Day 2 - Skoda Laura vRS interiors

After reading my first impressions about the Laura vRS, I am sure you are tempted to find out what’s in store for you on the inside. So shall we get started?

If you think that the Skoda Laura vRS does not deliver the ‘sportiness’ that you expected on the outside, well rest assured; inside of the Laura vRS delivers oodles of it. Open the driver door and you are greeted with a dual tone, part Alcantara part leather interiors which oozes sportiness.

The normal Laura gets beige and brown interiors which are a bit dull if you compare it to let’s say the Civic. The Laura vRS interiors are classy and sporty at the same time.

The dashboard is a combination of black with occasional hints of silver and chrome. The ‘PERFECT for GRIP’ 3-spoke steering with a trademark vRS badge is unique to this variant. Normal Laura gets the traditional 4 spoke steering wheel. The steering wheel is wrapped in leather and has perfect dimension for hands-on driving.

The center console houses a traditional Bolero unit with a 6.5’ inch TFT screen and 6 CD changer. The screen allows you to take care of your media needs.

Above the Bolero unit, one can see AC vents and below it are the manual AC control knobs. There is a small pocket below the knobs that can comfortably house your cell phones, toll tickets and other random stuff. An important ‘ASR’ button is placed below AC knob. ASR stands for ‘Anti Slip regulation’ which Skoda’s traction management system.

Fabulously contoured bucket seats in the front with vRS badging are a treat to eyes. They are supremely comfortable and keep you from bouncing around when doing some high speed cornering.

The front passenger seat has a small storage space under it. An arm rest sits between the two seats which can be slided forward and backward to a comfortable position. It also houses the AUX input. The glove box is not very wide adequately deep to swallow an iPad.

The dials are crystal clear and easy to read. Insert the key and both needles touch the end and come back to the starting point. The center console also displays vital information such as distance-to-empty, fuel economy, trip meter et al. The racy foot pedals are unique to the vRS variant.

There is a dead pedal too but it is so close to the clutch that it takes time to get used to. The accelerator pedal rises from the floor so it is perfect for heel-and-tow braking.

Coming to the rear, you will see that the design of the front seats is carried forward to the rear seats as well. A huge center armrest with a flat storage space divides the two seats. The rear passengers also get their dedicated AC vents. The leg space is decent but not ample.

The Boot space is huge – 560 liter when the seats are up and 1430 liters when the seats are down which is ample for any roadtrip. Being a notchback design, the boot lid opens wide so putting the suitcases in is not a hassle. Dedicated lights in the boot illuminate it when dark.

Things that I don’t like about the interior:

• No USB or Bluetooth connectivity.
• Being a Skoda, the indicator knobs are on the wrong side.
• No steering mounted controls (oh come on!)
• Dead Pedal is too close to the clutch pedal.
• Rear visibility is awful. Parking the Laura vRS is more of a faith than precision.  No reverse camera either. Only parking sensors provided.
• No GPS.
• No climate control.
• No dedicated charging point for the rear passenger.
• The door pockets in the rear are not substantial to hold bottles.
• It is not available in automatic transmission so no paddle shifters

Overall, the sturdiness of the build and the quality of the materials is impeccable. It does feel like the it will last forever. Some basic stuff is missing from the equipment list which is a bit disappointing.

Do tune in tomorrow for the driving impression of the Laura vRS. Trust me, you don’t want to miss this!