Well I picked up my Greenline today. I'm chuffed to bits with it, I really am. It's even better than I remembered from the showroom and test drives. I'm 6'5" and I feel very well cosseted with bags of head and leg room - it's great! The biggest surprise for me was that the 1.9 PD TDI feels very well matched to the car, especially with the long gearing on the Greenline. You're at 30 in seconds and it's actually surprisingly hard to stick to speed limits at first as you really don't notice how fast you're going because the cabin is so well insulated. The feedback from the steering is bang on, and I'm STILL finding nice well thought out 'small touches' that really increase the overall experience. I was also surprised to find that reverse parking (bay and parallel) are a doddle even without sensors. With the small rear screen I thought it'd be a bit tricky given the size of the car but those huge mirrors really do help.

Anyway, after getting the car home we loaded up the kids and headed to Blackpool to drive through the illuminations (~30 miles from home), then on to Southport. That was about 75 miles, mixed about 50/50 between 70mph motorway with cruise control and stop/start rush hour traffic through town. The trip computer was showing 64mpg at the end of the first leg, which is jaw dropping considering the size of the car and the fact I didn't "nurse" it or go slow. After another 30 miles back home and then 10 miles around town (takeaway, shops etc) - and some admittedly 'spirited' driving to loosen things up a little - the economy is still struggling to see less than 57mpg overall. Brill

I know there are loads of posts like this on here, so I've not gone in depth, just my initial overview and experience with the uber-economy. However I did want to ask about the paint work. My car was from the dealership stock, and had been stood outside on display for a few months. I only noticed when I got home, but there are some nasty looking (about 4 inches long) 'scratches' / lines in several places on the bonnet. You need to catch them at a particular angle to see them but they're quite prominent when you do - I'm not talking those fine swirl type marks you can get. They're mixed in between large circular polish marks, and it looks like someone's been a bit too blase during cleaning. You can't feel them with your nail, so they've basically just scored the lacquer I think.

Any ideas on what to do about this? Is it something the dealership would be interested in hearing about, as they're blatantly repeated, long cleaning marks not "oops you've had it a day and scratched it a bit"; or is it just tough luck? There also seems to be a weird white blemish UNDER the lacquer on the driver's side rear door. It's small, much less than 1/4 inch, but basically looks like it's been chipped back to primer.... yet the lacquer is intact and is glassy smooth. Weird. It does stand out once you know it's there though, even though it was easy to miss on cursory inspection. To be honest on a spanking new car, scratches/paint blemishes aren't something I was looking for so I didn't pick them up during the hand-over!

All advice/ideas gratefully received. Apart from that niggle the car's really exceeded my (high) expectations.

Edited 30 October, 201015 yr by Derv

I would contact the dealer ASAP to notify them and then arrange for them to look at it.

Glad you are so pleased with the car I still have another 2 weeks before I get mine (ordered 10th July)

My only comment on the paint problem would be to contact your dealer ASAP as already suggested.

Nice to know you're pleased with the Greenline, I've had mine since Jan this year - fantastic car, and often turns heads in the car parks. Some people just don't believe its a Skoda, one even thought it was a Merc! I find the fuel computer about 10% optimistic, but agree the fuel economy is stunning nontheless.

My only problem has been the lowered suspension and I have been caught out on some speedhumps near home, it bottoms out on occasion. I have also managed to gouge some plastic out of the undertray beneath the offside rear door on a gate runner (metal channel not quite buried in concrete!) again due to the long wheelbase, so I tend to take things like this a bit more careful nowadays!

Enjoy your car, it only gets better and better and better as the engine/gearbox runs in.

Steve

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm rather embarrassed to admit this, but after a good run out, a torrential downpour and standing overnight.... I can't seem to find the aforementioned 'scratches' anywhere. A day later they're still nowhere to be seen. In my defence I have noticed that Amazonian Green is even worse than black for showing up oil marks, blemishes etc. I honestly think it was just stubborn dirt lines, combined with a few slight 'swirls' from cleaning that made it look worse than it was. After a wash and dry, they're nowhere to be seen, from any angle.

At any rate, another couple of hundred on the clock today and the trip computer is currently sitting at 67.7 mpg after some truly combined driving. Simply, absolutely, amazing. As you say Steve, I can't wait until things bed in and loosen up - it's going to be an amazing motor. The amount of people giving double glances, or simply staring, has to be experienced to be believed. I've never seen anything like it. The best part is overtaking on the motorway... you move into the outside lane, waft past the usual Big Badge Brigade drivers and they just tend to go 'WTF... A.......SKODA?!"....

Just a final update to make sure the full story gets told. You can see my post in the dealership review section here. Basically I couldn't see the scratches once the car was wet and decided it wasn't worth bothering chasing up. But after my first week or so driving, and a thousand miles already, the scratches are really holding the road dirt/grime and standing out. I called Lightcliffe Skoda earlier, and Craig said to bring it in for him to look at. The result is that they have agreed that it was probably their fault not mine, and they have booked the car in for a full mop and polish on Friday to sort it out as good as new, free of charge.

You can't fault that for service. Try taking a week old car back to Ford, Citroen, or Vauxhall and asking for a scratch repairing....... Nice one Skoda - again!

As for the car, it's already starting to feel a little looser and bedded in. I'm getting well over 50mpg around town already, and I'm hitting the 60s consistently on the motorway. The Superb definitely does what it says on the tin.