what size engine to have

[sike1963]

well ive seen 2 superbs i like both 13 plate one is a 1.6 the other is 2.0 is the 1.6 man enough for it to be a taxi and are there any issues with any of the engines thanks pete

[chimaera]

What are you used to driving up to now? The 1.6 is 105 bhp in a car that weighs about 1.6 tonnes. IMO it'd be fine for town work, but it's going to feel gutless at speed, especially for overtaking. The 2.0 comes in 140 bhp and 170 bhp versions. I have a 170 and I really like the power. It's not too thirsty in town either.

[sike1963]

ok thanks ive got a mondeo 2.0 but used to have a 56 superb elegance which was a good car till the oil pump went and destroyed the engine didnt no if they still have same problem may i ask how many miles u done

[chimaera]

ok thanks ive got a mondeo 2.0 but used to have a 56 superb elegance which was a good car till the oil pump went and destroyed the engine didnt no if they still have same problem may i ask how many miles u done

You might find the 1.6 slow, but I'd say go drive it and see what you think. The engine in the Superb 1 was quite different to the one in the Superb 2, so the oil pump issue they had doesn't happen. I've only had the car since March, so I've only a few thousand kilometres on it. No problems in that time.

[TheRobinK]

ok thanks ive got a mondeo 2.0 but used to have a 56 superb elegance which was a good car till the oil pump went and destroyed the engine didnt no if they still have same problem may i ask how many miles u done

 

I wouldn't get too hung up on the difference in engine size from your previous car to a new one. I went from a 6 cylinder 2.5 litre diesel estate to the a 4 cylinder 1.6 Superb Estate and I am well pleased with the car. (2014 model with the 6 speed manual)

 

Now, I should say my 1.6  happened by mistake. I saw what is now my car on a dealer lot with a "Diesel" sticker on it. I stopped,  got out and had a look - it was exactly what I wanted if I got a Superb (combi, facelift, colour, high spec, ivory leather < 1 yr, 5000 only on the clock, full warranty, €8,500 off new price). 

 

I thought all 1.6 litre Superb diesel manuals were 5 speed. When  I saw a 6 speed gearbox I decided it had to be a 2 litre, which I thought I must have. I still thought it was a 2 litre when I got back from a town drive and a spin on the motorway. My only question for the sales guy was on the price, which I thought was suspiciously on the low side. 

 

So, by my own admission, if the sticker had shown "1.6 Diesel" on it then I wouldn't have driven it. When I found out, I remembered a new Passat I had been loaned for three days which I assumed was a 2 litre and was a nice drive. I made a call, found out it was the same 1.6. I then dropped my "engine size baggage" and bought the Superb. My road tax and insurance dropped through the floor too. I'm finding the 1.6 shockingly cheap to buy, operate, tax and insure compared to any other car I have owned.

 

I'm just coming up to a year ownership and I still have no complaints. If I were you I would drive both and get whichever seems the better purchase. And of course, take advice from any of the commercial taxi/limo drivers here. 

 

In the area of Ireland where I live - the 1.6 diesel Superbs and Octys are doing huge mileages and are easily the most popular with the professional users. I'm sure I would get a kick out of a 170HP, I'm just saying saying that my current driving experience is not making me feel I have to go and and get one.

[Phil-E]

The 1.6 is perfectly capable of pulling the Superb along. The superb is under 1400kg (hatchback) and so 184 ft-lb of torque and 105bhp is more than enough. My car has the same power and torque (but the 1.9) but weighs just over 1500kg and that gets along just fine.

 

As above it may start to feel a little bit gutless at high speeds but will easily get up to and over the speed limit.

 

Plus the 1.6 is better on fuel, lower insurance group and a lower tax band than the 2.0.

 

Phil

[TheRobinK]

The 1.6 is perfectly capable of pulling the Superb along. The superb is under 1400kg (hatchback) and so 184 ft-lb of torque and 105bhp is more than enough. My car has the same power and torque (but the 1.9) but weighs just over 1500kg and that gets along just fine.

 

As above it may start to feel a little bit gutless at high speeds but will easily get up to and over the speed limit.

 

Plus the 1.6 is better on fuel, lower insurance group and a lower tax band than the 2.0.

 

Phil

 

Good point Phil - you have reminded me of what was said by the Skoda Tech I talked to after my test drive and bemused/confused expression when told it was a 1.6:

 

"Dont think 1.6 Robin. Think of that motor as the modern replacement for the 1.9 TDI that Ireland couldn't get enough of. THEN it will make more sense to you." 

[Phil-E]

Yes the 1.6 was the replacement for the 1.9.

 

I had a 1.6 for a few weeks as a courtesy car and was very impressed with it. Even with the car loaded up with 4 adults it was able to pull itself along very nicely including a long run on the motorway up and down hills etc.

 

I gave a relative from Germany a lift in the 1.9 DSG from the airport a while back and he asked "How much power has it got? 150 or 170bhp?" He was very surprised to learn it was only 105.

[psycholist]

My 105 bhp PD Octavia produced 122 bhp when rolling road tested, which didn't surprise the guy running the rolling road. The CR170 I have now was only a couple of bhp over the 168 it's supposed to have, which again was as expected from the guy testing it, so there's some evidence the PD engines did significantly better than officially stated while the newer CR engines are closer to the official figures. I reckon this is part of the reason the PD engines are so popular. The difference between the 105 and a 150 or 170 engine is really only obvious above 50 mph when you try to overtake something, so it depends what you want.

[Greenline3Matt]

That's weird, my 1.6 made 122bhp as well before I had it remapped! 148bhp now though

[chimaera]

VAG used to be well known for quoting power outputs at the wheels rather than at the crank which would explain why a car with 105 bhp quoted at the wheels could dyno at 122 bhp on the dyno if the dyno is measuring power at the crankshaft. They may have changed that policy in recent years.

[Mr Rubble]

I ve had my Greenline 3 for 3 years now and I have to say its not the fastest in the world but on my daily commute on reasonable fast A roads and a mix of urban roads the 1.6 is more than adequate. Reasonably cheap to run £30 rooad tax and this mornings lazy run into work nearly 70mpg. I regularly get around 60mpg. There is the odd occasion when I could do with a bit more go, but all in all more than happy.

[Greenline3Matt]

I ve had my Greenline 3 for 3 years now and I have to say its not the fastest in the world but on my daily commute on reasonable fast A roads and a mix of urban roads the 1.6 is more than adequate. Reasonably cheap to run £30 rooad tax and this mornings lazy run into work nearly 70mpg. I regularly get around 60mpg. There is the odd occasion when I could do with a bit more go, but all in all more than happy.

 

I found overtaking a tad dangerous - it look too long to get past on an A road to get from say 40mph to 60mph. Since I have had my remap I have a lot more confidence. As standard it was fine for everything else except overtaking.

[SuperbTWM]

I have the 2.0 140 and I wouldn't want anything less powerful. To get on the A1 near me the slip road is very short and you need to get up to speed quickly as there is usually a big line of lorries all tailgating each other so the 140 enables me to squeeze into a gap safely.

 

In something smaller I think the 1.6 is a good engine but start putting them in big cars such as a superb which may be laden up with passengers and luggage or towing and it may get a bit desperate.

[Wizzmed]

I went from an Octavia vRS diesel to a 1.6 superb greenline. I miss the power for overtaking but on the whole its a great cruiser on the motorway and is good in town. I also find loading it ip with kids, roof box etc on long trips has lottle effect on the performance. Its also costs much less to run than the vRS. That thing went through front tyres after 18k while my superb is still on its original set at 41k.

[jafo]

At least 100hp per 1000kg and 1.6l in 1500kg+ car - not enough for safe driving - in my opinion

[Jules Tohpipi]

My second car of the last 13 years is a Porsche 944 Turbo. Had my 1.6 Greenline for 4 years and love it. Plenty of low down torque to get out of junctions quickly and to join motorways at speed. If I'm happy then I'm sure a taxi driver will be happy. Gets the family fully loaded to the airport no problem and the fuel economy, space and comfort is spectacular. Don't knock it until you have tried it.

[g_tee]

1.8TSI ftw though maybe not for a taxi. Though looks like I'm going to be putting 20K+ a year on mine now...

Edited 22 July, 2016 by g_tee

[Taxi_G]

I'm in a 1.6 TDi Greenline and standard it was dreadful, it's been mapped, a lot better than standard but feel with the 1.6 you have to rev the nuts off it to go anywhere. My old passat 2.0 140 was great, plenty power in all gears, sat nicely in 6th gear.

If I was to pick again it would be min 2.0 and preferably the new 190 diesel which I'll look it in a year or two.

G

Edited 22 July, 2016 by Taxi_G

[peterposh]

I always go for the 2 litre diesel , they are really economical , slightly worse than a 1.6 around town I suspect but I'm willing to live with that extra expense.

 

My 4x4 2 litre 140 's performance was really flat and lethargic as standard until I had it mapped, so a 1,6 must be really tiresome to drive. I wouldn't like to take the 1.6 on an autobahn

Edited 23 July, 2016 by peterposh

[Phil-E]

At least 100hp per 1000kg and 1.6l in 1500kg+ car - not enough for safe driving - in my opinion

 

It's not what you got... it's how you use it

 

Honestly 105 bhp is more than enough in a car this size. Like I said my Octavia is heavier than the Superb as it's an older model and that has no problem with the same 105 bhp and 184 ft-lb of torque.

 

Just had 10 days away in Germany with 2 friends. So 4 adults in the car with the boot full (and I mean full to the brim) and it performed flawlessly. Never not able to keep up with traffic, up and down mountain roads, overtaking slow drivers, accelerating up slip roads, out-accelerating most other traffic and no problems doing 100mph and even 120mph.

 

Extra power is a "nice to have" but not a necessity.

 

The 1.6 doesn't feel quite as pokey as the older PD engines but in reality it still delivers really good torque low down and still pretty punchy when revved a little (I found changing at around 3500rpm gave good acceleration without pushing it too hard).

Edited 24 July, 2016 by Phil-E

[bigjohn]

When I purchased my Superb I looked at a few:-

 

1) The 1.6 diesel cruised OK but needed a bit of persuasion 

 

2) The 2.0 diesel pulled very well indeed

 

3) I was surprised as to how well the 1.4 petrol went but was worried about the economy of the petrol engine. Took it for an extended test drive - part of my commute to work - and monitored the economy, which was better than expected

 

 

At the time the 1.4 was very good value (presumably because new large petrol cars less desirable) and had been in the dealer network for 8 months of its 14 month life  - so I did a deal!

 

I have a long but slow commute and I love the quiet nature of the engine, totally silent at tickover. 

 

In reality generally the engine has been great especially on long continental driving runs - it's a very refined cruiser at high speed (60mpg = 2000rpm) and pulls better than you'd ever imagine for such a tiny engine. In Germany on a two lane Autobahn I was cruising at about 130kph and passing some slightly slower cars when I was long flashed to get out of the way by a high speed approaching Merc. I squeezed the throttle just to pull past the line of traffic and pulled in only to be surprised the Merc pulled in behind me - looked at my satnav and discovered I was actually doing 195kph.

 

Probably the only time I've felt the need to drop down a gear from the very tall overdrive 6th gear was on a steep Autoroute incline when the car was full of  4 tall adults (3 over 6ft 4) and stuffed to the brim with luggage.

 

Economy generally good . You can get nearly 50mpg on a run if you don't over do it (not much worse than my previous Superb I 1.9 pd)  - But economy dips much more than my previous 1.9 pd did -   dropped to 37/38 mpg when pressing on a bit and fully laden with people and luggage 

 

 

Would I buy another - think my next car will be a Superb III 1.4 ACT

Edited 24 July, 2016 by bigjohn

[lichfielddriver]

looking at a Mk3 DSG for me, 170ps? and passing my 1.6td to my son.....

[bigjohn]

looking at a Mk3 DSG for me, 170ps? and passing my 1.6td to my son.....

 

Doesn't the Mk3 (Superb) have the 190 & 150 diesels . At the moment(will change) I don't think the 150 has SCR but the 190 does

[TheRobinK]

Doesn't the Mk3 (Superb) have the 190 & 150 diesels . At the moment(will change) I don't think the 150 has SCR but the 190 does

 

Yes - the Mk3 has 150 and 190 PS on the 2.0 diesels (and 120 ps on the 1.6).

 

Skoda said that, for the initial model year at least, all the 190PS cars would have SCR (AdBlue) as well as the 4x4 150PS .