Skoda’s 2001 stunner, the Octavia combined the performance, features and the build of a thoroughbred European car with superb value. Now with the Laura, Skoda has greater ambitions and in its crosshairs is the cream of the luxury market.

‘DON’T BE MISLED BY ITS STAID LOOKS. THE LAURA IS A TECHNOLOGICAL TOUR DE FORCE AND GOOD VALUE TOO.’

‘THE LAURA FEELS QUICKER THAN ITS NUMBERS SUGGEST AND LACK OF POWER IS NEVER FELT IN ANY SITUATION.’

QUICK FACTS
Skoda Laura PD
Price Rs 15.6-16.5 lakh
On sale January 2006
0-60kph 4.82sec
0-100kph 11.54sec
Top speed 185kph
For Build quality, comfort, technology
Against Noisy engine, familiar looks

The car you see on these pages, the Laura, is actually Skoda’s new Octavia based on the VW Group’s A5 platform. A new, grounds-up design that was put on sale in mid-2004 in European and other markets, this is one of the most important cars in the carmaker’s 100-year history. Fresh from recent success, Skoda has made its new Octavia bigger and better and pushed it more upmarket on the world stage to compete with cars like the Ford Mondeo, Toyota Avensis and Renault’s Laguna.
This is a policy Skoda will follow in India as well. While the current Octavia will continue to be sold, the new Laura, as Skoda has named the car in India, will take on heavyweight competition like the Accord, Sonata and the Camry.
The current Octavia could compete with the Laura as well, especially since it continues to be the best luxury diesel car for its price. Like the Octavia, also a hugely significant milestone for Skoda when it was launched in Europe in 1998, the Laura adopts the same practice of picking tried-and-trusted VW components in a car that promises fantastic value.
For Skoda India, the Laura is the next big thing since the Octavia launch. The car will be locally produced in what Skoda expects are significant numbers. If the Laura is to push the Skoda brand further upmarket, it will have to be considerably better than the Octavia in terms of comfort, luxury, performance, technology and features.
We are the only ones to have driven the new Laura on Indian soil and our exclusive road test will tell you what the latest Skoda is all about before it goes on sale next month.