[VW2010]

I guess the stock tyres were one of the reason for me to pick the Jetta over the Laura though i knew i could save some moolah in getting the Laura.

The noise that these stock tyres generate on bumpy roads is far more compared to the Jetta set up.

Its good that your upgraded but i too feel you should have looked out for the 215/65 R15 which makes the look of the car, better, and ride even better.

I have just 7k on my car, so when the time comes i really want to upgrade to a 225/50/16 but i know i will find it hard to get those set up.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

I am pretty sure, they are better than those atrocious NCT5's. You said, you shifted them to the Punto. Did they fit?

Punto came with 195/60R15 Goodyear GT3 tires, which were even worse than the NCT5 it currently rides on. 195/65R15 are taller than Punto OE size with around 3% difference in overall diameter, which is on higher side.

Also, I see the soiled seats, and smile thinking, I am not the only one with such seats. Leather to be done pronto. DRL's look great. Like I mentioned last time, get some more things done, since your ASC does it phokat mein

Will figure out more stuff by the time next service is due.

OT: Is that your house in the background? If so, lovely house!

Thanks, that's my place(Not in Gurgaon).

Originally Posted by noopster

Nice. Have been toying with the idea of getting new shoes for my Vento as well at around 15K but don't have any car to transfer the Aceleres to (Swift is 14" and has fairly new A drives), so will wait out another year or so

Your car deserves a pair of Yoko/Michelins.

I noticed the house as well- really beautiful.

Thanks

Slightly offtopic: I notice you've put T-BHP stickers across the defogger strips. Does this affect the performance of the defoggers? I have stuck LCLC on the right top corner of the rear windshield but would so love to put the LTD on the centre positioned as you have. Been holding back since someone told me it will mess with the defogger.

Sticker is pasted on the outer side and the defogger is on inner side of the rear glass. Even with the sunfilm the defogger work without any issues.

Originally Posted by VW2010

I guess the stock tyres were one of the reason for me to pick the Jetta over the Laura though i knew i could save some moolah in getting the Laura.

What you dropped this car just for these tires? Anyways Jetta is a equally good car. Checkout new Jetta's interiors and you will appreciate your car even more.

The noise that these stock tyres generate on bumpy roads is far more compared to the Jetta set up.

I have seen these tires as OE in Mercedes C Class. Even Chevy Cruze comes with even super terrible JK tires. OE tires are normally not good tires, its a good idea to upgrade just after the purchase.

Its good that your upgraded but i too feel you should have looked out for the 215/65 R15 which makes the look of the car, better, and ride even better.

215/60R15 was the perfect upgrade size for my car, but this odd size is not available through official Yoko/Michelin dealers here. I did not want to go in for grey market supply since it would have been a tough job to source a single tire later in case if any of the tires get damaged in future.

[.anshuman]

Got a call from Skoda Insurance, to remind me of renewal of Insurance which is due in a month's time. The telecaller had the local insurance chap from Gurgaon on line on conference, a few queries and some time of thinking later got the insurance renewed with them. This time i took Zero Depreciation insurance with all the add on packs, including the engine protector, free tow service etc. Paid close to 32k after NCB and other discounts.

My car has done close 20k kms now. No issues to report, the car is 100% as good as the day it was delivered. Build quality continues to impress, with most of the time spent on no roads, i cannot point out a single squeak or rattle, even with Audio system and Blower off on worst of roads. The only distant rattle from boot disappeared on it's own when i rearranged the stuff in boot a few months ago.

10,000 more kms to go before the car goes for next service. Expect a mega yearly report at the end of this month when the car completes one year.

Some fresh pictures. Some of them are from Auto Image thread, others are from Diwali day.








^ This one is a old pic.




^This pic clicked by AceF355

[.cArMaNiA]

Great pics, you have maintained your car pretty well. It looks as good as a new car. Formula1 wax is working great for your car. 32k including zero dep is a steal i guess. I paid 55k for ICICI lombard for my new laura recently including zero dep. Did you go for Bajaj or Lombard?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by .cArMaNiA

Great pics, you have maintained your car pretty well. It looks as good as a new car. Formula1 wax is working great for your car. 32k including zero dep is a steal i guess. I paid 55k for ICICI lombard for my new laura recently including zero dep. Did you go for Bajaj or Lombard?

Does your insurance include Skoda Shield(extended warranty in Skoda language)? My insurance is by Bajaj Allianz. The insurance amount comes down every year with the declared value/IDV of car.

[DeKay]

Hi Anshuman,
First of all, I would like to say that yours is THE BEST skoda laura review on this forum. Filled with pictures, information and all the other necessary details one needs to know. Needless to say, you have maintained the car beautifully.
Great to hear that you have no rattles or squeaks in your car. I would reject the best and the most VFM cars today because they tend to rattle.

That said, what I want to ask you is, Is the MT Laura ambiente a good buy over the New Jetta Trendline? The Trendline lacks on features, but it has a much powerful 140bhp engine and more safety features than the Laura.
If you have driven the Jetta, it would be great if you could chip in your views on this. Also, how would you compare the solid build quality of the Laura with that of the Jetta?

[adi_petrolhead]

just felt like posting it.. Don't worry my Engine Cover is not Stolen. was giving the car a Sunday Clean up! well deserved clean up after the 2500 long trip. I took my Laura from Ahmedabad to Delhi for the F1 and back. time taken on the road? 12 hours one way. 930 kms.
FE? 17-19 km/l. I am more than delighted with the FE as i know i never went below 100 km/h during the entire journey. max 120 km/h.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by DeKay

That said, what I want to ask you is, Is the MT Laura ambiente a good buy over the New Jetta Trendline? The Trendline lacks on features, but it has a much powerful 140bhp engine and more safety features than the Laura.
If you have driven the Jetta, it would be great if you could chip in your views on this. Also, how would you compare the solid build quality of the Laura with that of the Jetta?

Let me, as an extensive driver of both the cars pitch in here.

If you are satisfied with the rear legroom of the Laura, I d recommend it over the Jetta. The Laura, even in its MT variant is adequately powerful and offers very good drivability. Though styling is a personal preference, the Laura, to me, looks richer and more luxurious than the Jetta.

The build quality, inside and outside, is much better in the Laura than the Jetta. Moreover, the Laura's cabin offers that plush feel which is certainly a segment higher than the Jetta's and that is something which adds a lot of satisfaction quotient to the owner in this segment.

Happy Choosing..!!

[.cArMaNiA]

Originally Posted by adi_petrolhead

just felt like posting it.. Don't worry my Engine Cover is not Stolen. was giving the car a Sunday Clean up! well deserved clean up after the 2500 long trip. I took my Laura from Ahmedabad to Delhi for the F1 and back. time taken on the road? 12 hours one way. 930 kms.
FE? 17-19 km/l. I am more than delighted with the FE as i know i never went below 100 km/h during the entire journey. max 120 km/h.

Laura is meant for giving great FE figures. I bought mine 2 months back & i am too impressed with the figures this car gives. Now with very light foot drive i get close to 20km/lt in city & highway mix driving. Recently i managed to get a FE of 27.8km/lt ( pics attached in my thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ighlight=laura on highway. (but i restricted myself to 85km/h to get these figures)

[.cArMaNiA]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Does your insurance include Skoda Shield(extended warranty in Skoda language)? My insurance is by Bajaj Allianz. The insurance amount comes down every year with the declared value/IDV of car.

Yes, my insurance does include skoda shield. It is must to have for Skoda after hearing about their horrifying A.S.S. I know insurance amount comes down yearly, still i think you got a good deal. Anyways my laura's insurance renewal is due after year only, so many more months to go before deciding on it .

[Swanand Inamdar]

Absolutely lovely pics there, Anshuman. I loved the one in B&W. Adds so much charachter to the car!

My insurance is due too, and likewise, have gone in for zero dep for the Laura too.
Whats the add on packs (engine protector, free towing et al)? I wasnt offered this. Need to check with BA soon, before my cheque is debited.

[contactme27]

Originally Posted by .cArMaNiA

Laura is meant for giving great FE figures. I bought mine 2 months back & i am too impressed with the figures this car gives. Now with very light foot drive i get close to 20km/lt in city & highway mix driving. Recently i managed to get a FE of 27.8km/lt ( pics attached in my thread http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...ighlight=laura on highway. (but i restricted myself to 85km/h to get these figures)

27.8 is too good to hear. The max mileage I noticed is 18 km/lt in my Laura. Yea, one thing I agree I never driven the at 80-90 km/h on highways. I always on 120 speeds. I am happy with 18kms on highway with 120 speeds.

[redohabitat]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

It is not fair to compare the roll on time of a Diesel to a Petrol who has a altogether different power delivery and gear ratios. Except for the in gear roll on, that too when Cruze is at peak, after 2200-2300rpm, the TSi is better performer in every other count, be it Acceleration, be it wider spread of torque. AFAIK 1.8 TSI has a electronically limited Top speed of 223kph, meaning 250kph in the speedo. To compare Apples to Apples, the TDI i drive starts rushing from 1400rpm and it is in powerband all the way till redline, still delivering a realistic 1000km Tank range on highways with an Automatic Transmission. CR TDI 140 too can hit 210kph.

Directly comparing the dynamics, Laura has it covered on all aspects, Cruze has a slightly more flatter ride but at expense of ability to cushion. You are the first person i have come across who claims Cruze to be dynamically superior than Laura. Laura has a very good high speed composure, it does not get unsettled due to wind at speed. Don't believe me, go through all the professional Reviews, ownership reports and International reviews.

Hello Anshuman! I have been following your posts, mainly as you owned an elantra. I am looking for a second hand Automatic diesel sedan in between 6 to 7 lakhs, and have narrowed down to Elantra and Octavia. Could you please suggest, as an automatic is a must, being a lady driven car. I am confused as I also dont see any automatic diesel Octavias.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by redohabitat

Hello Anshuman! I have been following your posts, mainly as you owned an elantra. I am looking for a second hand Automatic diesel sedan in between 6 to 7 lakhs, and have narrowed down to Elantra and Octavia. Could you please suggest, as an automatic is a must, being a lady driven car. I am confused as I also dont see any automatic diesel Octavias.

Elantra only came with a manual transmission. For more information and my experience with this car check out my ownership thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...-now-sold.html

Octavia TDI had an AT variant. This variant sold in very small numbers and will be difficult to find in used car market. AFAIK it had a 4 speed torque converter AT. I have not driven this variant.

Finding a properly maintained Laura PD DSG will be a very tough task. Remember a badly maintained Laura PD DSG will be very expensive to maintain. If you must buy this car, make sure the car comes with genuine service record, make sure to check if all periodic maintenance was carried out as per schedule. The Pumpe Düse engine may feel a bit too loud now amongst the newer CRDI engines. Info on PD engine Unit Injector - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Another used Diesel car option is Sonata Embera/Transform, though it will be hard to find, this car is cheap to maintain for a car of this segment, supremely comfortable and reliable. But it is not as fun to drive as Elantra or Laura. I'd recommend MT over AT here.

[sudhir3127]

Hi Anshuman !!
I plan to get a car for around 20l +/- 2L in next 3-4 months (OTR Mumbai). I have short listed Laura L&K and Jetta HL AT. Which one do you recommend ? My priorities are great driving , fast and good handling car !! Please let me know I case you feel I should add some other cars in the list by stretching my budget .
Thanks for you help