As things stand today, the automobile market has hardly ever seen so much action. Even as competition heats up, another new car joins the fray ? this time, it’s a Skoda. In fact, it’s built on what Skoda calls the A5 platform and a similar car sells in Europe as the Octavia 2. Skoda, however, is pretty insistent that the specs vary and they have named the new car Laura. Let’s take a good look to find out just what it’s all about.

To start with, the new Laura (pronounced Lao-ra) is in L&K spec. That’s Laurin & Klement, the two who founded Skoda. It also means that the Laura comes loaded with every conceivable feature Skoda in India could possibly pack in, save the kitchen sink and the bath tub. At about Rs 17 lakh, it’s quite a decent buy, especially given the fact that the Laura has two huge USPs. Not because it’s a diesel car but because it’s a PD diesel, where PD stands for Pumpe Duse, literally translating to pump injectors. This VW technology is an alternative to the Common Rail everybody is familiar with.

PD is designed to overcome the problem of fuel pressure dropping while the fuel travels through the fuel pipes. The injectors are known as unit injectors because the injector and the pump are integrated into one unit. Each cylinder has its own PD unit integrated into the cylinder head. Operated by the camshaft, fuel is directly injected into the combustion chamber at about 30,000psi of pressure. This is claimed to produce better blending of fuel with air and leads to more complete and efficient combustion.

The engine itself is a 1896cc unit with a compression ratio of 19:1. Maximum power developed by the unit is 105bhp at 4000rpm while torque is a massive 250Nm at a low 1900rpm. Skoda claims a top speed of 192kph and 189kph for the manual and automatic versions respectively. The 0-100kph time is 11.8 seconds for the manual and 12.2 for the automatic. Which brings us to the second USP ? the automatic gearbox. It’s a DSG or a Direct Shift Gearbox. Older hands will be reminded of the Wilson pre-selector, boxes of yore. The DSG is a double clutch gearbox. While the car is in a particular gear and running off one clutch, the next gear is already selected by the second clutch. So, when its time to move into that gear, the shift is done very quickly and the first clutch immediately selects the next gear. However, the DSG also allows a driver to use it like a tiptronic manual box.

The Laura is different from the Octavia in other respects as well. The external dimensions are 4572mm length, an overall width of 1973mm measured from wing mirror to wing mirror and a height of 1485mm. The front suspension comprises McPherson struts with triangular links and a torsion stabiliser while the rear suspension is a multi-element axle with a longitudinal and three transverse links. This also has a torsion stabiliser. Braking is effected by disc brakes at the front and rear but the front ones feature inner cooling. The door mirrors have turn signal indicators integrated into them while the taillights are now of the wraparound type.

As mentioned earlier, the Laura is a L&K. Which means the interior is choc-a-bloc with goodies. The multi-function steering wheel, for instance, and the retro-style instrument panel with big dials. Then there is the cruise control, so essential for those long distance trips on the highway. The Laura caters to music-lovers as well with a system that has a 6-CD changer, 12-speaker surround sound and Dolby sound enhancement. The driver’s seat upholstered in leather, is electrically adjustable in four ways, and has three memory settings for individual preferences. If another person has been driving the car, a touch of a button returns the seat to the preferred layout.

While parking, the parktronic system with the aid of an animated display indicates how close the car is to a wall or other obstruction. The Laura is a very safe car too ? ABS and ESP are standard on the car and there are six airbags ? two for the driver and front seat passenger, two side airbags and a safety curtain that extends from the A pillar to the C pillar. In addition, during an impact, the pedals move to the side to prevent leg injury and as the airbags are deployed, the fuel supply to the engine is cut off to reduce the risk of a fire.

With the Laura L&K, Skoda is clearly targeting the D segment and with a feature set like this, is also trying to get customers who would be looking at a C Class Mercedes. Whether Skoda will be successful is yet to be seen, but the Laura certainly makes a strong case for itself.

My favourite long drive

Anita Nair,
writer

I often drive down with my family from Bangalore to Kerala, though I don’t drive myself and let my husband take charge of the car. My favourite part of the journey is the four-hour drive from this place called Gundulpet to Calicut.

Most of this drive is through a forested area, some of which is part of the Bandipur reserve forest. Driving through the lonely forest road is an immensely peaceful experience, with just a hint of adventure, since you can come across herds of deer or even the stray elephant if you are lucky. One is not allowed to stop here, but once out of the forest, we always stop at one of the shacks and have hot coffee and snacks.

The ghats section of this route is beautiful. There is a small village along this route where all the inhabitants are gold jewellers. This is the last leg of the journey and from the hilly roads of the ghats, one drives down right to the sea in Calicut — as heady a feeling as any.