Hello,
I have been looking for an upgrade over my Baleno going to complete 6 years in April and have been vacillating between Civic, Captiva, CRV, Outlander and Skoda was never under consideration for most part of the deliberations over 6 months preceding the purchase. The logic said Civic and the heart wanted an SUV until someone suggested Laura. From the feature and specifications perspective there was no issue; laura was the winner but serious doubts remained over the running costs (They still remain and I have to keep all my fingers crossed on that) and the number of horror stories on this forum itself.
Then I changed my job and had an option of a company lease therby being able to afford an upgrade over civic in the same price to me (Saving 33% over the EMI being coming out of the taxable salary).
I did some crude calculations on the TCO for the options I had and factored in the cost of maintaining the Skoda at double that of a civic (actually more than that as I used it as a percentage of the price and made it double for Skoda over the civic), so basically I tricked myself with a set of logics to convince me that it has to be Laura!! .
The TCO for the SUVs just could not work out because of 3-4 lac additional premium over Laura (Which is already over the same amount on my original plan of a Civic) and the running costs due to most being petrol
Also I compared it to Jetta as well, afterall both Laura and Jetta are supposed to be essentially the same. I was put off by the “stiff upper lip” attitude of the VW dealership in Delhi wherin they did not have anything to say on the positives which Jetta has over Laura in terms of features, reliability etc. but a motherhood statement like Jetta is much more superior and quality product as it if from the parent company VW. Also I did not like the car over Laura and the dealership network is non existent so far.
Finally got the machine, Laura L&K DSG Silver color on 22nd February along with the 3 years 50K regular services package and have already clocked 1300Kms @ 13.6 KMpl.
Im not really an enthusiast and an auto techie, so I will not be able to comment much on the detailed aspects, but so far the experience has been very good and the ride is great. I have driven it on highway as well as the bumper to bumper traffic in Delhi and it does feel like a worthy upgrade!
Most of the members would be aware of the standard features which Laura L&K has, but Im listing below a few which are not mentioned in the sales brochures and are pretty neat and practical. Im discovering more as Im putting in more kilometers and time.
1) Pinch control for all windows including the sunroof. I have by mistake hurt my kids and my wife more than once while closing the windows from the driver seat on my Baleno.
2) Split driver side rearview mirror where the outer part is angled outwards thereby reducing/eliminating the blindspot.
3) Windows including the sunroof can be closed with the remote after getting off the car.
4) On an upslope, the brake remains activated for 2 seconds even after releasing the pedal, giving time to press the gas and avoid the use of the handbrake. I have read it in the booklet but have not tested it yet.
5) Useful and well thought of storage spaces eg. Little clips inside the passenger side glove box compartment cover for keeping the RC etc. handy.
The above is not really a technical ownership review but I plan to learn a lot from the experts here and make the right observations to avoid, identify and fix the problems and try to keep those surprises in running costs away.
Cheers!
Dancc
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