LS108

Same here in Lithuania. Driving 100 km distance between two biggest cities literally every 5th car is Passat. I have to admit the exterior of Passat looks a bit cheap to me, even in R-line trim (who thought of those fake exhaust holes in the bumper???). Also I am 193 cm and space in the back of Passat is not that impressive comparing to Superb.

I was also considering v90 as an option to change my current SII Combi, but skipped it due to price and also boot is smaller than v70. Also some of xc90 owners complain about reliability, having in mind that v90 is completely new model it might be the same issue. I've had V70 D5 Polestar before SII - that was nice engine, but unfortunately steering had no road feel whatsover and that spoiled all the fun. Now I have short list of two options SIII 190 HP diesel or Passat B8 R-line with the same engine. Have no idea how to make my mind :-)

By the way - does anybody considered and tested 1.8 tsi (180 hp) with dsg7?

There are almost no difference between SII 170 hp and SIII 150 hp because their acceleration data is almost identical. I have SII 170 hp 4x4 DSG and the only acceptable driving mode is on S and with loud music in order not to hear the engine :-) On D you usualy drive on the verge of stalling. :-)

I've checked with local dealers - Superb Sportline order will take up to 14 months :-(

Maybe its me, but 90% of time I open back doors first, because I have to put there either bag, either jacket or kids.

It is not so (simlly) clever. But I understand that Skoda had to leave some options to Passat...

What about Kessy? Does it work on all doors in SIII?

Yes, I am going for estate versions only. The problem with Passat (not counting that I do not like design of it) is noisy suspension. Also space in the back is smaller than in Superb. https://i.ytimg.com/vi/cSiTsYGXXFA/maxresdefault.jpg Vs http://www.vwvortex.com/albums/Volkswagen/Passat/Passat%20VIII/(EU)%20Variant%20R-line/Volkswagen-Passat-Variant-R-line-VIII-MQB-642.jpg Superb looks more expensive :-)

130 g is a must - it is not about taxes (we dont have them here) but about company policy. "Fast" cars with >130g are either FWD Audi A4 (2.0tfsi, 7.5 to 100) or RWD BMW 3 series. But those are to small. Did not yet checked A4 to be honest, apart from youtube. I am 193 cm, by the way. I even wrote to MTM, they are doing remaps to Passat B8, and local dealers agree to keep the waranty, but no remaps ready for Passat yet. Most likely I will have to skip AWD criteria. Out of those mentioned it has little additional value, especially having in mind climate change - 10 years ago we had snow cover 5-6 months and now 1-2 months at the best. :-( And if I skip AWD then either Superb or Passat with manual box and 190 HP diesel are probably most realistic options. I wonder, does anybody compared Passat with Superb? My colleague at work was choosing between the two, and have chosen Superb, because she did not felt any significant difference (allthout Passat was more expensive).

The most expensive Superb (190 Hp AWD, L&K trim) is 39k EUR in Lithuania (before discount).

Well, being fast is rather subjective feeling. My SII 170 Hp/350 Nm feels not fast, as due to DSG it drives on the edge of stalling. Also it has rather big turbo lag. However if I drive with paddles, it feels more of less ok. Of course with 4 adults in the car and when overtaking in tricky situations I would be happy having 30 Hp and 50 Nm more. My second car, Saab 9-3 2.0 petrol with low pressure turbo (150 Hp / 280 Nm) feels fast most of the time, mainly because of clever gearing of manual transmission. Also I have to think twice about AWD, do I really need it. Yes, it happens 2-3 times per year, that without AWD I would stuck somewhere and it is nice not to have wheel spin on wet surface. But stronger engine I can enjoy more often. I think.

Hello, its about time to choose new company car. I will use it for 4 years. The criteria: Co2 max 130 Big (two kids, lots of travelling) Fast Manual gearbox AWD ~40t EUR When I put it on paper, it is clear, that I have to delete some of those points. Majority of awd cars have co2 above 130. BMW 520d xdrive is below, but is comes only with auto box and is too expensive. New Audi A4 2.0 tdi quattro is rather on small side and also too expensive. Passat or Superb has manual+AWD but I am afraid that 150 hp is not enough for such mass (allthough it has the same 0-100 time as SII 170 hp 4x4 which I am using now). So long story short, probably I shall skip AWD wish and go for SIII 190 hp with manual box (in Sportline trim, maybe) or Passat r-line with the same engine. However I do not like how Passat looks, so maybe Superb? I am missing something?

With all respect to Octavia, SIII is car from different planet :-) It has so big improvemet from SII, that gap between Octavia and Superb is bigger than ever. So I think you will somehow survive those grassy fields with 2WD (it has XDS+ by the way). But you will enjoy SIII every day, not only camping day.

I've checked, yes both has haldex5. If you drive long distances on motorway take into an account that Octavia will be noisier than Superb. And Scout will be noisier that Octavia VRs.

Two questions before advising - why Scout instead just Octavia Combi 4x4 and second - have you tried DSG as such? Towing is one thing, but you have to like it also in normal everyday driving. I would go for Superb III anyway. It will be way more comfortable than Octavia (which is old model by now allready). Also Superb has Haldex5 (not sure about Octavia - Haldex4?).

No, the car does not electric additional heater, because it cannot be together with webasto autonomous heater. However it might be "nordic" edition, as it was ordered from Skoda dealers in Lithuania.

Diesel, 170 HP.

I've checked once again - car was standing for 8 hours, temp -13C, no webasto preheating, no additional electric heater. Coolant temp needle started to rise after 3 min normal old city driving (no traffic, max speed 40 km/h). 50C appeared on oil temp after 5 min. 90C coolant temp - after 8 minutes (oil temp was 70 at the same time). However what I do not like is that DSG does not understand what engine is cold and still keeps revs at its minimum 1200 when cruising). So I use S or M until engine gets warm.

What year is your car? Mine is MY2014 and it get's warm rather quickly. Even without webasto pre-heater oil temp gets to 50C after ~5 min city driving while -10-15C. It's allready second week we have below -10C durind day time and -20C in the mornings. The best way to check the thermostat - get the temperature to 90C and then drive ~80-100 km/h for some time. If temperature is still 90C - it's ok.

These days when sending sms via cars infotainment system gets more important than it's engine performance torque curves are almost impossible to find. The same applies to 80-120 km/h times, 400m time, 100-200 km/h times and so on. Usually when I need them I write directly to the dealers and after some time they are finding something. Or try to look at MTM page, they sometimes present standard curves vs re-maped. Allthough not sure if they put their hands on Superb yet.

Don't forget that Superb has XDS (optional or standard, depends on market). It helps for FWD to find grip. I would say that 4wd or 2wd mostly depends on winter conditions in your location. XDS and winther tyres won't help if you want to climb steep hill on naked ice.

In ~9 months I will have the same dillema. SIII Combi or B8 Variant. I am aiming at 190 HP AWD in both cases. 220 HP FWD SIII also considered, however I am not sure if I want to have FWD car again. What I have heard from Passat owners - they are not so convinced that Passat went premium as they claim. Also there are some bugs left (which is considered normal in new model).

I doubt that VAG can allow themselves to have as many rattles in A6 as in current Superb (hopefully Superb III will address that issue).

Story goes on. Car was inspected by the dealers, no faults recorded in car memory. They said that they will check with Skoda HQ and will come back within a week. Three weeks passed, no info from them... However I am not expecting any significant news - it is rather difficult to diagnose the problem which appears so rarely and is not recorded as fault in cars computer. Btw it appeared today again. Same story as before - after 10 min of aggresive driving some system is cutting of the power at the moment of kick down. Revs stuck at 3k rpm, no gear change, no power. This time I even managed to provoke it several times in a row. Maybe DSG overheated (but manual says the warning shoud come on)? Well, probably I will be driving as it is until it stops or lease period ends :-)