CR140 vs CR170 Much difference?

[ABP]

Driven a CR170 DSG, as I am choosing a new Car. Had the old Superb with a 130 PD Auto and that felt fine with performance. Can't help thinking that I could save a chunk of money and go for the 140DSG.

No body seems to have a 140 DSG to drive? are they underpowered? Also If I go for the 140 could add a load of options to get it to the same price as the 170?

Anyone got the CR140 DSG? does it drive OK? is it any noisier than the 170?

Thanks in advance!!!

ABP

[cookdn]

Driven a CR170 DSG, as I am choosing a new Car. Had the old Superb with a 130 PD Auto and that felt fine with performance. Can't help thinking that I could save a chunk of money and go for the 140DSG.

No body seems to have a 140 DSG to drive? are they underpowered? Also If I go for the 140 could add a load of options to get it to the same price as the 170?

Anyone got the CR140 DSG? does it drive OK? is it any noisier than the 170?

Thanks in advance!!!

ABP

I have just gone through the same dillema, but ultimately saved myself £900 and went for the CR140 DSG. As you have probably experienced finding a CR140 to demo is currently impossible.

There is no doubt the the CR170 DSG is a great drive but that in combination with the DSG would have been a ~£2,000 contribution to my company car. Rather than trying to resolve the dilemma by comparing the CR140 DSG (on paper) to the CR170 DSG which I drove, I decided to make the comparison between the CR140 DSG and my current manual Accord whose performance I am more than happy with.

The main difference between the CR140 DSG and the Accord is a 0-62 time of 10.3s and 9.6s respectively. Ok on paper the Accord is 0.7s quicker, but in real world driving can I change gears as quick as the Honda bloke that drove the Accord on the test track? Probably not. If the DSG is in Sport mode can I push the pedal down as hard as the Skoda bloke on the test track? Yes I can. Is my less than optimal gear changing in the Accord going to cost me 0.7s? I would have thought so - decision made.

Hopefully my attempts at being pragmatic aren't too flawed :-). Of course if you are purchasing privately and were unhappy with the performance of the CR140 you could always have it remapped for ~£350. What I would love to know is what accounts for the 3 kg difference in weight between the CR140 DSG and CR170 DSG. I assumed they would be the same, the difference being the mapping on the engine.

I believe noise-wise there shouldn't be any difference CR140 and CR170.

Best regards

David

[ABP]

Thanks for the reply!

Just been to the garage again and the Sales guy said Unless you are towing the 140 is a good engine and easily enough for the car"

I was going to go for the 140 to upgrade to the "sound system" after a few complaints of the performance of the standard set-up.

Glad to say my ears are poor enough as I found the standard setup fine and I cant see why I would need to upgrade the stereo.

I currently have a 140 PD DSG in a Seat Altea XL and find it very quick "in real life" with a load of work tools on board, it easily out paces most "Normal" cars no problem.

SE 140 DSG in black with Lunar 18" sounding good at the moment!

Could have a Merc C Class but prefer the Superb and it is not going to have the badge snapped off like some of the Mercs at work have and is much more descreet. I like the standard of the build as well... much nicer than the Merc Elegance I can have. (Better on Tax Too!)

I have just gone through the same dillema, but ultimately saved myself £900 and went for the CR140 DSG. As you have probably experienced finding a CR140 to demo is currently impossible.

There is no doubt the the CR170 DSG is a great drive but that in combination with the DSG would have been a ~£2,000 contribution to my company car. Rather than trying to resolve the dilemma by comparing the CR140 DSG (on paper) to the CR170 DSG which I drove, I decided to make the comparison between the CR140 DSG and my current manual Accord whose performance I am more than happy with.

The main difference between the CR140 DSG and the Accord is a 0-62 time of 10.3s and 9.6s respectively. Ok on paper the Accord is 0.7s quicker, but in real world driving can I change gears as quick as the Honda bloke that drove the Accord on the test track? Probably not. If the DSG is in Sport mode can I push the pedal down as hard as the Skoda bloke on the test track? Yes I can. Is my less than optimal gear changing in the Accord going to cost me 0.7s? I would have thought so - decision made.

Hopefully my attempts at being pragmatic aren't too flawed :-). Of course if you are purchasing privately and were unhappy with the performance of the CR140 you could always have it remapped for ~£350. What I would love to know is what accounts for the 3 kg difference in weight between the CR140 DSG and CR170 DSG. I assumed they would be the same, the difference being the mapping on the engine.

I believe noise-wise there shouldn't be any difference CR140 and CR170.

Best regards

David

[cookdn]

Just been to the garage again and the Sales guy said "Unless you are towing the 140 is a good engine and easily enough for the car"

Not sure that the sales guy means here. Back in 2001-2002 I had an Audi A3 PD105110 and regularly towed a 4.8m RIB and my fathers 20ft sailing boat without any difficulty. Ok the A3 is a smaller vehicle, but the extra 35 30 bhp of power and the extra torque of the larger engine should make up the difference.

When I discussed the relative merits of the 140 bhp vs 170 bhp with the fleet sales manager I have been dealing with he stated that he couldn't tell much difference in day-to-day driving between the two. He currently has a Superb Twindoor CR170 4x4 but had previously had a Twindoor PD140 as his company vehicle (both manual). Ok, you have to take anything that the sales people say with a bit of a pinch of salt, but he wasn't trying to upsell me onto the larger engine and he had been otherwise straight forward and decent to deal with.

Best regards

David

Edited 11 July, 2010 by cookdn

[skodanut]

Well having a look at the performance and ecconomy figures on both the 140 and 170 superb......there's not a lot in it....apart from the 900 quid saving for the lesser model....which in my opinion, equates to a few more goodies on the car ...and finding the extra options to the value of 900 quid and i think one would be quite a happy chappie......or in my case...id still get a nice car and basically a free holiday in france !!...doh and a few more extra's would be nice to have !!

[Thirdtimeluck]

Not much really - about 30HP lol

[ABP]

140 it is then, Think I will add Sound System, Heated Windscreen & Mobile device interface! for same price as 170!

Do you think this is the choice you would make?

Well having a look at the performance and ecconomy figures on both the 140 and 170 superb......there's not a lot in it....apart from the 900 quid saving for the lesser model....which in my opinion, equates to a few more goodies on the car ...and finding the extra options to the value of 900 quid and i think one would be quite a happy chappie......or in my case...id still get a nice car and basically a free holiday in france !!...doh and a few more extra's would be nice to have !!

[Chubbs]

ABP

Sounds like your mind is made up - go for the 140CR. I only bought a 170CR as I was looking for a used vehicle and couldn't wait for the arrival of the 140. I think the new 140CR will be a good motor and, like you say, is cheaper. One word of advice - don't go for black - it looks the bees knees to begin with but is a nightmare to keep looking good - then again you may have more free time than me!?

[digidoctor]

Go for the 170. You will never get a cheaper upgrade together with full factory warranty. AFAIK there are some differences in the hardware.

[Meering]

I picked up my CR140 last week and it is lovely to drive. Up to Manchester at the weekend with 4 up and luggage and never seemed any difficulty keeping with the traffic - it never crossed my mind that the extra 30bhp was necessary. Added a load of rocks on the way back (1 level across the boot of the Combi, about 4 inches deep) and still not an issue.

Save the money (upfront and in mpg going forward) I would say. But you can't have the heated windscreen with the 140 for some reason.

Meering

[cookdn]

But you can't have the heated windscreen with the 140 for some reason.

Glad to hear you're enjoying your new car.

The heated windscreen wasn't available on the PD140 for some reason, but is available on both the CR140 & CR170. When my order for a CR140 was placed the dealer thought that the heated screen was only available on the CR170 until he double checked. There must still be some confusion with the recent switch-over from the PD140 to the CR140.

Best regards

David

[G.K.]

Is the overall gearing lower to compensate for the lower power output?

[Meering]

OK, that's a change re heated windscreen then. I ordered mine shortly after the switch from PD to CR and it was not clear if it was available with the CR. We put it on the order, but dealer called back the following week to say it wasn't available on the CR140. Guess it must have changed subsequently. Sory if my earlier reply caused any confusion.

Meering

[IanLeeds]

Driven a CR170 DSG, as I am choosing a new Car. Had the old Superb with a 130 PD Auto and that felt fine with performance. Can't help thinking that I could save a chunk of money and go for the 140DSG.

No body seems to have a 140 DSG to drive? are they underpowered? Also If I go for the 140 could add a load of options to get it to the same price as the 170?

Anyone got the CR140 DSG? does it drive OK? is it any noisier than the 170?

Thanks in advance!!!

ABP

I couldn't test drive a 140 as the dealer only had the 170 dsg.

Like you I used to have a Mk1 130pd (manual) and found the performance quite acceptable for me so I'm hopeful the 140CD dsg is going to be ok.

The cost differerence between the 170 & 140 has allowed me to order some options.

Delivery expected late August so should get it on a 60 plate.

[halflife1973]

Going to go against the grain a little bit here.

I have a 170cr twin door and personally I think it is underpowered. Don't get me wrong, the Superb is the best car I have ever owned but it just needs a little more gunt. Its a big big car for 140 or even 170 bhp.

The engine is very smooth, it reminds me in many ways of the honda diesel which has petrol levels of refinement but you need to wind it up to get it moving, it just does not seem to have the kind of grunt I would expect from VAG diesels of old. I know it is reasonably quick as there are not that many family size cars that will leave it, it just does not feel very quick.

That said for normal driving 99% of the time it excellent (would just appreciate another 30 horses or so )

Halflife

[Phil_P]

The engine is very smooth, it reminds me in many ways of the honda diesel which has petrol levels of refinement but you need to wind it up to get it moving, it just does not seem to have the kind of grunt I would expect from VAG diesels of old. I know it is reasonably quick as there are not that many family size cars that will leave it, it just does not feel very quick.

In general, I think that's a characteristic of the CR engines over the old PD lumps.

[cookdn]

The engine is very smooth, it reminds me in many ways of the honda diesel which has petrol levels of refinement but you need to wind it up to get it moving, it just does not seem to have the kind of grunt I would expect from VAG diesels of old. I know it is reasonably quick as there are not that many family size cars that will leave it, it just does not feel very quick.

You are right on there. My Honda Accord i-CTDi is very smooth and quiet but you need to rev it unlike the PD TDI engines in the Audi A3 and VW Passat I had previously. The i-CTDi is a common-rail turbo diesel.

I can always remember how easy it was to accidentally get the front wheels slipping and the traction control kicking in with the PD TDI pulling off from standstill on a roundabout etc. Never get that in the Honda so the torque/power profile is obviously quite different.

Best regards

David

[ukcruiser]

I love my 170 4x4 Estate, but if Audi's 3.0 TDI was available in the Superb, i would 100%, bought it without any hesitation... less power and more toys? no thanks, bigger heart would be my 1st choice.

[cookdn]

I love my 170 4x4 Estate, but if Audi's 3.0 TDI was available in the Superb, i would 100%, bought it without any hesitation... less power and more toys? no thanks, bigger heart would be my 1st choice.

Unfortunately for me it was a pragmatic choice between the DSG or the CR170. Would love both but sometimes you have to conceed to SWMBO. :(

Best regards

David

[RS3100]

i've gone for the 140CR after speaking to some caravan owners with a Superb, they said the 170 has the edge if you are doing regular towing trips and have a good sized caravan. As I only want to tow a car to the places that are doing the restoration and possibly to some motoring events, I won't be doing much towing. Fully restored car and transporter combined are only about 1600KG so well within the towing capacity.

[ABP]

OK all,

Have finally decided and ordered mine.

170 DSG Twinback SE

Amethyst, Sunset Glass, Front Sensors, Heated seats Front and Back, Rain Sensor, Dimming Mirror, Bluetooth Phone steering wheel & Hill hold control + Tyre Pressure

Cant wait but I guess I will have to looking at the lead times the rest of you have!

Thanks for your guidance.

ABP

Edited 16 July, 2010 by ABP