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.
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.
