“If you can park it and not turn around to look at it – You haven’t bought the right car”
until this arrived
The Phantom I’ve been closely following Team-Bhp Laura Tsi Owners threads for a long time who have been a great contributor in my buying decision. My dream to fulfill my initial automotive lust is completed by the Laura Tsi.
Black has always been my favorite color, hence when I saw the ad for the Tsi in black I bugged SwanandIndamdar to at least go and check the car. Finally he agreed.
The car was not washed and it was very dirty. Seeing that, all my emotions and motivations went through the drain water which flowing besides me at the dealer. Left that place, then went on searching for other cars.
P.S: There were no alternatives considered during the search.
Even I went to Mumbai to check the cars. However, many of them had shoddy service records. Came back to this car’s service and found that all the services were done by Skoda. This gave me a moral boost.
We again visited the dealer. With Swanand’s Excellent & efficient bargaining tactics, I got a sweet deal and paid the amount there, got the car home. Thank you very very much Swanand.
I took the car to pick up my wife from office. I even parked it besides her, she ignored as she was waiting for the Vento. After everything came in place, she was speechless (Mix of shock + happiness) which was priceless!
Next, the Car visited Tune-Up Plus where the BHP gang was already there. Little did they know that I had bought the car! Every one checked the car in detail! Amey, Himanshu , Adi, Abhijeet thank you very much!
Initial ownership
I had bought the car at 52XXX kms ODO in May 2014 and as of now it is 58XXX kms.
Likes
- 1.8L, 160 Bhp! – Honestly, that’s where my list of likes ends.
- Sturdy Build - the thud of the door says it all
- Brakes that bite hard.
- Feels planted on high speeds.
- The rough road package is boon for pot-hole infested roads
- The boot space is really nice.
- Attention to detail.
- Music System - 8 speaker set(according to skoda) is really nice.
Dislikes
- Suspension is on stiffer side than Vento
- Engine Oil Guzzler – need to top-up frequently
- Bit cumbersome in heavy stop and go traffic.
- Less on Equipments - No USB
Additions in the car
- 3M polish and interior cleaning
- Skoda grill wrapped
- Alloy wheels painted black
- Tyres upgraded to YokohamaV550 – 205 60 R15
- VRS logo
- Skoda wheel logos
Overall build quality and fit & finish
I always loved the design of Octavia MK2 FL because I donot like much of lines and curves on car. I rather like is simple and boxy. Overall build quality is top notch and It feels like a tank. The attention to detail is very precise in Laura, small and significant details makes it a driver's delight.
Interior design, quality, space and comfort
I always loved the Laura’s interior and the top notch quality of Skoda. The comfort level is increased to a whole new level as compared to the vento. Besides the engine, the attention to detail is the second best thing to love in the Skoda Laura.
The seat covers are leather (Nappa?) and feeling is really nice. However I'm tempted to upgrade them to black leather. Will it be a good idea?
And, I did not buy this car for Space.
Interior is lovely in the Laura (standard european). It was not a big change for me as I came from a vento.
However, the steering is bit in the heavier side in comparison to Vento. But on high speeds the steering just weighs in and the car planted to the road.
Love the attention to detail that Skoda has implemented.[/left]
HU and Music Quality
I'm a sucker for EDM. Laura's 8-speaker set (as they say) does the job. However, I do not like the Swing player a lot. The only option is to play through CDs or Aux port. I might go in for replacement of HU, Component speakers and a woofer.
Recently the right hand driver side speaker is giving a jarring noise while playing bassy music. I had taken the car to of the accessory shop and he told that its just vibration. The speaker seems okay, only damping is needed.
Is it possible to upgrade to the LnK speaker setup in the Tsi? If yes, please guide me.
Equipment levels
Always loved the equipment levels of LnK and superb. And I’ve seen members here upgrading the equipment through VAGtune and other vendors. I'm very fond of Coming home lights, i'll search the forum more for the modifications.
Engine performance & drivability in the city
For me, driving the Tsi in stop and go traffic is bit cumbersome than Vento. It’s difficult to be in the turbo range in traffic, you can feel the turbo lag easily.And when the turbo kicks-in someone would be there in front of you and you have to brake hard!
Engine performance & drivability on the highway
In Highway, the Tsi is bliss to drive and it’s already described a lot in the forum. I went on a Goa drive, once it comes in turbo range, it’s insane!. Also during the expressway run, the car does insane speeds in no time. May be, thats the reason the first upgrade should be bigger brakes.
This would be my first Tsi. The car doesn’t jumps initially neither does give a big kick when the turbo spools(as compared to Vento). However, once it gains momentum, it’s tough to stop it.
May be other Tsi owners can confirm this behavior?
Gearshift and transmission quality is slick and after the tyre change I can only hear faint hum of the petrol engine. However once it guns down more than 3000 RPM, the sound of the stock exhaust is awesome. (Millteck in my mind)
The "kitna deti hai" Question
In City, I am getting 10.5 kmpl. While on a Goa ride I got around 12 kmpl (with heavy foot and frequent 3 digit speed burst). I was also astonished when I saw the car can attain this figure
:
Suspension & ride quality
This is the part I hate the most. Laura Tsi’s Suspension is stiff and I still can feel the pot-hole thuds while drive (I’ve read that the suspension is very stiff in Tsi).
However, once on highway all my worries are gone. This car is on rails in staright lines!. But sometimes(rarely) on highspeed turns (eg. in expressway), the car doesnot feel much planted. May be it was rain water playing spoilsport. I will re-check it again.
Can the shock absorbers be lowered or it is better to go with bilstein setup?
Performance after the tyre upgrade
I ditched the stock NCTs sometime back as they had hardened and replaced it with Yokohama v550 205 60 R15. Initial drive was nice and they are very silent. I took it on expressway, and the stopping power of the car has increased drastically. They perform nice on turns, but I need to test it more as it was raining heavily the time I tested it on expressway.
All thanks to
Amey for his suggestion
Lights
Laura's HL throw is adequate. However, combine it with fog lamps the lighting is really good, but i still like the xenon lamps of VRS and LnK Version. The light throw would be far better as well.
I'm tempted to change the low beam projector bulbs to HID 4300k.
The only glitch would be there would be a error light throwing up.
Cost of upkeep & maintenance
After I bought the car, I’ve just serviced it once (total bill was about 14k). I will provide the details once I fetch the bill. The glitch I found that it drinks a lot of oil. Almost every 2000 kms I need to to-up the oil a bit.
When I asked about these in Skoda, at first they were clue-less and were looking at each other's face! Later on, SA came up and said that it is normal with Tsi. Since, then I've been carrying a liter of Shell helix ultra 5W40 with the car. I've topped up atleast 2 times with a regular interval of 1500 to 2000 kms.
Maybe other members can confirm?
The fogging of front windscreen and side mirrors has become regular in monsoons. I've never faced these kind of issues in any of my previous cars.
Is this common? What is the remedy?
VAG-COM Activation
I've already activated the below from Skoda
- DRLs
- Auto-lock after 15kmph
I've read that needle sweep can be activated as well during VAG-COM. I asked the same to the SA, but they are unaware about it.
What else can be activated on the stock Laura Tsi?
After Market Additions
Besides the tyres everything else is stock The Skoda Wheel Cap logos where missing while i bought it. Hence ordered them from China (Took whole one month to arrive) and they are of new skoda logos.
I'm also thinking of changing the changing the front and back skoda emblems
I also included a VRS logo and number plate lights. I made a mistake of ordering blue number plate lights instead of white!
Thanks MoralFiber for the ebay links!
Thank you very much for your patience!
I'll keep updating the thread.
Some more pictures.
Latest Update:
I've always loved the Xenon Lamps of LnK version.
Hence went ahead and installed the HID Kit in lower beam projector.
They were from P8 brand with 4300K
The Light throw has improved drastically. Absolutely in love with it.
I also did a expressway run in the upgraded light, I must say they are way better than stock lamps.
It doesnot blind the on-coming traffic as well.