Hi all,

I have been a frequent lurker but sporadic poster here ever since I had a silver Octavia Estate about 6 years ago which was great but moved onto a Volvo S40 which has been a complete nightmare and hideously expensive to service.

Looking for a replacement I considered a Passat estate, Passat CC and Mondeo before settling on a Superb. The Passat just felt old - especially inside and all the ones on my budget, although Highline models, had manual A/C controls and no touchscreens. The Passat CC's looked great but not too practical and expensive. Mondeo was practical and good to drive but everyone's got one!

On Thurdsay last week I took delivery of an October '09 Superb 1.8TSI SE in Reflex Silver with 8000 miles which was delivered to me in Oxford by Simpsons of Great Yarmouth. I hadn't seen the car when they delivered it but knew I'd buy it if it was right - local dealers (within 100 miles) couldn't get anywhere near the price of this one and weren't too helpful. Shame as I'll have to use either the Oxford or Witney dealer for servicing and would have like for either to supply it, but money talks!

So far have done about 350 miles and am loving it. First impressions are the massive space in the rear and the boot and a slightly cheaper perceived quality interior than the Volvo but still pretty decent where it counts. The seats look great in leather/alcantara, although not instantly as adjustable/comfortable as the Volvo - time will tell - and I have been impressed with ease of use of the touch-screen head unit and other controls.

tholes than I may have expected. Before I got it I was contemplating getting 18's for it but think I'll stick with the 17's for a while. I guess the upside is the roadholding and handling which both seem good for a larger car. Loving the engine so far - quiet, smooth, torquey and willing to rev - has just enough shove for my kind of driving - I do 25-30k a year along all sorts of roads. So far has been averaging 35 mpg which I'm happy with given that I've been exploring the performance when appropriate and haven't been on any decent runs yet. The car was delivered having been tuned by DPT. The dealer explained that this in an economy rather than power tune and said that they do it to all of their cars as they sell lots to caravanners (they also sell caravans too) - looking at their website the car should deliver 300NM instead of 250NM and 5% more power. Not sure how this effects the warranty or even if the car feels significantly torquier, having never driven another 1.8.

Despite a mixed reaction from some I'm liking the looks. Not so keen on the rear view and wonder if a wider rear track might make it look a bit better, but like the understated style of the rest of it. Ideally I would have like a black or Rosso Brunello one but am learning to like the silver - although it doesn't come up as amazing as a darker car can with lots of work, it also hides all the swirls and marks that seem impossible to avoid.

I haven't had chance to do much to it yet - quick clay and wax only so far but think I might get the wheels off later and paint the rusty disc hubs which are a pet hate, providing it doesn't rain;

Glad I didn't get that Mondeo!

Justin.

You're right about the Passat, unless it has the full climate dials it looks carp, mine does btw and it really comes alive at night in the looks dept, the Highline has nasty cheap leather seats, you'd be hating them within a mth I assure you, I went for a Passat Sport for two reason's, imo it's a pretty car, and the Sup 2 was just too much money right now, new Passat is due in 2012, but so far it doesn't look like the sort of car that makes you go ooh, a few spy shots make it look like the current car with a Scirocco front on it, by then maybe Skoda will have sorted the C pillar profile and rear lights out to give the car a more balanced look, anyway I'm glad you like it, and btw, nothing is as comfortable as a Volvo seat anyway, I was going for an S80, only the fuel consumption stopped me.

"I'll have to use either the Oxford or Witney dealer for servicing and would have like for either to supply it, but money talks!"

Don't worry - Jewsons of Oxford are excellent for after-sales care. I found them fine when buying too, but I was buying new.