[imp!]

Hello Everyone,

I had bought a Laura 1.8 TSI end of December 2009. My car has now done 5000 KM's. I thought I would share my ownership views so far.

We were a bit disappointed that the car did not come with leather seats, so we put in Stanley leather seats, the comfort level is just phenomenal! We have not had any problems with the car, and are so far quite satisfied with its performance.


1) I checked the oil about 2000 KM's ago, it was at the halfway mark, the car had gone to Vinayak Skoda to touch up some scratches. It is a little more than half, so I wonder if Vinayak Skoda filled in a little oil while it was there.

2) I are getting a mileage of 10 kmpl with city/highway mix. Hard to determine the exact ratio because I drive from Koramangala to Jigani everyday and there are long stretches of horrible roads and bad traffic.

3) The onboard computer displays a mileage of 10.75 kmpl, but manual calculations put the figure at 10 kmpl. I had upgraded to 16" alloys from Skoda at time of purchase. I was assured that the computer had been reset for 16" wheels. I wonder if this is indeed the case !

4) My limited experience in the rain indicates that the bottom middle portion of the windshield has an annoying affinity for fog.

4) I have had one problem with Vinayak Skoda. We did not receive the insurance papers until a week ago. We still haven't received the RC book. This has really annoyed me, for the past 3 months I have been getting assurances from Vinayak that they will take care of this problem immediately. It hasn't happened yet.

5) I want to install exhaust tips, but Vinayak has not had stock for the last six months, and I don't want to go to Tafe for the tips.

My buying and initial review of the car can be found here

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-d...-stable-6.html

Overall I am extremely satisfied with the car and I would buy it again !

cheers!
imp!

[jacobgeorge]

Hi imp, went through your buying experience in detail. Nice writeup and lovely pics too. I too have Scandinavian leather (cream colour) in my car and I must thank my wife for selecting it. Its really soft and looks thoroughly luxurious.

Just a quick question based on what my friends have told me about the Laura...when driving in puddles of water, is there a risk of water getting into the engine because of the airfilter positioned somewhere at the bottom? Since you are a Bangalorean, the typical puddles you find on the roads where a quarter of your wheel is submegred after those rains.

[anandpadhye]

Originally Posted by jacobgeorge

Just a quick question based on what my friends have told me about the Laura...when driving in puddles of water, is there a risk of water getting into the engine because of the airfilter positioned somewhere at the bottom?

The air filter is at the top. If your friends open the bonnet, air filter box is one of the first things they can see

[ajmat]

If you put a carbonio cold air intake, you are restricticted to water levels less than 6 in

[imp!]

Originally Posted by jacobgeorge

Hi imp, went through your buying experience in detail. Nice writeup and lovely pics too. I too have Scandinavian leather (cream colour) in my car and I must thank my wife for selecting it. Its really soft and looks thoroughly luxurious.

Just a quick question based on what my friends have told me about the Laura...when driving in puddles of water, is there a risk of water getting into the engine because of the airfilter positioned somewhere at the bottom? Since you are a Bangalorean, the typical puddles you find on the roads where a quarter of your wheel is submegred after those rains.

Hi Jacob,

Thanks for your kind words ! As Ajit and Anand have already mentioned, there are no issues with the stock car.

cheers!
imp!

[vb-saan]

Hi imp!, nice write-up indeed. Enjoyed it more because the 1.8 TSI Laura is in my Radar for a while. A quick check - did the switch to 16" alloys made any difference to the ride quality? And did you go for the standard alloys from Skoda (which they provide for elegance and L&K)?

[vb-saan]

Hi imp!, Just finished reading your previous thread, and got the answer for my previous question.
By the way, how is the Stanley leather going - I mean how easy is the maintenance? It gels so well with the car's interiors!

[imp!]

Originally Posted by vb-san

Hi imp!, Just finished reading your previous thread, and got the answer for my previous question.
By the way, how is the Stanley leather going - I mean how easy is the maintenance? It gels so well with the car's interiors!

Hello vb-san,

Its can be a little difficult to keep the leather completely clean. Places where there is a lot of rubbing contact during ingress and egress tend to get dirty. There are leather cleaners that can be used. So far, I haven't needed to use them. Stanley will clean the interiors for you for free for two years ( I have had them cleaned once since January) .
If you do decide to put in leather seats, the only word of advise I can offer is the consider putting in Scandinavia leather. The comfort level of the seats go up into superb territory !
I hope my experience helps. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

warm regards!
imp!

[GTO]

Congrats again on a stunning driving machine. Unreal driving pleasure and dynamics for 15 lakhs.

Originally Posted by imp!

I checked the oil about 2000 KM's ago, it was at the halfway mark, the car had gone to Vinayak Skoda to touch up some scratches. It is a little more than half, so I wonder if Vinayak Skoda filled in a little oil while it was there.

Concerning, no? Why are all Skoda TSIs reporting high oil consumption? I've read up on reports that this settles down after 10,000 kms...but I'm not entirely convinced.

I had upgraded to 16" alloys from Skoda at time of purchase. I was assured that the computer had been reset for 16" wheels. I wonder if this is indeed the case !

What is the exact tyre size that you've upgraded to? As long as the diameter is within 2%, it shouldn't make for a big difference. MIDs are always a tad inaccurate anyways

4) My limited experience in the rain indicates that the bottom middle portion of the windshield has an annoying affinity for fog.

Check, you could have that dash airvent (one on top of the dashboard) open. All German cars have it.

How about some recently clicked pictures, including of your seats?

[Vik0728]

Imp! I just happened to test drive a Laura 1.8TSI and man I am just unable to get off that feeling!!

WAAW!! I have been thinking about the drive and the feel so much that my wife keeps complaining that I appear to be in some kinda trance !!

Congrats on 5k km completion and Im sure you don't regret almost none of it

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by imp!

Hello vb-san,

Its can be a little difficult to keep the leather completely clean. Places where there is a lot of rubbing contact during ingress and egress tend to get dirty. There are leather cleaners that can be used. So far, I haven't needed to use them. Stanley will clean the interiors for you for free for two years ( I have had them cleaned once since January) .
If you do decide to put in leather seats, the only word of advise I can offer is the consider putting in Scandinavia leather. The comfort level of the seats go up into superb territory !
I hope my experience helps. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have.

warm regards!
imp!

Thanks imp!. And congrats once again. Do post in some more pics of the interiors. If remember right from your previous posts, the seat color you chose go well with the beige interiors. Good choice indeed.
And what is the tyre size you upgraded to?

[imp!]

Originally Posted by GTO

Congrats again on a stunning driving machine. Unreal driving pleasure and dynamics for 15 lakhs.



Concerning, no? Why are all Skoda TSIs reporting high oil consumption? I've read up on reports that this settles down after 10,000 kms...but I'm not entirely convinced.



What is the exact tyre size that you've upgraded to? As long as the diameter is within 2%, it shouldn't make for a big difference. MIDs are always a tad inaccurate anyways



Check, you could have that dash airvent (one on top of the dashboard) open. All German cars have it.

How about some recently clicked pictures, including of your seats?

Hi GTO,

Yes the car is incredible value for money. It satisfies my Dad's requirement that it be small enough to drive around the city if required ( I can never understand this mentality! I know people that bought the first generation lancer released in India and spoke about how difficult it was to drive in town because of the size!!!); it gives a decent enough mileage, considering its 0-100 times. It's fun to drive and handles really well !

You know, I've been thinking about the high oil consumption. As you know, most German cars tend to drink gallons of the stuff initially, so I'm not too worried yet. I just wish there was someway of knowing exactly how much oil Vinayak Skoda put in. The consumption should have started dipping already. If they topped it up completely, then I'd be worried. Either ways, I'll be monitoring it every 1000 klicks or so. I'm also left wondering about the oil change interval. Perhaps, I should change the oil myself every 5000 kms.

I have 206 55 R16 tires; Good Year Eagle NCT 5's - Just screaming for an upgrade, I'll buy nicer ones when these come up for a change.

Originally Posted by Vik0728

Imp! I just happened to test drive a Laura 1.8TSI and man I am just unable to get off that feeling!!

WAAW!! I have been thinking about the drive and the feel so much that my wife keeps complaining that I appear to be in some kinda trance !!

Congrats on 5k km completion and Im sure you don't regret almost none of it

No regrets at all ......yet !!!

Originally Posted by vb-san

Thanks imp!. And congrats once again. Do post in some more pics of the interiors. If remember right from your previous posts, the seat color you chose go well with the beige interiors. Good choice indeed.
And what is the tyre size you upgraded to?

Yup, will take some pictures and post them as soon as I am able.

[kutlee]

how does the oil consumption go down gradually? where is the oil burned out? is it the turbo? If so how does it pass emissions with so much of oil burned out?
Laura looks nice in the light green colour.

[raghavv]

Imp! How is the ground clearance? The vRS scraped quite a lot, I remember!

[v.anand]

Hello imp!, I guess its high time you updated this thread. I am keenly considering this car but its tough to find detailed review here in this forum. Also, do post more pics please.