Superb S 1.4tsi

[MickA]

Been looking at Rapids to change up to from my Citigo but for similar money there are 2-3 year old Superb S around with the 1.4 petrol engine. They also do a 1.8 petrol engine.

I rather like the Superb (the size) and I don't really want a diesel engined car again, and for the mileage I do around 6-7k a year short stop/start type journeys and a few long motorway trips thrown in,  petrol is the way to go.

So my questions are, the Superb in a 1.4 petrol seems quite a reasonable buy, but what's it like performance wise, what's the fuel consumption (real world) figures?. Can't seem to find anyone on here who owns one after trawling a few threads, should I steer clear and find myself that 1.2 Rapid instead?

Edited 26 July, 2014 by MickA

[cnc]

Don't know anyone who has a 1.4TSI Superb but performance wise according to Skoda UK web site it accelerates faster and has a higher top speed than my Greenline. I find the Greenline has perfectly acceptable performance so the 1.4TSI should be fine.

Obviously quite a different car to the Rapid, which I also haven't driven, but see if you can get a test drive in both - its the only way to tell if its right for you.

The Superb is a big comfy cruiser with space to spare and it has great road presence, I personally haven't seen many Rapids on the road so maybe not as popular. You won't be disappointed if you get a Superb.

 

Have a read of this http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/155408-superb-estate-14-tsi/

[Svend]

Trawl no longer. I think there are a few of us on here. 

 

!.4TSi Combi. 

She's good all round on performance but on long uphill grades does need to drop a gear when doing around 30mph but otherwise excellent.

We get 40-45mpg in and around town and 55mpg on motorway runs. Never had a single problem since brand new and she's 15 months old now. 

Even being a base model S Spec she comes well equipped, nothing truly amazing but you'll still smile from ear to ear driving her. 

Ride and comfort is excellent. I love our baby girl. 

[Supurbia]

To give you some idea I had a 1.4 TSi Golf on loan,

 

This was a DSG one btw

 

Urban it would do 29-30

 

Motorway I don't know because I never used it on one for any length of time,

 

It was nippy enough, what it's like in a Superb  don't know but I would imagine it will struggle a bit,

 

Now let me really put you off, it has both a turbo and a supercharger on it,

 

Rapids I would imagine will be similar to the Golf, the diesel one can hit 50-60mpg urban though

[JakeBlade]

Now let me really put you off, it has both a turbo and a supercharger on it

With all due respect mate, it doesn't. The engine you're thinking of is the 1.4 TSI 160+ bhp engine (red T and red S). The 1.4 TSI 125bhp (red T) in the big Sko is turbo only.

[davidwhite]

hi MickA,

 

very interesting thread this 

may I just throw in my twopennysworth, I have just upgraded from a Fabia mk11 hatch to an Octavia fl estate, to me the poise ride and overall stance of the Octavia is a remarkable difference compared to the Fabia ( in no way a 'bad' car )  yet my wife compares the Octavia as a bigger version of her Fabia mk1 in terms of ride and road presence, I guess what I'm trying to say is that no two peoples opinion will be the same but that doesn't mean either of them is 'wrong'

would it not be fair to say that compared to the Citigo a Rapid would be a different beast, likewise the Superb would be different to a Rapid so following this school of thought the 'jump' from a citigo to a Superb........

 

as already suggested you would be advised to test both cars one after the other to form your own opinion and to evaluate which car suits and feels right for you ( real world mpg etc still depends on the individual car AND driver !!!! )

 

good luck, enjoy your test drives I'm sure you'd be happy with either car ( I'd have chosen a 63 plate Superb 1.4 tsi  S, on offer from Skoda dealers ''clearence sale'' over my Octavia BUT couldn't afford the cost, as it exceeded my budget ! head over heart too be honest ) 

[MickA]

Trawl no longer. I think there are a few of us on here. 

 

!.4TSi Combi. 

She's good all round on performance but on long uphill grades does need to drop a gear when doing around 30mph but otherwise excellent.

We get 40-45mpg in and around town and 55mpg on motorway runs. Never had a single problem since brand new and she's 15 months old now. 

Even being a base model S Spec she comes well equipped, nothing truly amazing but you'll still smile from ear to ear driving her. 

Ride and comfort is excellent. I love our baby girl. 

 

Thanks all for your comments

 

Svend, that's good going re fuel consumption, anything over 40 mpg just shortish journeys will do for me. Is that going off the cars fuel computer reading or real world?

 

 

Found a Rapid I may go look at, they have a Superb but not the correct model, it's a petrol 4x4 model 1.8 but £265 VED not for me I'm used to zero tax with the Citigo, the Rapid is only £30 as it's a Greentech.

 

Yes suppose I really need to go drive a few to get an idea.

[Supurbia]

With all due respect mate, it doesn't. The engine you're thinking of is the 1.4 TSI 160+ bhp engine (red T and red S). The 1.4 TSI 125bhp (red T) in the big Sko is turbo only.

 

 

That figures Jake, the small car gets both, the larger one that really needs it doesn't, cranky vehicle group

[Svend]

 

Svend, that's good going re fuel consumption, anything over 40 mpg just shortish journeys will do for me. Is that going off the cars fuel computer reading or real world?

 

That's going off the car's computer. 

The worst I've ever seen it was 34mpg and start was in really bad stop/start traffic through town on a short run. Though it is a small engine in a big car she responds well when asked and you don't have to ask twice or loudly to do so. 

[psycholist]

In my last 2 Skodas the trip computer has been optimistic by between 7 and 10% compared to brim to brim readings, so a worst case figure of 34 mpg on the computer is still likely to be over 30 in the real world - it does vary from car to car though, some cars even give pessimistic readings. To get an idea of whether an engine is likely to be too small for a car look at the power and torque figures rather than the engine size. A 1.4 litre turbo engine with 1 atmosphere boost pressure is effectively a 2.8 litre as twice as much air goes through as a naturally aspirated engine. The only time you'll feel like a bigger engine might be needed is if you drive it at very low revs, preventing the turbo from doing its job.

[ksr]

OK - just logged in after a while away, and hope I can be of some help.

 

I have had my 1.4TSi 'S' spec Superb since November 2012. It was 10 months old then, it is a 2012MY on a '61' plate, and it is, without doubt, the most satisfying car I have ever owned (and I've been driving for nearly 40 years).

 

Performance - I find it completely adequate. I don't tow, but I have driven a 700 round trip with four adults + myself, and a boot full of luggage, at motorway speeds, and didn't find the car under-powered. Yes, you may have to drop a gear on a steep incline, but remember, you're dropping from 6th to 5th. That should not be a criticism - just the correct way to drive.

 

Economy - this is where it has amazed me. I am OCD about logging fuel usage. My real world consumption over 21 months is 45.3mpg. In my case, the on-board computer is rarely out by more than .2mpg. My last tankful has been almost entirely around-town running, with short trips, and air-con working hard for much of the time through July. And even under those conditions, I have averaged, for that tankful, 40.6mpg.

 

On total-economy mode, I made an overnight drive from South West Scotland (Ayr), down to Watford, and back North. I had to stop at Preston to refuel - 631 miles - and a calculated average of 61.03mpg. This was driving steadily, with only myself and my daughter in the car, at speeds of 55-60mph.

 

I have now driven over 20,000 miles in the car. It was an ex-Skoda UK vehicle, 10 moths old and 14,100 miles when I purchased it from a Skoda-franchised dealer. It has required one main beam bulb over the course of those 20,000 miles, and has only been back to the dealer once, for a service as per the variable indicator, at 32,500 miles, having been serviced by the dealer who supplied the car to me. For peace of mind, and prior to the long motorway trip with the car full of adults and luggage which I mentioned earlier, I carried out an interim oil and filter change at 9,500 miles.

 

On the basis of my experience, I would say do not hesitate to buy a 1.4TSi Superb. It is incredibly quiet, many folks who travel in it ask if it has 'stop-start' when we draw up at a set of traffic lights - at idle, it really is that quiet (the facelift 1.4 actually does have stop-start, but earlier models, including mine, do not). 

 

I have driven diesels for 20 years, but the increasing complexity, and associated service costs of a modern diesel, drove me back to consider a petrol car. Never once have I regretted the decision to go with the car I have. 

 

Happy to answer any other questions - equally happy to chat on the phone if you wish to PM me.

[Svend]

Nice ksr. 

The only thing that I don't get on with is some other Skoda owners who call it 'poverty spec', in a Superb nothing is poverty about it. It's more than well equipped and many people who have been in it from other marques always compliment on how nice, spacious and equipped it is. 

[silver1011]

I guess the term 'poverty spec' is in relation to the rest of the Superb range, the 'S' being the entry level model or least well equipped model.

 

I don't doubt that the 'S' model Superb is likely to be better specced than the 'S' model Yeti or Octavia...

Edited 31 July, 2014 by silver1011

[Svend]

I guess the term 'poverty spec' is in relation to the rest of the Superb range, the 'S' being the entry level model or least well equipped model.

 

I don't doubt that the 'S' model Superb is likely to be better specced than the 'S' model Yeti or Octavia...

I love her all the same. It just hurts when people put her down. 

She's my baby and I wouldn't change her for the world (well maybe an Elegance with every option ticked, but please don't tell her). 

[The Zee]

I love her all the same. It just hurts when people put her down. 

She's my baby and I wouldn't change her for the world (well maybe an Elegance with every option ticked, but please don't tell her). 

I don't think it matters what spec or engine it is. The thing about the Superb, which makes it superb, is that it is like driving around in a gentlemans club, there is an air of serenity and sophistication. If others ridicule it, let them walk!

[reindeer]

I don't think it matters what spec or engine it is. The thing about the Superb, which makes it superb, is that it is like driving around in a gentlemans club, there is an air of serenity and sophistication. If others ridicule it, let them walk!

 

Nothing would be more important than the engine I think. It's the heart of the car. If the car is not smooth and quiet when driving, I don't think it's a good one. The Superb is indeed a spacious and good looking car but I tend to think that TSI engines can be problematic sometimes as there are not of bad reputations about them (for the automatic, it's DSG problem and for manual it's timing chain etc). I'm myself owning a Superb 1.4 TSI and I'm happy about other things except the engine as it's shaking, fuel-consuming and sometimes really noisy. It can be that the car is a bit old and driven much (90,000km) but that would be nothing for a Japanese car for example.