[AltoHoncho]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Yeti has the same engine as the Jetta and uses a lot of similar parts. It is not a true SUV at all but a substitute to a sedan.

Viddy sir, You're quite right in your opinion here and am not doubting that, but I am questioning the comparison between a vRS spec with a Yeti. comparing Yeti with jetta does make some sense, but not with the vRS. I am sure not even a Jetta engine would be a match with the vRS.

And you quite rightly say when people compare an Innova / Scorp with yeti is like comparing chalk and cheese

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by AltoHoncho

Viddy, You're quite right in your opinion here and am not doubting that, but I am questioning the comparison between a vRS spec with a Yeti. comparing Yeti with jetta does make some sense, but not with the vRS. I am sure not even a Jetta engine would be a match with the vRS.

And you quite rightly say when people compare an Innova / Scorp with yeti is like comparing chalk and cheese

Yeah that's true. As Ajmat mentioned it was an unrealistic comparison between Yeti and vRS when it comes to drive. Actually my main point was interior quality. The Yeti being a premium Skoda I was expecting very good interior quality. But the old vRS was in a different league altogether. Actually if you rank the interiors alone from all the Skoda's I would rate them as vRS -> Laura -> Yeti. The Laura felt better than the Yeti but still not as solid or premium as a vRS.

ps: Viddy will do just fine. No "sir" needed.

[AltoHoncho]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Yeah that's true. As Ajmat mentioned it was an unrealistic comparison between Yeti and vRS when it comes to drive. Actually my main point was interior quality. The Yeti being a premium Skoda I was expecting very good interior quality. But the old vRS was in a different league altogether. Actually if you rank the interiors alone from all the Skoda's I would rate them as vRS -> Laura -> Yeti. The Laura felt better than the Yeti but still not as solid or premium as a vRS.

ps: Viddy will do just fine. No "sir" needed.

I havent seen a vRS from inside yet, dont see much of the octavia ones on road (although they were my fav in terms of looks) and havent seen a laura one on-road yet but am sure looking at the muscle of these from outside, they would be a premium from the inside too.

Anyways, Skoda dealerships here in Bangalore are so extremely horrible, I have been awaiting a Laura TD since past so many months that in between I completed my US assignment for 10 months and came back, and still I recieve calls from the Skoda services saying that they've fwd my TD request to the dealer and he'll be approaching me soon

[dezrskb]

Hi Ajmat,
Congrats for a beautiful vehicle. Nice color too.
I have been looking for a car in 15-20L range diesel / petrol. Monthly running about 1200-1300 Kms. Have already looked at Laura (yet to test drive one) and Corolla Altis diesel (test drive taken today). This was one of the cars I'm considering (yet to look at one in flesh / test drive). Found good features in Laura. But with the floor hump at the back so high, I did not think it could seat 3 adults at back comfortably even for a short distance. (Corolla was excellent in this having very small hump). Also after hearing horror stories from skoda owners, I'm already bit biased against it. My doubts -
1. How high is the floor hump and how obtrusive is rear AC into legspace?
2. How is the drive quality compared to Fluence / Laura?
3. Going for Highline MT diesel / AT diesel. Are these value for money / one trim lower?
4. If first service over, how much did it come to?
5. How effective is AC? I stay in Udupi, costal south karnataka, weather humid and hot mostly.
6. I'm short - 5'4". How is the seating position and how easy / difficult to reach for gear knob?
As I'm leaning away from Skoda, this will be my first consideration next though bit pricey. So Your opinion will be very valuable for me before I test drive it.

[dezrskb]

Ajmat,
Thats a nice car. I am also in the process of choosing a D1 sedan for myself. My list however has fewer contenders than yours did - Laura / Jetta / Fluence. I am confused between Jetta Highline AT Vs MT.

1. Did you test drive both MT and AT?
2. Having driven MT jetta Now, do you think if you were to buy Jetta again, would you go for AT now or remain with MT if budget not a constraint? and reasons? Did you have any specific reservations against AT? Your research showed any frequent DSG failure reports?
3. I heard that European cars tend to use lot of Engine oil in initial period. Any opinions? Sales people mentioned anything about this?
4. How hard is the clutch? Is it likely to give a backache on long drives? AT may be better if it is so.

I test drove an AT Highline at Mangalore yesterday but MT wasn't available. DSG gear shifts were OK but I felt I would have been equally comfortable with MT. My added attractions for MT are - a. will save 1L b. Less complicated and one less complicated mechanical part which can theoretically fail, will be more expensive to repair if it does and may involve an extra service / charges to maintain. c. I drive often within the city of Udupi but there is no multiple stop/ go traffic here. I often reach my workplace in one go (1Km). So not so many gear changes involved.
I agree with you when you say - 1. dash board is set higher, I am short and needed good height adjustment. 2. Suspension is firm compared to corolla and Fluence. 3. I touched 140kmph during the test drive but didn't realize, however my wife did at backseat and warned me. She is dead scared right now that I will frequently cross 100kmph and fail to realize.

[Vid6639]

I don't think price is what deterred Ajmat to go for the MT. It was as you mentioned, DSG not being reliable and secondly AT being nowhere near as fun to drive as a slick shifting manual box which the Jetta has.

Moreover the AT is priced way too high. The Laura L&K is priced the same but has pages of more features for the same engine and gearbox.

If it's AT, the Laura makes more sense but if MT, Jetta is better bet since the MT Jetta has the 140PS engine whereas Laura MT gets only 110PS.

That said, the Jetta has one advantage over the Laura. The lack of complex electronics in the Jetta like xenon's, dual zone climate control and lots of other features missing means there's lesser stuff that will fail and will be more reliability.

[dezrskb]

Originally Posted by Vid6639

Moreover the AT is priced way too high. The Laura L&K is priced the same but has pages of more features for the same engine and gearbox.

If it's AT, the Laura makes more sense but if MT, Jetta is better bet since the MT Jetta has the 140PS engine whereas Laura MT gets only 110PS.

You have a valid point Vid6639. Thanks for the opinion

My only concerns with Skoda L&K is the after sales service quality and the rumors I have heard about it. Having said this I want to ask you-

1. Can we rate A.S.S of VW better than that of Skoda?
2. Getting genuine spares any easier or quality of same far better with VW?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by dezrskb

You have a valid point Vid6639. Thanks for the opinion

My only concerns with Skoda L&K is the after sales service quality and the rumors I have heard about it. Having said this I want to ask you-

1. Can we rate A.S.S of VW better than that of Skoda?
2. Getting genuine spares any easier or quality of same far better with VW?

VW is probably slightly better than Skoda in terms of service but it depends from city to city and depends on your relationship with the service guys.

Genuine spares are almost the same for both Laura and Jetta. There are many components shared between VW/Skoda and Audi.

[negativeH]

@ajmat, congrats for the car. I know am pretty late, but this is my favorite car these days, so just have to; also that's my fav color.
No CC in the HL, was this done recently? I thought the HL came with this.

I really like the comparison with the A4, absolute spot on.
Congrats once again!

[ajmat]

First let me apologise for not responding earlier, i completely missed this post

Originally Posted by dezrskb

Hi Ajmat,

1. How high is the floor hump and how obtrusive is rear AC into legspace?
2. How is the drive quality compared to Fluence / Laura?
3. Going for Highline MT diesel / AT diesel. Are these value for money / one trim lower?
4. If first service over, how much did it come to?
5. How effective is AC? I stay in Udupi, costal south karnataka, weather humid and hot mostly.
6. I'm short - 5'4". How is the seating position and how easy / difficult to reach for gear knob?

1: It is a bit high, it is fine for a child on a long journey but 3 adults on a long journey better be good friends!. Good point is that no fuel lines etc are exposed

2: Stiffer compared to the Laura and Fluence. Fluence is much better if you have bad roads

3: Comfortline is the better value - by that and upgrade the stereo and you diifference is not much. How ever, I am a sucker for the HL wheels though

4: Not yet done

5: A/c will take a while to cool but it will maintain temp once you reached desired temp . dont expect chilled blasted at you

6: The adjustment parameters means you should be able to get ideal position

Originally Posted by dezrskb

Ajmat,
1. Did you test drive both MT and AT?

2. Having driven MT jetta Now, do you think if you were to buy Jetta again, would you go for AT now or remain with MT if budget not a constraint? and reasons? Did you have any specific reservations against AT? Your research showed any frequent DSG failure reports?
3. I heard that European cars tend to use lot of Engine oil in initial period. Any opinions? Sales people mentioned anything about this?
4. How hard is the clutch? Is it likely to give a backache on long drives? AT may be better if it is so.

I drive often within the city of Udupi but there is no multiple stop/ go traffic here. I often reach my workplace in one go (1Km). So not so many gear changes involved.

She is dead scared right now that I will frequently cross 100kmph and fail to realize.

They only had the AT - in Bangalore traffic, it was really good and I could focus on the traffic. If budget was not a constraint, I might have gone for this but you got to remember that failure rate is higher, VW India may not stand by this beyond warranty period and you have two expensive clutches to replace some time off. however, the manual shift + good torque negates the need for this.

I would probably have gone for an AT if this was my only car and my wife also drove it a lot. If you plump for a Cruze, AT only to hide the turbo lag.

Considering your commute, you dont really need AT

As for speed, if you see my post on a thread on hartal's, I was fleeing a mob and it took 10 min for someone on a bike to catch up with me on windy roads. I was not doing 100+ km/h but the car was rock stable around corners.

It pretty stiff in all respects at low speeds but on the open road, I cannot ask for more. It is much more involving than a Passat

Originally Posted by Vid6639

I don't think price is what deterred Ajmat to go for the MT. It was as you mentioned, DSG not being reliable and secondly AT being nowhere near as fun to drive as a slick shifting manual box which the Jetta has.

Moreover the AT is priced way too high. The Laura L&K is priced the same but has pages of more features for the same engine and gearbox.
That said, the Jetta has one advantage over the Laura. The lack of complex electronics in the Jetta like xenon's, dual zone climate control and lots of other features missing means there's lesser stuff that will fail and will be more reliability.

Reliability and future maintenance as also the the gearshift is good. Drive a manual Laura to get an idea.

I could have bought a Laura + more gadgets but got fed up of their service. As I mentioned

Xenons - my Xenons on my Octy were flickering and I needed to switch on twice - mainly during rainy seasons or extreme cold - ballast unit costs Rs 20k. Also one heads cost Rs 40k. A colleague of mine bought a used RS and he drives real close to the car in front. He ain't realised what is will cost him. The Jetta twin units make up for lack of Xenons

Climate control - My octy had it and only setting was cold since the stepper motors failed meaning a dash out job.

Originally Posted by dezrskb

1. Can we rate A.S.S of VW better than that of Skoda?
2. Getting genuine spares any easier or quality of same far better with VW?

Skoda's appointment of dealers is another story. VW have a more longer term view and invested a lot on quality systems. How that translates, I am yet to see.

Spares - VW operates the parts system for all VAG group cars and holds good inventory. It will take 2 days if the dealer does not have your part or 10 days if the part needs to be mported in. It all depends on the dealer actually placing the order and following up. The skoda dealer let me down badly on this so I bought a VW

Originally Posted by negativeH

No CC in the HL, was this done recently? I thought the HL came with this.

It came as standard

Another point in service, I did send an email to the dealer enquiring about mudflaps and they never responded - interesting days ahead!

[dezrskb]

Ajmat, request for some more information.
What's the warranty that came with the car? Is it extendable to 4yrs?
I have Skoda Laura coming with Skoda Shield offering warranty extension to 3rd and 4th yr / 1L Kms which seems fair. Should this tilt my balance towards Skoda?

[ajmat]

It is 2 years, not extendable so far. If you are buying a DSG, you might want to consider this.

[dezrskb]

Hi Ajmat,

I was just going through the website of VW India. They do offer an extended warranty as per their website.
Now I dont know whether this option was there when you purchased your car. But as of date it is there on records. But did you enquire regarding same?
Strangely none of the local dealers whom I have contacted is mentioning anything regarding the same. I smell something fishy. Skoda prominently mentions about the Skoda Shield on their pricelist. Isnt it a good selling point and re-assuring to have 4 yr/ 100,000 kms warranty? But now if it is available, would you go for it?

[dezrskb]

Hi,
First of all this is not to discourage any prospective buyer of Jetta (I too am one of them). But I have a colleague of mine whose New Jetta CL Diesel MT about 10,000 Kms has burnt clutch (he swears he has driven his last vehicle, a Honda City MT about 85K Kms without any issues). Flywheel replaced under warranty, but he had to pay about 23K for clutch plate (not covered under warranty being a wear and tear item it was told to him). As I too am dealing with same dealer, I contacted the SE who has forwarded the photos of the damaged parts to me. Can anybody make out any obvious problem? Now that its repaired, my friend says its great to drive, very comfortable and recommends one (braveheart!!). I dont know whether I should persist Jetta / go to Laura (both are birds of same feather if you see carefully)?

my detailed post with photos are here

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ean-car-6.html (7 Simple Guidelines if you're buying a European car)

[PlatzdaTurbo]

Originally Posted by dezrskb

Ajmat, request for some more information.
What's the warranty that came with the car? Is it extendable to 4yrs?
I have Skoda Laura coming with Skoda Shield offering warranty extension to 3rd and 4th yr / 1L Kms which seems fair. Should this tilt my balance towards Skoda?

Went through this, thought i could help a bit considering i recently bought a Laura L&K.
If you intend to buy the DSG variants (Laura) go for the Skoda Shield eyes closed irrespective of the trim (Ambiente/ Elegance/ L&K). You never know when it could come to your rescue.
About your DSG apprehensions , the 7-speed DSG found in petrol skodas was the one that was problematic and had many reported failures. That ofcourse in no way implies that the 6-speed would have flawless reliability but the 6-speed in the diesels isnt as bad as it seems (reliability).
About Skoda/VW dealers, i agree it totally depends on the city/town you live in. I visited 2 of Mumbai's best known Skoda dealers , JMD & Autobahn and while JMD had a better reputation for over all experience and A.S.S , i surprisingly got better service at Autobahn. Just my personal experience . As far as VW is concerned, we once visited a dealer all ready to 'book the passat' and we even told the sales person that we want to book it. He did not even look at us. I hope that seals this story for you. If you ask me, with all of Skoda's horror stories even from Mumbai i would still rate them slightly above VW in terms of dealership experience.
Finally, if you are interested in the top trim levels (L&K, Highline) i personally feel that the Laura makes a lot more sense. In Mumbai the L&K was slightly cheaper than the HL IIRC and has a plethora of extra features over & above the VW and that leaves the verdict beyond any doubt.