I am a firm believer of not buying brand new cars (depreciation etc) and tend pick them up when they are 2 /3 years old...... however after driving a new Passat yesterday i was very impressed, especially considering it was 'only' a sport model.

Now i truly believe the MKI Superb is a lot better than the B5.5 Passat (which it is based on) so if that is anything to go by the new Superb will be every bit as good, if not better than the new Passat .

Which leaves me with a dilemma - try to forget about how good the Passat was or to see what sort of deals are out there (if any due to it being so new) on a Combi 140 CR Elegance.

My must haves above the Elegance spec (or at least what i want anyway) are:

Xenon's

Auto dimming rear view mirror

Park Assist

Electrically operated tailgate

Variable boot floor

Sunset glass

Wood decor

Aqua Blue / Steel Grey / Cappuccino / Silver

What i dont want:

Not have the Ivory / cream interior as i live in the real world and they would look awful in 3 years time - been there done that, never again!

Must NOT be white / black / or any other dark colour (my work car park gets dusty very quickly)

Not really fussed about the DSG either.

Not bothered if it's new or ex demo etc, I have had a quick look at Broadspeed's site and they are listing the base 140 Elegance @ £20K with approx £2K for the extra's. Can anyone beat this?

TIA

No black, no ivory, no DSG. Let me sum that up: A boring car.

Why?

Ivory interiors don't look awful after 3 years as long as you maintain them. I've got a 2001 Octavia with a light leather interior and it still looks lovely and new.

My job can get very dirty at times an as much as i keep as clean as possible there are times when you don't notice it until it's too late, Ivory leather may be fine for a white collar worker who works in an office all day, but it's just not practical for me. I am talking from previous experience here as i've had cream and silver leather before and had the time to maintain them.

My black (E30) M3 with cream leather looked fabulous - but i used to wash it twice a week and treat the leather twice a year, i now struggle to get the time to wash a car twice a month, that coupled up to the fact it will have a fine (and at times not so fine ) layer of dust over it a day after it has been washed now means a light silver based metallic is my best option.

My job can get very dirty at times an as much as i keep as clean as possible there are times when you don't notice it until it's too late, Ivory leather may be fine for a white collar worker who works in an office all day, but it's just not practical for me. I am talking from previous experience here as i've had cream and silver leather before and had the time to maintain them.

My black (E30) M3 with cream leather looked fabulous - but i used to wash it twice a week and treat the leather twice a year, i now struggle to get the time to wash a car twice a month, that coupled up to the fact it will have a fine (and at times not so fine ) layer of dust over it a day after it has been washed now means a light silver based metallic is my best option.

Hi Giz,

I've switched over to a Passat now, and it's also "only" a Sport model anyway I'll leave you with this to consider.

VW - every bit if not worse than Skoda for getting things done, and accessories are 50% more than Skoda's, mats @ £70 for a B6

Car itself is lovely, it's the looker of the range, most comfortable as well due to the Sport seat's, now only found in the CC, which incidentaly is now available as a 5 seater.

DSG almost matches a manual in consumption, and gets off the lights rapidly.

Build isn't as good as Skoda, things like the petrol flap aren't lined up properly, the dash makes fatboy leaning on it creaks here and there.

On the plus side, it handles 100x better than the Sup 1, I can't say about the 2 model cos I've stayed away from it until I can afford it.

Price wise, the Sup 2 is holding it's money better than the Passat, which in turn is also holding it's money very well, you'll find 12k will be required for 57's and £15k for a 58/09 example, where a Sup 2 58 plate is still fetching 17k in SE upwards spec.

Behind the wheel I find the Passat smaller, but still a mile in front of say a VX or Ford.

PD engines are a bit harsh when pushed, and the noise comes inside more than it ever did with my 1.9 Sup 1, also there have been issues with injector's,looms,dmf/clutches and oil pumps on the early ones, CR is too new to find much info on, but as there isn't a lot, one can assume it's a good engine.

So the choices are, do you splash 12-16k on a Passat (which is having a facelift in 2011) or plum for 17-23k on a Sup 2, which is the better car imo, but not as pretty.

Build isn't as good as Skoda, things like the petrol flap aren't lined up properly, the dash makes fatboy leaning on it creaks here and there.

The dash in the superb2 also creaks if you press on the dash in various places.

The dash in the superb2 also creaks if you press on the dash in various places.

Yes, but in the Passat you don't have to lean on it to get it to creak

I had three Passat Estates and they are great, but the Superb Estate is a newer platform and a better product all-round. The R-line (the new name for Sport) and Highline (the new SE) is about £3500 more expensive than the Elegance spec. for spec. and while I think the R-line/Sport on the 17" Monte Carlo alloys looks very nice, the Superb Combi looks every bit as good in my opinion.

Given the choice (and I need a load carrier again now) I would take the Superb over the Passat every time, just for the better dealers if nothing else! Don't forget to check out the Mercedes C220D Kombi as well. The leasing/PCP deals available make it the same price per month to have on the drive because the depreciation is so much better.

Compare the Superb with a C-Class?

Don't forget to check out the Mercedes C220D Kombi as well. The leasing/PCP deals available make it the same price per month to have on the drive because the depreciation is so much better.

Merc's do nothing for me at all, even if the Merc was cheaper i wouldn't consider it.

I'm placing an order tomorrow for a new Passat Estate Highline, on a 3 year lease deal. The silly thing is I'd probably rather have the Superb but a comparatively spec'd Superb is way more expensive on this lease deal.

I'd not actually compared the list prices, but I'm surprised to see the Passat (Highline, 2.0CR 140) is actually cheaper (£22,985 OTR) than a comparable Superb (Elegance, 2.0CR 140) at £23,870 OTR. Still, I think the Superb is probably the better car and worth the extra £900

The current Passat is an outdated car. Superb is newer.

I'm placing an order tomorrow for a new Passat Estate Highline, on a 3 year lease deal. The silly thing is I'd probably rather have the Superb but a comparatively spec'd Superb is way more expensive on this lease deal.

I'd not actually compared the list prices, but I'm surprised to see the Passat (Highline, 2.0CR 140) is actually cheaper (£22,985 OTR) than a comparable Superb (Elegance, 2.0CR 140) at £23,870 OTR. Still, I think the Superb is probably the better car and worth the extra £900

I hit a similar issue with the Superb but a discussion with a leasing guy soon explained why. Whilst the residual on Superb is slightly lower as a proportion of the cost new, the up front support VW are offering to shift Passats is massive, around £1200 per unit over and above the normal fleet discounts. Skoda are offering no support and a lower level of fleet discount, which with a new model and one in high demand, is hardly surprising. The amount the lease has to fund is therefore much less so the monthly cost for the Passat is less.

On spec', the Highline Passat is significantly below the Superb Elegance. The Passat has the CD based sat nav which is around £600 as an option whereas the Superb has the Columbus unit which is around £1500 on a VW. Also the leather trim in the Passat is a much lower grade hide than the Nappa used in the Superb and the seats are of a lower standard, I found them less than comfortable on long hauls in one borrowed recently. Add to that the fact that the Superb's a bigger car, has Xenon lights, electric seats and a few others odds and ends and the Superb soon stacks up as much better value.

I hit a similar issue with the Superb but a discussion with a leasing guy soon explained why. Whilst the residual on Superb is slightly lower as a proportion of the cost new, the up front support VW are offering to shift Passats is massive, around £1200 per unit over and above the normal fleet discounts. Skoda are offering no support and a lower level of fleet discount, which with a new model and one in high demand, is hardly surprising. The amount the lease has to fund is therefore much less so the monthly cost for the Passat is less.

Yes, I can believe that. Even the basic S Superb (and Octavia) was more expensive than a Highline Passat. The downside is that the only model that is heavily discounted is the 110CR TDI unit which is not ideal - I would have preferred the 140CR, but as I'm switching from a 105PS 1.9TDI it should be comparable.

On spec', the Highline Passat is significantly below the Superb Elegance. The Passat has the CD based sat nav which is around £600 as an option whereas the Superb has the Columbus unit which is around £1500 on a VW. Also the leather trim in the Passat is a much lower grade hide than the Nappa used in the Superb and the seats are of a lower standard, I found them less than comfortable on long hauls in one borrowed recently. Add to that the fact that the Superb's a bigger car, has Xenon lights, electric seats and a few others odds and ends and the Superb soon stacks up as much better value.

Agreed, and if I were buying with my own cash then I'd probably chose the superb (although the Combi does look scarily large to me).

I know what you mean on the leather - on the 2009 Passat Highline that I test drove, the inner edge of the drivers seat base where it joins the moulded plastic base was actually a strip of fabric, not leather at all! I know they warn that not all the leather interior will be real leather, but this small piece wasn't even fake leather, it was cloth fabric the same as on the cloth seats. That has to be the ultimate in cost cutting

To answer the OP's question, I'm currently awaiting a SE170 estate. Added xenon headlamps, upgraded audio, rear airbags, which came out at just of £20k, a discount of £3800. My local dealer tried very hard but still was more than £1000 more expensive.

The car is probably being put through as a fleet purchase, so I won't be the first registered owner, and won't get the V5 straight away - but it will be mine from new. Should be arriving in July... can't wait.