Skoda Laura Long Term Review

What really is a long term review?

Well in a long term review the vehicle is driven over an longer period practically everyday, it is more of an Ownership review where the tester practically lives with the vehicle and everything from fuel efficiency to maintenance cost and the good and bad bits on the car are all accounted for during the time the vehicle is tested.

Skoda Laura has been around in India for some time now, some time back the refreshed version was launched and also received an engine upgrade for the Diesel version. The TDI (PD) engine went out and the new Common Rail unit came in. Skoda Laura was always a very good car in its segment and we have always liked it. We have the new Skoda Laura CR Elegance with us as our long term test vehicle and are living our life in and out of it trying to get under its skin.

The Skoda Laura has been in our car park for long now and now after spending a lot of time driving it we can now talk more about it. To get the car model facts correct – the Skoda Laura we have is an about a year old and has done over 18,000 Kms yet.

Here are few facts on the Skoda Laura that we drove before we start off.

Model  - Skoda Laura DSG Automatic
Variant  - Elegance
Year of registration – April 2010
Color – Brilliant Silver
Kms Reading when received - 17890
KMS Driven By Us – 820kms
Overall Efficiency Achieved – 16kmpl (in mixed conditions)
Maintenance Cost -  None
Faults – None

Engine –

The new Skoda Laura CR (standing for the CRDI engine) is powered by a Turbocharged 1968cc 16Valve DOCH CRDI Diesel engine that makes a monstrous 140PS of power @ 4000rpm and a peak torque of 320Nm at as low as 1750rpm. Now this is the Elegant variant that comes with the 6 speed DSG automatic gear box and makes 140PS of power, while the other Laura variant that comes with a 5 speed manual gearbox makes 110PS of power.

This engine is highly refined and silent as compared to the earlier PD engine that it replaces, the NHV levels are very good inside the cabin at all times and even though the Laura we driving has clocked more than 18k Kms there is absolutely no indication or signs of aging on the engine.

DSG or Direct Shift Gear box with Tiptronic works like a dream on the Skoda Laura, the turbo lag is zero or negligible and the gear shifts are precise with the up or down shifts super smooth and slick. This is a very intelligent gear box that shifts to the perfect gear without any false shifts. We most of the time drove in the full auto mode, the gear shift harmoniously according to the need of the hour. At times when we wanted to be in control of the gear shifts that is when you need to drive in the Tiptronic mode. Driving around in the Tiptronic mode was fun. The DSG automatic gearbox is the perfect choice for stress-free daily driving. Then you also have the S mode or Sports mode in which the gear ratios are smaller and the shifts happen quicker than the regular D mode.

The overall drive on the Skoda Laura CR is on the harder side but brilliant thanks to the Indian tuned suspension and partly also due to the 205/55 R16 tyres that it drives on. The steering is on the heavier side and has precise feedback that is just what we like as it helps the driver to be in control of the steer at all times. We sorely missed out on the paddle shifters which would have added much more fun to DSG gearbox. Some little amount of body roll is felt but the overall good ride quality makes up for it.

The 2.0 CR engine possesses a strong low end and mid range power that propels the car in a very linear manner. The nice thing in the Laura is that you feel safe and secure at all times and at all speeds, we touched speeds of close to 175kmph but the in cabin feel was as if we were cruising at 90-100kmph. The road noise and the tyre roll noise are all kept out of the Laura's cabin with some good noise insulation that it has.

Handling of the 1.5 tonner is not bad either; Skoda Laura  can dance to your tunes. It handles very well especially at high speeds and that is its biggest USP. Put it through turns and twists and the Laura handles them all with a smile. The 320Nm of torque that’s always available at low RPM comes handy when you need to overtake or shoot out from a slow speed. At speeds of 100kmph the cabin feels silent and there is not much engine noise or harshness that comes inside the cabin. We particularly liked the braking of the Skoda Laura. The all wheel disc brakes on the Skoda Laura offer precise stopping and have the sting in them which is much needed on automatic cars.

Noteworthy here is that even when we drove the Laura in Tiptronic mode and shifted gears at our will that included a few quick bursts the Laura always gave good fuel efficiency of 13.5 to 14.5kmpl and never dipped below that. We are sure that if driven with a lighter foot the Laura can even give better fuel efficiency.

Exteriors and Interiors – Comfort and Convenience.

Exteriors

Typical European is what we can state in two words on the design and look of the Skoda Laura. This car has a rich and elegant shape and a very dominating stance. The front profile with the typical Skoda family toothy grill with chrome around it and a large and low air dam along with huge fog lamps make the Laura a good looker.  Projector headlamps with LAURA inscribed in the reflectors on the lights give a very neat personal touch. The sharp crease on the center of the bonnet gives a very rich look to the front of the Laura; the big brother Superb too has a similar crease on its bonnet. The side profile though flat are well shaped with large fenders and doors that suit the overall European shape of the Laura. The Laura has good glass house making the cabin look roomy and bright.

Entry and egress in the Laura is very convenient as the car has a good height. Small design touches like large door handles are very convenient to grip, turn blinkers on the wing mirrors and not forgetting the hatch like opening boot lid that is so very convenient to load and unload stuff.

The overall exterior quality is best in the class with very good paint quality and fit and finish on the metal body all around showing very good overall build quality. 

Interiors

Cars from Skoda have always got the best fit and finish. The Laura too falls in the same league; the interiors are well appointed and ooze high quality and craftsmanship.

The Skoda Laura Elegance DSG comes with a dual zone climate control and also with rear AC vents; the Climate Control worked efficiently and brought down the cabin temperature rather quickly. We start off on a warm summer afternoon with the climate control set on 16 degree and had to change it up to 22 degrees in no time. The rear AC vents help in cooling the large cabin of the Laura in a big way. Neat small touches like a cooled glove box and centre storage bin under the centre arm rest are commendable. The dash board is made of a special rubbery material in which you can sink in your fingers, now this not only makes the dash look rich but also helps in reducing the engine and road noise from entering the cabin. Instrumentation is large, clear and well laid out with all the much needed tell-tale warning indicators along with the multi function display that reads out the actual mileage, speed, trip, distance to empty and other vital parameters. Steering is just right to grip and the much needed adjust for height and reach is also a boon on the Laura.  What is missing are the steering mounted audio controls and paddle shifters as we mentioned earlier. The Laura Elegance DSG comes with a Bolero MP3/Radio player. Audio quality is good and the player is easy to use. The screen on this player doubles up as an indicator when using the reverse parktronics.  Neat touches like the shutters on the AC vents, auto dimming centre and wing mirrors come handy at all times. The DG shifter is chunky to grip and reminds of a controller from an aircraft cockpit. The Laura Elegance DSG comes with auto folding mirrors which come handy while driving around on busy roads or while parking, though these mirrors fold but they don’t fold the 100%.

Seats are well appointed and are made of good quality leather. Good amount of lower back and thigh support is available, manual seat height adjusts and lumber settings make them more comfortable.  Beige leather is used though we would have liked them to be in an all black leather to give it a much more sporty touch. The driver is seated in a perfect position and the all around view is good and commanding. The front passenger seat also gets the manual heights adjust which is a nice touch that many other cars in this segment do not give on their cars.

The rear seat offer good support all around and are 40:60 split, three head rests heighten the comfort levels for the passengers at the rear while not obstructing the driver while reversing or while driving and using the centre rearview mirror.  There is another opening in the seat behind the centre arm rest that can be opened to gain access to the boot, this little opening comes very handy when you need to keep small things in the boot and don’t want to get off the car and open the boot lid.

The Laura has loads of storage bins, bottle holders and places to hold all your nitty-bitty stuff. Overall space is good with large amount of head room, leg room and shoulder room for five people comfortably.

The Skoda Laura has one of the largest boots in the segment with 560 liters of space that can be increased to 1430 liters with the rear seats folded down. The overall interior quality is very good with superb quality of materials being used on the Laura.

Verdict

The Skoda Laura is one of the best buys in the segment boasting of best in class quality and fit finish. Refinement levels are high and the power of 140 PS is always at hand. The 6 speed DSG automatic gearbox that this car comes with is one of the best that you can currently ask for in an Automatic. Fuel efficiency figures are also very good not compromising on power. The ride quality and the India tuned suspension doo their bit remarkably. The Skoda Laura played its part very well during its stay with us and we hardly have anything to point out against it except for the missing audio controls and the paddle shifters on the steering, the not fully folding wing mirrors and the missing USB port. All the missing things are easily forgotten when you consider the amount of comfort and amazing power that the Skoda Laura is capable of.

We rate the Skoda Laura Elegance CRDI DSG Automatic with 9/10 stars. The Skoda Laura is one of the best executive sedan to be bought in the Rs. 12 to 15 lakhs segment currently.

Lastly here are a few things or features that we missed on the Laura.

1.     No remote for the audio system

2.     No steering mounted audio controls

3.     Wing Mirrors don’t fold fully.

4.     Front seat incline set

5.     No Front parking sensors

Things that we liked on the Laura.

1.     Superb build quality and high quality of materials.

2.     Very refined and powerful 2.0 CRDI 140PS engine and a very efficient one too.

3.     Flawless DSG Automatic Gearbox.

4.     Good overall ride quality.

5.     Powerful climate control (AC).

6.     Superb overall in cabin comfort level.

Skoda Laura 2.0 (CR) DSG Automatic Technical Specifications.