake Assist, ABS
- Slope assist where the brake stays on for a while even after the foot is removed to prevent roll back
- Tyre pressure monitoring
- Parking sensors come on automatically in R and goes off when more than 15kmph in drive - can be manually put on/off too
- 2 trip meters with complete details incl dist, time, consumption, avg speed, fuel remaining etc
- Heated windshield washer nozzles and rear mirrors - may be of use in the north?
- Wipers which come to rest in alternating positions - supposed to extend the life
- Of course cruise control which is advertised - would have preferred to have this on steering but its on the left stalk
Comforts- Cooled glove/center storage boxes
- On steering remotes for audio
- When the car is put into reverse gear, the climate control goes into recirculation mode to prevent fumes from getting into the cabin
- Headlamp washers
- Under RVM light to light the area under your door at time of entry/exit
- Heated seats - again for the north?
- Sunroof
- Lovely interior lighting as well as rear armrest
- Retractable sun shade for rear windscreen
- Climate control works great with a seven speed blower and individual driver/passenger temp controls
- Pictorial display of which door is open when the doors are opened
Safety
- Airbags all around
- Pretensioner for the seat belts - its in the manual but dont know if its provided
- ABS, Stability protection etc
- Foot pedals that move away in the event of a crash
Stereo-Quality of sound is very average- Stereo volume adjusts automatically with speed
- 6 CD MP3 in dash Changer with display of ID3 tags
- Volume can be set to reduce in reverse for parking
- On steering controls
Next day I left it with Ahmedjan on Ulsoor Rd for an exterior polish - 2.5K and the car looked like out of the showroom. Filled gas at Shell and set the tripmeter to check mileage
Service
Monday gave it to Tafe Skoda for the minor stuff. They said that the second free service was due, carried it out and consumables cost 5.4K. While the service was very pleasant and people were nice they said that there are no lose connections and the errors need to be rectified with computer coding which they have asked for from Skoda and will get it next week. Offered to come to my house with a laptop and do the needful. Today I spoke to them and they said that they have the info but I need to bring the car in which I will do sometime next week. Skoda kept the car for 2 days as I had left it a bit late and it was without an appointment.
Few short highway drives and plenty of city drives and I just love this car. Mornings spent with driving lessons for my wife hwo has driven an AT only a couple of times before. This will actually be her car while I am sticking to my trusty Lancer and will use this car for my long and night drives. She is a great car buff and loves this car too.
Gave the car to Pit Stop, Indiranagar for a detailing and he did a great job - 1.3K. Now the interiors look new too
Mileage
After about 400km , I topped up and the mileage it had given was 10km/l. This with crazy city driving, high speed accelerations on the ring road, and 2 days in the workshop where it was probably idling for long whiles. All with the AC on. Anything around or above 10kmpl will keep me very happy.
The on board display had at the same time shown a consumption of 10.8 km/l so I guess its off by about 1km/l. This from what I have read is user caliberatable if I get the VAG-COM software and the cable. Will look into that next.