[bloodred]

Congrats Behemoth!

Now we can have all three engine configurations of Laura (TSI, TDI MT, TDI AT) at the next Gurgaon meet.

Your feedback on Giriraj's service certainly inspires confidence. I'd once visited them for sorting out minor squeaks & enabling DRLs and the experience was satisfactory. The first real brush though will come in June when the car goes for first service.

[bala80]

Congratulations Behemoth! Though I have read your other threads and you've got yourself a very enviable garage. This shade of red (whatever skoda calls it as), is really good, I havent seen one on the roads so far and I was surprised when I saw the pictures, great choice of colour!

Wishing you a very pleasant and memorable ownership experience.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by jacksons

congratulation Behemoth, Laura is best looking car and quite practical in its category. one thing is missing for a car cost so much is Audio controls on steering wheel.
So when is next Gurgoan meet for our treat.

The treat is on and we are meeting at the regular place on 30th Mar! See you!

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

Congrats on the Laura. I was also keenly reading about your tyre upgrade as my Elantra is due for one and have been keen on Michelin Primacy LC ever since it was launched in India.

I can vouch for the Primacy LC tyres, they are really good and are a substantial improvement over the stock Goodyears. The deep booming thuds which the Goodyears had is completely gone. I used to think that it was because of the Hard suspension of the Skoda, but it must have been the tyres, which were causing the noise.
At least from my short period of use, I can recommend them - maybe other users who have long term experience can also share their view.

Originally Posted by bloodred

Congrats Behemoth!

Now we can have all three engine configurations of Laura (TSI, TDI MT, TDI AT) at the next Gurgaon meet.

Your feedback on Giriraj's service certainly inspires confidence. I'd once visited them for sorting out minor squeaks & enabling DRLs and the experience was satisfactory. The first real brush though will come in June when the car goes for first service.

Yes, the service experience has improved dramatically in the past 18 months. Goes to show how strong social marketing is and Auto companies cannot afford to ignore the social media and need to listen to its customers.
I think we also get better service from them, because of the TBHP stickers!

Originally Posted by bala80

Congratulations Behemoth! Though I have read your other threads and you've got yourself a very enviable garage. This shade of red (whatever skoda calls it as), is really good, I havent seen one on the roads so far and I was surprised when I saw the pictures, great choice of colour!
Wishing you a very pleasant and memorable ownership experience.

Thanks Bala! It really is a nice shade and since it was recently introduced in the Laura (9 months ago in L&K, and then 4 months ago in other variants), there aren't too many on the road in this colour yet!


Regards,
Behemoth

[amitg79]

The Laura looks lovely in this colour. Have seen this colour on the road just once previously. Looks very classy.
Congratulations and happy motoring.

[Y@SH]

Congrats on the laura Behemoth! I got mine last month and I wish I had known this color is available in the Ambiente, such a lovely color. Btw, why didnt you opt for wood inserts? It really makes the interiors look classy.

Wish you a hassle free ownership experience

Link to my ownership review

[n.devdath]

Congrats on the acquisition Behemoth. The Laura has always been my fav car in the >25l INR segment and few vehicles are as perfect as this is, even in higher segments.

Why didn't you consider the DSG since this is primarily a city car for your wife and the DSG would have eased her driving to a great extent?

[arup.misra]

Congrats Behemoth on your Rosso Brunello Laura. This is one heck of a color. I feel this color suits the Laura more than the Superb. Great choice.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by amitg79

The Laura looks lovely in this colour. Have seen this colour on the road just once previously. Looks very classy.
Congratulations and happy motoring.

Thanks Amit!

Originally Posted by Y@SH

Congrats on the laura Behemoth! I got mine last month and I wish I had known this color is available in the Ambiente, such a lovely color. Btw, why didnt you opt for wood inserts? It really makes the interiors look classy.

Wish you a hassle free ownership experience

Link to my ownership review

Thanks Yash! Yes, I have been following your thread as well! This colour became available only recently in the Ambiente and we jumped for it !
We didn't opt for the wood inserts are the ones they install aftermarket in the Ambiente are not as good as the original ones in the Elegance! We were considering the Elegance too, but finally went for the Ambiente due to the price difference. (trying to keep budget within 15L onroad!)

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Congrats on the acquisition Behemoth. The Laura has always been my fav car in the >25l INR segment and few vehicles are as perfect as this is, even in higher segments.

Why didn't you consider the DSG since this is primarily a city car for your wife and the DSG would have eased her driving to a great extent?

Thanks Devdath! Yes, it is good value for money and offers great fit finish compared to even more expensive cars. It is also very affordable to run and with 2+2 years warranty, hopefully should not be too expensive (at least for 4 years ownership!)
We did consider the DSG, but finally decided against it. Personally, we like driving manuals a lot due to the fun factor and control. An Automatic takes the fun out of driving (at least the Civic Auto that we had before this, did!)

Originally Posted by arup.misra

Congrats Behemoth on your Rosso Brunello Laura. This is one heck of a color. I feel this color suits the Laura more than the Superb. Great choice.

Thanks Arup! It really is quite elegant and the paint finish and quality is very good. Will try to share some more pics (preferably in more scenic environs!) over the weekend.


Regards,
Behemoth

[avinash_clt]

Congrats behemoth.

Absolutely love Laura in that color. Before we decided on the vRS, we had plans of buying the ambiente Tsi in that color, even booked it, but was later informed by the dealership that petrol lauras are not available with that color, later skoda also confirmed it. And it was one reason why we moved to the vRS ( no regrets ).

Wish you many more hassle free miles ahead with your raptor

[dkaile]

Congrats Behemoth. Somehow this thread was missed by me. Loved your choice of colour which is exactly as my Superb 2012. Will seriously look into your advice for the tyre upgrade.

Best wishes for miles ahead.

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by avinash_clt

Congrats behemoth.

Absolutely love Laura in that color. Before we decided on the vRS, we had plans of buying the ambiente Tsi in that color, even booked it, but was later informed by the dealership that petrol lauras are not available with that color, later skoda also confirmed it. And it was one reason why we moved to the vRS ( no regrets ).

Wish you many more hassle free miles ahead with your raptor

Thanks Avinash, for a Petrol Laura, the vRS is certainly the best choice and I am sure that it would great fun to drive! Which colour did you go for - my favourite was the race blue. Our case was swayed by Diesel economics!

Originally Posted by dkaile

Congrats Behemoth. Somehow this thread was missed by me. Loved your choice of colour which is exactly as my Superb 2012. Will seriously look into your advice for the tyre upgrade.

Best wishes for miles ahead.

Thanks Dkaile!
Yes, please do consider upgrading the tyres as the difference in the Noise is substantial (40% in my case) and ride comfort too!
Stock Goodyear esp NCT5 are very noisy (many experiences here on this forum) and have a hard ride.


Regards,
Behemoth

[Swanand Inamdar]

Congratulations on the new ride there, Behemoth!
Welcome to the Laura club .

So, you also got the 110HP MT version then. Mine is the same (Ambiente).
How do you find this over the Yeti? A detailed comparo is certainly due now.

Change to Michelin's is a good choice. Im still running on the horrible NCT5's but, its about time to change them. Do lemme know as to how you find the ride quality on the LC's.

This seems to be the new color in Laura. Of late, Ive been seeing quite a few of these on the roads, and to be honest, it does look lovely in person too!

[avinash_clt]

Originally Posted by Behemoth

Thanks Avinash, for a Petrol Laura, the vRS is certainly the best choice and I am sure that it would great fun to drive! Which colour did you go for - my favourite was the race blue. Our case was swayed by Diesel economics!

Indeed it is great fun to drive. Personally I've found the additional two lakhs on the vRS to be totally justifiable. Mine is magic black.

[W.A.G.7]

Congrats on your new car! For a change someone bought a Skoda with a manual gearbox

I think 110bhp manual transmission diesel is sufficient and efficient for the city. Let us know the overall experience in the coming months.

Can we expect another battle of the unequals (Yeti/Laura) write up from you soon?

[Behemoth]

Originally Posted by Swanand Inamdar

Congratulations on the new ride there, Behemoth!
Welcome to the Laura club .
So, you also got the 110HP MT version then. Mine is the same (Ambiente).
How do you find this over the Yeti? A detailed comparo is certainly due now.
Change to Michelin's is a good choice. Im still running on the horrible NCT5's but, its about time to change them. Do lemme know as to how you find the ride quality on the LC's.

Thanks Swanand!
A little bit of the comparison between the Yeti and Laura was included in my initial posts, though it does warrant a much deeper view, and preferably side by side pics! Will update with more pics and details over the coming weeks.
Primacy LCs are very good in comparison to the NCT5's and I would certainly recommend them. Only care that you need to take is to inflate them to at least 32Psi to prevent any tyre pinching damage.

Though we have not pushed to Laura to higher Rpms yet, in terms of response it is quite linear and has a quick pickup (even compared to the Yeti. In my estimate , it should be only a 1 second slower than the Yeti in the 0-100 dash).

Originally Posted by W.A.G.7

Congrats on your new car! For a change someone bought a Skoda with a manual gearbox

I think 110bhp manual transmission diesel is sufficient and efficient for the city. Let us know the overall experience in the coming months.

Can we expect another battle of the unequals (Yeti/Laura) write up from you soon?

Thanks W.A.G.7!
Yes, I am die-hard manual fan and love the connected feel that a manual gearbox gives! My wife is also comfortable with Manuals and has no issues, inspite of her previous car (Civic) being at AT.
The 110 Bhp is quite efficient and when driven with a light foot at 80-90 speeds, even gives mileage in the range of 25-26 kmpl on the highways! In combined cycle it give 18-19 Kmpl with 60:40 highway:city driving.
Yes the battle continues and now is practically a Sibling rivalry between two cars with very similar genes (VW Golf inside!)

Regards,
Behemoth