walrus

Thanks all. I will try another dealer, particularly for the chrome as I really don't think that should happen on a relatively new car. The bird story unfortunately appears to be more likely than I thought. Seems pointless replacing it if it's going to happen again (I'm unlikely to change where I park my car at home and at work any time soon).

Recently took my 2.5 year old (18k) Superb hatch in to the dealer to have a couple of issues addressed under warranty. First one was the gear stick - the chrome surround has started to flake off. Warranty claim was rejected - in the dealer's opinion, it was caused by an external influence and isn't a manufacturing defect. I argued that a gear stick should be able to withstand being moved with a hand without wearing away, as that's what it's designed to do, but they wouldn't budge. Second one is more unusual. The thin strip of rubber at the top edge of the rear windscreen has flaked / crumbled away in several places. Dealer wouldn't touch it once again - in their opinion it was caused by a bird eating the rubber and isn't a manufacturing defect. So after all this, I still have the two same issues, unless I stump up £450 to get them fixed. Skoda customer services were a waste of time and simply defaulted to the dealer's position. Has anyone else come across a bird eating rubber seals from their windscreen? I didn't catch any birds in the act, but if it's reality, there seems little point getting it fixed as they'll just do it again. Thankfully it appears only to be a cosmetic strip of rubber as the water seal is hidden under the glass.

I would have liked Canton, but it was a pricey upgrade on my SE-L. It was compulsory to take the KESSY system too, which almost doubled the cost. I have occasional regret but generally find the standard setup to be pretty decent. I've certainly experienced far worse on a vast variety of other cars.

I shared a similar dilemma two years ago. I plumped for the 1.4 Petrol and have not looked back. More than enough power for what I need and we regularly have it loaded to the brim.

That was more or less my initial thought when I started looking. But then I saw the discount offered by the online brokers. For a very similar car, the new version was £200 more - and for that I got to pick the exact spec I wanted, as well as being six months newer with delivery miles. No brainier for me. I took out a personal loan to buy it outright. I’ll be paid up after 2.5 years and then it’s all mine. (Technically it’s already all mine as it’s an unsecured 2.8% loan, but I’ll be clear of the liability!) I plan to keep it for 6+ years, but I can be flexible should the need arise.

That was more or less my initial thought when I started looking. But then I saw the discount offered by the online brokers. For a very similar car, the new version was £200 more - and for that I got to pick the exact spec I wanted, as well as being six months newer with delivery miles. No brainier for me. I took out a personal loan to buy it outright. I’ll be paid up after 2.5 years and then it’s all mine. (Technically it’s already all mine as it’s an unsecured 2.8% loan, but I’ll be clear of the liability!) I plan to keep it for 6+ years, but I can be flexible should the need arise.

1.4 TSi SE L Exec. Great car - everything I expected from it.

My MY17 SEL (non-KESSY) doesn't allow the boot to close via the fob. Neither does a friend's estate MY17 SEL.

Same here. As much as I liked the idea of personalisation, I'm the driver 95% of the time.

I had the same decision to make and plumped for the Petrol. It's fine with hills and overtaking. Of course you need to give it a little more gas compared with a torquey diesel, but you soon adjust. My daily commute is about 10 miles each way, so not too dissimilar to yours. Fuel economy since new in March (approx 4800 miles) is 42mpg, using bog standard supermarket fuel. Engine is extremely quiet and warms up in a couple of minutes. All this said, you really need to drive one to be sure. Even if you drive a VAG car with a similar engine, you'll get an idea of the characteristics by comparison.

The standard system has the central dash speaker, which I agree adds a lot. I would have plumped for Canton for £600 but it's just not the case in the UK. As soon as you select Canton, you also have to take KESSY and suddenly you're spending a grand on a stereo upgrade. It's a shame.

I have a 1.4ACT and find it spot on. However, I do around 8,000 miles a year. If I was doing 20k p.a. I reckon the diesel would be the better option for the economy. For my 20 mile round trip commute, I average about 40-45mpg, depending on traffic. Diesel would probably be 55+ in similar conditions. Benefits of the petrol which swung it for me are the lower initial outlay and the quite, more refined engine. Having had diesels in the past I also appreciate not having to worry about jammed up EGR valves and forced DPF regenerations etc.

I've gone from a 2.0 diesel (not a Superb) to the 1.4TSi and I'm enjoying it. You have to drive it a little differently - typically the petrol needs a few more revs - but it's quiet and refined. Plenty of power for overtaking and it's not found wanting when I've had a reasonable load to carry. If you are regularly carrying 4 passengers and a full boot of luggage, the diesel might cope better, but this isn't a situation I find myself in very often. My daily commute is 10 miles to work and 10 miles home, barely going over 30mph. I've noticed the vibration with ACT enabled too, but it's a fairly minor gripe. Perhaps try driving a 1.4TSi in another guise, such as a Golf or an Octavia. I know they might not be identical engines but they'll display similar characteristics.

1.4 has plenty of power for going up hills. I had the same concerns as you, but I wouldn't worry. We were out and about at the weekend, with three of us and a decent wedge of luggage on board. We were still comfortably overtaking and getting up the hills. Even the most powerful of car will handle differently with a full load. Compared with the more torquey diesel's I'd driven (up until recently), I often needed a lower gear, but it was effortless. I've not driven the 2.0 and I imagine it's on another level, but it's also about £2-3k more expensive.

Definitely going to need to read the manual again - clearly much of it bypassed my brain in an eager rush to get back out and play with the car.