MorrisOx

Hi all, new to the Citigo forum and asking a question that may have been answered before… Bought my youngest daughter a 2012 Citigo as her first car and looking to find a smartphone holder that will fit into the mounting at the top of the dashboard that holds the detachable infotainment screen. Any advice greatly appreciated. Is there an online Skoda accessories website anyoe can recommend that might have some options?

It’s a hard act to beat for best value barge (and I don’t say that disparagingly - my V70 was exactly that!). But I just don’t need the size anymore and switching to a smaller Skoda meant torsion beam hell. Just ain’t going to go there! Genuinely sorry to see the Superb go. But for me at least there was no Skoda alternative. And the dealer made zero effort to keep me.

My Volvo was epic, but also epically thirsty & developed an autobox fault (occasionally downshifting from 4th to 2nd) which the specialist spannerman suggested would ultimately be an £800 swap-job. So I got rid. Octavia was a 'find me a big boot quickly' choice. Was pleasantly surprised by interior quality & engine/gearbox combo, but sad to say my daughters complained regularly about noise & ride in the back. So flipped the PCP early to the Superb. Did it's job brilliantly, but the smaller Skoda choices all have the dreaded torsion beam and I won't go there ever again.

So it's the end of the road for my five-year Skoda journey. Started with an Octavia (where I endured the permanent noise and fidgeting of a torsion beam back axle - never again!), then graduated to a Superb. For me, the Superb is the best of Skoda: genuinely decent ingredients wrapped up in a handsome body which swallowed everything that having two daughters at university at the same time could throw at it. I reckon the Superb is at its best lower down the range, where it's not trying to be something that it's place in the VW pecking order won't allow. So whatever people tell you. the 1.4/1.5 TSi is perfectly capable of shifting this barge in a quiet, smooth manner, as long as you're not tempted to indulge in the kind of cornering that exposes the ocean liner suspension settings. My 2018 car had the updated infotainment system and blending voice commands with Apple CarPlay works brilliantly. It's been such an easy barge to pedal around in. Coming towards the end of the PCP, I did wonder about replacing it with a Superb iV, which again looks like a good value intro into decent hybrid tech. But...the dealer was disinterested and in the end I came back to what is (for me, anyway) the nagging issue with Skoda: they're better than you'd expect, but never quite as good as they could be. The Superb has got the ingredients to be very quiet, opulently comfortable and remarkably refined. But we all know why it falls short of that. I no longer need anything as big, so looked initially at an Audi A3. No new cars available until September because of the production delays caused by he global shortage of semiconductors brought on by soaring demand for computers and mobile devices during lockdown. But found a Golf 8 eTSi 1.5 DSG mild hybrid in stock, specced nicely, and went for it. I've heard plenty of nightmare stories about its glitchy infotainment (which is the next generation on from the Superb), and the panoply of driver assistance systems is taking some getting used to. But it has fully-independent rear suspension. It's quiet and smooth. The End.

I was quoted £10,803 settlement and I suspect the trade-in value is somewhere between £11-12k. But who knows, as these figures are always a black art against what you’re buying. My instinct says flip sooner rather than later, but it must be a weird market right now.

Everything under the sun...but I think they’re just standard offers with a name slapped on. I bought the Superb to get away from the Octy’s torsion beam back end: my daughters used to complain that it was always noisy and bumpy in the back on long journeys. The Superb has gone down better because it’s got independent suspension all-round and just feels more settled and grown-up. So I’m in a bit of a bind if I stay with Skoda. Seriously considering an A4, or even a used E-class instead.

Does feel a bit blink and you’ll miss it, GC. Still a really solid car which is a breeze to drive. But I really don’t know what I’d go for if I stayed Skoda.

Yep, offers are offers. The only question for me is whether the Superb’s value is as good as it gets in year 3 (ie, it might tail off in year 4), or whether it makes no difference.

And now Skoda’s tempting me with offers...what to do??

I’m coming to the end of year 3 of a 48-month PCP on a 2018 Superb SE 1.4TSi DSG hatch. Been a ball, but wondering if year 3 is a better time to swap the car in for something else than end-of-contract? Not sure whether I’ll stay Skoda (don’t need the Superb’s room anymore, but absolutely, definitely don’t want anything with a torture beam back axle!), but appreciate any advice on whether now is the right time to do a deal or whether to hang on for another year.

There is only a limited amount you can do about this problem. Remember that the door sealing and acoustic insulation on the Superb is just not as good as that which you find on VWs and Audis, for very obvious reasons. So mechanical/wind/road noise will always seem that little bit higher.

Honestly, this whole issue is a shocker. I had it on my previous Skoda (an Octy) and was told by the dealer then that it was a known problem on DSGs. The numerous threads on different forums bear this out and yet still it goes on! What does it take for VAG to wake up to the fact that reputations take ages to build but can crumble in the blink of an eye?

Straight back to the supplying dealer with that one, Mikes.

You’re not wrong, BJ! ”Oh, I do love driving your car - it’s so smooth, I don’t know why I haven’t driven it before!” I do...😡

£750 goodwill is cheap resolution for them. Not a little cynical, either, as the reality is that a court case would almost certainly have found against them on the grounds of fairness and reasonableness. But their - correct - assumption is that no consumer will take a bet on a court case. Well done for sticking with it, Brocky.

I’ve spent the past month commuting in my wife’s manual Jazz as she is recovering from a left leg fracture and has been told to drive an automatic for a while if she can. She can. It’s mine! Drove my Superb again for the first time in a month yesterday and it was an oasis of calm by comparison: quiet, smooth, hassle-free, all of that. I’m not among those who thinks the Superb is A4 or 520 standard in terms of overall refinement, but it is a remarkably good barge for the money. The best of Skoda, I’d say.

Possibly, but the Superb is a low volume model anyway, and one of its key selling points is that it’s on a stretched Passat platform with all-round independent suspension (which is what sold it for me).

Watched the live launch tonight, looks good in the flesh (particularly the hatch I think), while the interior definitely appears to be a step up. Be interested to see whether they’ve tweaked a bit more refinement into the torture beam versions.

You summed it up better than me!

You’re better off in the Superb forum, vade. I went on a similar journey from Octy to Superb. Feels a bit more refined and grown up than the Octy and is, unsurprisingly, absolutely vast inside.

The A4 obviously doesn’t compete with the Octy; the A3 is the closest in platform terms as it’s also based on the MQB chassis matrix. Both Passat and Superb also use MQB modules, but the rear set can accommodate independent rear suspension on these models. The A4 uses a completely different platform, the MLB, which is also the basis for models ranging from the A6 to the Porsche Macan.

I guess it all depends which angle you approach Skoda from. I’ve had Fords, VWs and Volvos in my time and do a job where I occasionally get to trundle around in the odd Audi and Merc. Honestly, it’s not just a limited engine range where the differences occur - everything in the automotive industry is built to a price, and whilst the more you pay the bigger the margin it’s pretty clear that the grade of components changes too. If you look at technical descriptions of VW’s MQB platform you’ll see it is designed to accommodate different grades of suspension system. So although the hardpoints on the chassis platform are the same, what is bolted on to them isn’t. Grades of bushing and sound deadening are different too. I’d challenge anyone to say that an Octy’s ride and refinement is on the same level as, for example, an A4. I run a Superb, which is independently-suspended all round, and I know it’s better than an Octy but not as good as an A4. I’m not getting at Skoda at all. They’re better than most people expect. I like my Superb a lot. But I’ll never fall in love with it.

That’s true, but I’d kind of reached the point with mine where I felt like I’d be spending Passat or even A4-level money to get the ride and refinement I craved. Superb is a kind of half-way house in that it feels more grown-up and settled than the Octy, and a bit more refined. But I doubt I’ll go for another Skoda after this. I’m up against Skoda’s position in the VW pecking order and that means that though they’re generally better than you expect they’re never as good as you might like. I’d probably have got sick of the Mondeo’s plasticky interior if I’d gone for one of those. Always a trade-off somewhere unless you spend top dollar.

Had a Mondeo 2.0 TDCi 180 for lengthy spell when my Octy was t-boned in an accident three years ago. Honest view? The interior, though very well-equipped, was poorer quality than the Octy, with too many hard plastics. Performance was decent with a very solid slug of torque. But as others have said, it doesn’t really feel like 180bhp. The one area where it knocks spots off the Octy is the ride-handling compromise, which reflects a more sophisticated set-up (particularly at the rear). Historically, Ford has been very good at producing cars which are agile and well-damped and the Mondeo is no exception. It feels more refined. The torsion beam axle at the back of the Octy is its downfall - and the reason I switched to a Superb.

Or is it a clear out ahead of a new MY announcement?