CarWale’s first impression of the Skoda Laura

With its 10/10 campaign Skoda seems to have got many eyes focused on its Laura. After launching its premium model the Superb, the Czech based company has launched its new Laura (which is sold worldwide as Skoda Octavia). The company rates the car 10 on 10 and now its our turn (at CarWale) to give our first impression views about the Laura.

The 2009 Skoda Laura has been completely revamped when compared to its older version. The Laura has somewhat derived its front look from its elder brother the Skoda Superb. The front grille has been taken from the Skoda Superb making it the new standard Skoda front grille. The curvy hood has now become smooth and the larger air inlet below the front grille couple up to give its snout a more muscular look. The car looks cleaner with the longitudinal lines running smoothly through the car. The Laura continues with its tradition of U-shaped red light for the tail lamps retaining its original image, and with a new rear bumper design sporting the reflective strips.

The interiors of the Skoda Laura look marvelous, but if you have driven a VW Jetta before, you will feel at home in the new Laura. The central console, the switches, the gear knob (Automatic version which we saw), the leather most of the things have been adopted from the parent company Volkswagen’s product the Jetta. The only differences between the Jetta and the Laura, which can be spotted, are the steering with the Skoda logo emboldened on it and the interior colour tone, wooden finish has been added on the dash and the doors. The interiors have been ergonomically designed and the multi-functional steering is another versatile element. The car features a dual A/C and the touchscreen display borrowed from the Jetta. But these Jetta lookalike interiors have some extra features like the data card reader and memory settings for the external mirrors. The Laura is spacious and almost a 6 feet person be seated comfortably at the front and the rear seats.

 It’s a very practical car with completely foldable rear seats, huge boot of 560 litres, bottle holders, cup holders and numerous storage compartments for driver and passengers. 

The new Laura comes equipped with three engine variants, two are diesel and one is petrol viz., the 1.8 litre TSI engine used in the Superb, the 1.9 litre and 2.0 litre TDI PD engines.  These are the new trend of engines developed by the Skoda Group with lesser cubic capacity yet powerful and efficient. The springing of the car hasn’t been changed. The Laura still springs on the McPherson suspension with lower triangular links and torsion stabilizer at the front and multi-element axle, with one longitudinal and three transverse links, with torsion stabilizer at its rear. The wheelbase of the car is the same (2578mm) and the turning radius of the car has been reduced to 5.1m from 5.4m, which by our calculations, the  turning angle has been increased by around a couple of degrees. 

The ARAI claims the mileage figures as follows:

Pricing of the car: