The vRS badge from Skoda stands for pure performance, a fun driving experience as well as a powerful engine. The previous vRS badged car in India, the Octavia vRS lived up to the vRS benchmarks. But, now Skoda's launched a new vRS model in the country - The Laura vRS. The car costs 16.9 lakhs EX SHOWROOM MUMBAI.
The nitty gritties:
The + ve's:
- Sporty appearance. Seems to be the most sport looking sedan below 20 lakh rupees.
- 4 Airbags, ABS, EBD.
- A sunroof !!
- Touchscreen 6.5" music player with EIGHT speakers.
The -ve's:
- Engine same as that of the regular petrol Laura's. No difference in tuning, or power production.
- Interior trim could've been better. Lacks in minor detailing such as steering wheel coming without audio controls !
- 2 lakh difference in pricing over regular petrol variant for not much of a different car.
- No optional DSG gear box !!
The interiors:
The Laura vRS dashboard is very plain jane in terms of the features department. But when it comes to sportiness, it rules the roost !
The Aluminium inserts on the dashboard are simplistic and minimal, yet they play an important role when it comes to adding that "sporty feel" to the cabin.
The pedals too are designed to look sporty. However, I feel that the dead pedal may be a tad too small for drivers with large shoe sizes.
The chrome rings around the tacho and the speedo look elegant, plus they enhance that "sporty" feeling Skoda aims to give the driver of the Laura vRS.
The centre console has oodles of those aluminium inserts which truly make it look elegant.
The music system is controlled by a 6.5" touchscreen. It features an Aux input, an SD / MMC slot as well as a six CD changer.
The vRS's seats are upholstered with Alcantara leather upholstery. They are truly comfy and feel well padded.
The rear seats are similar to those of the standard Lauras, except the different upholstery.
The Rear centre console comes with two aircon vents along with this small cubby hole for storing tiny things like keys.
Boot space is humongous like all other Skoda sedans. This one comes with 560 liters of storage place, without the rear seats folded down ! The boot of the Laura vRS is excellent at gobbling up luggage.
With the rear seats folded down, Skoda claims that the Laura vRS boasts of a mind boggling storage space of 1430 liters !
The Exterior:
Photo courtesy: Skoda India
The exterior is pretty similar to the stock Laura versions, EXCEPT for the remodelled, more aggressive bumper with the different fog lamp design. Further, the lower grille has a Honeycomb design, instead of the "criss cross" design in the stock Laura design.
Photo courtesy: Skoda India
The front grille is the traditional Skoda design grille with the chrome highlight, except for the vRS (Rally Sport) badge on it.
Photo courtesy: Skoda India
New Alloys look good....
Photo courtesy: Skoda India
The dual tailpipes give it's looks the required grunt.
Photo courtesy: Skoda India
The rear design is pretty much unchanged except for the spoiler.
This time, the Skoda Laura vRS comes with no side skirts which is a good move on Skoda's part. The side skirts get scuffed and scratched because of speed breakers or broken roads.
The sunroof on the vRS is well integrated into the rest of the body.
The Powerplant:
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Lying under the hood of this monster of a car is a 1.8 liter 4 cylinder petrol TSI engine.It cranks out 160 Bhp @ 4500 to 6200 RPM and 25 kgm of torque from 1500 - 4500 RPM. It drives the front wheels of the car and is mated to a 6 speed manual transmission.
Note: This engine is the SAME one available in all the petrol variants and is NOT a special vRS engine. This is a disappointment.
Final Verdict:
The Laura vRS is an amazingly built car which no doubt, beats the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla Altis and the Mitsubishi Cedia in a segment where the Civic originally ruled - the under 20 lakh performance sedan segment. The Civic's engine seems to be showing signs of aging. It produces 132 Bhp, whereas the Laura vRS's engine produces an amazing 160 Bhp !
But, lets talk about vRS territory now. The Laura vRS beats all other petrol cars at its price in terms of sheer performance. But, does it live up to the vRS name ? Sadly, it doesn't. The vRS name brings to mind powerful engines. But, the Indian vRS is available with the same engine as the stock car it's based on. Abroad, the Laura vRS (it's called the Octavia vRS abroad) comes with a 2 liter petrol engine cranking out around 200 Bhp and 28 kgm of torque. Impressive.
So finally, if you're looking for a petrol sedan under 20 lakhs with good performance, the Laura vRS is the car for you (if you can spend the extra moolah). Otherwise, go for the stock petrol Laura, you'll only miss out on a few cosmetic changes - performance will remain unchanged.
- Naayl Humza
14 year old car enthusiast.
The Model S is an absolute looker. Is completely different from the Mercedes E Classes or those 5 series's.
That's right - Let your eyes feast on this amazing car's looks !
That's the side profile of an ACTUAL PRODUCTION Model S, NOT a concept !
I'm not joking with you - THIS is the interior of a production spec car. A 17 inch centre console screen, a completely digital meter console.
And... you thought that your Range Rover Evoque looks modern inside ?? Check this out first...
The interiors look very Skoda Superb esque.
The side view of the dashboard. The chrome encircled meters behind the steering look very elegant. The storage bin above the dashboard is a good touch.
The console behind the driver's armrest has two A/C vents as well as a small storage cubby hole.
The Skoda Yeti's boot space with all its seats up... Good enough for quite a few shopping bags.... It's also quite good for those airport runs where you need to carry a few bags. With all the seats up, Skoda claims a boot space of 416 liters. That is nice.
With the rear seats folded down, the Yeti's boot becomes HUGE ! Its big enough to carry a full size bicycle.
According to Skoda, with the rear seats folded forward, the boot transforms into an expansive 1485 liters.
This is a good inclusion in the Yeti's design ! The seats can be completely taken out to expand boot space to an expansive 1665 liters of space. This is what Skoda proudly calls "Varioflex Seating".
At first glances, the Skoda Yeti looks like a Fabia with these two big lamps stuck on at the front. It's easy to fool someone who doesn't know about the Yeti that this is a Fabia with a custom bumper. But, the Yeti's design lies in the nitty - gritties - There's the very Fabia like headlamps. But, look closer and you'll see the word "Yeti" embossed on the Headlamps. Then, there's the silvery skid plate and the flared wheel arches. There's the turning indicators on the OVRM's.
The rear looks too boxy. The lower skid plate area is evidently shared with the Audi Q3. The hatch design looks good. The dual tail pipes seem to give it the design that "extra grunt".
The Yeti's rear lamp design looks quite good on its "Bread box design".
The side profile of the Yeti looks quite good. There are bits which evidently scream Fabia. But, on an overall, Skoda's done a good job with the Yeti's designing.
The Yeti's heart.
The face lifted 2012 Toyota Fortuner... The big, brute Diesel SUV !
The Toyota Fortuner's pricing EX SHOWROOM Mumbai.
The current gen 2012 Fortuner's Dashboard
The Previous gen Fortuner's dashboard.
Everything on the interior is the same, except for those brown wood inserts on the door handles which are now black.... This pic is of the 2nd row of seats of the Fortuner.
The Black Wood trim on the doors.
Cavernous boot space with the last row of seats folded. The 3rd row has a 50:50 split.
The Fortuner with all 3 rows of seating opened out... The seats are well padded, cushioned and comfy for those long journeys.
The new front design looks inspired by that of the Landcruiser. The front looks angular, well chiselled and has an amazing look which the older model completely lacked. The new grille looks very Landcruiser esque.
The clear lens type tail lamps absolutely do not belong on the Fortuner ! Toyota seems to have messed up here. These belong on something like a Honda Civic, or a Corolla Altis. This cannot be called OFF ROAD MATERIAL at all ! The chrome door insert looks good. But, Toyota must change the tail lamp design.
The wing mirrors with inbuilt turn indicators are a good addition. This was a smart move on Toyota's part. These look better than the previous generation's chrome clad wing mirrors.
The all new alloy design looks smart on the 2012 Toyota Fortuner.
The 2012 Fortuner even gets headlamp washers ! Pretty nifty for those times when you're off road and your headlamps are covered with muck and need a cleaning.
