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30th July 2016, 01:14 | #1 |
BHPian Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Delhi/Jaipur
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| Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! What I Like:
What I don't Like:
Reasons for replacement:
Requirements for replacement:
Options Considered:
Last edited by jalajprakash : 15th November 2016 at 05:51. |
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1st August 2016, 01:32 | #2 | |
BHPian Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Delhi/Jaipur
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| re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Search :
Disclaimer : Not related to MySpinny in any manner.
Last edited by jalajprakash : 15th November 2016 at 05:42. | |
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1st August 2016, 01:37 | #3 |
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| re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Number of kms at the time of writing this review: I've driven the car for approximately 200 kms. She currently has 14800 kms on the odometer. Usage pattern: The car will mainly be used on Highway trips to Jaipur once or twice a month and then if we go out for a dinner or a weekend trip. The Innova is still there to take the brunt of long daily runs. The driver will only get to drive this when parents are going to Jaipur without me. Exterior styling & design: If I had to provide one word to describe the Laura, it would be elegant. I will admit that I like the design of the new Octavia better but you’ve gotta work with what you have. The Exterior has great potential since the VRS kit can be added for instant upgrade in looks. Overall build quality, fit & finish, paint quality and panel gaps: The car is a definite upgrade in build quality compared to our previous car which is evident from the solid thud that each door makes upon closing. Fit and finish is tight but the paint needs a detailing since the car has been stored out in the open without any cleaning before purchase. There is a cringing thud that the rear suspension makes when going over a tall hump which I think is because of the stock shock absorbers. It doesn’t make any noise if driven extremely gently but any speed over a hump and the car doesn’t like it. This might be corrected with an aftermarket suspension. Wheels & Tyres: The Skoda Laura is definitely under-tired with 195/65/R15 in both the front and the rear. The stock GoodYear Eagle NCT5s are nothing spectacular and will be replaced sooner rather than later. With the stock setup if one floors the accelerator, the traction control has to kick in on both the first and the second gear to keep the wheelspin in check. The 15" rims look elegant but not exactly spectacular and will be replaced. I was thinking Momo Revenge in 17” Brushed Gold but feel free to make suggestions. An example below Fortunately, with the upgrade in rim size, the tires will have to be replaced as well. Will be switching to Michelin PS3s. That'll further improve the ride quality & grip. Interior design & quality The fit and finish of the interior is a lot more premium compared to our previous cars, with more surfaces being covered in soft touch material. Although I’m not the biggest fan of beige interiors and am already planning to get the interior color changed to black the same way Robimahanta did. His car interior attached below Interior space & comfort I usually only sit in the front because of my 6’3” height and am completely comfortable with the seat pushed all the way back. The front seats are supportive and don’t trigger fatigue for a long time. As good as the seats might be in normal use, they’re absolute trash for the track, I was hanging on to the steering wheel for dear life during the turns at BIC. Will look into a seat upgrade but from past searches, nicer aftermarket seats are extremely expensive. Driving position, ergonomics, controls & MID I usually drive with the seat all the way back and lowered as far as possible. In normal circumstances, I do like the driving position and am able to reach all buttons required. I had some trouble figuring out how to control the MID but other Delhi BHPians came to the rescue (shoutout to RohanDheman) It’s controlled by a up-down switch at the end of the right stalk. I might look into swapping in the MID to the Maxidot cluster from the L&K which is nicer and a plug and play solution from what I know. Visibility & size of mirrors Visibility all around is great and the mirrors do their job well! The last owner installed an aftermarket HU which included a high quality rear view camera which comes in quite handy. It’s funny though, that my dad who has never used a rear view camera, still looks over his shoulder to try and reverse the car and struggles. Air conditioner cooling & effectiveness I am used to Michigan winters (-10 deg C avg in December) and usually require a strong A/C when in Delhi over the summer. The air conditioner kept me satisfactorily cool during this past summer in Delhi but had this quite irritating problem of creating a patch of mist on the outside of the windshield when you turn it all the way up. RohanDheman did tell me that it’s an easy fix at the Skoda ASS where they put a piece of cardboard inside the dash to block the air but I am yet to visit the service station to get this fixed. Audio system & sound quality The audio system in the car is stock with the exception of the HU. I’m not the biggest audiophile and would rather listen to nice engine rev anyways. For my requirements, the audio system is more than good enough. The Caska HU on the other hand is not my favorite thing about the car, I would like to swap it with a touchscreen Skoda system at sometime in the future. It’s not an urgent upgrade though since it’s fully functional and not causing any problems. Interior storage, practicality & boot space One of the major reasons why my dad did like the car was the impressive boot space thanks to the hatch-style opening boot. The car can easily take at least 1.5x the luggage our Swift DZire did. The space inside is also not lacking, there’s space for 1L bottles all round and then additional seat back pockets fulfill all our needs. Engine performance & driveability in the city On normal petrol (87 RON?) the engine is not the happiest lugging in the lower rev ranges and will stall if you’re not careful. My parents who are used to extremely torquey diesels which can pull from very low revs have stalled the car a couple times but they’re starting to do better. Unfortunately, traffic jams is what one faces normally inside Delhi. Power is more than adequate for the city with wheelspin in 1st and 2nd gear if you really pin the throttle. I did fill up Speed (87 RON+ anti-knock)/(91 RON) once and the engine is a lot happier close to idle. Engine performance & driveability on the highway On the highway, the car will comfortable cruise at 100/120 in 6th gear. It is usually one of the most swift and quick cars on the highway and overtaking slow SUVs and trucks is never a problem. I do feel that the gear ratios are set up fairly closely since I usually end up shifting from 1 → 2 → 4 → 6 and the 3rd and 5th gears end up not being used. I must add that the car is so nice to drive on the highway that I was recently informed that when travelling from Delhi to Jaipur my dad decided to drive the Laura himself instead of taking a driver in the Innova as usual. Additional comments on the engine The track is the only place where you will notice that the engine might be lacking some punch but that just might be me, because my engine is absolutely stock while all my peers at the track had highly tuned cars. The engine has a lot of potential though, with upgrades available internationally that can reliably push the horsepower closer to 400hp. In stock form, the engine has zero turbo lag and pulls hard all the way to 6000rpm which is because of stock low boost pressure. Gearshift & clutch The gearknob in the car is fairly notchy with a short throw, but takes little to no effort to shift. This is very different from the Swift Dzire we had previously, which leads to my parents sometimes missing 2nd gear and going directly into 4th when shifting from 1st. I have instructed them to be nicer to the gearknob and not use as much force. I personally face zero problems. The clutch travel is fairly longer when compared to the swift and sometimes requires me to sit closer to the wheel. Overall NVH levels NVH levels inside the car are awesome. The petrol engine is super quiet to the point where sometimes you don’t even know if the engine is on, as long as you don’t look at the rev counter. My dad has tried to crank the engine a couple times when it was already on just because he didn’t realise it. To be honest, this is my reasoning for justifying a sport exhaust/ straight pipe system as an addition. Haha. Wind noise is not a problem but road noise is fairly loud due to the 4 year old NCT5 tires. These tires are on their way out though so it should be fixed soon. Fuel efficiency: City and Highway If everything so far has been fabulous then this is where the car is merely mediocre. The car is made for open stretches and does not do well when stuck in traffic jams. I’ve seen the FE drop down to 4-6kmpl when the traffic is bad in Delhi and I do end up visiting the pump more often. To be honest though, this does not come as a shock to me and I was fully expecting such an FE. On the highway, I have been able to extract upto 16kmpl at average speeds of 100-120kph. I’m sure you can do even better at closer to 80kph but usually I have places I need to be and can’t just sit on the highway trying to extract FE. Suspension & ride quality The suspension is quite supple, and in my personal opinion, a little on the softer side. It’s great for the bad patches around Delhi and Gurgaon and adds to comfortable ride quality. But as soon as you corner hard, the car loses traction and has very low lateral grip. The same soft and supple suspension takes away from your confidence at higher speeds as well. Since I will be visiting the track fairly frequently, a suspension upgrade to coilovers is definitely in order. Handling, on-road behaviour, grip levels, stability, body roll & turning radius The car is fairly agile and changes direction quickly but I do think that the car is undertired from the factory with 195 section tires. It loses traction in both 1st and 2nd gear if you pin the throttle and it does struggle when turning hard as well. When I do change the tires, I will upsize it to 225 section which I think should be adequate and also make the stance better. Steering --> I’m not the biggest fan of the 4 spoke Skoda steering. It is a tad bit too thin but still provides good road feedback and weighting according to speed. I will be switching the wheel to the newer version 3 spoke with perforated letter/alcantara soon though, so no problemo. Braking The brakes are really good for city and highway use with 4-wheel disk + ABS + ESC. The pedal feel is good and predictable. But if you haven’t already identified the common theme here, it’s not good enough for track use. If you start pounding on the stock brakes at the Buddh circuit, you will destroy them because they just can’t take that kind of continuous abuse. A big brake kit off the Jetta GLI is in order and should be here soon. Usually, a big brake kit is closer to the tune of 1.35L but the one of off the GLI only uses bigger vented and cross-drilled rotors and a different caliper pin but shares the rest of the architecture so it is only 30k INR. Ground clearance Ground clearance right now is not a problem at all, I have not scraped the car anywhere. I have even visited the moon crater surface that is available for hard-core offroaders in certain streets of Gurgaon. Haha. I’m assuming for this to become more of a problem once I have the coilovers + bigger rims + thinner tires. Any niggles, problems or part replacements I have not faced any problems just yet, but I feel it is too early to make a judgement. I did choose a fairly safe product though. Most of Skoda nightmares have been related to the 7-speed DSG. Quality of after-sales service My first experience with the Skoda ASS @ Giriraj Motors has been positive. I took the car for a pre-purchase inspection myself and the SA there really worked with me. Initially, it was supposed to take about 4 hours total but I informed the SA that I kinda had to travel back to Delhi after the whole process, he pulled aside a couple technicians and had work started instantly. He even complied with my request to be able to observe the car the whole while and ask the technician some questions. I even tried to tip the SA for helping me out on a short timeline but he refused saying that this was his job and his pleasure. I usually like to develop a good relationship with a single SA and have not faced any problems until now. Cost of upkeep & maintenance The initial inspection of the car costed me close to 3.5k but I haven’t spent money on anything else since the SA gave it a clean bill of health with no consumables required. Upgrades Planned as of now: Not in any particular order but this would be Stage 1, before I look into getting more power. - VRS Flat Bottom Steering Wheel - VRS Bodykit - Interior Recolor to Black - Bilstein/KW/Forge Coilover Suspension - Straight Pipe Exhaust (still looking into others, I really want it to crackle and pop) - Stock Big Brake Kit (from Jetta GLI) - Tires - Michelin P3ST - Rims - Momo Revenge in Gold 17"/18" - Fatigue detection module - Highline ESP module - Stage I Remap - Spulen Boost Pipe - Stainless Steel Brake Lines BIC Circuit: - On its first trip (also my first trip) to the Buddh International Circuit, the car in it's current condition, absolutely bone stock with 4 year old GoodYear NCT5 tires was able to put down a time of 2:59:221 . I believe the limiting factors were the suspension, brakes, tires and my experience on the track. Hopefully, all of these can be remedied and I will provide an update when I visit BIC next. Pictures: *Just an indication of how hard that suspension is working in the corners. I was hanging on to the steering wheel for dear life in sharp corners. Haha *The age of the Goodyear NCT5s can definitely be seen in comparison to all that sport rubber around. Last edited by jalajprakash : 16th November 2016 at 11:28. |
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17th November 2016, 08:21 | #4 |
Team-BHP Support | re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownership Section. Thanks for sharing! |
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17th November 2016, 10:35 | #5 |
Distinguished - BHPian | re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Very good and detailed review. This car has huge potential. Stage 2/3 remap ( with bigger turbo), upgraded brakes and suspension would be killer |
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The following BHPian Thanks Dr.Naren for this useful post: | frankmehta |
17th November 2016, 14:56 | #6 |
BHPian | re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! |
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17th November 2016, 17:30 | #7 |
BHPian Join Date: Mar 2016 Location: Delhi
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| re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Congrats Jalaj! So finally you've been able to find a nice example. I believe it is the same car that you mentioned about in the best used enthusiast's car under 6 lakhs. The car is almost brand new as per the odo. Wish you many happy miles with it! |
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18th November 2016, 01:46 | #8 | |||
BHPian Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Delhi/Jaipur
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| re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Quote:
Click on the picture and then zoom in! The higher end of the potential of this platform has been explored by none other than TeamBHPian prithwi-81 here in Delhi. That car is definitely an inspiration. Link : http://northernautosports.com/2016/0...rs-the-tabahi/ Quote:
Hope you find one though, and join in on the fun! Quote:
Also, another piece of advice for anyone looking for a 1.8 TSi Laura or any other performance oriented car for that matter would be to judge the owner as well when looking at the car. The previous owner for this car was in his 40s and seemed to have bought it as a luxury car instead of a performance one. He chose petrol because he had very low running and most of the miles on the car were put on it's travel between Gurgaon and Bombay. This led me to believe that the car must have been driven nicely, mostly by a chauffeur, and not abused hard. In comparison, another car that came up on my radar, was owned by a guy in his 20s. He had cheap off-brand rims and some "Rally Sports" stickers on it. This car I would believe would've been driven very hard and well abused. Probably not the best idea to choose such a car. | |||
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18th November 2016, 12:28 | #9 | |
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| re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Quote:
Momo Revenge is one of the most commonly used alloys here in India. MSW 85, Momo Rush, Sparco Assetogara are some possible options if you want something classy. | |
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18th November 2016, 15:10 | #10 | |
BHPian | re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Quote:
You are right I was only looking on weekends, but nonetheless I've just picked up a Jetta 2.0 TDI (from a fellow BHPian). Secondly, looking at your upgrade list, I am glad you picked up the Skoda as my list is far shorter. Let me know whenever you are in Delhi next, would like to meet up and get some advice on mods for my car. Cheers! | |
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18th November 2016, 20:02 | #11 | |||
BHPian | re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Congratulations for picking up a pristine 1.8TSI. It is indeed the most bang for buck performance car in the used market and has immense tuning potential if one fancies so. With the current Octavia 1.8TSI not being offered with a MT, these will continue to remain unique and humble unsuspecting drivers Quote:
225/50 R16 - I would suggest Michelin PS3 or Yoko Advan-Sport. 225/45 R17 - Michelin PS3 or Yoko Advan-Sport or Hankook S1 Evo-2. All top-spec performance summer tyres. Quote:
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The following BHPian Thanks avinash_clt for this useful post: | DrANTO |
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19th November 2016, 04:08 | #12 | ||||
BHPian Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Delhi/Jaipur
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| re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Quote:
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The following BHPian Thanks jalajprakash for this useful post: | avinash_clt |
20th November 2016, 09:48 | #13 |
BHPian | re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Congrats. The Laura TSI is definitely one of my favourite cars that landed on our roads. Classic looks, fabulous engine and the build quality makes this a proper enthusiast car, not to forget the superb mod potential. Also, loved the ownership review. Please do keep updating the thread as time commences and she munches more miles. Having a weekend car is always special. Also, I remember reading your Ford Fusion review sometime back. Is she still with you? Neel P.S.: Black inserts on the interior look sick! |
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20th November 2016, 21:13 | #14 |
BHPian | re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Congrats Sir! The Laura 1.8 TSI is a true sleeper car in every sense. This car currently is the most mod friendly car in India - both performance and cosmetic combined! There are innumerable cosmetic updates you can buy in superskoda.com and milotec.de I have modded my Laura 1.8 TSI to Pete's Stage II and will be posting a detailed thread very soon. Enjoy the car for years to come! |
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20th November 2016, 22:19 | #15 |
BHPian Join Date: Oct 2015 Location: Mumbai
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| re: Skoda Laura 1.8L TSi - My Pre-Worshipped Missile EDIT: Sold! Congratulations on a great purchase, gem of a car indeed. Even I am getting a good condition 38,000Km run TSI for 4Lacs. Very tempted to buy it but the thought of as high Rs 1Lac annual maintenance for Skoda is keeping me away. What do you think will be an average annual maintenance for this vehicle for next 4 to 5 years. Enjoy your new ride. Cheers. |
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