[vignesh.cv]

Past:
It's been 5 yrs since I bought my very first car - the Fiat Palio Stile 1.6. When I was looking for a new car then, my parameters were compact dimensions, good engine, good brakes and reasonable handling. The Palio met almost all these criteria back then. The brakes were aweful though, especially when braking from higher speeds. Looking back, she has served us really well and after 31k kms, one change of tyres & brake pads, she is still running strong.

Search for a new car:
After having a kid and folks from home visiting us more often, I felt the need for a bigger car. My budget was in the 15-17l range. I wanted something with better brakes and better safety features i.e ABS, TCS etc. And my drives on the Mysore-Blr highway showed that a NA motor always struggles to build momentum and used to envy the Swifts/Dzires/Innovas etc for the turbo motor that provides with ample acceleration without having to rev the nuts of the motor like a track day junkie. That meant my next car had to have a turbo from the factory as well. When looking at the market, there were a few options that met my criteria of factory fitted turbo, decent brakes and good space/build.

• Toyota Corolla Altis
• Chevy Cruze
• Skoda Laura
• Hyundai Elantra
• Volkswagen Jetta

I'm not a fan of Hyundai and neither did I like the plain jane looks of the Toyota. The Cruze was exciting on paper but in reality was a different beast altogether. I did not checkout the Jetta as it was offered with the 1.4 TSI motor only.

So in the end it had to be the Laura petrol with its brilliant 1.8 TSI motor. Plus the face lifted Laura looked better in my eyes than any other in that segment. And the reviews of the awesome TSI motor stuck a chord with me as well. Recently had a test ride on my colleague's TSI and came away impressed at the power delivery, brakes and the composure of the car. That's when I decided this will be my next car.

Now comes the unfortunate part - with the impending launch of the new Octavia, all stocks of the 1.8 TSI are finished and the only ones left were the TDI manual and DSG option. When I checked out the prices and the features offered, the newer Ambition TDI with DSG box had almost whatever I wished for - turbo motor albeit a diesel, 16" alloys with wider tyres plus the Bolero audio system and steering mounted controls with bluetooth integration as well. The only sad part was it was a diesel. Plus of course the onroad price was approx 2.5l more than the petrol if it were available. There was also a brief moment where we were contemplating whether to wait for the new Octavia. But after reading through the posts here as well as online magazines, came to know that the multi-link rear suspension will be offered only in the 1.8 TSI petrol variant. Whereas the current gen Laura offers it on the diesel. So in my opinion the current gen Laura offered better value for money. I was also checking out the Jetta in MT comfortline trim in between, but after sampling lack lustre responses from the VW dealer at Whitefield, I decided it'll be the Laura for me.

Buying experience:
Next came the discussion with dealers to get a quote. I initially went to Vinayak Skoda at ORR near Marathahalli as it was closer to where I live. They said there were two MT's and one DSG model available. The discounts they were offering were about 1l for the MT and 80k for the DSG. After the initial interaction, I felt the SA werent as keen and then I called up Tafe near St.Marks. The SA was telling me the petrol models were stopped and only the diesel DSG variants will be produced. He then told me, why not look at the diesel option and went on about how the latest CR engines are bullet proof and offer good mileage as well. I went to their showroom and they were offering approx 2l discount on the MT and approx 1l on the DSG. I'm not a good negotiator and I finally settled for a brilliant silver Ambition TDI DSG for 19l on road. The listed on-road price for the same was 20.34l.

The MY2013 Ambition TDI DSG variant comes with the following:
1. 16" Draconis alloys from the vRS, runs 205/55 spec tyres
2. Skoda Bolero touch screen entertainment system, 6 CD changer & SD MMC with bluetooth integration
3. Multifunction steering wheel with volume control & phone integration via bluetooth
4. MaxiDOT instrument cluster - interestingly there is option now to change the fuel consumption from l/kms to kmpl via the MFD.
5. Cooled armrest storage.

16" Draconis alloys


Multi-function steering wheel with bluetooth integration


MaxiDOT display, ability to change to km/ltr or ltr/100km and option to change speedo unit to mph


Another view of the MaxiDOT display, note odometer reading on bottom left and trip meter on the bottom right on the MFD


Snap of the interior of the car at the dealers place


The SA at Tafe walked me through all the features and seemed pretty knowledgeable about the Laura and the MY2013 changes. After going through it, I was convinced it has to be the DSG option given that city driving will be more for me. I went through some of the online forums about DSG failures and maintenance of the same. Looks like a change of the DSG transmission oil & filter at scheduled intervals and avoiding the clutch slip for longer period of time should make it more reliable.

Delivery and drive back home:
I took delivery of the car yesterday (12th Sept) and the whole process was smooth. Since I needed the car for a long trip next week, I went ahead with temporary registration and will complete the permanent registration after a week. The SA and the delivery personnel were helpful in going through the features once again, were recommending to stick with either regular diesel or premium but not keep mixing both. They mentioned 30psi on all wheels for optimum comfort. The car was delivered with 27kms on the odo.

This being my first ever diesel, turbo motor & automatic, I was worried if I'd be able to handle it properly in peak traffic condition - it was around 6:30 in the evening and the M.G.road traffic does not make it any easy. I drove to the fuel pump opposite to Tafe and filled up 15ltrs of diesel. The first few meters of driving the car taught me about the throttle application and the turbo lag in the 1500rpm range. Coming from a petrol NA car, it was very perceptible. The dimensions of the car was another thing I was trying to get used to, the effortless steering helped in that matter a lot. The turning radius is lesser than my Palio!

Driving through thick traffic, the clouds opened and starting pouring as well. I had to tell myself that the wiper & indicator stalks are placed on the wrong side. The MFD showed instantaneous fuel consumption was 5.6kmpl in the beginning, climbed to 8.6kmpl by the time I reached home. When driving in D mode, the box shifts to 2nd really soon and I could feel the clutch slipping when crawling through bumper to bumper to traffic. Whenever I felt the traffic will be halting for a long time, I shifted to N and could feel the tension getting relieved completely when I did that. On a short open stretch, I could touch up to 55kmph and noticed the box shifted to 5th by then. The car was literally quiet at those speeds, can't wait to see how she'll be on the highways. I feel one can achieve good fuel efficiency by just riding the torque by building momentum and just coast. The shove past 2k rpm is noticeable.

The brakes are fantastic, felt nice to have them at my command. It felt very reassuring, when compared to the Palio. I was apprehensive the 16" wheels would be a compromise on our broken roads, but it was quite comfortable. This was on very slow speeds, so could be due to that. Parking the car in my apartment parking lot was quite eventful, I guess I'll need to try it a few times to get used to the size and adapt accordingly. The rear parking sensors are a boon in this car. I wish they also offered front parking sensors on this model.

Initial drive impressions:

After getting delivery of the car, I managed to put about 20km on the city in thick traffic and pouring rain. After that, I decided to wait for the weekend as we had planned for a long trip to Calicut. The roads were quite decent this time of the year. Considering the car had run hardly 50km, I was consciously trying to be smooth and gentle in applying the throttle/brakes. And stuck with the 'D' mode all throughout sticking with .anshuman's advice. The following is my observation after driving the car about 500kms.

Engine:
When I drove down from the showroom, I could feel the turbo lag given that I had just shifted from a sweet NA petrol motor in the Palio. After a few hundred kilometers, I've become accustomed to it and know how to drive around that. The surge of power is sluggish until approx 1500rpms after which the power delivery is smooth and strong. The DSG box is very intuitive to use, the motor has a broad spread of power - just perfect. I could see the box shifting to 6th in about 65-70kmph and the motor is not lugging at those speeds. The flexibility of the motor is just awesome. Power is always available on demand, just a mild tap on the throttle and the box shifts to 5th or 4th depending on how aggressive you want her to be. Even in 5th, there is a decent pull from low in the rpm range. The turbo kicks in approx 1500-2000 rpms and it is evident with the change in power delivery. She is very smooth in the lower rpms but is aggressive once you cross 2500rpms. When driven with a light foot i.e smooth buildup of speed, she manages to mask the speed and many a times my wife was telling me why arent we going faster when we were doing approx 80+ on the forest section with its winding roads. When off throttle in the higher gears, the car manages to coast well without much of engine braking. This is especially useful if you wish to extract more kilometers per liter of diesel. I managed about 16.5kmpl from Bangalore to Calicut considering the low average speeds (lots of speed breakers which meant accelerate/stop/accelerate instead of accelerate/cruise/coast) and the hilly section towards the Kerala side. I'm sure on a better road like NH7 towards Salem/Coimbatore I can extract much better numbers. For pure reference, my Palio used to give about 13-14kmpl on the same stretch of road with the same driving style.

Handling:
I had intended to change the tyres as soon as I get delivery of the car. But it was late in the evening and I had a long drive scheduled the next day, so decided to stick with stock NCTs. The high speed composure and stability over flowing/sharp corners is to be experienced. Even with the stock tyres, I found the handling to be predictable (taken at speeds of 80kmph) and the rear followed the front perfectly. Over broken roads, the suspension manages to damp all the imperfections - I was initially thinking the combination of 16" wheels, lower profile tyres and stiffer suspension might be bad for the ride quality. I was proven wrong. The tyre pressure was set to 44psi from the showroom, and after lowering it to 30psi on all wheels, the ride quality was impressive. My palio used to crash over these bad roads at the same speeds, the Laura just glided over them. I'm not a aggressive driver, but I love driving over winding roads. The Laura is a perfect companion for these roads. The last 60kms or so of our trip was in pouring rain, she just held the line and remained composed perfectly even on really wet roads - have to stress that the stock NCT's performed admirably.

Braking:
The combination of all wheel disc brakes and ABS with EBD makes braking fuss free and provides tremendous stopping power. Again coming from the Palio which had horrible brakes, this was heaven sent for me. I'm sure if I were to encounter any panic braking situation, I can trust these to provide me with the right amount of control and stopping power.

Ergonomics:
The front seats are height adjustable in addition to lumbar & inclination adjust as well. This combined with the tilt and telescopic steering can be adjusted to give the perfect driving position. For a 6 footer like me, this was again heaven sent. On the Palio, I had to either pull the seat back (and lose some visibility on the front) or drive with my knees touching the steering wheel. Not so in this car. I have good visibility on the front as well as the steering does not touch my knees. The hand rest on the center compartment and the driver door is perfect to just rest your elbows - helps with a stress free drive especially on long trips. Everything is accessible from the drivers seat, the a/c controls, window operation all fall in place naturally. The footwell is spacious as well more so due to the lack of clutch pedal on the DSG variant. There is a foot rest for both left & right legs - guess this is for the cruise control equipped variants sold abroad.

Generously spaced front seats


Equally comfortable rear seats, a/c console protrudes too much for the middle passenger


Silver colour looks brilliant




Likes:
- Superbly built, interiors and exteriors both. The doors feel heavy and re-assuring.
- Strong and flexible motor, happy to lazily cruise at low rpms and can provide the needed punch if needed.
- Strong brakes with good feel.
- Brilliant handling and composure even with stock NCT tyres
- Good driving ergonomics
- DSG box is brilliant and intuitive
- Rear parking sensors work great
- Lots of storage space available
- effortless steering in city speeds, weighs nicely at speeds

Dislikes:
- Rear seat bench a bit upright, could have reclined a few degrees more to provide that perfect position to doze off on long trips
- Middle passenger is not welcome in the rear. The seat is hard and the floor hump + a/c vent protrude a lot. This is strictly a 2+2 seater.
- In my Palio, I could switch on the a/c but keep the fan setting at zero. This was a boon and provided just sufficient cooling without freezing my face & hands. Really miss this feature on the Laura.

I had a small moment after booking the car - did I do the right thing by switching to a diesel. One long drive and my apprehensions were thrown out the window. Then there is always that thought about Skoda after sales service. Having owned a Palio, I did not feel shortchanged with the TATA after sales service. Hope my experience with Skoda service would turn out to be the same. If it does not work out, well, DIY & privately owned service centers to the rescue

[Vid6639]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing!

[trumpcard]

congrats for your skoda, Vignesh.Its a fantastic car,have been enjoying mine for the past 2.5 years.

I could switch on the a/c but keep the fan setting at zero.

i didnt quite get what you meant by this?

[BackInTheFold]

I echo trumpcard's comment. I hope you enjoy your ride - you'll love it nursing it effortlessly through city traffic at low rpm and having fun in the S mode on the highway. Congrats and enjoy!

[the_skyliner]

Congratulations, Vignesh.cv! Laura is a good choice and your review is very well detailed. I had this car (MT) for two years in Europe and enjoyed every bit of it. Though the turbo failed in first month but after that the experience was flawless. I think you could have waited for the new Octavia because feature wise it will be a step or two ahead. But it doesn't matter as you liked this one and that's what matters.
BTW, I have the same question about the a/c being on without fan?!
Enjoy and drive safe!

[vignesh.cv]

@trumpcard, @the_skyliner - thanks for the feedback. I meant I could keep the blower fan setting at zero or off position and just switch on the a/c button on the Palio. And it would blow minimal air that provided sufficient cooling for those morning/evening drives. In the Laura I need to keep the blower fan setting to one in order to switch on the a/c. I felt the blower setting at one sometimes is too cold for me - especially in this weather.

@the_skyliner - Yes, I did think for a moment about the new Octavia. But after reading through the specs - seems the launch will be with only the DSG box for both 1.8TSI and 2.0TDI offerings. And the TDI option will get a torsion beam rear suspension vs. the multi link independent suspension on the Laura. Only the 1.8TSI variant will get the multi-link rear setup in the new Octavia. So, keeping those aspects in mind, I felt the current Laura to be more VFM.

@BackInTheFold - thanks for the feedback.

[Santoshbhat]

Congrats Vignesh on your New Laura. The Laura DSG is a real underrated car. The 2.0 140hp motor + DSG is an amazing combination and has the ability of delivering a stunning combination of power and efficiency. The suspension, chasis balance and fairly communicative (by EPS standards) steering will put a smile on your face on open roads. If such a capable car came with a Toyota or Honda badge this would be a real bestseller I'm sure.

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

4. MaxiDOT instrument cluster - interestingly there is option now to change the fuel consumption from l/kms to kmpl via the MFD.

The Maxidot always had this option. Just that the earlier Ambition models did not get the maxidot display. The L&K with maxidot always had this option.

Good set of features you have got there with your MY 2013 Ambition. My 2011 Ambiente TSI looks very bare in comparison.

Originally Posted by trumpcard

i didnt quite get what you meant by this?

In the Palio if you hit just the AC on button without touching the fan button, the AC comes on with fan speed in the lowest setting even if the fan speed is set at 0. Kind of a one touch AC button.

[JoseVijay]

Congratulations Vignesh. Those alloys look too hot. Good choice of colour. Wish you safe miles.

[BackInTheFold]

Originally Posted by vignesh.cv

@BackInTheFold - thanks for the feedback.

You are very welcome. By the way, I had the same thought on swapping out my stock tires and had to hold back due to the same reason (had to leave on a long trip the same day).

In retrospect, it has not proved to be a bad decision. I have now done close to 38K miles on them and they have performed pretty well in pot-hole city and on speedy highway drives. They are hardy too - while I'm careful, I don't constantly have concerns about babying them in the back of my head while I drive. The one downside is that they get noisier as they wear.

Nice wheels by the way! My 2011 Laura Ambiente with 15" wheels looks "under-shoed" in comparison

[anandpadhye]

Congrats on the Laura. A fantastic car.

Petty you missed out on the TSi - that's an awesome engine. I have been enjoying it for last 3 and half years (31000 km done) and it's been more reliable than my Honda City. No problems whatsoever except for "the day of the service" which is a real pain.

But you got the DSG which is another engineering marvel and will sort of make up for loosing out on the TSi.

And honestly, what has impressed me more than the mad acceleration of TSi, is the braking. Laura has phenomenal brakes. I really admire the way this car stops. Having infinite power is not the only thing, you should have control over it and Skoda has achieved that .

Regarding the backseat - yes, it's a bit too upright.

Wish you many many trouble free kilometers. And wish you good luck with the service centers. You said Fiat service is bad but you have been lucky with the Palio. Well, I am sure luck will be with you this time as well, but please note there is a small difference between Fiat's bad service and Skoda's bad service. Fiat/Tata guys may be ignorant, lazy, incompetent (at times and in places), their logistics may be poor, etc. Skoda guys are plain unethical. You have to take them to task.

Cheers!

[puchoo]

Congrats Vignesh!!! I love this car for what it offers , fantastic build quality and decent value for money. She was my first pick but the better half did not agree to spending that much at that time ! Have a blast with her!

[vignesh.cv]

@santoshbhat, @josevijay, @anandpadhye, @puchoo - thanks for the feedback.

@anandpadhye - Thanks for that info regarding the service, I understand they try to look for opportunities to replace parts and fleece the customer - have a colleague who owns a TSi and gets it serviced from Vinayak, will get some introductions from him and see how that goes.

[k_ajay]

Congratulations Vignesh. Fantastic car and all that, everyone knows and is already acknowledged.

Let me add, those alloys are simply superb, in my opinion. If they were 15 inchers, I would have robbed them off your car . Have seen them on a VRS at a friend's 3M detailing shop and in love with them ever since.

Wishing you a great ownership.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by anandpadhye

And honestly, what has impressed me more than the mad acceleration of TSi, is the braking. Laura has phenomenal brakes. I really admire the way this car stops. Having infinite power is not the only thing, you should have control over it and Skoda has achieved that .

No way man. Maybe Skoda has built you a one of a kind Laura. I found the brakes on my RS lacking when you push the car. I expected better brakes. Only after upgrading to 225 tyres do they really brake properly, and yet I feel it could do with a pad upgrade. But this is for spirited driving.


Vignesh - Congrats on the car bud, great choice. The 2013 models are loaded really well, and I'm sure you will have a great time with it. Its an extremely good engine and gearbox combo, and the gearbox will adjust to your driving style over a period of time. Just to be careful do remember to put the DSG in N if you are stopping for more than 15-20 seconds.

[vignesh.cv]

@k_ajay - thanks, in fact the wheels and the silver colour combination is what enticed me

@akshay1234 - thanks for the feedback. Yes, I consciously shift to N when I have to wait for more than 15 seconds.

Have managed to get a couple of scratches on the car already thanks to my apartment's tight basement parking. I feel a bit relieved that it happened, otherwise I'd be having that feeling in my mind - when is that going to happen Having said that, this is teaching me to understand the car's dimensions as well as help manoeuvre around in tight confines properly.

Completed 850kms yesterday. Drove down to Bangalore via Mysore. This time, I was consciously varying the rpms between 2 and 2.5k rpms, touching 3.5k just once. The speeds at those rpms map to about 120kmph, which is what I'm comfortable doing on these kind of roads. The handling composure, brakes and the torquey motor made for a good drive. The MFD read 14.8kmpl as average this time, because the initial 60kms or so involved uphill driving and that consumed a fair bit. Also tried tiptronic shift for the first time, it was fun for a while but then reverted to D mode as I was too lazy