[R2D2]

Congratulations on a fine car skjlives. I drove my cousin's Laura TSI last year on a long drive on the Mumbai-Pune expressway and in the city. Came back impressed with its power, handling and interiors. The TSI made my Altis and its "rice-rocket" Jap cousin the Civic feel rather insipid. They have their own advantages, mainly a peace-of-mind ownership experience, but for pure driving pleasure you cant beat European cars. My dad's been driving his Palio 1.6 for over 9 years now and swears by it.

My next car is probably going to be a German marque.

Cheers!

[skjlives]

Originally Posted by FlyingSpur

By the way the 320d also comes with an official 8.2 figure. Every magazine claims a 9.xx in its reviews.

Similarly Kizashi, which does a 7.8 odd to the ton in markets outside India but all Indian tests have placed it at 9+. Pity then that we pay more for our fuel than most countries and still have to make do with inferior quality!

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by FlyingSpur

I THINK it should come down to fuel quality, but not to the extent that it should vary between 6.6 and 8.3 !!

I was actually answering your question as to whether the TSI was that fast. I meant the Laura did 0-100 in 8.3 secs.

Originally Posted by skjlives

Similarly Kizashi, which does a 7.8 odd to the ton in markets outside India but all Indian tests have placed it at 9+. Pity then that we pay more for our fuel than most countries and still have to make do with inferior quality!

Luckily BS4 norms have meant that petrol sold in our country today is 91 octane. Otherwise even the 1.8 TSI would have had to be detuned. Probably the fuel quality was one of the reasons why Skoda could not bring the 2.0 Tsi for the VRS.

The tax structure is very unfair in our country. Cars are still viewed as luxury items and taxed very heavily. We pay almost twice as much as people in the US for similar models due to this. Same thing with petrol. Oil companies don't get the high price we pay. Almost 50% is tax!

[tamsaif]

Thnx all for your thoughts. Honestly, I've never driven a 3-series, but the TSI is really up there. Wonder why all the western car shows rave about the bimmer. Pity Skoda is not launching the RS with its 200hp unit. Would you recommend tuning a new TSI at Red Rooster to spike the hp & torque. will it in anyway spoil the original ride/handling/safety. Cheers.

[low_bass_makker]

The official timings of TSI 1.8 by skoda UK are less than 8 seconds about 7.8 seconds with 95/91 octane fuel . Here is some info for the same.....




The vRS is not so fast either just 7.2 seconds thats why Skoda dropped the idea of 2.0 liter engine.

[DieselDestiny]

Originally Posted by Santoshbhat

The 2009 Laura has a CR engine and not PD.

Like skjlives has quoted, the CR engines came in around 2010, so mine is a PD and man does she growl.....

Could you elaborate why you would say this?

While the basic service is acceptable, it is the attention to detail that lets ones down. Like, I got a body coating done in the last service and at firrst glance it looked very impressive. Got clsoer and found there are unfinished/unpolished areas where the boot mates with the body and the bonnet meets the fenders. They dont seem to be too perterbed by the feedback that is given, almost a cold voice if there is some improvement suggested.

[subodh]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Thanks Subodh and Skjlives! I am quite sure of the engine upgrade timelines. Mainly because it was a couple of months after I joined T-Bhp, and this was one news I was tracking a lot

Here is one reference link from Carwale.com. Hope it helps!
Skoda Laura Elegance 2.0 TDI CR AT Road Test - Clean Conscience - CarWale

Thanks for the insight vb-san That clears the lot. i got a bit confused regarding the dates as one of my friends had also bought his car around same time. I am also in market for a TSI and would not mind looking at a used one as of now.

[Swanand Inamdar]

@Skjlives: Were you able to figure out the 3d Kagu mats? Have you sourced them as yet?

@Subodh: Why wait on a decision thats been taken purely by the heart! For a driver like you, the TSI makes absolute sense.

[skjlives]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

@Skjlives: Were you able to figure out the 3d Kagu mats? Have you sourced them as yet?

Swanand, yet to get mine, but got going after seeing your note. Called up Torque at Indiranagar and he's quoted 5k for the plain ones and 6k for the ones with max spider lining, which are supposed to hold the mat better onto the floor.

Also called up Hot tracks, Victoria layout. Their quote was slightly higher and the gentleman over there did not have the patience to explain to me what the difference between various types of mats was, and said he'd be willing to explain if I came over. So he loses my business.

While drafting this note got a call back from Damodar of Torque and after some friendly banter, the deal gets fixed at 5.8 k for the max spider version. He gets my business

[subodh]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

@Subodh: Why wait on a decision thats been taken purely by the heart! For a driver like you, the TSI makes absolute sense.

soon soon. just waiting for some free time to make a decision. Although the decision is made in heart, head still needs convincing and that might take some time.

[skjlives]

Drove to Goa. I am in love. With my car. Forever.

Started at 6:30 from Sarjapur Junction. After 600 km and 7 hours of driving, I realized that I should, may be, get some water, and food, some rest and of course a bio break. I think the word is "mesmerized".

However, a few niggles have emerged, some generic and some my car specific:

1. The center arm rest fouls with the elbow while shifting gears. Once my left shoulder started aching with the frequent lifting to change gears, I put the arm rest cover up and that was problem solved though with some ugliness.
2. The lower quarter of the windscreen gets misted up with the faintest rain and humidity outside. To get rid of that, I resorted to max blower with defogger setting and high temperature. I think someone said there is a fix to it, don't quite remember what.
3. My windscreen washer is not working :O Pretty painful given the rains that I encountered, but managed with dry swipes. Need to sort out at the service center - Priority!

Killing time at the Goa airport since I am (way) early to meet and greet the wife, damn this beast and my overestimation of time to drive to Goa. Will put a detailed travelogue on the relevant thread.

[Santoshbhat]

Originally Posted by skjlives

Drove to Goa. I am in love. With my car. Forever.

The TSI does that to you . My work requires me to go Belgaum at least once a month if not more. I always took the train or an overnight bus. Last month I decided to drive down. Completed the 500 odd km journey in 5 1/2 hrs. The drive was so enjoyable that in the last two months have completed two round trips. I justified my decision to go for a petrol car thinking that my running is low. Now with these trips I have completed almost 5000 kms in 3 months!

Originally Posted by skjlives

2. The lower quarter of the windscreen gets misted up with the faintest rain and humidity outside. To get rid of that, I resorted to max blower with defogger setting and high temperature. I think someone said there is a fix to it, don't quite remember what.

The misting is on the outside part of the glass, hence the defogger setting doesn't help. Try turning the temp up a little combined while keeping air flow knob between the normal faceward position and the feet. Doesn't fully solve the problem but reduces it to an extent. Is a known issue plaguing the Laura for ages now. The service centres seem to have a definite fix for this. See if you can get it done when you visit them for the washer fix.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by skjlives

Drove to Goa. I am in love. With my car. Forever.

Started at 6:30 from Sarjapur Junction. After 600 km and 7 hours of driving, I realized that I should, may be, get some water, and food, some rest and of course a bio break. I think the word is "mesmerized".

That is an awesome time you ve made up man. Which route did you take? How were the road conditions and what were your average speeds? Also, going by what you said, it looks like it was a non stop drive. Am I correct?

Originally Posted by skjlives

2. The lower quarter of the windscreen gets misted up with the faintest rain and humidity outside. To get rid of that, I resorted to max blower with defogger setting and high temperature. I think someone said there is a fix to it, don't quite remember what.

This is an eminently known issue and can be fixed at most Skoda dealerships. In case you need any help at Vinayak Skoda, just send me a PM.

[subodh]

Originally Posted by skjlives

Drove to Goa. I am in love. With my car. Forever.

Started at 6:30 from Sarjapur Junction. After 600 km and 7 hours of driving, I realized that I should, may be, get some water, and food, some rest and of course a bio break. I think the word is "mesmerized".

However, a few niggles have emerged, some generic and some my car specific:

1. The center arm rest fouls with the elbow while shifting gears. Once my left shoulder started aching with the frequent lifting to change gears, I put the arm rest cover up and that was problem solved though with some ugliness.
2. The lower quarter of the windscreen gets misted up with the faintest rain and humidity outside. To get rid of that, I resorted to max blower with defogger setting and high temperature. I think someone said there is a fix to it, don't quite remember what.
3. My windscreen washer is not working :O Pretty painful given the rains that I encountered, but managed with dry swipes. Need to sort out at the service center - Priority!

Killing time at the Goa airport since I am (way) early to meet and greet the wife, damn this beast and my overestimation of time to drive to Goa. Will put a detailed travelogue on the relevant thread.

How abut posting a travelogue buddy? That is if you found time to photograph anything or focus on something else other than the drive

[mayankjha1806]

Originally Posted by skjlives

Started at 6:30 from Sarjapur Junction. After 600 km and 7 hours of driving, I realized that I should, may be, get some water, and food, some rest and of course a bio break. I think the word is "mesmerized".

600 Kms in 7 hours that's an average speed of above 85, too good. Do post a detailed travellogue when you return. Also had you completed run-in before you started or on the highway, and looks like you pushed the car good.

One more question about the road quality between Bangalore-Goa. I think there is a bad patch in between. How did the car behave on the bad roads.