New Skoda Laura 1.8 TSI : Roadtest

By: Abhishek Nigam,     Technical inputs: Dilip Desai,     Photography: Kunal Khadse     2 June 2009

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We're not talking of Olympic champions here, but this car could easily be one. Skoda has just dished out the all new Laura with the high-tech TSI engine under the hood. Abhishek Nigam takes a look.

Skoda has been one of the rare manufacturers which hit it off in the Indian market with a premium product. The Octavia was the Czech manufacturers first offering and had all the right things going for it. December 2005 was when the Laura was launched as an all new model and not as a successor to the aging Octavia. While the Octavia was available in the delicious VRS trim with the stonking 150 PS turbo petrol engine, the Laura came only with the 1.9 litre pumpe duse unit which made it a favorite among the diesel bunch. Four years down the line we finally receive the updated Laura and the best part is that the changes are more than just cosmetic.

On the outside:

The Laura was never a standout looker and even in its latest guise is more of the elegant kind rather than the 'hey look at me' screamer. The biggest change in the car visually are the all new headlights. The older car looked slightly droopy with the projection lamps at each corner giving the car a squinted image. The new headlamps are now much larger and stretch over to the side of the car. What the car also gains now is an aggressive new attitude which was missing in the earlier car. The grille though similar in shape is wider now and has more chrome as well. While there are no changes side on, the tail lamps receive a mild update and so does the rear bumper. The car also receives all new 5-spoke alloy wheels, however we preferred the earlier 6-spoke design from the older Laura.

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