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Old 9th September 2012, 20:52   #1
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Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Now my Skoda Laura 2.0 CR TDi Elegance MT is 10 days / 400 kms old and this is how I see it -

Positives:
  • Good looks in my opinion, has a character.
  • Smooth engine, low NVH levels inside cabin.
  • Solid build, heavy. Sound of the door closing / lifting up bonnet / boot lid is sufficient to make you convince this.
  • Power seems quite adequate, I was thinking about 110bhp engine in MT Vs 140bhp in AT. Turbo lag hardly felt.
  • Steering – perfect for me. True, the road feedback is bit less, but no issues
  • Clutch – light
  • Gears- sure slotting. Easy to use. Ratios feel good. Anything above 1K RPM gets response from throttle though after 1.5K, its quick to accelerate
  • Seating position – good. I am short, 5” 4’. I found a satisfactory position after about 3-4 days.
  • No scraping contrary to what few people had told me. May scrape if speed breakers are too tall / steep / if you brake hard before climbing one.
  • Space, legroom at rear all good for us, none of our family is 6”
  • Little additions – very practical, which I did not know I missed in my both previous Marutis – for eg. 1. The plastic lid for the opening from where you fill diesel, is tied to car with a tag. So when the person who fills the fuel at the pump unscrews it, even by mistake it doesn’t fall down. Same was dropped 3 times in my previous Zen, cracked and had to be replaced. Also there were instances when the cap was kept elsewhere and was forgotten. Also they tend to keep it on the roof where fuel may discolor the paint. How much do you think it will cost to Maruti to add a plastic tag / thread? Anybody knows whether Hyundai / Fords / Honda provide them?
Also there is a hook for the boot mat to hang it up when you want to take out the spare wheel / tools. Till now I held it up with one hand to remove spare tire with another hand. A herculean task!!
  • Lots of storage spaces. Boot is huge and enough for anything. Also storages around cockpit are lined with rubber mats / felt to prevent rattling (sunglass holder above head will rattle if you dont keep a cleaning cloth with sunglass ! I took some time to identify this and was depressed at beginning thinking it was coming from left front door of a brand new European vehicle !) Very thoughtful. Ticket holder on front glass – why can’t others copy?
  • Ingress / egress easy.
  • Rear parking sensors are very useful for me.
  • If rear headrests are kept low, rear view is reasonably ok.
  • ICE quality is very good. I am not very demanding though.
Negatives
  • Low end torque less than I expected. May stall if not downshifted in time. Needs bit getting used to. I think for me tendency to lug the engine is more than going high RPMs in this as sensitive burnt clutch on my colleagues Jetta is always at the back of my mind and I don’t throttle much till foot is almost off the clutch.
  • Clutch travel bit longer than I wished. When you smoothly want to take off your foot from clutch, there is a step of different resistance at the last stage. Not able to make out when exactly the clutch has the bite.
  • Suspension stiff at low speeds. But this stiffness may also partially be due to hard stock tires (I ran out of my budget to change to Michelin PLCs as I would have to cough out 20K for 4 tires even after exchanging my brand new Goodyear Eagle NCTs !!). I decided to tolerate them and replace them with Michelin PLCs when they wear out.
  • A/C takes some time to cool. But considering the fact that we don’t live in a place where temp crosses 40s and none of us likes it very cold, son has occasional mild wheezing, me having nasal congestion with very cold temps, this is not an issue. But understanding how the various modes in A/C operate is bit demanding for me coming from simple manually operated A/C of my previous Marutis. Climatronic A/C I guess will take some study of the manual to get used to. When I switch on recirculation mode, “Auto” goes off automatically, blower speed also changes by itself.
  • Plain right rearview mirror. Your brain will have a tough exercise processing images from left and right mirrors as both images are of different size. I will definitely order a convex right ORVM from ebay.uk (?, or somewhere else? Somebody please enlighten me). Anybody knows whether these are auto dimming?
  • Though the beige upholstery is common to most premium cars and gives spacious feel, it’s a nightmare to maintain. I can’t imagine how it will look after few years. I can’t change them too as there is inbuilt heating elements for front seats and who knows what goes wrong when you remove seats to fit new covers with these complicated electric systems. May be after few years, I will ditch both beige leather and heating elements and go for darker leather covers. But now let me enjoy beige premium feel. I liked the bit darker shade of Fluence leather upholstery better. If you are buying this, be prepared to dedicate plenty of time cleaning and maintaining them. Also I guess stains by ball pens will be very difficult to remove from good leather. I have equipped myself with Armor all leather care gel in advance.
Test drives and booking
I don’t remember exactly how the craving started but vividly remember the research on net in this forum and other websites taking lot of my days and part of nights as well.
Oh yes ! Seeing the solidly built European vehicles, reading about the quality of the driving pleasure, control and the comfort they offer, I was willing to take the gamble of slightly lower reliability. I have had practically trouble-free ownership of my 2 horses from Maruti stable (Zen Lx MPFI and Swift Dzire Vdi). The search started in July 2012. Only diesel vehicles were considered for their fuel efficiency and lower fuel cost and knowledge about how refined are present day diesel engines. This confidence was from good experience gained with Dzire Vdi. Vehicles considered were
  • Toyota Corolla Altis
  • Skoda Laura
  • Renault Fluence
  • Volkswagen Jetta.
Toyota appeared to be a safe gamble. But eliminated at beginning of the race. However positives were –
  • Toyota promptly arranged TD vehicle at my door (60kms from all the dealers) within few days notice
  • Smooth linear acceleration, no significant turbo lag.
  • Very comfortable to drive, absorbed humps very well.
  • Fuel economy
  • Lot of faith , reliability – It’s a Toyota after all.
Negatives –
  • Engine seems underpowered.
  • Boring interiors – no rear AC vents, few other luxuries missing even in top end diesel where as petrol top trim seems better equipped
  • Dated exteriors.
  • After I drove others (read Europeans)- felt heavy solid build and hence the driving pleasure were missing here.
  • Backseat headrest not comfortable – wife not impressed
Skoda Laura next, positives first
  • Dealership arranged 2 test drives at my convenience at my residence, pursued the deal aggressively, gave good discount, and answered all my phone calls. Offered feedback form after test drive, wanted to know my opinion honestly. Nobody else did this.
  • Solid build
  • Good acceleration
  • Excellent drive quality, driving pleasure
  • 4 yrs EW, Skoda shield – some reassurance
Negatives
  • Backseat after paying 20L may not seat 3 adults comfortably. Hump quite tall
  • Couldn’t afford L&K which had all the bells and whistles
  • Horror stories about dealers , after sales service
  • Expensive parts
VW Jetta positives
  • Seems elegant
  • All trims appear well equipped
  • Drove only HL AT. AT was good
  • Driving pleasure, control etc appeared to be similar to Laura
Negatives
  • Very light shade interiors – wife disliked it a lot due to this. “How do we maintain this?” she says. She forgot Laura too had similar stuff.
  • Overpriced.
  • Only 2 yr warranty. Though some in this forum got 4 yrs EW, apparently it is at the discretion of dealers and my nearby dealer was not willing to offer same and all communication with VW India to clarify came to dead end ultimately.
  • 2 and half mth waiting - or so says the dealer to impress me. Later says 45 days.
  • Heard a negative comment from a colleague. <10K CL MT variant–clutch burnt. Paid 25K to replace it as not covered under warranty. I have posted pics of same somewhere in some thread.
  • Hardly any follow up or interest shown by dealer, in stark contrast to Skoda Laura
Fluence positives
  • Build seems to be good.
  • Good space inside
  • Equipments offered appear good though ergonomically misplaced
  • Ride and backseat quality good
Negatives
  • Offered TD in old engine. Prominent Turbo lag <2K RPMs, was assured that it’s been eliminated with new engine, promised TD with new engine which never materialized
  • Brand (Renault alone) new entity, though engine is known entity (Logan)
  • Sheer driving pleasure like in Laura and Jetta was not present.
  • Had to wait lot of time to get the attention of SE. Everybody seems to be interested in showing Duster to customers. No common sense as to which customer to be attended first. I guess if I wanted to buy Koleos, I would have had to wait longer.
The PDI day 29/08/12
I was told that vehicle would arrive by 4 pm and I could come to give away my present car (Dzire Vdi) and could have a look at the new vehicle being cleaned. Well, I went bit early, collected NOC on the Dzire and proceeded to showroom from where I went to service place. First look at the vehicle, I liked the color. I had an impression that Cappuccino beige was a lighter color with pinkish / reddish tinge. But looking at the car in flesh made me realize that it was darker and greenish which I liked better. I just checked the odometer which read 9 Kms !!. VIN matched to what they had given me in advance. Seats and other interior shining parts were covered with plastic. As they were cleaning it, I just had a look in to engine bay and everything looked in order and brand new. So I came away. Vehicle was promised to be delivered next day by 12noon.


The D-Day ! 30/08/2012
Woke up early, finished all the work early. Called a taxi and myself, wife and daughter started from home in time. On the way, got a call from sales agent in charge that vehicle was ready!. In fact it turned out that he had confused a C. Beige Rapid with our vehicle as both were due for delivery. Can one confuse Rapid with a Laura? On reaching showroom they apologized. But I had made up my mind that little issues will not spoil my mood on a special day like this and as I was not at all in a hurry and was ready to spend few hours doing PDI and listening to SE explaining the features. I think one should take half day off to give them sufficient time to do everything in order. As it was a rainy day, they wanted to get the vehicle to showroom, remove water and wax it there itself and deliver. Hence the delay. I appreciated this. I was demonstrated most of the features on another Laura Ambiente trim in showroom and extra features available with Elegance were demonstrated with my own vehicle later. After a bouquet and sweets and photos of me receiving the key, we drove away to fill 10L diesel given by the dealer. I was expecting vehicle to stall sometime as low end torque is not much. Indeed it did at a speed breaker. But I was careful with the clutch and no further incidents during return. It was raining all the 60Kms of our return journey and I could experience the usage of wiper and lights. Coming from Maruti, only once did I confuse the lights stalk with wiper.

Positives of the dealership (Tafe Access, Mangalore)
1. Brought the demo car twice to my door, 60Kms away from their showroom for test drive!. Renault, VW missed this for whatever excuse.
2. Offered a feedback form to be filled on the quality of the TD / demo. Toyota, Renault, Volkswagen missed this.
3. Followed the deal aggressively, offered discounts, made sure that a brand new vehicle with latest manufacture date was available to me as I requested. First sentence I heard from Toyota and VW Jetta sales agents was “Sir, there is a waiting period for this car!!. And repeated couple of times – you are supposed to get the impression that you are a privileged person as a car will be specially manufactured for you!! Also that car is in great demand, you won’t get it that easily!
4. On delivery day delivery was bit delayed, but the purpose was to deliver a dry, shining new car to me on a rainy day at the showroom 3 Kms away from their service station!
5. PDI was thorough, most of the features explained (not all the features mind you, as I thought the sales people were not sure what all features were available in which trims and again, it would take more than half a day if a knowledgeable sales agent were to explain a car enthusiast like me, to my satisfaction) including showing me where to jack the vehicle in case of puncture & how to remove wheel bolt caps! I did not have such luxury with my previous cars. They were just delivered assuming that a new car tire should not puncture and even when it does later, you know how to do it or you would find it from service manual.
6. All of them were quite polite.
7. The sales manager received all my phone calls and returned them if he couldn’t attend it, though I must have been one of the most demanding customer they had.
Negatives of Dealership –
1. Went after 2 days to enable my auto lock feature. This was first meet with service team. I did not feel they would be able to handle if anything complicated happened to my vehicle.
2. After a week I am yet to register my vehicle in my district. This was promised to be done in few days. I heard it may happen in another 2-3 days.


The car has run about 400Kms now. Driving seems easier now and its slightly smoother. Yet to make out fuel economy by tankful to tankful method. Fuel efficiency seems very good indeed seeing still only half tank seems to be empty. I will stick to OEM and won’t change anything (The thread “Guidelines to by a European car” influenced me on this). I ran out of my budget to change tires to Michelin PLCs and that will be the only change I will make in future as far as I can guess.
Also I need help from other members regarding these –
  • Where can I get the price list for all the spare pars? Just to get an idea
  • Is it possible to convert mileage units from L/100Kms to Kms / Litre? Skoda service which uses VAS says they are not aware of this possibility. I guess its possible by VAG-COM but whether Skoda uses this too?
  • DRLs have to be enabled first by service so that we can switch them on and off using the indicator stalk?
I have already armed myself with 2 double sided microfiber wash mitts, few microfiber towels, Turtle hard wax paste, Formula 1 protect all dashboard spray, Sonax wheel care spray, Jopasu Duster and Armor all leather care gel so that I don’t compromise on taking care of this car at least in the beginning. Usually enthusiasm lasts for some time and then fades off. But I do hope that with this European beauty, my love lasts forever.

Few photos of my beauty
Attached Thumbnails
Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT-front1.jpg  

Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT-interior1.jpg  

Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT-interior2.jpg  

Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT-rear1.jpg  


Last edited by dezrskb : 10th September 2012 at 07:45.
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Old 10th September 2012, 16:59   #2
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!
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Old 10th September 2012, 17:14   #3
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Congratulations on your selection.

Yep the AC is weak. Keep it at 20-22 setting and keep blower at speed 4 or 5. Auto mode will normally make the blower go to setting 3 most of the times after the initial drive. Also recirculation mode does disable auto mode partially but some auto setting are still working in the back end.

The mirrors of the model you have are probably not auto dimming.

The seats cannot be covered with seats covers also due to front side airbags in some models. The beige leather seats and trims of the Laura don't really get that soiled and a once a quarter interior treatment would help a lot. But the beige plastic door handles and cloth bits do get spoilt a bit more.

Go for 225/55/R16 Yoko ES501 when the warranty expires for a superior ride and grip combo.
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Old 10th September 2012, 18:19   #4
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Congrats on the new car, dezrskb. So you went and got a Laura MT after all?!

I think the Laura's strengths are the nice interiors (wood trim on yours works really well). As I'd already advised you, would have preferred the Vento TDI in a similar situation: almost same power, better power/weight ratio, slightly more spacious rear seat, better AC and way cheaper. But it seems you had your heart set on Skoda, which is cool.

Trading 30 horses for the reliability of manual shift over DSG was probably the sensible thing though! Unlike the Jetta, the higher-tuned engine does not come with an MT on the Laura. Otherwise it would have been a compelling buy!

All the best and do keep updating your ownership review.
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Old 10th September 2012, 18:21   #5
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Congratulations on the purchase dezrskb. The laura is truly a great car with adequate power for majority of the Indian needs. It indeed has the road presence and handling abilities which one expects from a car of this price.
I wish you many happy miles of motoring and hope you dont face the "skoda troubles" during your ownership.


Quote:
Originally Posted by dezrskb View Post
Also I need help from other members regarding these –
  • Where can I get the price list for all the spare pars? Just to get an idea
Kindly refer to the given price list to have a rough idea.
Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT-201199171441_500.jpg

Take Care and Drive Safe.

PS: A friend had once emailed the price list that I've attached. The new prices are the ones after Skoda's decision to localise the spares (hence reducing the price).

EDIT: Got this from another thread on tbhp. Member manuc posted it after a repair on his laura.

Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT-lauraservice.jpg

I hope it helps.

Last edited by dZired : 10th September 2012 at 18:35.
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Old 10th September 2012, 19:30   #6
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by ACM View Post
Congratulations on your selection.

Yep the AC is weak.

The mirrors of the model you have are probably not auto dimming.

The seats cannot be covered with seats covers also due to front side airbags in some models.

Go for 225/55/R16 Yoko ES501 when the warranty expires for a superior ride and grip combo.
Thanks for the suggestion !
Mirrors in this model are auto dimming for sure. They work well.
I am not able to make out real strength of A/C or lack of it with this being rainy season and outside being cooler. I will follow your suggestion in summer surely. For the time being its quite sufficient at 25degrees
You are right regarding the seat covers of course. I forgot about airbags.
I think I will request others who have Elegance / L&K with beige leathers to let me know how they are maintaining color of the leathers.
For first time you have suggested something other than Michelin PLC! Let me check it. Is it available widely? I guess price will be in same range though

Quote:
Originally Posted by noopster View Post

I think the Laura's strengths are the nice interiors (wood trim on yours works really well). As I'd already advised you, would have preferred the Vento TDI in a similar situation:
.
Thanks Noopster!
I have no regrets for letting DSG go for some issues which I already mentioned. I agree most of the members in this forum advised to go for DSG AT and they are right in their perspective!. Anyway I have now MT but do you have any particular suggestions on driving style to avoid premature clutch wear out in this European car? (Other than regular precautions which I have been following in Dzire Vdi?)
Interiors are indeed very nice. But the headache is about maintaining it in same color over next many years.



Quote:
Originally Posted by dZired View Post
Congratulations on the purchase dezrskb.

Kindly refer to the given price list to have a rough idea.
Attachment 983599

PS: A friend had once emailed the price list that I've attached. The new prices are the ones after Skoda's decision to localise the spares (hence reducing the price)
I hope it helps.
Thanks dZired for the input!
The scanned / photo of the spares is of Laura?
Front windshield priced at 3K odd looks unbelievably good!.
Yes. If Skoda is able to localize most of its parts, and dealers pull up their socks, I guess they will have good time.

Last edited by dezrskb : 10th September 2012 at 19:35. Reason: wanted to add another line
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Old 10th September 2012, 19:56   #7
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezrskb View Post
Thanks for the suggestion !
Mirrors in this model are auto dimming for sure. They work well.
I am not able to make out real strength of A/C or lack of it with this being rainy season and outside being cooler. I will follow your suggestion in summer surely. For the time being its quite sufficient at 25degrees
You are right regarding the seat covers of course. I forgot about airbags.
I think I will request others who have Elegance / L&K with beige leathers to let me know how they are maintaining color of the leathers.
For first time you have suggested something other than Michelin PLC! Let me check it. Is it available widely? I guess price will be in same range though
Yoko's (both ES501 and S drives) will be cheaper. The S-drive 205/55/R16 are even cheaper - are fun to drive - best looking in the lot - but have a life of only 30 k kms and will harden the drive. Fun if you don't have a bad back already.

Yoko's are positioned as a better value for money product than Michelin. Had used XMV8 from Michelin with 205/60/R16 for 43k kms of comfortable, effecient but boring drive followed by S-Drive 205/55/R16 Yoko for exciting, but back breaking drives for 30 k kms followed by YokoES501 for quite, comfortable and yet exciting (wider tyres) dive till now.

The Central (Inside Car) side view mirrors is indeed auto dimming but though I have an L&K the side view mirror auto dimming is quite iffy - being controlled by the same sensor (that detects light on the inside mirror) does not really help. At times the light from the headlight at the rear is hits just one of the side view mirrors and it does not dim. Also at times when the Rear curtain is pulled down the auto dimming function does not work.

Enjoy your drive.

Last edited by ACM : 10th September 2012 at 19:58.
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Old 10th September 2012, 19:58   #8
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezrskb View Post
Now my Skoda Laura 2.0 CR TDi Elegance MT is 10 days / 400 kms old and this is how I see it
Congrats on the acquisition and wish you a million miles of happiness with your Laura.

Take it for some long drives on one of those winding roads you have near your place and you ll appreciate the highway dynamics of the Czech beau.

May your tribe grow.
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Old 10th September 2012, 20:37   #9
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by ACM View Post
Yoko's are positioned as a better value for money product than Michelin.
The Central (Inside Car) side view mirrors is indeed auto dimming
.
Thanks ACM !
I have a question reg mirrors - How about convex mirror for right ORVM? Have you bought an aftermarket one? Plain mirror is a real pain. Also issue will be whether aftermarket one will be auto dimming.
Elegance trim doesn't have rear curtains. So till now I have felt that auto dimming is sufficient in both overhead and outside rear view mirrors (I have noticed all lights turning greenish with no glare. that is auto dimming?)
You have made me think about Yokohamas. If I need a good value for money tire in Yokohama with better driving comfort than the present Goodyear NCTs but should last around 40K, which one would it be? Wider tire like 225 has no troubles with extreme steering turns?
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Old 10th September 2012, 21:08   #10
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Congratulations dezrskb on a fine acquisition.

- Auto AC should have 2 modes Low (left light on, on the Auto switch) and High (right light on). Kindly press twice to toggle to high mode. At least this is how it is on my Superb. Also Use OFF switch to toggle AC on/off. With that it remembers your last setting and you do not have to press recirc mode every time (again as per my experience from Superb; not sure about Laura)
- It is a simple one minute job to convert km/l etc. and switch on DRL's through VAG. Although I am surprised to see the same cannot be done through the MID as is possible in the Superb. I also see a non touchscreen stereo. Isn't the Elegance trim supposed to come with a touchscreen ICE in Laura?

Anyways, these minor issues apart, enjoy a fantastic ride with a solidly built vehicle.
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Old 10th September 2012, 21:56   #11
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by dkaile View Post
Congratulations dezrskb on a fine acquisition.

- . At least this is how it is on my Superb.
- It is a simple one minute job to convert km/l etc. and switch on DRL's through VAG. Although I am surprised to see the same cannot be done through the MID as is possible in the Superb. I also see a non touchscreen stereo. Isn't the Elegance trim supposed to come with a touchscreen ICE in Laura?

Anyways, these minor issues apart, enjoy a fantastic ride with a solidly built vehicle.
Thanks dkaile
I will try your suggestions on my A/c. I think it works same way in Laura too.

ICE is not touchscreen here. A minor irritant but surely not a deal breaker for me.

Customizations with DRLs and mileage units possible through only Maxidot display in L&K trim of Laura as far as I know. But VAG can surely do it in mine. Problem is Skoda uses some VAS (same functionality as VAG-COM?). Service personnel here either don't know how to do it through VAS or VAS doesnt have this functionality (not sure which).

Last edited by dezrskb : 10th September 2012 at 22:09.
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Old 10th September 2012, 22:02   #12
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by dezrskb View Post
Now my Skoda Laura 2.0 CR TDi Elegance MT is 10 days / 400 kms old and this is how I see it -

....But I do hope that with this European beauty, my love lasts forever.

Few photos of my beauty
Beautiful review. Very very happy to see the efforts that Skoda has taken in delivering the car. And that's may fav color on the Laura too! Wish you miles of happy & safe motoring!

Quote:
Originally Posted by dZired View Post
....PS: A friend had once emailed the price list that I've attached. The new prices are the ones after Skoda's decision to localise the spares (hence reducing the price).

EDIT: Got this from another thread on tbhp. Member manuc posted it after a repair on his laura.

Attachment 983603
WOW! That's some reduction in prices. Nice that Skoda has done it. To clarify, the pic at the bottom is the old prices and the one at the top, new?! With the new prices, I guess the service costs will be at par with the segment.
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Old 11th September 2012, 00:00   #13
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by swiftnfurious View Post
WOW! That's some reduction in prices. Nice that Skoda has done it. To clarify, the pic at the bottom is the old prices and the one at the top, new?! With the new prices, I guess the service costs will be at par with the segment.

I just hope these prices dont just remain on paper since the same friend (who had emailed me the price list) paid Rs3700 for replacing a broken ORVM of his Fabia yesterday .

Last edited by dZired : 11th September 2012 at 00:01.
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Old 11th September 2012, 05:45   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dZired


I just hope these prices dont just remain on paper since the same friend (who had emailed me the price list) paid Rs3700 for replacing a broken ORVM of his Fabia yesterday .
You know, in 2006, in order to fit a left side ORVM onto my wife's then brand new Swift Lxi, i had to shell our Rs 3500/- for a brand new Maruti/ Suzuki genuine spare part?
This is just to put things in perspective that it is not only the Euro boys who milk the market on the spare part prices. Even the Indo Japs do as can be seen!
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Old 11th September 2012, 09:18   #15
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Re: Cappuccino Beige Czech Tank is here! My Skoda Laura 2.0 Elegance MT

Quote:
Originally Posted by noopster View Post

Trading 30 horses for the reliability of manual shift over DSG was probably the sensible thing though! Unlike the Jetta, the higher-tuned engine does not come with an MT on the Laura. Otherwise it would have been a compelling buy!
Absolute rip off by SKODA. There is no valid logic why the MT should have 110 horses instead of 140.

The Laura looks great and its interiors are excellent. I guess those were your top two priorities.

Enthusiasts like me will crib about the 30 less horses.

Congratulations dezrskb !!
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