When Delhi-based Amit Chaudhary came to us regarding advice on a new car, his brief was simple: “I don’t like to compromise on anything and I don’t need just a point-to-point transportation. It should be comfortable, fun to drive, have decent power and will be used almost every day. I can spend up to Rs 19 lakh and it has to be an automatic as I drive myself quite a lot, especially in the city,” he said.

This car would augment his garage, which already had two Ikons — a petrol (CLXi) and diesel — and a Honda City as well. His friends, most of whom own Honda products, told him to go in for the Accord and even Amit liked the carmaker’s strong image. But the Honda only came with a petrol motor and there was no diesel, which is a priority for Amit as his regular travel entails almost 300km of driving each day. His business takes him to Gurgaon and beyond and being on the highway also means that he would like a car that has a solid build. So even though the Accord had a lesser price-tag than the Skoda Laura, he decided against it.

Amit has fallen in love with the Laura. “It has never let me down, especially considering the amount of driving that I do in a day. It has been performing considerably well, my friends and family just love it, no one uses the Ikon or City any more”.

He also loves the drive it offers. “It gives me around 13kpl in the city with the AC on and the automatic is a boon in the congested city traffic,” says Amit. “It’s been a great car and the perfect one for both city and highways,” he says.

He does, however, think that Skoda could have given the car better rear seats and maybe jazzed up the interiors a wee bit more. But he’s not complaining.