Arianne

@Busa-Boy .....that's good to read: there's hope for us humans and our brains then, even in a world of increasing automation and AI 😅. Thanks for the update. Our collection date has tentatively been agreed for Wednesday, 4 March. We have a week planned in the Lake District from the following weekend so this would be excellent timing - a couple of days to become familiar with the controls, interface and settings before heading off. The dealer has agreed to my request to pop along next week for my own PDI in advance of whatever they do themselves. I will wait for a dry day, there may be a remote possibility of one coming up here in Scotland, and then head off to the dealer. As ever, if anyone has any advice or tips please let me know. Best wishes.

Thanks, helpful. I would have got caught on the app settings so your tip is much appreciated. The remote parking could be useful in some situations. When I asked ChatGPT if the parallel self parking would be better than my own it suggested that the margin of safety necessarily inbuilt into the software probably means that it won't be better than me, with the wife standing outside as we squeeze the car into a tight spot in Como City, Italy - we have a driveway at the house in Scotland but the garage underneath our apartment in Como is too small. So it's street parking 😬

The 19" rims. That's good to hear. I also have opted for the same rims but have always had a niggling doubt about the wisdom of this because of the impact on ride comfort and tyre roar intrusion into the cabin. The reviews on YouTube and in the magazines are a bit mixed on this. Most suggest that, while the 18" are naturally better, the DCC+ dampers and noise insulation are sufficient to counter the impact for the larger 19" rims. So your real feedback is reassuring, thanks again. Thank you again.

Beautiful. Love your choice of rims and do I spot the panoramic sunroof too? Looks like you had a good day for the collection with relatively good weather for February. Enjoy! If you discover anything worth sharing....please do!

Ahh, story of my life - just pipped at the post 😅 Most importantly, enjoy Friday and, if you feel so inclined, maybe share a photo? Best wishes.

So we're getting close! My dealer has been in touch and explained that our car is now in the UK at the port. It should be with them in the next couple of weeks so collection in early March is looking good - we've agreed Friday, 6 March as the provisional date for pickup. The dealer has agreed to give me a message when the car arrives because I requested that they let me inspect it before they complete their PDI. I do this with all of our new cars because the dealer will hopefully include anything we have spotted for rectification prior to the big day. Hope being the operative word! Is there anything else that you good people think I should be doing, checking or fretting about? Thank you in advance!

I wouldn't think changing the rim sizes would make much difference to the speedometer? The overall diameter of the rim and tyre is pretty much the same. As the rim size reduces doesn't the tyre wall profile increase? I may have got this wrong and, if I have, please say. Any difference must be right at the margins. TBH, while the 17" winter rims won't be much for the look of the car, they will compensate with a smoother and quieter ride because tyre sidewall forgiveness makes a real difference.

@Badelhas , may I ask what quality of music files you are feeding the system and whether you are doing this through a wired connection or Bluetooth? Quality matters, especially for the better in-car music systems which can be very picky. Maybe choose a test track. A reference track would be something lossless, say in flac format, where the digital music file is at least as good as CD quality (16-bit / 44.1 kHz). Remember that the flac format is just a container, albeit an honest, lossless container that will faithfully deliver whatever is within it, unlike compressed MP3 type files. It's what you fill it with that helps make the difference. Next, choose the source track carefully. Not all CDs or digital downloads are created equally. Very often, anything recorded after 2000 suffers from brickwalling during the Loudness Wars period. This means that the sound engineer has maxed out the input volume to the point of saturation. Great for cheap car audio, earpods and Bluetooth speakers but terrible for any quality HiFi equipment which will faithfully attempt to replicate what it is fed. The dynamic range (the difference in volume between the quiet instruments / vocals and the loudest) is very little on these brickwalled recordings and it creates a messy sound that hurts the brain because this is not what our brains naturally hear in real life. Good for the first 60secs wow factor on a tiktok stream but painful thereafter (60secs being what most folk consume now on cheap speakers, so the recording studios demand this approach from their sound engineers because it sells on streaming). Taylor Swift resists this and her material is consistently well recorded with a high DR (dynamic range). Fleetwood Mac, George Michael, Michael Jackson, later The Jacksons' albums and the Lighthouse Family (yes, I was surprised by that last one too!). Avoid remastered recordings post-2000 from digital downloads stores such as Qobuz or 7Digital. Yes, these promise HQ digital downloads but the remastered versions are often not great. It seems counterintuitive but these are also more likely to have been brickwalled. The originals during the 1980/90s will usually be better. Don't use Bluetooth wireless. It makes no sense to pay extra for the Canton upgrade and then feed it Bluetooth. Bluetooth will compress the file data meaning that, by the time the Canton system receives it, most of the detail has been stripped out due to file compression. Same issue with Android Auto. If you store your music on your phone and use an app such as PowerAmp to send the music through Android Auto, AA will almost certainly be downsampling any high quality data it receives. Same issues with online streaming services. Even those that promise HQ sound through their premium subscriptions will only deliver the best available data stream based upon the bandwidth available on the network, wherever you are. You may be paying for HQ sound but not getting it, just the 'best available'. If possible, send the music file straight to the car's music systems, do not use AA or ACP, use a wired connection, CD quality lossless files and a high quality source which has been properly recorded by the sound engineer. Rubbish in = Rubbish out. Hope this helps. PS. I think the subwoofer on the PHEV is located on the nearside (UK) cubbyhole in the boot. ICE cars have them positioned in the spare wheel well. I suspect the positioning of the subwoofer on the PHEV is slightly suboptimal but I guess the PHEV batteries need somewhere to go!

@Carlston , thank you again for your detailed reply. I will take a closer look at this because your point about kerbing risk is well made. The car will travel on Le Shuttle cross-Channel. My heart sinks when the guy directs us onto the upper deck because it is so narrow. That alone makes a little further research worthwhile. I will also check the different suppliers and I agree that, providing the winter tyres are in stock, buying them during the summer makes sense too. Thank you again.

@Gabbo , thank you. I think I am almost there. A fairly ordinary set of Crystal 17" rims will hopefully do the trick. We live in Scotland and the sheer volume of road salt scattered during Winter is harsh on the rims. A simple silver painted design is more resistant to corrosion than anything lacquered or fancy. It's not the most flattering look for the car but Winter isn't the season for photoshoots anyway, the tyres will be cheaper, same with the chains and the slightly narrower profile will help penetrate the snow for grip. I will get a set of chains. They're not too expensive for the Superb and don't take up much room in their little box. This is one of the happy outcomes compared to our current RR Velar - the tyres and Spider Spikes are eye-wateringly expensive and those Spider Spikes come in a massive holdall. This is one of the things I will be grateful to leave behind when we sell our Velar - the complexity, the weight and the expense. Oh, and the underwhelming customer service experience despite the palatial glass, marble and leather laden showrooms. One final practical point. The Czech online store displays prices, these being actually very good value. The UK equivalent does not. It simply allows me to add items to my wishlist, rather than a shopping basket. It then advises me to share the wishlist with a dealer who will provide prices. I have a hunch that this isn't going to be such good value as the Czech online store 🫣. The car should be delivered in March so I have plenty of time, although the supply of Winter tyres is seasonal, understandably. Thanks again everyone.

@Carlston , what can I say? Thank you so much. I have been an active member of several forums since 2003 - Ford Galaxy, Volvo XC90 & XC60, Jaguar F-Pace and RR Velar - but your knowledge of Skoda is quite incredible, especially the ET41 rim waiting to trap the unwary! I will check this all out and ensure we have the right 17" rims with winter rubber wrapped around them in good time for next Winter's Alpine adventure. Best wishes and thanks again. David

Thanks Evolution 13. I was about to send a PM to him with the link to this thread, requesting some help. Unfortunately, I haven't yet reached the required minimum of 20 posts to allow PMs, although this one makes it 19 😉. I will wait for a few days. The car doesn't come until March and I have all Summer before I need to finalise this. I just read your thread and thought it might be good to ask. Appreciate your reply. Thanks again.

I was going to start anew discussion thread but maybe I can piggyback on this one? I plan to buy a set of winter rims and tyres for our new Superb 2.0 TSI 4x4 265PS Estate that we have coming in March. When I asked the dealer about a winter tyre and rim set, they said that they couldn't source this at present. We travel every winter to Austria and it is mandatory to have snowchains on board, even though I have never needed to use chains on any AWD / 4x4 car we have owned. I have read that the restricted space for the running gear means that the maximum rim size is 17" because this results in a narrower tyre with more space behind the tyre for the chain links. I don't need to source the rims and tyres together. Normally I source the tyres myself using online suppliers. How have you guys sourced your rims. Any advice? I appreciate this is rarely needed by most UK owners but, since this would be a common requirement in many of Skoda's European markets, it seems a bit odd that my dealer is perplexed by this? Thanks, in advance.

Hmm. I think the invisibility of the car will probably be fine on the twisting country roads here in the Scottosh Borders. I'm less sure I will enjoy being tailgated on the A1(M) heading south for the cross-Channel ferry / tunnel, or on the German autobahnen. However, we shall just need to see how it goes. I rarely gun it even in our Velar or SLC these days, preferring a more serene journey. But when I do choose to pull out into the overtaking lane, adjusting my speed to the flow so as not to be a nuisance to others, it does annoy me when someone plants themselves right on your rear bumper. This is almost never the case with the Velar and rarely the case with the SLC. But, this being the habitat ruled by the ape-man, he is unlikely to notice my little 4x4 badge and make the connection to the engine derivative. TBH, twin exhaust outlets don't cut it anymore either because almost every wannabe model these days has real or fake integrated exhaust finishers. A badge on the tailgate would have been the best option but, in its absence, I will need to find a way of processing others' road manners in my head. Any suggestions from other Superb drivers will be appreciated. Have a good day folks.

This is something that I have tried to manage down in my expectations. The Meridian 800w system in our Velar is exceptional when fed lossless, high quality flac music files via a cable (compressed files or music sent via Bluetooth isn't great though). Our AI assistant offered an evaluation of both the Meridian and Canton systems. It concluded that, based upon the components, processors and decoders etc. the Canton system is good but not audiophile reference quality. For my music listening enjoyment there is a minimum threshold that must be reached otherwise I can't be bothered. From what I have read, the Canton upgraded system should exceed my minimum expectations. Most of these systems need to be given good quality music files through a cable to really shine. Good to read that you are happy with it and I hope to follow in your footsteps. Regarding the car itself, I am quietly confident that you are right. The reason I say this is because it seems to me that all of the ingredients exist to make this a most enjoyable car. The engine, a decent gearbox, configurable dynamic suspension, lots of space and comfort, a much lower centre of gravity compared to the SUVs I've owned since 2006 and an understated elegance. Excitement is often fleeting whereas contentment has staying power, and contented with our choice is how I feel. Plus, it's a lot less likely to get stolen than our Velar! Thanks again for the tips.

Thanks @Novichok . I recall reading your experience and slight tweak to the pressures. Tyre wall profile makes such a difference, as does pressure. We had a Volvo XC60 which we mistakenly ordered with 20" rims in R-design trim with its stiffened suspension. Awful. I picked it up from TMS Volvo in Coventry (they were a super supplying dealership) and drove it back to Scotland. Within a few miles of joining the M6 I realised what a clot I had been. Over the three years of ownership, it being my one and only car ever acquired on PCP, I learned the technique of changing lanes without clipping the cats' eyes! That was how bad it was. The other issue with that car and my poorly judged configuration was the addition of the subwoofer which, unbeknown to me at the time of ordering. Volvo chose to locate beneath the rear bench. My son, who at the time was the sole rear seat occupant, politely requested that we turn the subwoofer bass down on the equaliser as it was so uncomfortable for him. Just to be clear, we don't actually use a great amount of bass at this low frequency either. This has been an interesting experience with the Superb though. I explained to Mrs A that, whilst I wouldn't say I am excited by the decision, I do feel content. It feels like the right car for us, a purchase made with both my head and heart - whereas previous car purchases have been 90% heart, including the Alfa Romeo from yesteryear! Best wishes.

Okay, so that's the order placed today. Superb Estate L&K 2.0 TSI 265PS 4x4 DSG Graphite Grey metallic 19" Veritate Silver wheels 5yr / 100k extended warranty Pano roof Family Package Rubber mats Stainless steel door sill covers Front & rear hard-wired dashcams I will separately order 17" rims for my winter tyres and a pair of snow chains for the Alpine skiing holidays, ski holder bag and rubber boot floor mat to contain the meltwater from the boots and skis which otherwise stink out the cabin from the carpet getting saturated. I don't use the HUD because it makes me feel sick. Scheduled for collection in March 2026 for the new registration. We chose the black interior because, after seeing the cognac, it wasn't quite our thing. The sunroof and cream / white headliner on the L&K model brightens up the cabin. We thought the cabin was very nice and we couldn't believe the space. We test drove a TSI Sportline 265 4x4 as a proxy to gauge the engine and gearbox. It was good but, as a few others have mentioned, the 19" rims do create more tyre noise which seeps into the cabin. However, we have the 17" dowdy rims for the winter months which at least will offer a more supple ride and quieter cabin even if they look grim on the car - but then winter in Scotland means mud and salt splattered on the grey paintwork anyway. Very happy thus far and we will update the forum as and when we have news. Thank you to everyone on here so far for your advice and guidance. David

Thanks Cedwing. I have realised that, if I widen the search out to include the newer Sportline trim, there are several additional cars listed. The engine and gearboxes on these are the same and, although the ride height has been lowered a bit and the interior cabin materials are different from the L+K, they’re close enough. This is encouraging. There are sufficient scattered either side of the A1, M1 and M6 from SE England through to Scotland that I am now confident of being able to secure a test drive in something representative. I’m very much looking forward to it TBH. Let’s hope it works out. Best wishes.

Thanks for explaining why it’s proving so difficult.

How hard is it to test drive a 2.0TSI Superb? Very hard, or so it seems! The best I have been offered is two test drives - the first in a diesel Superb to assess the interior cabin and comfort, followed by a Kodiak vRS to assess the engine and gearbox. Another dealer offered me their 1.5 hybrid as a viable alternative. I have spoken twice to Skoda Customer Services U.K. On the first occasion I was simply transferred to my nearest Skoda dealer. No success because they don’t have any 2.0TSI available - either the 265bhp 4x4 or the detuned FWD version. On the second occasion, earlier today, my call was answered by an AI bot whose English was perfect and had no need to pause or breath. In the end I simply asked to speak to a human being and was put through. The lady, from what sounded like an offshore call centre on the other side of the world, was pleasant enough but could only follow a fixed process, gave no evidence of any actual knowledge of the issue under discussion and was little better than the AI bot. I now have an appointment to visit the dealership on our return from Italy, test drive one or more cars which are not anywhere near an accurate representation of the Superb we are seeking and then presumably pay our deposit for the factory order. Hmm. The magazines gush over the flagship model, you guys on this forum do too and I understand why from a technical perspective. However, Mrs A will not be moved. A test drive in either of the TSI variants is her red line. My workaround then is to check AutoTrader a few days before we begin our road trip home from Italy towards the end of the month. Usually there are one or two cars listed for sale as nearly new or pre-registered. If one of them is within a whisker of a short detour on the road north from SE England then I will call the dealer and ask for a test drive. Who knows, we may even buy it if the price is right and the specification correct. What a faff though. I had hoped that Skoda U.K. might have had some fleet, media or management cars available which we could try if we offered to head over to Milton Keynes. I suspect they have but the lady from the call centre was completely unsighted on such things and effectively operating in a different universe from the media team in England. If anyone has any other thoughts or suggestions then please feel free to help. Thanks. PS. Black or Cognac interior with dark grey exterior paint? No kids, no pets. But just unsure if the cognac works when there are so many grey and black bits inside the cabin that don’t change when you choose the lighter faux leather interior.

I get that Novichok, thank you for sharing your ownership emotions and the lovely photos. That’s an understated, classy car. Lovely rims and good to know that, even on those 19” ones, the ride is still comfortable using the damper settings. The dealer got back in touch with me this evening. Goodness, he works late! He is asking for me to send him the specification for the car one last time so he can check and finalise the pricing. I’ll do that in the morning. You need to get these things right! Thanks again.

Busa-Boy, you clearly love motoring. In that we are from the same camp. Thank you for your informative and entertaining post. Mrs A is a most patient woman, having stuck by me during 40 years of marriage. She trusts me with our car decisions, along with many other significant issues. But I want her to be on board and alongside me - which means she needs to be informed and her opinion heard and considered. She has saved me from myself on several occasions such that I now properly listen to her. We don’t always agree and ultimately, providing it’s not a decision from Crazyville, she will yield in those fields in which I have a proven track record of success - cars, investing and technology being examples. The PCP is just a thing. I prefer owning stuff. I download lossless FLAC music files, never stream. I buy our cars, never lease or contract purchase (I did it once and didn’t enjoy it with an XC60). If the PCP offer was better by some margin than a cash purchase then I would take it and then settle after a couple of months. On this car, the dealers are both offering approx £7k to £8k off list even on a cash deal. There’s little incentive this time on PCP with admin and modest interest charges before settlement. You’re correct that we are fortunate to spend 50% of the year in Italy together with three weeks skiing in the Austrian Tyrol and Summer in Voralberg for mountain hiking, escaping the Italian heat. Como is beautiful - today we took the boat to Cernobbio, enjoyed coffee and brioche there, returned to Como and met our dear Italian friend who works for the tourist information office. We had lunch in the piazza before the 15min walk back up the hill from the old town to our apartment overlooking the city. Over time though, we have also learned to truly appreciate the many things we all tend to take for granted about life in the U.K. We love both countries very much but each possesses qualities and culture that is unique and precious. Sometimes one needs to leave a country for a while to truly see what has been right before your very eyes all along. I’m only into my fourth year of retirement, having hung up my boots at 56. This new chapter is exciting, liberating but also a bit of a trip into the unknown. I’ve always been financially prudent with the occasional splurge - cars being one theme that has had the accountant within me in despair. You’re right of course, the money is there to be enjoyed and this is certainly something we’re embracing but it’s early days and moving from saving for retirement to spending in retirement requires a mind shift. I think I am nearly there, subject to the test drive when we return to the U.K. in November. The dealer will get back to me over the next few days and that’ll finalise the numbers. After that I can enjoy the journey of buying the Superb. It sounds like you’re thoroughly enjoying your retirement. Once again, thank you for sharing your experiences and no, I didn’t think you were cheeky in the slightest. Best wishes.

Hi Cedwing. Thank you. The creak is annoying, I'm sure, but both our Velar and SLC have various creaks. I can forgive the SLC with it's complex folding hard top roof and miles of rubber as a result - six monthly Gummi Pflege treatment solves the issue. The Velar has no such excuse and I have come to the conclusion that this is the reality with almost all cars. The Discovery Sport courtesy car from my dealer last month had similar issues despite being just three months old. My Volvo XC90 had a feint noise coming from the clutch mechanism of the seat belts which mirrored your chest movement on breathing! The list continues! The Smart Dials are useful. Our Velar has them as it was only the JLR accountants' cost cutting that resulted in this being deleted on the later model years. I honestly think the only alternative in Estate body style is the BMW 5 series but the cost is significantly higher, especially with the equivalent kit. And I read that the rear luggage space is reduced due to the complex suspension setup back there on the rear axle. Hmm. I managed to find a most wonderful YouTube video yesterday evening which I have shared with Mrs A. She is of the opinion that, if the real L&K Superb looks as good as in the video (showroom lights and polished to within an inch of its life excepted), she will like it. Thank you again. I am continuing the dialogue with one of the dealers to better understand a slight mathematical inconsistency in their quotation but I am looking forward to the journey to purchasing this car. Best wishes.

Hi 100andthirty, while I haven’t yet taken delivery of the Skoda, I have some experience of the characteristics you have described and they read as perfectly normal to me. In our Mercedes SLC, as is common across almost all Merc cars, it has an eco mode by which the gearbox disengages and the car coasts. Since your car is hybrid, it can clearly do this with zero revs. I have found that it takes time to adapt to the experience but, when you do, it’s possible to extract some pretty impressive fuel economy and eventually provide passengers with a smooth, seamless driving experience too. Our son has a Renault Clio hybrid. I don’t drive his car but, as a passenger, I am aware of the fairly aggressive energy recovery that occurs when he lifts his foot from the throttle. It does feel like he has gently applied the brakes but it is in fact retardation caused by the energy recovery system. He could choose a mode which is less noticeable and which provides a smoother experience but he tells me he likes the idea of hyper-miling his fuel economy. I just worry that he will get rear-ended! Finally, I read or watched a video about the braking experience on the 1.5 hybrid and your experience seems typical of the version you have. It’s a different experience from the non-hybrid versions apparently. No doubt others who actually own these cars will respond but I wanted to provide a reply, albeit a generalised one, to the three points you raised. Best wishes.

We’re planning to place a factory order in November for March ‘26 collection. Resurrecting this thread for any further advice, opinions or guidance… Thank you in advance folks. Can someone, or hopefully more than one of you existing owners, help me get my head and heart around this? Be as candid as you wish, just respectful with it. My head gets the Superb, my heart less so. My wife even less so, but she’s hanging in there alongside me. We’re in Italy at the moment where we have a second home in Como, by the lake of the same name. We today visited the local Skoda dealer just to try and view some Superbs before we get back to the UK and finalise everything in all seriousness. It wasn’t great. Multi-franchise operation, no showroom Superb, no used stock and just two Superb Estates in Cobalt Blue, SE Technology trim around the back awaiting their PDI preparation, having just recently rolled off the transporter. Mrs A was underwhelmed. Understandably so. Small wheels, no chrome flourishes, unprepared paintwork etc. Over lunch I explained that an L&K 265bhp petrol 4x4 with all the trimmings is a different proposition. But it’s still 20% heart, 80% head. She said the Superb isn’t a great looker, to which I replied that it is a car you grow to love as you share life together - pan-euro ski trips, luggage hauler, sleeper car performance (well almost) etc. The joy that comes from knowing you have bucked the trend, exited the herd mentality and genuinely bought the thing for all the important reasons rather than superficiality. I also explained that, for the budget (£46k new, family pack, 19” rims, pano roof and that dirt-cheap option of the chrome door sill covers - £7k - £8k off list), we would otherwise be buying a mid-sized SUV. Less leg room, less luggage room, wooden handling and ride comfort, less cabin luxury, average engine performance and, whilst more fashionable right now, pretty much similar to all the other SUVs out there for looks. Mrs A acknowledged this but explained that, while she understands the Superb will do almost everything we need and want, it’s not setting her senses on fire. But she is hoping that, when she sees one in a decent U.K. dealership under some showroom lighting, it might look, feel and smell different. Guys and girls….help me out here. She has a point. Our Chat GPT AI assistant is adamant that the Superb is the right car, as is Top Gear magazine (six monthly reports before their fleet L&K Superb went back this month). And before anyone suggests that ChatGPT 5 is sycophantic, which version 4o most definitely was, I have challenged it on this very point. It’s reply has been evidence based and objective. What do you humans think? Both rational and emotional responses please? We return to Scotland by car (in our Mercedes SLC, not the Velar since driving the Velar here in Italy is a total nightmare) at the start of November. We have a two dealers in Scotland offering very similar deals, both being cash deals for between £46k - £47k, including the five-year / 100k extension on the warranty (our change cycle will be five or six years, maximum). They’re both offering test drives upon our return and will hold the new car for a March 2026 registration with a 14 - 17 week order lead time. Alternatively, we have a Drive the Deal offer which is a few hundred pounds less but from an, as yet, unknown dealer somewhere in the U.K. Over to you folk and once again, thank you in advance. PS. And sorry, to make this even worse…..can someone help me bust my emotional hiccup? A few friends have asked me when we plan to change the Velar and, despite my inner belief, I am still pathetically avoiding any mention of the Skoda Superb! I am 60 and I grew up with Skoda being a ‘behind the iron curtain’ car manufacturer. Any tips on beating my weird peer group emotions down as I totally get this in my head!