[msd63]

The above cars are roughly in the same price range. I am looking for a comfortable Diesel Sedan for long drives and I intend to use my Getz for city short trips. I drove the Jetta and it felt extremely nice to drive and the visibility and manouevarability was good. I have not yet driven the DSG Laura but I hear it is very good. I have driven the manual Laura but was more impressed with the Jetta. Both cars have a tendency to stall if 2nd gear is engaged after slowing down for hump and other obstacles.


The positives for Jetta for me were, Brand, better drive, rear airbags, steering audio controls and better audio (touch screen, disc changer). The drawbacks were, low ground clearance and no DSG. The Bhp is also low 110, torque being the same.

The positives for Laura were, better space, higher bhp, bigger boot and DSG. The drawbacks were, the brand (feels nice to say VW than Skoda, pardon the snobbery) after sales issues, no multi function steering wheel and no airbags for the rear passengers.

Please let me know of what you all think.

[anandpadhye]

DSG rocks!
It's a terrific thing to have happened to automatic transmission technology.
A purely mechanical gearbox that shifts automatically at lightning speed with no jerk.

It's impossible to stall a DSG car and there is no possibility of your driver or younger brother riding half-clutch.


An Audi/VW/Skoda with no DSG? Well only if you are thinking of the Tsi - which is an insane engine that can be a great fun even without DSG.

[shuvc]

I'd go with the Comfortline. The interiors feel wonderful.

Is the Laura really that much bigger inside?
Lower power - but then do you rip your car ? Else those 110 horses should be good enough for highway cruises.
Smaller boot - By how much?
DSG - Ah, well, this is probably the only reason to go for the Laura.

So if you must have an auto, then Laura, else take the VW

[msd63]

The Laura is actually a hatchback, the boot capacity is 560L. The Jetta has a boot of about 527L. The boot in the Laura is more practical. However that may not be the clincher. I will TD the DSG and see how it feels.

[alto99]

Originally Posted by msd63

The positives for Laura were, better space, higher bhp, bigger boot and DSG.

Only Laura LnK has higher bhp. Elegance has same bhp as Jetta.

[imp!]

Hi MSD,

I have a Laura 1.8TSI engine. When we were looking at cars, we didn't really consider the Jetta because we wanted a Petrol car. If you are driving mostly on the highway, do you need an automatic car? your gear changes will be minimum so there is no convenience factor involved. In any case, here is my take on the cars.


Since you live in Bangalore, Skoda A.S.S from Vinayak Skoda is excellent. In-fact I'd rate their sales and after sales service much higher than I would Ravindu and Nandi Toyota.

Taking the engine out of the picture, I prefer the Jetta. It feels better built, it has more airbags, steering mounted audio controls and, if they are still offering those black interiors, it is much much nicer from the inside. The front seats are mush better and have excellent thigh support (don't remember if the rear seats do or not); Cruise control is an added Plus.

Once you consider the engine however, the Jetta stops making so much sense. Unless you were to tune the ECU to deliver 30 additional horses, the Laura is a much better drive (assuming L&K trim).

Now, the way I see it, there are several options open to you. Can you please tell us how many Km's you drive? How flexible is your budget?

It may make more sense to buy a lesser equipped Laura ambiente/elegance DSG, if you absolutely must have the DSG box. The ambiente makes more sense, you can throw in Stanley leather seats for 45K and still save a truckload of money over the elegance (the features don't warrant the hefty price tag IMO); If the budget is very flexible, then you can consider the Laura L&K which will give you pretty much everything the Jetta has with a better engine and a DSG box! but considering its only 1-1.5 lacs lesser than a Petrol Superb, you may be better off buying a manual transmission superb (again considering that you can stretch your budget);

In conclusion, if you absolutely need diesel and an auto box, buy the Laura ambiente. If your budget can be stretched to a L&K then things change some what. If your budget is not flexible, and you would like the safety features and creature comforts, buy a Jetta Comfortline, which is cheaper than the L&K.

cheers!
imp!

[.anshuman]

1.Laura feels much modern and stylish compared to the dated Jetta.
2.Laura DSG comes with 140bhp version of same 110bhp Engine in Jetta.

Personally i would pick a Laura over Jetta anyday. All MT variants of Laura come with the 110bhp and all DSG variants have 140bhp power from the same engine.

[msd63]

Originally Posted by alto99

Only Laura LnK has higher bhp. Elegance has same bhp as Jetta.

As Anshuman has mentioned the DSG Laura is 140bhp, torque is 250n. The L&K DSG is also 140bhp but a higher torque, I think 320n or therabouts.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by imp!

Hi MSD,

I have a Laura 1.8TSI engine. When we were looking at cars, we didn't really consider the Jetta because we wanted a Petrol car. If you are driving mostly on the highway, do you need an automatic car? your gear changes will be minimum so there is no convenience factor involved. In any case, here is my take on the cars.

Well, DSG is perfect for highways and twisties as well - in addition to city driving. And every highway drive includes 2 city drives - one on each end .

[ACM]

Laura DSG Auto is the better of the two, plus the boot is actually a Hatch - which is something most people don't figure out from the outside, making it much more flexiable for luggage handling. SS will be workable.

[Cesc]

Originally Posted by msd63

The positives for Laura were, better space, higher bhp, bigger boot and DSG. The drawbacks were, the brand (feels nice to say VW than Skoda, pardon the snobbery) after sales issues, no multi function steering wheel and no airbags for the rear passengers.

Please let me know of what you all think.

Laura Elegance DSG does not have a steering audio controls? I find that really surprising. Are you sure of that? Even my 4 year old Octy L&K has them.

[msd63]

Originally Posted by Cesc

Laura Elegance DSG does not have a steering audio controls? I find that really surprising. Are you sure of that? Even my 4 year old Octy L&K has them.

Unfortunately it doesn't have it. The L&K trim has it. That will be like more than 2L above the price of Elegance.

Skoda Laura:: Equipment::

[msd63]

Originally Posted by imp!

Hi MSD,

I have a Laura 1.8TSI engine. When we were looking at cars, we didn't really consider the Jetta because we wanted a Petrol car. If you are driving mostly on the highway, do you need an automatic car? your gear changes will be minimum so there is no convenience factor involved. In any case, here is my take on the cars.


Since you live in Bangalore, Skoda A.S.S from Vinayak Skoda is excellent. In-fact I'd rate their sales and after sales service much higher than I would Ravindu and Nandi Toyota.

Taking the engine out of the picture, I prefer the Jetta. It feels better built, it has more airbags, steering mounted audio controls and, if they are still offering those black interiors, it is much much nicer from the inside. The front seats are mush better and have excellent thigh support (don't remember if the rear seats do or not); Cruise control is an added Plus.

Once you consider the engine however, the Jetta stops making so much sense. Unless you were to tune the ECU to deliver 30 additional horses, the Laura is a much better drive (assuming L&K trim).

Now, the way I see it, there are several options open to you. Can you please tell us how many Km's you drive? How flexible is your budget?

It may make more sense to buy a lesser equipped Laura ambiente/elegance DSG, if you absolutely must have the DSG box. The ambiente makes more sense, you can throw in Stanley leather seats for 45K and still save a truckload of money over the elegance (the features don't warrant the hefty price tag IMO); If the budget is very flexible, then you can consider the Laura L&K which will give you pretty much everything the Jetta has with a better engine and a DSG box! but considering its only 1-1.5 lacs lesser than a Petrol Superb, you may be better off buying a manual transmission superb (again considering that you can stretch your budget);

In conclusion, if you absolutely need diesel and an auto box, buy the Laura ambiente. If your budget can be stretched to a L&K then things change some what. If your budget is not flexible, and you would like the safety features and creature comforts, buy a Jetta Comfortline, which is cheaper than the L&K.

cheers!
imp!

Thanks for your thoughts. The price difference between the Ambiente DSG and the Elegance DSG is about 1.67L. For that you get leather upholstery, bigger alloys, dual zone climatronic remote closing of door mirrors, electrically foldable mirrors, heated front seats and some minor things. The L&K is out of my budget. My travel is about 2k to 2.5K per month 60-70% long distance. I did consider the TSI but I am conscious of mileage, fed up with my Getz giving only 10 in the city and about 13.5-14 long distance.

[msd63]

Test drove the Laura DSG in ambiente trim. The auto mode was good and wasn't excited by the manual mode. The change from 1st to 2nd in the manual mode wasn't as quick as I had expected. On one occasion I experienced a sudden surge of power when I wasn't expecting that to happen, wonder whether it was the turbo kicking in when I was actually thinking of slowing down. The car was brand new in black and the ambiente trim is pretty basic. The fabric upholstery did not feel rich and there is only a manual AC with smaller alloys compared to elegance. Still thinking and also contemplating to wait to see the launch of Vento or Altis in Diesel.

[ampere]

I guess the heart would say DSG, but mind says Jetta CRDI.
Is that a fair comparison summary?