Past:
It's been 5 yrs since I bought my very first car - the Fiat Palio Stile 1.6. When I was looking for a new car then, my parameters were compact dimensions, good engine, good brakes and reasonable handling. The Palio met almost all these criteria back then. The brakes were aweful though, especially when braking from higher speeds. Looking back, she has served us really well and after 31k kms, one change of tyres & brake pads, she is still running strong.
Search for a new car:
After having a kid and folks from home visiting us more often, I felt the need for a bigger car. My budget was in the 15-17l range. I wanted something with better brakes and better safety features i.e ABS, TCS etc. And my drives on the Mysore-Blr highway showed that a NA motor always struggles to build momentum and used to envy the Swifts/Dzires/Innovas etc for the turbo motor that provides with ample acceleration without having to rev the nuts of the motor like a track day junkie. That meant my next car had to have a turbo from the factory as well. When looking at the market, there were a few options that met my criteria of factory fitted turbo, decent brakes and good space/build.
- Toyota Corolla Altis
- Chevy Cruze
- Skoda Laura
- Hyundai Elantra
- Volkswagen Jetta
I'm not a fan of Hyundai and neither did I like the plain jane looks of the Toyota. The Cruze was exciting on paper but in reality was a different beast altogether. I did not checkout the Jetta as it was offered with the 1.4 TSI motor only.
So in the end it had to be the Laura petrol with its brilliant 1.8 TSI motor. Plus the face lifted Laura looked better in my eyes than any other in that segment. And the reviews of the awesome TSI motor stuck a chord with me as well. Recently had a test ride on my colleague's TSI and came away impressed at the power delivery, brakes and the composure of the car. That's when I decided this will be my next car.
Now comes the unfortunate part - with the impending launch of the new Octavia, all stocks of the 1.8 TSI are finished and the only ones left were the TDI manual and DSG option. When I checked out the prices and the features offered, the newer Ambition TDI with DSG box had almost whatever I wished for - turbo motor albeit a diesel, 16" alloys with wider tyres plus the Bolero audio system and steering mounted controls with bluetooth integration as well. The only sad part was it was a diesel. Plus of course the onroad price was approx 2.5l more than the petrol if it were available. There was also a brief moment where we were contemplating whether to wait for the new Octavia. But after reading through the posts here as well as online magazines, came to know that the multi-link rear suspension will be offered only in the 1.8 TSI petrol variant. Whereas the current gen Laura offers it on the diesel. So in my opinion the current gen Laura offered better value for money. I was also checking out the Jetta in MT comfortline trim in between, but after sampling lack lustre responses from the VW dealer at Whitefield, I decided it'll be the Laura for me.
Buying experience:
Next came the discussion with dealers to get a quote. I initially went to Vinayak Skoda at ORR near Marathahalli as it was closer to where I live. They said there were two MT's and one DSG model available. The discounts they were offering were about 1l for the MT and 80k for the DSG. After the initial interaction, I felt the SA werent as keen and then I called up Tafe near St.Marks. The SA was telling me the petrol models were stopped and only the diesel DSG variants will be produced. He then told me, why not look at the diesel option and went on about how the latest CR engines are bullet proof and offer good mileage as well. I went to their showroom and they were offering approx 2l discount on the MT and approx 1l on the DSG. I'm not a good negotiator and I finally settled for a brilliant silver Ambition TDI DSG for 19l on road. The listed on-road price for the same was 20.34l.
The MY2013 Ambition TDI DSG variant comes with the following:
1. 16" Draconis alloys from the vRS, runs 205/55 spec tyres
2. Skoda Bolero touch screen entertainment system, 6 CD changer & SD MMC with bluetooth integration
3. Multifunction steering wheel with volume control & phone integration via bluetooth
4. MaxiDOT instrument cluster - interestingly there is option now to change the fuel consumption from l/kms to kmpl via the MFD.
5. Cooled armrest storage.
16" Draconis alloys
Multi-function steering wheel with bluetooth integration
MaxiDOT display, ability to change to km/ltr or ltr/100km and option to change speedo unit to mph
Another view of the MaxiDOT display, note odometer reading on bottom left and trip meter on the bottom right on the MFD
Snap of the interior of the car at the dealers place
The SA at Tafe walked me through all the features and seemed pretty knowledgeable about the Laura and the MY2013 changes. After going through it, I was convinced it has to be the DSG option given that city driving will be more for me. I went through some of the online forums about DSG failures and maintenance of the same. Looks like a change of the DSG transmission oil & filter at scheduled intervals and avoiding the clutch slip for longer period of time should make it more reliable.
Delivery and drive back home:
I took delivery of the car yesterday (12th Sept) and the whole process was smooth. Since I needed the car for a long trip next week, I went ahead with temporary registration and will complete the permanent registration after a week. The SA and the delivery personnel were helpful in going through the features once again, were recommending to stick with either regular diesel or premium but not keep mixing both. They mentioned 30psi on all wheels for optimum comfort. The car was delivered with 27kms on the odo.
This being my first ever diesel, turbo motor & automatic, I was worried if I'd be able to handle it properly in peak traffic condition - it was around 6:30 in the evening and the M.G.road traffic does not make it any easy. I drove to the fuel pump opposite to Tafe and filled up 15ltrs of diesel. The first few meters of driving the car taught me about the throttle application and the turbo lag in the 1500rpm range. Coming from a petrol NA car, it was very perceptible. The dimensions of the car was another thing I was trying to get used to, the effortless steering helped in that matter a lot. The turning radius is lesser than my Palio!
Driving through thick traffic, the clouds opened and starting pouring as well. I had to tell myself that the wiper & indicator stalks are placed on the wrong side. The MFD showed instantaneous fuel consumption was 5.6kmpl in the beginning, climbed to 8.6kmpl by the time I reached home. When driving in D mode, the box shifts to 2nd really soon and I could feel the clutch slipping when crawling through bumper to bumper to traffic. Whenever I felt the traffic will be halting for a long time, I shifted to N and could feel the tension getting relieved completely when I did that. On a short open stretch, I could touch up to 55kmph and noticed the box shifted to 5th by then. The car was literally quiet at those speeds, can't wait to see how she'll be on the highways. I feel one can achieve good fuel efficiency by just riding the torque by building momentum and just coast. The shove past 2k rpm is noticeable.
The brakes are fantastic, felt nice to have them at my command. It felt very reassuring, when compared to the Palio. I was apprehensive the 16" wheels would be a compromise on our broken roads, but it was quite comfortable. This was on very slow speeds, so could be due to that. Parking the car in my apartment parking lot was quite eventful, I guess I'll need to try it a few times to get used to the size and adapt accordingly. The rear parking sensors are a boon in this car. I wish they also offered front parking sensors on this model.
Initial drive impressions:
After getting delivery of the car, I managed to put about 20km on the city in thick traffic and pouring rain. After that, I decided to wait for the weekend as we had planned for a long trip to Calicut. The roads were quite decent this time of the year. Considering the car had run hardly 50km, I was consciously trying to be smooth and gentle in applying the throttle/brakes. And stuck with the 'D' mode all throughout sticking with .anshuman's advice. The following is my observation after driving the car about 500kms.
Engine:
When I drove down from the showroom, I could feel the turbo lag given that I had just shifted from a sweet NA petrol motor in the Palio. After a few hundred kilometers, I've become accustomed to it and know how to drive around that. The surge of power is sluggish until approx 1500rpms after which the power delivery is smooth and strong. The DSG box is very intuitive to use, the motor has a broad spread of power - just perfect. I could see the box shifting to 6th in about 65-70kmph and the motor is not lugging at those speeds. The flexibility of the motor is just awesome. Power is always available on demand, just a mild tap on the throttle and the box shifts to 5th or 4th depending on how aggressive you want her to be. Even in 5th, there is a decent pull from low in the rpm range. The turbo kicks in approx 1500-2000 rpms and it is evident with the change in power delivery. She is very smooth in the lower rpms but is aggressive once you cross 2500rpms. When driven with a light foot i.e smooth buildup of speed, she manages to mask the speed and many a times my wife was telling me why arent we going faster when we were doing approx 80+ on the forest section with its winding roads. When off throttle in the higher gears, the car manages to coast well without much of engine braking. This is especially useful if you wish to extract more kilometers per liter of diesel. I managed about 16.5kmpl from Bangalore to Calicut considering the low average speeds (lots of speed breakers which meant accelerate/stop/accelerate instead of accelerate/cruise/coast) and the hilly section towards the Kerala side. I'm sure on a better road like NH7 towards Salem/Coimbatore I can extract much better numbers. For pure reference, my Palio used to give about 13-14kmpl on the same stretch of road with the same driving style.
Handling:
I had intended to change the tyres as soon as I get delivery of the car. But it was late in the evening and I had a long drive scheduled the next day, so decided to stick with stock NCTs. The high speed composure and stability over flowing/sharp corners is to be experienced. Even with the stock tyres, I found the handling to be predictable (taken at speeds of 80kmph) and the rear followed the front perfectly. Over broken roads, the suspension manages to damp all the imperfections - I was initially thinking the combination of 16" wheels, lower profile tyres and stiffer suspension might be bad for the ride quality. I was proven wrong. The tyre pressure was set to 44psi from the showroom, and after lowering it to 30psi on all wheels, the ride quality was impressive. My palio used to crash over these bad roads at the same speeds, the Laura just glided over them. I'm not a aggressive driver, but I love driving over winding roads. The Laura is a perfect companion for these roads. The last 60kms or so of our trip was in pouring rain, she just held the line and remained composed perfectly even on really wet roads - have to stress that the stock NCT's performed admirably.
Braking:
The combination of all wheel disc brakes and ABS with EBD makes braking fuss free and provides tremendous stopping power. Again coming from the Palio which had horrible brakes, this was heaven sent for me. I'm sure if I were to encounter any panic braking situation, I can trust these to provide me with the right amount of control and stopping power.
Ergonomics:
The front seats are height adjustable in addition to lumbar & inclination adjust as well. This combined with the tilt and telescopic steering can be adjusted to give the perfect driving position. For a 6 footer like me, this was again heaven sent. On the Palio, I had to either pull the seat back (and lose some visibility on the front) or drive with my knees touching the steering wheel. Not so in this car. I have good visibility on the front as well as the steering does not touch my knees. The hand rest on the center compartment and the driver door is perfect to just rest your elbows - helps with a stress free drive especially on long trips. Everything is accessible from the drivers seat, the a/c controls, window operation all fall in place naturally. The footwell is spacious as well more so due to the lack of clutch pedal on the DSG variant. There is a foot rest for both left & right legs - guess this is for the cruise control equipped variants sold abroad.
Generously spaced front seats
Equally comfortable rear seats, a/c console protrudes too much for the middle passenger
Silver colour looks brilliant
Likes:
- Superbly built, interiors and exteriors both. The doors feel heavy and re-assuring.
- Strong and flexible motor, happy to lazily cruise at low rpms and can provide the needed punch if needed.
- Strong brakes with good feel.
- Brilliant handling and composure even with stock NCT tyres
- Good driving ergonomics
- DSG box is brilliant and intuitive
- Rear parking sensors work great
- Lots of storage space available
- effortless steering in city speeds, weighs nicely at speeds
Dislikes:
- Rear seat bench a bit upright, could have reclined a few degrees more to provide that perfect position to doze off on long trips
- Middle passenger is not welcome in the rear. The seat is hard and the floor hump + a/c vent protrude a lot. This is strictly a 2+2 seater.
- In my Palio, I could switch on the a/c but keep the fan setting at zero. This was a boon and provided just sufficient cooling without freezing my face & hands. Really miss this feature on the Laura.
I had a small moment after booking the car - did I do the right thing by switching to a diesel. One long drive and my apprehensions were thrown out the window. Then there is always that thought about Skoda after sales service. Having owned a Palio, I did not feel shortchanged with the TATA after sales service. Hope my experience with Skoda service would turn out to be the same. If it does not work out, well, DIY & privately owned service centers to the rescue