[srishiva]

@diabloo
Hondas worldover are usually noisier (road noise) compared to others like Toyota etc.,

[GTO]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Hitting a wall at 140kmph is not such a good thing for a german engineered 20L plus car. And your review about the NVH also seems like it is not too good.

Ditto with the Laura. I had posted earlier after an expressway drive; it just runs out of steam at 150ish. Progress after that is really slow.

[Ym-enjn]

Why not Camry? It would be interesting to know the On-road price of Camry too. It sure has the best road presence of them all.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Ym-enjn

Why not Camry? It would be interesting to know the On-road price of Camry too. It sure has the best road presence of them all.

The Camry's pricing will be in an entirely different league. Its a CBU unlike the Accord. Bangalore price? I'd guess around 27 lakhs on the road.

[Ym-enjn]

Camry: Bangalore Ex showroom Price:

Manual : Rs :2,182,000
Automatic : Rs: 2,351,000

Yeah, it goes in the Passat segment. Isn't it better than Passat?

[ajmat]

Now consider this

the next golf is revealed so expect a new jetta in 2010
Paris Motor Show preview: Volkswagen Golf - Latest Car News from 4Car

[Jaggu]

Viddy great review and a great car indeed! You cant compare German engineering with Jap's, German's are a very diff league altogether.

Now when do we get to try out the DSG

[reignofchaos]

They seriously should have given at least the 1.8 turbo petrol to the jetta. Both the engines are a complete joke. 100 bhp in a car costing close to 20lacs... what were they smoking.

[abhi1309]

It sure is super expensive. What would be the price of the cheapest Jetta and Laura, forgetting DSG etc..

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by vid6639

The skoda Laura L&K DSG AT costs Rs. 20.59L in bangalore on road.

Compared to the Jetta it has, electric seats with memory, parking sensors with parkktronic display, xenons, sunroof, headlamp washers, tyre pressure monitor and mechanical rear window sunshade.

The Jetta just has the extra Paddle shifts and the bottle opener.

Compared to competition:

Honda CR-V 2L 2WD MT: Rs. 21.57L
Honda CR-V 2.4L 4WD MT: Rs. 23.38L
Honda Accord 2.4 MT: Rs. 21.05L
VW Jetta 1.9TDi comfortline DSG AT: Rs.20.27L
skoda Laura L&K DSG AT: Rs. 20.59L

Given the facts the Laura makes sense C'mon take a decision Sir !!!

All the best for your purchase.



Cheers

[Mpower]

Originally Posted by vid6639

The skoda Laura L&K DSG AT costs Rs. 20.59L in bangalore on road.

Compared to the Jetta it has, electric seats with memory, parking sensors with parkktronic display, xenons, sunroof, headlamp washers, tyre pressure monitor and mechanical rear window sunshade.

Seems to me like the Laura is offering a lot more kit for just 30K more and therefore ends up more VFM. Or... you can always buy a non-L&K DSG version (whatever its called) and save a couple of lakhs.

[anandbhat]

I just booked my Laura, going through similar dilemma of choosing between Laura, Octavia or Jetta!
These 3 cars were shortlisted after looking at whole bunch of cars starting with Verna/Fiesta to CRV.

I wanted a smaller car with luxury! and a drivers car!
I chose Laura Ambiente (lowest cost in Laura variants).
Bangalore On Road price:
- Ex Showroom: Rs. 13,49,701/=
- Road Tax : Rs. 2,37,547/=
- Insurance : ~45,000/=

For me, I chose Laura, between Octavia L&K, Jetta for following reasons:

Laura:
+ Lot of gizmos I like them
+ Mechanical Seat adjustment (better than problematic electric seat adjustments)
+ Liked the remote for rolling up/down window glasses
+ Latest engine compared to Octy (PD)
+ Has been on Indian Roads for couple of years
+ More dealership compared to VW

- No sun-roof (sacrificed for the price advantage, about 4L lesser compared to top-end variant)
- Turbo issues (There seem to be some update done for India in the Turbo, I also got few guidelines from Skoda customer care how to make sure not to hurt turbo)
- Service cost
- Dealership issues (true for Octy as well)

Octavia L&K:
+ More reliable engine compared to Laura's PD
+ Tested and proven on Indian roads!
+ Stable and good handling (compared to Civic, didn't find much different from Laura though)
+ Mileage! better than Laura and even Jetta (since both share same engine)
+ Would get sun-roof for top-end

- Low ground clearance (especially L&K because of its sporty front bumper. This single issue took me off to choose Laura)
- Less gizmos
- ICE not as good as Laura/Jetta
- I didn't like the power windows (personal opinion, for a car >15L)

Jetta:
+ Looks fresher
+ Good build quality
+ Similar+ves as Laura

- New car on Indian Roads!
- Not many dealership network (1 Dealer for whole of Karnataka) and total 7 dealers in India!
- Road noise filters into Jetta more compared to Laura (ACI Jul/Aug article)
- I would have chosen this car over Laura if I were to buy a year or 2 later!

Thought might benefit other TBhpians!

I have an XLS for cost comparison between different cars in this segment, will post it soon!

[Vid6639]

Hey anand, the Jetta is not really a new car in the indian market. It shares the same engine, gearbox, chasis, suspension as the Laura. You are just buying a laura with a different body over it.

The engine is proven in the Laura. Have you driven the Jetta before finalising for the Laura?

[anandbhat]

Originally Posted by vid6639

Hey anand, the Jetta is not really a new car in the indian market. It shares the same engine, gearbox, chasis, suspension as the Laura. You are just buying a laura with a different body over it.

The engine is proven in the Laura. Have you driven the Jetta before finalising for the Laura?

Vid,
Agree with you that engine/gearbox are shared with Laura (have mentioned the same in my post).

I didn't test drive for following reasons:
- Have to go to Elite Motors from Indiragar, takes a full day!
- They don't send car for TD
- I was more scared about the delearship network
- Even 15-20 days after the launch car was not available for registration (I was told some RTO clearance!)
- No spares what so ever available (while talking to this sales person in Elite, seemed like they don't havea clue when they will start delivering the car, when they would get any accessaries)

Though I liked very much 4year warranty, I felt Jetta is no worth extra money compared to Laura Ambiente.

[GTO]

Thought to ponder upon; VW has priced the Jetta lower than the Laura. This is actually a first as, worldwide, VW's are more expensive compared to their Skoda counterparts. Has VW accepted that the Skoda is a more luxurious brand in India?

+ Lot of gizmos I like them
+ Mechanical Seat adjustment (better than problematic electric seat adjustments)

If your car has mechanical seat adjustment, you haven't opted for the top-end variant which has all the gizmos. Which gizmos do you like in particular?

- Low ground clearance (especially L&K because of its sporty front bumper. This single issue took me off to choose Laura)
- Less gizmos
- ICE not as good as Laura/Jetta
- I didn't like the power windows (personal opinion, for a car >15L)

The biggest problem of the Octavia is its smallish cabin....space is at a serious premium. Forget the rear, a tallish person stays uncomfortable even in the front seat!!