The search for a new car began last November. We needed a replacement after selling our second Innova (had used and sold one before). This time though, we figured out that another 7 seater is not really necessary. The third row was used very rarely. Hence decided go for a premium sedan this time.
The following cars were considered.
1. Chevy Cruze: A well built car. The all black interiors was impressive. Good choice of colours and also appealed to be the more VFM option compared to others. But the interiors felt cramped and the clutch was a pain to use in city traffic, though we're used to driving diesel cars. Automatic was the obvious choice, but the news of an updated cruze with 160hp coming soon put it on hold.
2. Toyota Corolla: Having used two Innovas, we were mighty impressed by Toyota's quality and after sales service. But Corolla diesel though having tremendous drivability, felt underpowered and the petrol wasnt considered as the Tsi was a much better choice anyday.
3. Honda Civic: Nice car, spacious, good rear seat. Has a unique cockpit with the digitial display and stuff. But felt the Laura, Jetta and Cruze to be better handlers. Also having read the numerous Tsi threads on Tbhp, it seemed more logical , and having to rev high each time to extract the power wasnt exactly our taste.
4. Volkswagen Jetta: Test drive vehicle was a highline DSG model. Had enough power on tap and it handled brilliantly. The rear had much more legroom than Laura . Loved the looks. More of a timeless design. But the steep price put us off. Almost nearing the price of a Superb. We would have gone for the manual version if not for the vRS. Missed some features like xenons, ACC etc. Also compared to Laura, the new Jetta seemed to be a step or two below as far as interior build quality is concerned, including the plastics. The interiors of Laura elegance seemed much more premium.
5. Skoda Laura: We never actually got a test drive of any Tsi variant. Cant blame the dealers, there weren't any takers at all and maintaining a Tsi for test drive doesnt make sense. Unlike the Jetta we test drove, which had already done close to 19000kms, the Laura Elegance DSG we drove was rather new, just 1600km on the odo. It didn't have paddle shifts or steering mounted controls like the Jetta, but still it was much more premium. The plastics, the central console with dual zone ACC and the leather seats were much better than on the full blown jetta. But have to say the Jetta has the best in class rear seats and much more mature suspension setup. Soaks up the bumps as wells as better road manners than the Laura, with lesser body roll and of course looks way better.
Now a decision among this list would have landed us with either the Laura Elegance DSG or Jetta Highline MT. But the heart was still calling out for a Tsi. The fact of having read through all those Tsi threads, by then the official Team bhp review of Laura vRS, and still not able to get a test drive of a Tsi made it more dearer.
We already have a diesel sedan(Verna) and a small hatchback (alto K10). The new car would run less than 1000km a month and we plan to keep it for more than 5 years (hence re-sale value was not an issue). After much debating about the fuel prices, running costs etc, heart won over head. We're not chauffer driven and a fun to drive car is always special. And so it was to be, a a Laura vRS