Snow white Skoda Laura 2.0 DSG My garage had a Swift 2007, Vxi (ABS) NHC Vtec 2007, ANHC VMT, 2009. And it was time to upgrade and set my Swift free and with the change in my job wanted to upgrade. Was using my Vtec to office and back, in bumper to bumper traffic in Mumbai of a total of 50Km per day. I am sick of having a manual car, wanted a auto with the milage same or better than my Vtec.
I am 6" feet tall, like to have a car that has some punch and pleasure to drive, so in December 2010 started my quest for a new car. Had crawled the forums and seen some amazing review of the Civic AT, Laura AT and Cruze AT. So these were my options, being a Honda owner, knew Civic was a good choice, but wasn’t too sure to the milage.
TD Time:-
TD of the civic was good, I loved the AT and white color just was perfect for me, the paddle shift worked beautifully. The seating was low to my liking overall, it was something that I wanted only if the milage was better! The honda dealership was very nice the overall experience was fantastic. The sales rep knew about the car and explained everything in details. The car was clean and had 10k on the odo! The car left an impression on me,as I moved to the next dealership!
Next Was the Cruze, with prior appointment they had a new AT, liked the car from the outside, the overall road presence was awesome. However the interiors were not upto my liking, the features like the cruse control, Sun roof, start button, steering mounted controls were nice. The car had power and punch, somehow, it just did not prompt me to spend my money on. The dealership experience was good, the sales rep knew his car and was attended to very well, over all experience was good!
Next door was Skoda dealership, Saw the laura on display, was love struck! They had a TD car, had 15k on the odo, and I justed loved the way she drove. DSG was as smooth as silk, the shift was just awesome, far better than the Honda or the Chevy, in my opinion! In the "D" mode she was super! It was like I was driving the car that knew when to shift the gears, was like I would do. After a drive of about 3 Kms, the sales guys asked to shift it in "S" mode ! Wooooooo! I cant explain the feeling, it was the sheer power that made me forget the Cruze and the Civic.
Once I came out, I had made up my mind, Laura it is for me. Knowing the potential pit falls that could be with A.S.S, what the heck some time you listen to your heart and not your head!
On the 20th December I visited both Autobhann and JMD for discount and final offer! Both the dealers were aggressive to give discounts and freebies, but AutoBhann did not have a white in Stock, JMD did. So after all the negotiations, I cut a cheque on JMD, to block the car. The Date as per the panditji was 17th JAN, so I had to wait till I could get my hands on her.
JDM team was okay, but not as aggressive as the Linkway Honda, based on my past experience of buying two honda's. I wanted to see the car before registration, had to check the car based on the check list that we have on the forum, JMD agreed to pay the octroi and get the car to the showroom, post the inspection of the car and my acceptance they would send it for a registration.
I saw the car on the 11th Jan at their showroom, and she was perfect! Has 96km on the odo. Had a couple of couple of friends who came along for the inspection and after spending 2 hours, we went back , happy!
From the 11th to 16th I would have slept for 3-4 hours a night as all I could see was a laura! Finally on the 17th I reached there with my folks , must tell you, it was love at first site! She was just awesome, the paper work took 20 mins, post that the puja took 20 mins more, finally I got the keys to My Laura! They gave me a demo of the car, the do n don’t for DSG, before I knew I was on the road!
The feeling was just awesome to start with, driving in the evening, in a brand new car, bigger than what you are use to and AT, was not as simple that I assumed it to be but i sailed home!
My fist impressions:-
The fit and finish was simple, good and functional, build to last!
The AC was awesome!
The rear view mirrors are smaller than the Honda, they have blind spot!
The pick up and power is just amazing
The seating is very comfortable
The steering is heavy as compared to Honda but precise
Over all Happy man! Attached are few pic, loads more to come!
Last edited by amitk2kin : 24th March 2011 at 13:21.
Reason: Mod's need help in morphing the number plate pls
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