[Ravich]

I took delivery of a Laura TSI - black on Dec 24th from JMD Auto.
I have not seen any thread on Laura TSI ownership yet. Hence this one.
Initial experience ( must state that this is not a review) :
1. Had a mild panic attack when the RTO Mumbai is said to have insisted on a copy of a new PAN card for my Company and refused to accept the one that was in the name of the company before a merger - inspite of a letter from Income Tax certifying validity. This took two days to get resolved I am told.
End result: I had to wait till 8 PM to take delivery.
2. I had taken a pre RTO inspection of the car. Interestingly in the stockyard, the Laura allotted to me, did not have any dust cover on the roof unlike the Superbs. I was annoyed, at the show room later, to see a new Laura with the dust cover. The dealer ofcourse could not explain this.
3. I took another inspection in the JMD workshop on the day of delivery - this time noticed that the rear windshield had some speckles (when viewed at the right angle in sunlight - some thing you see in some cars after 2 or 3 years). But for this the car was perfect. You had to look very carefully and be looking for this to notice it. Intend to get Skoda to replace this. Dealer said they would revert - they could not see this as it was dark by the time I took delivery in the show room.
4. Did not get the RTO receipt - was assured this would be available on Saturday (worrisome alright but given the number was released so late in the evening - could understand it). Octroi, tax invoices etc were in perfect order. Amounts were right.
5.Car had less than half the reserve - had to drive to the petrol pump. For all my vast driving experience, was a little nervous , driving a shiny new Skoda Laura amidst the mad traffic in Mumbai peak hour. Felt a little self conscious with the ribbons and balloons.
Filled the tank - MFD shows 400kms left ( ~ 8kms /ltr :-)) I havenot reset the memory so far. As advised filled up regular unleaded. (no additives).
6. Engine continues to delight -was a little careful not to get too excited - shifted through all 6 when possible.
7. Tyres seem bad ( Good year) compared to my older car. Intend to change tomorrow to Bridgestone Potenza or Yoko. The ride was worse than my Optra Royale.

8. Side mirrors seem too small after the Optra. Miss the ability to fold them ( in the frightening multi lane chaotic traffic. Visibility through front windshield is great; I expect the downward sloping dashboard will minimize annoying reflections on the windshield during the day.
9. Steering at low speed is very very light.. improves at speed.
10. Brakes bite - very sharp.
11. With the center storage lid closed, not easy to grab the handbrake lever
Kept it open.
12. Stereo is good. Surprised theres no manual override lever to unlock front/rear doors when locked.
13. Surprised that the odometer (not trip) memory can be reset and resets automatically after 99 hrs or 9999Kms . Is there some other way to determine how many kms a vehicle has run?

14,. User manual refers to two 1.8 TSIs ( a 118KW and another 112KW), The service manual printout refers to this as 118KW
15. Overall, engine delights. Acceleration is so beautiful . You know you can effortless out accelerate anything ( well almost) on the road in any gear (well almost).
16. JMD seems good (notwithstanding my suspicion around the stockyard incident). They waited till 830 PM to deliver the car to me. The workshop staff seemed very courteous. Had the accessories they promised fitted on time. Stanley leather seats will be done early next week.

My apologies if this first writeup seems like War and Peace. I wanted to be as accurate as possible given the mixed feelings BHPians have for Skodas.

[stanjohn123]

Very nice Report . And glad to know that Skoda's not in this thread for bashing now .

[vibhu_f430]

Congratulations on your new ride mate !

What was the OTR price you paid ? Any discounts offered by the dealer ?

Originally Posted by Ravich

7. Tyres seem bad ( Good year) compared to my older car. Intend to change tomorrow to Bridgestone Potenza or Yoko. The ride was worse than my Optra Royale.

The stock 195/65 is hardly enough to put all that power down. This beast needs at least 215 or 225 section tyres !

Originally Posted by Ravich

12. Stereo is good. Surprised theres no manual override lever to unlock front/rear doors when locked.

Actually there is. Just pull the door handle twice ! Once to unlock and second time to open !!
Neat no? I think its like that on all german cars ..

BTW, Please add some pictures !

Cheers.
vibhu

[Ravich]

Originally Posted by vibhu_f430

Congratulations on your new ride mate !

What was the OTR price you paid ? Any discounts offered by the dealer ?

Thanks. 95K discount in Mumbai. Plus the usual mud flaps, mats, mirror locks, teflon.

Originally Posted by vibhu_f430

Actually there is. Just pull the door handle twice ! Once to unlock and second time to open !!
Neat no? I think its like that on all german cars ..

Neat !. Thanks ! Waded through the manual - did not find this .

Originally Posted by vibhu_f430

The stock 195/65 is hardly enough to put all that power down. This beast needs at least 215 or 225 section tyres !
BTW, Please add some pictures !

The Goodyear 65% aspect ratio- ride seemed poor. Not sure if I want to go for 215, 225 50% aspect ratio. Still researching a little - I know theres a whole thread on TSI tyres.
Pictures - will do !.
Thanks again for the door handle tip.

[Easynow]

Congratulations!!! How about some pics now??? IMO the Frontal view looks like a falcon in flight whilst the car is moving. Also that of those speckles on the rear.

Agree on the tyres bit. I think 16" with 225 to may be 205 Should take care of the steering feel at low speeds. Loved the Out accelerate anything in any gear bit.

Any tints yet?

Rgds-vishwa

[theragingbull]

Congrats! The 1.8TSI is a great engine. You'd love driving it!
Which trim level is it? Plz post pictures.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by theragingbull

Congrats! The 1.8TSI is a great engine. You'd love driving it!
Which trim level is it? Plz post pictures.

Congrats on the purchase.
Any specific reason for TSI compared to Diesel?

[Ravich]

Originally Posted by Easynow

Congratulations!!! How about some pics now??? IMO the Frontal view looks like a falcon in flight whilst the car is moving. Also that of those speckles on the rear.

Agree on the tyres bit. I think 16" with 225 to may be 205 Should take care of the steering feel at low speeds. Loved the Out accelerate anything in any gear bit.

Any tints yet?

Rgds-vishwa

Thanks again. Had some great fun driving the car today. Grabbed every opportunity to take it out ! Haven't looked forward to driving a car as much as I do with this.
Niggle(s): The stalling at very low speeds in 1st or 2nd when you release the clutch.. Not bad enough to be a problem but requires you to adjust your letting go the clutch. The real problem is you cant hear the engine start again and have to look at the dash to see if engine has started !

No tints for me. I like the sense of clear open space ! Tough on AC for the Magic black car I guess. The black looks great. Will post the pictures tomorrow.

One of my big worries used to be - will I be disappointed after buying this...? I can safely say the performance and handling are good enough to say no.

Tyres - still to decide on the brand - Bridgestone does not have a V rated one either in 195/65 or 205/60. I dont want to go for a lower profile... for now. The ride on bad roads is quite annoying.


Speckles - I have seen this on many cars - you wont be able to catch this on a photo. You have to see the rear glass at an angle in sunlight - you will see spots ( some used to claim acidic content in Mumbai rains causes this and some said its caused by defogger usage. It does not cause problems of visibility.

Take a look at the car allotted to you in sunlight . Blacks in stock may be September vintage !

Engine is glorious - you have to control yourself not to let go everytime you see an opening on the road :-)
Steering feels great ( I changed my opinion :-) ) at speed.

I think you will enjoy it given your stated needed for speed.

As for after sales service , I am keeping my fingers crossed and pray that JMD remains on the good side !

Originally Posted by ampere

Congrats on the purchase.
Any specific reason for TSI compared to Diesel?

ampere, Thanks . Reason for Petrol over diesel 1. don't like the diesel engines clatter 2. TSI petrol engine was irresistible ( truly ). Cruze engine was good but body roll too much ( my personal experience )

Originally Posted by theragingbull

Congrats! The 1.8TSI is a great engine. You'd love driving it!
Which trim level is it? Plz post pictures.

Thanks, Ambient (only version in TSI). Yes ! Look forward to taking it out at every opportunity.. The twistier the road the better.

Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 20 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post.

Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

[rocky080]

hey congratulation ravich how much did it cost OTR ? Laura is a beautiful car take good care of it, but be careful with the service. If you can spare a day's leave go to the service station and stay with the car till the service is done. This way you can ensure no mischief is done with your car. Happy motoring

Regards
Rocky

[Easynow]

Any plans on running in the Engine and Car. If yes how do you plan to go about it considering the first service woul be at 15K kms considering engine oil change et all...

Gurus on the topic: Any pointers?

[shuvc]

Congratulations. Wonderful car.

Originally Posted by Ravich

Thanks. 95K discount in Mumbai. Plus the usual mud flaps, mats, mirror locks, teflon.

That's a lot of discount. At a recent (Dec) Auto Fair in Cal, the dealer here said 'discounts' on the TSI was only 25K worth of accessories.

[holysmoke]

Originally Posted by Ravich

As advised filled up regular unleaded. (no additives).

Hmm..
I have the same engine in my car. I was advised to fill up premium fuel if possible. What to do? I dont mind paying the extra buck or two for speed, but im not gonna pay for speed 97 or something like that.

[Ravich]

Originally Posted by Easynow

Any plans on running in the Engine and Car. If yes how do you plan to go about it considering the first service woul be at 15K kms considering engine oil change et all...

Gurus on the topic: Any pointers?

Manual advises not exceeding 3/4 max engine rpm recommended for any gear; go through all gears... Thats what I am doing. Right now I am not exceeding 110 , 120 kph or 3K rpm in any gear any time. This is well under max rpm . Believe me it takes all your self control to not exceed 120 - you dont realize the car is doing above 100 !.

[Ravich]

Day 3 of ownership.
Took it for a drive on the Nashik toll road and to Titwala near Mumbai. ( A brief stretch of mild twisty road and some good stretches for moderately high speed driving and some bad patches too).

Feels glorious - did not see any significant body roll ( actually none at all in the speeds I was doing ~100- 110). Sheer delight. Felt just planted on the road and steering at high speeds very precise and great feel. If your tach is ~1200 and above, even in the 5th/6th gear, I felt confident of overtaking.
Gear changing felt crisp with short throws. Never felt nervous at any time.

Spouse could not see what was so great to warrant frequent "absolutely fantastic " cries from me. I can understand passengers are not going to relish this.

Trip meter showed 8.4 lt/100 Km ( a pleasant surprise ! ).

Niggle (2) : In the thick fog in the morning - windshield misted heavily with AC on - real pain - have to figure out the best setting . I kept switching off, turning on fresh air and such. This seems to be a model problem (not just my car) . I recall Overdrive or Auto car ownership report mentioning this.

Checked the air pressure before the trip and found it way too high ( for light loading). Set it to 220 kPa = 32 psi and the harshness over bad roads is much much less now. I dont know how much it was set to in the work shop during PDI. Do any of you with Laura TSI think 31-32 PSI for front and back too low , for 195/65/R15 with two occupants only ? The Skoda sticker recommended settings is in kPa . Keep in mind 0.145 kPa = 1 PSI.

In summary - felt absolutely delighted as of now that I bought this car - haven't enjoyed a drive as much in recent times. Early times , but the feeling that the essence of the machine is exactly as one wanted it to be, gives a great sense of relief. This is a drivers car !

Need to get the leather seats done ( Sun or Monday).

Do share your experiences - a sanity check on whether I am going overboard here would also be welcome.

Originally Posted by rocky080

hey congratulation ravich how much did it cost OTR ? Laura is a beautiful car take good care of it, but be careful with the service. If you can spare a day's leave go to the service station and stay with the car till the service is done. This way you can ensure no mischief is done with your car. Happy motoring

Regards
Rocky

Rocky, came to 14.91 or so for a Mumbai co registration. I also made us of NCB from my previous car (35%- this was thanks to the tip in the forum).
Absolutely- I am the odd man out in my building washing and waxing my car - every weekend ; my pearl diamond Optra Royale still looks brand new ! I intend to keep the Magic black shiny!
JMD workshop has a glass window looking into the workshop bays - seems trust worthy. But yes... will heed your advice

Regards
Ravi

[hassanks]

I also own Laura 1.8 TSI in Bangalore (2 Months old). I have changed the tires to Michellin Primacy LC 205/65/R15 and the drive is smooth and minimal road noise, very comfortable drive. Changed the tires due to high road noise of stock tires.

Yesterday drove the car from Bangalore to Palakkad (Kerala) which is ~400Kms and drive as pleasant. Power at will hence no issues with overtaking.

Engine stalling at low speed is a problem until you used to the clutch.

Attaching couple of photos for reference of tire as well as for leather seats if you are interested.