Will I be dissapointed with 140bhp?

[madfiddler]

the time is getting closer for me to swap my company vehicle which is on a lease scheme

Currently I have an '08 L&K Octy, 2L TDI PD 140bhp... and I've been very happy with it - if I was being picky I would complain about rear leg room and road noise, but other than that I have been well happy. Its actually my second octy in a row.

So for my new vehicle it looks like I can get a new Superb saloon at a comparable cost...the Elegance model at 140bhp

The 170bhp is going to cost me about another £30 a month and I'm trying to keep the cost down as much as I can really so I can afford to include a few extras (metallic paint, upgraded sound, hill hold & KESSY)

Considering the extra physical size/weight of the Superb compared to my octy, will I be dissapointed in the 140bhp CR engine?

I have to admit I have not test deriven one yet, but as I only get a restricted number of tests before ordering a new car I'd rather try the engine I'm most likely to purchase

..so everyones opinions here would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

[blueR36]

Neighbours sound system is just fine and I wouldn't bother with hill hold and whatever KESSY is an acronym for, the 140 is dreadfully underpowered , I drove most of the variants when new, that is why my neighbour got the 170 Elegance in black magic, looks and goes lovely,with cream leather interior

Edited 18 November, 2010 by bluvrs2

[madfiddler]

thanks..main point is really to ask about the engine size rather than the extras

there are a few thigns that are in my octy L&K that are not on the Superb Elegance as standard and I'm tempted by new toys, but in the main I don't actually need them!

I think I would really miss hill hold as I have it on the octy...probably auto duimming rear view mirror too...but neither add much cost compared to the paint job and sound system.

Opinions on the engine are what I'm looking for. You say that 140 is dreadfully underpowered and realtively speaking, compared with 170 it is of course. In real terms though, what does that mean to you in the driving experience?

I am mainly doing a 30 mile round trip each day with a mixture of city and motorway roads. some business trips mainly motorway driving a few hundred miles. weekends much of the same, with the occasional 300-400m trip to see family. I guess I drive with a little sense of urgency but I'm no boy racer, I rarely get my octy over 3k revs!

[ecejmpe]

170 must be great, but 140 is more than enough for a quiet driver. I went for the 140 HP and don't regret the decission at all (despite I have not collected it yet)

[cookdn]

This sort of question is going to get mostly subjective and polarised responses. I'll try to be as objective as I can with two caveats; firstly I have ordered a CR140 Combi, secondly I haven't yet taken delivery and have only driven CR170 demonstrators.

The 140 tdi Superb has only relatively recently switched over to the CR diesel from the PD diesel. Power is delivered in a more linear fashion rather than all at once, so drivers used to the PD will initially perceive a CR engine underpowered until they adjust to the different power delivery. I certainly found this when I went from a PD130 Passat Estate to a CR140 Honda Accord Tourer. It is also about perspective, somebody used to driving a Octavia vRS would find a CR140 Superb underpowered for all sorts of subjective and quantative reasons.

The best thing you can do is drive the two vehicles and make a choice. For me as a company car that I am contributing to financially it boiled down to a choice between the CR170 engine or the DSG box. Have examined the specs I figured that the swap between the CR140 Honda to the CR140 Superb was going to be pretty much like-for-like, and for the way I drive the Honda is not underpowered. However the DSG is something else . Prior to testing cars for this company car swap I had never driven an automatic, what a revelation.

Unfortunately as I was ordering in May/June there were no CR140 deomonstators to test, so I have ordered on a subjective assessment of the specs and faith that it is the correct decision. Fingers crossed I won't be disappointed when I get my hands on it in the next week or so.

Best regards

David

ps.

[...] if I was being picky I would complain about rear leg room [....]

I dont think this will be a problem any more.

Edited 18 November, 2010 by cookdn

[Meering]

I have the CR140 (Elegance Combi) and it's fine foe me and my style of driving (boy racer days are long gone! *). I do notice that if on a dual carriageway and traffic slows to (say) 55/60 from 70 I'm best changing down to accelerate back up to 70 as the revs in top are so low at that speed in top the acceleration is very, very sedate. But the gearbox is light and easy so not a big issue. All other things considered I'm satisfied that the initial lower price and the improved fuel consumption over the 170 more than make up for any lack of power.

Owners of the 170 will probably differ - you pays your money and makes your choice :-)

Brian

* Although when I get on my motorbike.....

[Tankdave]

I've got the 170 DSG and I've not driven the 140 so like most I can only guess at what it may be like.

I come from a 115HP Mondeo and that had loads of grunt on the motorways. The 170 "to me" feels quite spritely and it moves in an effortless fashion.

All I can state is that the 170 is a real effortless drive and I would imagine the 140 to be plenty adequate bearing in mind my 115HP Mondeo was OK.

Driving one is the only way for YOU to know.

[Ivan-DK]

I come from a Octavia 140 PD DSG to a Superb 140 CR.

The Superb 140 CR has a very fine balance between engine/power and gearbox. actually perfect

Sometimes I miss the DSG gearbox but never the sound (noise) from the PD engine.

[IanLeeds]

the time is getting closer for me to swap my company vehicle which is on a lease scheme

Currently I have an '08 L&K Octy, 2L TDI PD 140bhp... and I've been very happy with it - if I was being picky I would complain about rear leg room and road noise, but other than that I have been well happy. Its actually my second octy in a row.

So for my new vehicle it looks like I can get a new Superb saloon at a comparable cost...the Elegance model at 140bhp

The 170bhp is going to cost me about another £30 a month and I'm trying to keep the cost down as much as I can really so I can afford to include a few extras (metallic paint, upgraded sound, hill hold & KESSY)

Considering the extra physical size/weight of the Superb compared to my octy, will I be dissapointed in the 140bhp CR engine?

I have to admit I have not test deriven one yet, but as I only get a restricted number of tests before ordering a new car I'd rather try the engine I'm most likely to purchase

..so everyones opinions here would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

Lets face it, it all depends on how you want to drive "your" car. You're gonna get lots of differing answers from people, all telling you their own opinions and at the end of the day you have to make that decision for yourself. Go on and have a test drive.

For what it's worth I had a Lexus LS430 V8 for 3 years until I got my 140 DSG Superb Elegance in September and despite the massive drop in power I'm still over the moon with the new car and I reckon the power is damn good for the size of the car and I've no quarms in recomending the 140 CR to anyone. I've only got 2.5k miles on the clock so I'm sure things will get even better when the engine is run in.

[Rainmaker]

As a few others have said, it's all a matter of perspective. If you're used to a 535D with eleventy billion torques you're going to find even the 170CR a bit flat by comparison. Personally I have a Greenline with the older 1.9 PD engine with 'only' 105ps and 250nm of torque, and I absolutely love it. There's loads of grunt low down (right from 1,100 rpm) and although it won't win many races from the lights, who really drives like that? It gets to the speed limit briskly (and feels even faster) and once you're at 50+mph you can yo-yo between 50 and 80 in seconds and it's a very relaxed experience. Now I've done closer to 2k than 1k the engine is really settling down and starting to pull like a train - no regrets.

Although the CR engine is 16 valve and delivers its power a little differently, with 140ps and (more importantly) all that torque you're not going to be disappointed imho. As someone said above, take one out and see what you think. If you're trading from the aforementioned 535D you might not like it, but 99% of diesel drivers will find it a pleasant experience I think. You know you want to...

[Rainmaker]

Oh and just to add, don't judge the test drive too harshly if the engine seems to be a bit flat low down or if you find you need to rev it hard(ish) to get anywhere. The demonstrators will generally be very, very low miles and as such not even starting to run in. As I said in my last post the CR engine delivers power differently to the older generation (16v versus 8v and a different injection delivery) - they can feel a little 'flat' for the first couple of thousand miles until they bed in, at which point the torque really starts to develop lower down. A demo car likely won't have that advantage due to its newness, so take that into account.

[Ian140]

I don't think so.

I have had my estate since July and have done 10k.

Goes well and picks up fine, if you need to move a bit swifter you just need to drop it down a gear, no hardship !

If its a company car, then as cO2 is 145 it will save you 2 % tax too.

[RS3100]

Just got home with my Superb Elegance Estate 140CR and in normal driving I found very little difference between my car and the 170CR I test drove.

You do notice that it has less power than the 170 if you pull away at low speeds in a gear the car says you should be in, but as Ian says drop it down a cog and you're away.

If I want a bit of fun with the power, then I just take the classic car out which is also 140bhp, although it's top speed is 14 mph less, it will win the traffic light drag to 60mph by nearly 2 seconds and I have two less gars to worry about

[digidoctor]

Yes

[kiwi jim]

I am in a similar situation to you. I have ordered a superb estate in 140CR spec but mainly because I need 4wd for driving over alpine passes in winter. The 4wd version is not available with the 170CR engine in my country (New Zealand). I wasn't able to drive a demonstrator version of the 140 before purchasing, so I'm a bit in the dark as to how it performs. I did drive a golf with this engine and found it great, but the golf is probably 200 kg lighter.

I'm surprised no-one has mentioned the option of re-mapping the 140, which is what I am going to do. On paper at least, this brings the 140 up to producing similar power and better torque figures than the stock 170.

[madfiddler]

wow - thansk for all the opinions

of course a test drive is a must, but I was looking for lots of opinions to help decide which to test drive as my test drive options on the company scheme are limited....I think I get 3, and I don;t really want to use 2 up with different engined versions of the same car if I can help it!

I think I will test drive the 140 rather than the 170, because I undoubtedly wil be happy with the 170, and as others pointed out I would save on the tax.....if I test the 140 and I'm happy though , then I don;t know what I'm missing I guess!

I'm looking forward to a "quiet" CR engine compared to my somewhat "industrial" 140 PD octy too, although if I am being honest I will be sad to see it go

Edited 20 November, 2010 by madfiddler

[mannyo]

The PD140 in the superb2 is much quieter than the octavia anyway, you can barely notice it running most of the time. The people that have been out in my PD140 superb often ask if its petrol or diesel. 140BHP is suprisingly fine in the superb, although of course the 170 is better I could not justify the price difference.

[Specman]

the time is getting closer for me to swap my company vehicle which is on a lease scheme

Currently I have an '08 L&K Octy, 2L TDI PD 140bhp... and I've been very happy with it - if I was being picky I would complain about rear leg room and road noise, but other than that I have been well happy. Its actually my second octy in a row.

So for my new vehicle it looks like I can get a new Superb saloon at a comparable cost...the Elegance model at 140bhp

The 170bhp is going to cost me about another £30 a month and I'm trying to keep the cost down as much as I can really so I can afford to include a few extras (metallic paint, upgraded sound, hill hold & KESSY)

Considering the extra physical size/weight of the Superb compared to my octy, will I be dissapointed in the 140bhp CR engine?

I have to admit I have not test deriven one yet, but as I only get a restricted number of tests before ordering a new car I'd rather try the engine I'm most likely to purchase

..so everyones opinions here would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

I have just taken delivery of my 140hp saloon (DSG) and compared to the old 140hp PD engine I notice that it is a lot more powerful and when extra power is called for like overtaking on a country lane, it is there in abundance so my answer to your question would be that unless you are looking to tow a heavy caravan then I think you would be very happy with a 140hp CR engine, I am and of course as a company car driver, I'm laughing all the way to the bank with the reduced car tax payments.

[Andyrep]

Hi Maybe not quite the saving you were hoping for !

based on the Elegance estate the BIK diffrence between the 140 dsg and the 170 dsg is only £42 @ 20% and £84 @ 40% per year !!

this info was taken off Honda's Web site

Andy

[leehah]

the time is getting closer for me to swap my company vehicle which is on a lease scheme

Currently I have an '08 L&K Octy, 2L TDI PD 140bhp... and I've been very happy with it - if I was being picky I would complain about rear leg room and road noise, but other than that I have been well happy. Its actually my second octy in a row.

So for my new vehicle it looks like I can get a new Superb saloon at a comparable cost...the Elegance model at 140bhp

The 170bhp is going to cost me about another £30 a month and I'm trying to keep the cost down as much as I can really so I can afford to include a few extras (metallic paint, upgraded sound, hill hold & KESSY)

Considering the extra physical size/weight of the Superb compared to my octy, will I be dissapointed in the 140bhp CR engine?

I have to admit I have not test deriven one yet, but as I only get a restricted number of tests before ordering a new car I'd rather try the engine I'm most likely to purchase

..so everyones opinions here would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

Have a 140 CR combi with the DSG gearbox. I ordered after I had test driven the 170 DSG hatchback, and having driven an A4 Avant S-Line Multitronic 140PD (a mouthfull) for 3 years.

I have no regrets at all. It feels to me like there is little difference between the 140 and 170. In real life driving, and in my humble opinion, it never feels like its wanting. The CR is so much more responsive, economical and quiet than the 140PD I was used to.

Given the opportunity to order again, I'd not change my engine/gearbox choice.

Wouldn't waste your money on the ugraded sound system though..... I did and still have vibrating door cards at certain frequencies.

Neighbours sound system is just fine and I wouldn't bother with hill hold and whatever KESSY is an acronym for, the 140 is dreadfully underpowered , I drove most of the variants when new, that is why my neighbour got the 170 Elegance in black magic, looks and goes lovely,with cream leather interior

Huh??????? Can only think you've not driven the 140CR, or maybe you drove the PD? :p

[blueR36]

Yes we did drive it and it was slow , he used to have an auto M1 2.5 diesel , so it was natural to go for the 170 DSG < they are all CR for the facelift aren't they>

[leehah]

Yes we did drive it and it was slow , he used to have an auto M1 2.5 diesel , so it was natural to go for the 170 DSG < they are all CR for the facelift aren't they>

Think the Combi only ever came with the CR engine in 140 and 170 flavours, the PD version never appeared here. The hatchbacks now do have the 140CR engine, but it was only introduced earlier this year. Prior to that the 140 was only PD......

[Specman]

the time is getting closer for me to swap my company vehicle which is on a lease scheme

Currently I have an '08 L&K Octy, 2L TDI PD 140bhp... and I've been very happy with it - if I was being picky I would complain about rear leg room and road noise, but other than that I have been well happy. Its actually my second octy in a row.

So for my new vehicle it looks like I can get a new Superb saloon at a comparable cost...the Elegance model at 140bhp

The 170bhp is going to cost me about another £30 a month and I'm trying to keep the cost down as much as I can really so I can afford to include a few extras (metallic paint, upgraded sound, hill hold & KESSY)

Considering the extra physical size/weight of the Superb compared to my octy, will I be dissapointed in the 140bhp CR engine?

I have to admit I have not test deriven one yet, but as I only get a restricted number of tests before ordering a new car I'd rather try the engine I'm most likely to purchase

..so everyones opinions here would be greatly appreciated.

cheers

I have the 140 DSG hatch/saloon and test drove the 170 DSG combi and I really do not think that the 140 is going to disappoint anyone but the all out speed freak in which case I would suggest that the Superb is not the car for you as it is not meant or designed to be a outright speed machine but a high class passenger car that will and does rival cars from the so called premium brands costing many thousands more.

Surely if you are having a Superb then it should be a done deal that your primary reason being that you have reached the stage in life where comfort and quality count for more then anything else. I promise you that the 140 will have enough perfomance on tap to cope with just about anything you can throw at it, it is not a car designed to be chucked about, it is bit on the large side for that.

Sit back and enjoy the relaxed, smooth and given the size and weight of the car, rapid pace that it provides, I promise you it is deceptively fast when you need it to be as well.

[cookdn]

I collected my CR140 DSG yesterday (at last ).

Unless you are coming to a CR140 from a more powerful vehicle expecting the Superb to perform miracles then I cannot see anyone being disappointed. The only difference I could perceive between this and the CR170 demonstrators I drove is that above 80-85 MPH it works a little harder to continue to accelerate if you have your foot to the floor (before there are accusations of 'new car abuse' this was on a well warmed engine ).

That was last night on a relatively empty M1, this morning on my normal commute between J26 and J28 it was no different performance-wise to my previous Honda Accord CR140 so I'm happy. What makes me extra-happy is the silky-smooth DSG gearbox which copes just fine on the roads around work that are still covered with snow and ice. There is no noticeable lag pulling onto roundabouts etc and the kick-down works as expected allowing relatively effortless and speedy overtakes on single-carriageway roads leaving you with both hands on the steering wheel for full control.

I would have preferred a shorter wait, but the wait was worth it so far.

Best regards

David

[Tankdave]

It's a great car in 140 and 170 versions, one is plenty powerfull enough and one has a wee bit more, that's about it I think.