:( No thanks

[Chris]

Its a :thumbdwn: from me.

I've been and had a go, fiddled with all the knobs, and not my cup of tea. Stereo sounds nice though.

The problem was it felt a bit cheap...there was all the lovely chrome here and there, but the glovebox felt poo, and even the suede seats wern't that great. It felt smaller inside than mine, the back window is tiny too, compared to my one

Even the Skoda Umbrella in the door has a plastic Skoda badge on it, where my one has a nice shiny metal one engraved with the badge.

Pretty dissapointed, :(

[RedDog]

Its a :thumbdwn: from me.

Even the Skoda Umbrella in the door has a plastic Skoda badge on it, where my one has a nice shiny metal one engraved with the badge.

Picky picky.......

[Tom_vRS]

But did the new one have trim missing, holes in the dash, shagged suspension :P

[Chris]

Nope, but neither will mine shortly :P

[Allams Skoda]

Dissapointed with the Superb II compared to your car or compared to something else you've driven/seen recently?

[Chris]

I was just expecting it to feel a bit more "special"

I get into my Superb and I'm genuinely proud that I own it. Yes it might be a rebadged passat + a bit of extra space in the back, but everything feels as it should, works etc. It isn't trying to be the best car ever made.

The new one however seems to be trying to be a direct rival to plusher brands, but you can see the corners that have been cut.

I got back into mine after the drive and was just like, why change? It didn't scream at me to buy it, or reach for my wallet at all.

[expostmanpat]

We went to have a look at one last weekend and also very dissapointed. It was certainly large and comfy but thought the height in the rear seats was compromised. Also the quality of some of the plastics was very poor, in particular the cup holder area under the slidey cover at the side of the hand brake felt a little like a chocolate box tray, and the reset? buttons on either side of the instrument cluster are very 'plastic'

Another dissapointment was the car had only been in the showroom a day and the plastic strip under the boot lid that carries the opening instructions was flapping loose, they explained it may be due to the fact tha a spoiler had just been fitted to the vehicle and the trim would have been removed to do this, however the trim was only held in place with a couple of lugs, one of which obviously didn't fit properly, and double sided sticky rubber beading, that was not very strong.

Anyway a bad impression on me for a 22k car in a showroom, and a :( from me

[Makefish]

Not for me either but for different reasons. I actually think that build quality is pretty good but the car just does not 'excite' me eg. you wouldn't go out for a drive in it just for the hell of it, its too civilised for me, sorry

[jcblincs]

a lot of the plastics in all current new cars are more plasticky then they were 4/5 yrs ago due to them having to be more recyleable. just look at the new shape passat compared to the old one - its bloody awful in side. i would rather drive a mondeo !! the new superb is compromised in some areas but i think for the reasons i mention above. you will struggle to find anything better for the price. we looked at an Audi A4 and its a step down from the old model in terms of interior quality. perhaps a touch better than the superb but its 5-7k more !!!

[Bagpuss]

The problem was it felt a bit cheap...there was all the lovely chrome here and there, but the glovebox felt poo, and even the suede seats wern't that great. It felt smaller inside than mine, the back window is tiny too, compared to my one

Got to agree with you on the glovebox and rear window. You definitely wouldn't want to try and reverse the car without parking sensors. Got to say that the glovebox is no worse than on the current Passat, so if there is cost cutting, I think it's a VW thing as well.

Even the Skoda Umbrella in the door has a plastic Skoda badge on it, where my one has a nice shiny metal one engraved with the badge.

As least we still get one. Buy a Passat, and you'll get wet

I was just expecting it to feel a bit more "special"

From your comments about the seats, I'm guessing that you looked at an SE. I've not a UK SE in the flesh, so can't really comment. The two Elegances I've looked at felt pretty good to me. Build and material quality is definitely improved over my Superb 1.9TDI Elegance. There are more areas with nice soft touch plastics, and the general quality of materials is improved.

I get into my Superb and I'm genuinely proud that I own it. Yes it might be a rebadged passat + a bit of extra space in the back, but everything feels as it should, works etc. It isn't trying to be the best car ever made.

The new one however seems to be trying to be a direct rival to plusher brands, but you can see the corners that have been cut.

Agreed. That's why I loved my original Superb so much. I'm not sure that the new car is trying to be 'the best car ever made'. It's simply trying to compete with the improving quality from the likes of VW, Ford, Citroen etc.

I'd be interested to hear where you think corners have been cut. I test drove a Passat Highline and the Passat CC whilst I was deciding this time around, and neither of them is any better in terms of materials and build quality.

I got back into mine after the drive and was just like, why change? It didn't scream at me to buy it, or reach for my wallet at all.

I know where you are coming from here. I was extremely reluctant to give up my original Superb, but the lease company wouldn't take no for an answer (I'd already persuaded them to let me go 10,000 miles over the mileage limit). If I was still driving it, then I think I could still be persauded to change. Things like park assist are a bit gimmicy, but there are other improvements like AFS, Columbus and the CR engine which really do improve the car considerably.

If you are happy with what you've got, then stick with it. Who knows, in 12 months you'll probably be able to buy one for about 12K with the way things are going...............

Bagpuss.

[jcblincs]

baggy - what are you saying !!! here's me about to order a new one for 22k and now you are putting doubts in my mind. i have a perfectly functional A6 - 2002 with 85k on it. maybe i should run thi for a bit longer and get a used superb in 12 months. there again i dont get the spec i want but might compromise as many of my options are not that necessary....now are you going to tell james i am waiting 12 months or shall I ??!!!

[Tech1e]

baggy - what are you saying !!! here's me about to order a new one for 22k and now you are putting doubts in my mind. i have a perfectly functional A6 - 2002 with 85k on it. maybe i should run thi for a bit longer and get a used superb in 12 months. there again i dont get the spec i want but might compromise as many of my options are not that necessary....now are you going to tell james i am waiting 12 months or shall I ??!!!

Go have a look and make you own mind up. From whati understand having spoken to my friends still in the Skoda network the fit and finish is far better than anything else before it and its a really refined drive.

[jcblincs]

i have. i have driven 3 demos and agree !!

[Bagpuss]

baggy - what are you saying !!! here's me about to order a new one for 22k and now you are putting doubts in my mind. i have a perfectly functional A6 - 2002 with 85k on it. maybe i should run thi for a bit longer and get a used superb in 12 months. there again i dont get the spec i want but might compromise as many of my options are not that necessary....now are you going to tell james i am waiting 12 months or shall I ??!!!

For me, it's different though. I'm going out of an Octy and going into the Superb. No contest, quite frankly. Superb all the way.

If I was still driving my old Superb, it would have been a closer run thing. I'd still change, though, as the new car offers me lots more stuff that I want (e.g. AFS, Columbus, CR engine etc., etc.).

I've been waiting for the new Superb for ages, as I really missed the blend of comfort, space and equipment. It was a no brainer for me to get one, but I do understand where Chris is coming from.

Just go for it, you won't regret it. In three years time, we will be looking at a very different marketplace to what we have now. Hopefully, a much better one for all concerned. I always live for today. I could be dead next week, and money won't do me any good then.

Bagpuss.

[Lady Elanore]

We went to have a look at one last weekend and also very dissapointed. It was certainly large and comfy but thought the height in the rear seats was compromised. Also the quality of some of the plastics was very poor, in particular the cup holder area under the slidey cover at the side of the hand brake felt a little like a chocolate box tray, and the reset? buttons on either side of the instrument cluster are very 'plastic'

Another dissapointment was the car had only been in the showroom a day and the plastic strip under the boot lid that carries the opening instructions was flapping loose, they explained it may be due to the fact tha a spoiler had just been fitted to the vehicle and the trim would have been removed to do this, however the trim was only held in place with a couple of lugs, one of which obviously didn't fit properly, and double sided sticky rubber beading, that was not very strong.

Anyway a bad impression on me for a 22k car in a showroom, and a :( from me

I take it you still haven’t bought that 135 yet then?

[kprida77]

Have to agree with the comment about some cheap plastics (especially the sliding cover by the hand brake). I had a look at an Elegance, it was ok but I didn't get the same feeling of stepping up I got when looking at my Octavia vrs when coming from a Fabia vrs. The car had some nice touches but it just didnt grab me as I thought it would.

[Nick P]

I think the interior door trims could look a lot better - big slabs of fairly hard plastic. Somehow look worse than the Octy II ones IMO.

[jcblincs]

I think the interior door trims could look a lot better - big slabs of fairly hard plastic. Somehow look worse than the Octy II ones IMO.

you should be looking at the road when you are driving not the door trim !!!

[Nick P]

That's where I've been going wrong all these years.

[pauljmuk]

Not sure I see that much difference between the SE and Elegance trim in terms of quality - granted, the seats are different, but I personally dont like the full shiny leather option in cars - prefer the suede patches in the SE.

Otherwise, SatNav aside (I use a TomTom), and the AFS lights (an external thing, not internal touchy feely), its a case of chrome dash trim or plastic wood - can't stand plastic wood!!

[jcblincs]

Not sure I see that much difference between the SE and Elegance trim in terms of quality - granted, the seats are different, but I personally dont like the full shiny leather option in cars - prefer the suede patches in the SE.

Otherwise, SatNav aside (I use a TomTom), and the AFS lights (an external thing, not internal touchy feely), its a case of chrome dash trim or plastic wood - can't stand plastic wood!!

here are the differences that made us go for elegance spec

Xenon lights

can have cream iterior (not possible on SE)

electric seats with 4-way lumbar and base tilt function

hard drive for music storage

seats felt more comfy

bluetooth standard

heated seats standard

the platic wood trim is an option . both the SE and elegance come with the silver trim as standard.

[pauljmuk]

OK, noted about the trim - but the OP is talking about quality and luxury feel in the car?

Xenon lights, hard drive, bluetooth not really what I would call tactile luxury in car feel items?

[jcblincs]

you are correct.

we had the "but its not my beloved audi" discussion last night. but then we realised an A4 with decent spec would be about 4k more expensive and the rear space is tight and the boot only average bordering on small. also the interior quality has dropped from previous models - i suspect for similar recycling reasons mentioned earlier. we decided we would rather have a higher spec skoda than a very basic spec A4 and still get change. we reckon the skoda is a clever buy bought with the head wheras the A4 would be bought with the heart !!

we agree about some of the interior plastics but then we looked at the alternatives - merc, audi, bmw and weighed up the other compromises..such as hard ride or high price tag and decided the skoda is a better all round package that suits our needs and wants at the moment. we can live with some slightly "low rent" plastics as most of the interior is nice.

[pauljmuk]

I'm totally with you.

Just ordered an SE trim, but got extras including front and rear heated seats, rain sensor, dimming mirror. Looking forward to it.

[jcblincs]

COOL - we should get our cars about the same time then...depending on factrory build slots. hopefully mine is build week 45 - waiting for confirmation of this.

we didnt bother with the heated rear seats as they spend 95% of their life covered up with kiddies seats !!