Just taken a 170CR DSG Elegance Superb for a test drive as I was vaguely thinking of changing the L&K Octavia.

Can't say I was that impressed for a £24k car.

Plus points:

Lots of room

Lots of toys

Quieter than the Octavia

Minus points:

Rather sloppy ride but oddly seemed to feel all the bumps at slow speeds on our local potholed roads

Road holding not as positive as the Octavia

Virtually no visibility to the rear

Seat not very supportive but that might be because I didn't spend enough time fiddling with the adjustments.

SatNav invisible in bright sunlight but that might be a matter of adjustment.

Power delivery, bit on/off and not very progressive

Price! Into Audi/BMW land although I suppose discounts would be forthcoming.

I'm sure other people will disagree with me but after all personal preferences are what sells cars.

Would I buy one? 'Fraid not

imho can't see that many being shifted at that price. More likely around the £18k-£20k area, just as I think it's madness to pay more than £20k for a mondeo or accord etc, just seems a price point thing.

For the same reason they say not to get a heavily specced X3 since it gets to X5 money. Having been a superb 2.5 and now a current elegance owner I'd quite happily pay half that in 3 years time though.

Cheers

Just taken a 170CR DSG Elegance Superb for a test drive as I was vaguely thinking of changing the L&K Octavia.

Can't say I was that impressed for a £24k car.

Plus points:

Lots of room

Lots of toys

Quieter than the Octavia

Minus points:

Rather sloppy ride but oddly seemed to feel all the bumps at slow speeds on our local potholed roads

i agree to a point. guess it depends where you are coming from. I would not call it sloppy. compliant maybe ! The 18" wheels dont help on rough roads. I have 17" and they are slightly better. I have tried 16" and they soak up the bumps more but i fear may not suit the car when more handling is called for

Road holding not as positive as the Octavia

cant comment as never driven the octy - but it is a longer wheelbase. you need to drive it differently. i thought it was odd at first but took it out for a spin using the flappy paddles the other night and its great. It will not break any nurburgring records but then in every day driving there is nore than enough grip

Virtually no visibility to the rear

the rear window is small but the door mirrors are huge and the parking sensors pretty good. I have a bonus that i have removed the rear headrests to get the kiddie seats in so i have a better rear view !

Seat not very supportive but that might be because I didn't spend enough time fiddling with the adjustments.

you must like hard seats then. I found them to be a good compromise of support and comfort. depends on your personal preferences i suppose

SatNav invisible in bright sunlight but that might be a matter of adjustment.

sure is - you can set the brightness level and on brightest setting its fine. also it dims itself at night and can change colours to night time colours when the light are on

Power delivery, bit on/off and not very progressive

depends what you are used to. the DSG takes a couple of days to learn how to get the best out of it.

Price! Into Audi/BMW land although I suppose discounts would be forthcoming.

I have a very high spec elegance and didnt pay that kind of money. It was cheaper as its the petrol but sensible negotiation is out there

I'm sure other people will disagree with me but after all personal preferences are what sells cars.

Would I buy one? 'Fraid not

shame you didnt find it to your liking. I have responded to some of your comments above in case this helps ..

Jonathan

Thanks for your comments. Will probably look for a low mileage Superb in two years when they will probably be about £10k!

I would not consider using my own money to pay £20K+ for a Superb, unless I planned to keep the car for four plus years and intended to get my money's worth.

The Superb I have chosen as my next company car is a 1.9Tdi S with £1,500 of optional extras. This brings the total price to a more reasonable £17,500. In four years time this will make a cracking taxi or car for a family of long legged individuals. Being Euro NCAP is also a good future selling point.

When all the Superb diesel engine are common rail I believe they will be more attractive, both new and used.

In all honesty, my first choice of replacement company car was a facelifted Octy, however, this would have meant a longer wait than for a Superb.

I test drove a 170 DSG in Elegance spec, therefore, my lower powered manual S will be a different experience. Yes, the car doesn't handle as well as the Octy, although, given the size of the Superb it acquits itself fairly well.

The mirrors are literally Superb and an improvement over those fitted to the Octy. I think I'll miss a rear wash wipe, but I suppose I'll get used to this.