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-   -   Skoda Laura VRS - Officially Unofficial Review and Initial Ownership Report (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/130196-skoda-laura-vrs-officially-unofficial-review-initial-ownership-report-3.html)

So it has a narrower track? Thats odd. The Acceleration looks the same to be. And 30 kg's more is probably due to the sunroof.

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Yup.. That's me... I live around there.

Yes It's a 2011, Dec built. There are very few 2012s and MSRP is not justified. Skodas is offering 2011s for 13.99, free insurance+skoda shield. Add corp disc of 35k. And voila. My company pays insurance+reg, so that's saving for me.

Thanks for the review! Love the color. The only thing I don't like about the vRS is the 'stilts on wheels' stance.

Perhaps you're right about the vRS not needing the wing. But in FWD race cars to counter the inherent understeer, things are needed to induce more oversteer - larger offset front tyres, thicker rear sway bars, removing front sway bar, LSD, more aggressive negative camber..all these upset the rear balance and to regain stability, a rear wing is mandatory - a splitter by itself would create understeer. With both splitter and a spoiler, late braking and getting on the gas earlier could be possible! At least, this is what I remember seeing in a Discovery Turbo show.

Very surprising.

Unfortunately no such luck here, buddy. A friend of mine (quite enamored and inspired by my RS) has recently made inquiries at a couple of dealerships here in Mumbai. Thanks to my push too, now he's almost zeroed in buying one in the next few weeks. All the dealerships he's spoke with are quoting a standard corporate discount of Rs. 35-50 K on the 2011 manufactured RS. No waiver of any sort on the Skoda Shield. Even if he were to bargain some, it would still come to about Rs. 16 L ex-showroom - which I suspect will stack up to Rs. 18-18.5 L OTR.

Overall, still a difference of about Rs. 2 L even if I were to exclude insurance and registration which is taken care of in your case by your employer. Any thoughts why?

Dont know why. I inquired from my Dealer and he said that the offer was still valid. 2011 models @ 13.99 Ex Showroom.

Interior Shots








A quick shot with my buddy's Punto 1.4


Nice choice.. I'd prefer a R35 GTR and a LFA for the Track.

An Evo X MR is a good commuter car especially with the slick SST, but overkill in Indian traffic. HOW you drive ur GTR here with our roads is mindblowing....

STI's are no longer that special, especially with the new body style since 2008... Plus the car hasnt evolved as the Evo has. Its criminal for subaru to keep the engine and drivetrain same as 2003... Lets hope they can do some good with the BRZ.

All the above mentioned mods, sans splitter, and camber would be good for a FWD drag car, but for daily use.. no go...

Splitter helps reduce lift in front which inherently helps improve front grip, improve high speed stability.

Rear Spoiler is of no use.. for the simple reason its adds down force on the rear of the car. Rear wing which can generate some lift would do wonders for mid corner handling, but at high speeds it can critically de-stablize the car. A rear diffuser YES. does the same but to a much less degree than a big wing.

Dear Prithwi,

Fantastic Car. Since you have very good knowledge of Laura, I would like to ask -Is it possible to replace Laura Ambient's front bumper with Vrs??

Thanks

Yes. You will need a few extra parts, DRL LEDs, and new fogs, and some electrical work. However the ambient doesn't have the xenons, so ordering the bumper from your local Skoda dealer won't help. Get fogs n DRL from local Skoda, get non xenon+non park assist bumper from any online store that ships to India. And enjoy. Don't know if the bumper beams are the same on both cars, though I suspect it should.

Its possible to get the bumper with fogs,DRLs etc. from the dealer itself. The xenons have nothing to do with the bumper, its a separate unit. Besides I dont think the VRS has front park assist like the L&K.
The whole set comes to around 45K apart from painting and installation charges. A lot of guys down south have done it. The DRL's are the most expensive part at around 24K per pair.

Lovely pictures.
I just love the instrument cluster of laura - eligant and pleasing, white font on black dials...I can't stand the blue and orange and red and purple and what not colors used by other manufacturers.

The front seats of the vRS look extra special.

Enjoy!

Thanks everyone for your comments.

Speaking of dials, orange/red lighting is considered best on sports cars as they are on the low end of the spectrum, and dont disturb the driver much, while being easier to read..

Almost all sports cars i've driven, Honda Si's, STIs, Evos (upto 9), Audis (except for the V10 R8) have red gauges. Infact there was a huge uproar among Audi owners when they switched the R8 V10 to white gauges while keeping the V8's gauges Red.

Personally I prefer red gauges, with a permanent backlight.

You can do with the VRS bumpers from the Dealer as well. The only issue with this is that the India VRS comes with the Xenons, and the bumper available in India comes pre drilled for the headlight washers, which are absent in the Ambiente models. So you'd have to either glue these to the bumper or have some workaround. Plus i dont know if there will be any fitment issues. Its doable but its messy job. Personally I'd get a bumper from one of the online shops as it would avoid unwanted issues.

Part List for Amibente front end conversion to VRS Front End.




Total Part Cost -559.97 Euro equals 40417.63 Indian Rupee, + Shipping and Handling + Customs/Excise Duty + Installation

Is it worth it? Depends on how much free cashflow you have :-)

Glad that I have a Skoda and can not afford an Audi.
I have also seen some Audis with grey steering and dashboard. That rekindled my love for Skoda :-)

And special thanks for clarifying that a rear spoiler is pointless on a FWD car and infact be counterproductive. You saved me a some money there.

This is where the company lease fuel and maintenance cashflow comes in Mr P. .....now waiting for you to sell the black Ambiente to me for peanuts ;)

Barges in a little late on this thread, but an awesome review. Laura vRS seems to have struck all the right chords with you considering you went for one even after owning the Ambiente variant. I specially liked the steering wheel comparo. Thanks for sharing. :thumbs up

prithwi-81 ! Something offtopic. I spotted you a few days back going from Delhi to gurgaon via Expressway, the day vintage rally was held (Sunday).
The silver fiat with team bhp sticker is yours right? clap: