[Klaus17]

Hi

Im confused between a Skoda Laura Ambiente and the Sonata Embera Crdi.

the points i am confused on

1) Is maintaince cost of Skoda that expensive as it is made out to be (read about that a lot on Tbhp plus heard about it from friends in terms of service costs, spare parts cost,......). Also read that the parts of Skoda are not available with your neighbourhood mechanic and everytime there is a problem you have to send the car to the dealer who then charges a bomb....

2) Do diesel cars give problems if the running isnt much? (never owned diesel car before......how much is the average running recommended for diesel engines)

3) How is the Sonatas Crdi engine. (heard about the Skoda diesel engines but never about Sonatas Crdi engine)

4) Need something cheap to run in terms of maintaince costs and spare parts. which is better is terms of ride quality and durability and sturdy. (we had a accord before now planning to go for a diesel).

5) Need this car for atleast 4-5 years. with a decent resale value.

6)Is the new face lifted versions(change of model) of the Laura and the Sonata Embera due soon?

7) We are getting the Skoda Laura ambiente for RS 14.5L on road and Sonata for Rs 15L on road(Is this the right price for mumbai). getting a discount of Rs1.5 lakhs on the sonata and Rs15000 on Laura.Both are manual. Are the prices right ?

which one would you guys suggest...

Regards
Klaus17

[karanraheja]

Originally Posted by Klaus17

Hi

Im confused between a Skoda Laura Ambiente and the Sonata Embera Crdi.

the points i am confused on

1) Is maintaince cost of Skoda that expensive as it is made out to be (read about that a lot on Tbhp plus heard about it from friends in terms of service costs, spare parts cost,......). Also read that the parts of Skoda are not available with your neighbourhood mechanic and everytime there is a problem you have to send the car to the dealer who then charges a bomb....

2) Do diesel cars give problems if the running isnt much? (never owned diesel car before......how much is the average running recommended for diesel engines)

3) How is the Sonatas Crdi engine. (heard about the Skoda diesel engines but never about Sonatas Crdi engine)

4) Need something cheap to run in terms of maintaince costs and spare parts. which is better is terms of ride quality and durability and sturdy. (we had a accord before now planning to go for a diesel).

5) Need this car for atleast 4-5 years. with a decent resale value.

6)Is the new face lifted versions(change of model) of the Laura and the Sonata Embera due soon?

7) We are getting the Skoda Laura ambiente for RS 14.5L on road and Sonata for Rs 15L on road(Is this the right price for mumbai). getting a discount of Rs1.5 lakhs on the sonata and Rs15000 on Laura.Both are manual. Are the prices right ?

which one would you guys suggest...

Regards
Klaus17

Klaus. Sonata is due for a minor facelift. It should be just around the corner.Expect better interiors in it. But Buying a Sonata will just lead to poor resale. Embera is hardly doing well. I would suggest you to go for Laura anyday. Laura has been selling quite well. Skoda 's A** still has to improve but its decent .

Skoda had plans of Laura to fit into Octavia s shoes and launch a new model above Laura. I just heard about this. This aint concrete info.

[DieselFan]

How about VW Jetta which may be coming to india pretty soon or one of the new high end Fiats with 1.9 MJD engine. Both Skoda and Hyundai has slightly dated Diesel technology and not advisable to buy them at this point in time.

[HappyGoLucky]

I had TDed the sonata and found it brilliant value for money. Loads of space and pretty good performance too. Overall luxury factor was decent.
Drove a friends Laura (top end) and found it cramped. Performance was ok. Luxury factor was good with loads of gadgets most of which I wont use. Certainly not value for money.

After 4-5 yrs am not sure about resale value. Skoda may lose its premium tag once VW starts bringing its products in at previous Skoda prices.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

How about VW Jetta which may be coming to india pretty soon or one of the new high end Fiats with 1.9 MJD engine. Both Skoda and Hyundai has slightly dated Diesel technology and not advisable to buy them at this point in time.

I Agree.

Skoda/VW Pumpe Duse is not the as good as Fiat Multijet CRDi.
I think you can look at Fiat Bravo/Linea.

[dhirajs]

Wait till july,you will have another option to choose from.The VW Jetta.
Will be priced around 14lacs

[cediafan]

Originally Posted by Klaus17

2) Do diesel cars give problems if the running isnt much? (never owned diesel car before......how much is the average running recommended for diesel engines)

The new generation deisel engines are vastly improved over the pre-CRDi era. Though the maintanence is higher petrol, you will more than make up with the cheaper fuel. I have not heard of deisel cars giving problems if they are not running much.

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by cediafan

Though the maintanence is higher petrol,

I am not sure about the maintenance part. Can you spell out why you think the maintenance would be high. With the new technology both Petrol and Diesel car maintenance almost go hand in hand.

[cediafan]

Originally Posted by DieselFan

I am not sure about the maintenance part. Can you spell out why you think the maintenance would be high. With the new technology both Petrol and Diesel car maintenance almost go hand in hand.

Well, for one petrol is much more refined than deisel (the reason why petrol costs more) and so there can be many deposits clogging up the engine which may require cleaning more frequently than petrol engines. You would notice that deisel engine require more servicing than petrol engines. As I said earlier, the new technology deisel engines are far superior than the earlier ones and not as high maintanance as the earlier ones.

[GTO]

The Laura is the better car, however it has lesser room, reliability is inconsistent and the after-sales (especially in Mumbai) is horrible! Its important to consider that you are moving from an Accord....you will find the Laura much smaller on the inside.

The Sonata has a great engine, and plenty of room inside. Urban ride quality is nice too. I'd say test-drive both and update us with your initial impressions. We'll take it from there.

[Klaus17]

il do that. going to testdrive the cars tomorrow. We were looking at the octavia also but the rear leg space is very less. the rear seats have no support otherwise that car is perfect.
will post my views on the test drive tomorrow.

can anyone tell me the average of the Crdi Sonata in city

Regards
Klaus17

[GTO]

If you were considering the Octavia, why not test-drive the Optra Magnum too? Great engine, roomy interiors and good ride quality too. I didn't suggest it earlier as it can be seen as a step back from the Accord.

[DieselFan]

Originally Posted by cediafan

Well, for one petrol is much more refined than deisel (the reason why petrol costs more) and so there can be many deposits clogging up the engine which may require cleaning more frequently than petrol engines. You would notice that deisel engine require more servicing than petrol engines. As I said earlier, the new technology deisel engines are far superior than the earlier ones and not as high maintanance as the earlier ones.

Whoever said diesel engine requires more maintenance than petrol hasn't seen VW TDIs. Some engines have run over 500000 miles (yes Half a million miles) without being overhauled.

Most modern diesels have service intervals of 10000 km while some petrol cars still have service intervals of 5000 kms. It is a myth if someone claims diesels engines require more servicing than petrol engines.

[FlyingSpur]

I would favour the Sonata Embera. I dont know to what extent the electronics are present in the Ambiente, bit when they fail in a Skoda, it really isn't funny. Hyundai service OTOH is really very good, the upkeep of the Embera is comparable to an Accord while the Laura is more expensive to maintain, not to mention backed by the fool-proof and legendary service Skoda A$$, I think except JMD everyone's really difficult with the customers. I dont know about the facelift in line for the Embera. And agreed that you need resale on your car, but after five whole years the gap between resale values will not be SO much as when you go to sell the car after a couple of years or three. And yes, the Sonata Embera is extremely confortable at the back, while the Laura is a pain in the back (literally!) IMO, however much people say its a big improvement over the Octy. And yes, I think the Embera is a wonderful-looking car. SO my vote would go to the Sonata. One more important thing, you should be able to push for greater discounts on it, trust me. I read somewhere on the forum that they're moving barely 20-25 a month, so you're sure to get a killer deal. Keep us posted!

PS : I agree with GTO, since you saw the Octy have a look at the top-end Magnum. That thing FLIES. If you're driving its a FANTASTIC option.

[dockap]

try the optra magnum lt top end very very comfy and powerful