Thinking about a 3.6, coming from a 540i

[skotl]

Hi all - first post, but hopefully many more to follow!

I've had my current car, a 2001 540i (4.4l V8) for six years now and have spent the last couple of years wondering what to get next, that has similar oomph and all the goodies and luxuries. Oh, and that won't bankrupt me!

So, yesterday I started at one end of Edinburgh's "car showroom boulevard" intending to gather a few models to shortlist, principally to go look for on the second hand market. Little did I suspect, when I started, that I would come away seriously considering a new Skoda! But that's what happened... A very nice gentleman asked me about my own car first, and then said "come in - I've got something that may well interest you", which turned out to be the Superb Elegance, with the 3.6l V6 (although they don't have that in the showroom).

So, a good chat ensued and since then I've been perusing the Internet, looking at reviews, and trolling through these excellent forums and I can't believe what I'm seeing. Nobody has a bad word to say about it! The reviews are excellent (and compare it to Audi / BMW / Merc, rather than Mondeo and Passat) and even the questions on the forums seem mostly benign / positive (have a look at the woes on the BMW forums...).

With the 20% discount (aka "no VAT") deal currently on offer, I could throw a few goodies in and have more or less the same car as my 540i, except ten years yonger, for around £26,000!

So, is it really that good? Anyone else move from Merc, BMW or Audi?

By the way, the MPG doesn't frighten me as I get 16.1MPG right now so anything has to be an improvement on that

Only slight sticking point is that they can't see me getting anywhere near a V6 to test drive. Is anyone aware of a dealer that has one? I travel a lot and so the dealer doesn't need to be close by.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Cheers,

Scott

[jrw]

Welcome to the forum.

Do it, you wont regret it. I would say the build quality is better than Merc and on a par with BMW and Audi. They use the same bits as the Audi anyway.

[bill2]

hi Scott

I traded in my 2006 320 cdi Mercedes estate with all the toys 6 months ago for my superb. From the very start of the test drive the superb felt like a better car.

having now done 5000 miles i can honestly say this is the best car i have ever owned in the past 40 years of driving.If i was you i would test drive the 170 cr tdi elegance.and if you like it you can have it remapped to 210 bhp which should plenty of power for you.at a cost of £300

Edited 13 February, 2011 by bill2

[jrw]

hi Scott

I traded in my 2006 320 cdi Mercedes estate with all the toys 6 months ago for my superb. From the very start of the test drive the superb felt like a better car.

having now done 5000 miles i can honestly say this is the best car i have ever owned in the past 40 years of driving.If i was you i would test drive the 170 cr tdi elegance.and if you like it you can have it remapped to 210 bhp which should plenty of power for you.at a cost of £300

+1 was going to say test the diesel or the 2.0TSI - you may be surprised! Also the DSG is awesome

[skotl]

+1 was going to say test the diesel or the 2.0TSI - you may be surprised! Also the DSG is awesome

Thanks all - I see your point re the diesels, but it's hard to see past the 20% discount on the petrol models

We're a one-car family, and my wife hates manuals, so it would definitely be the DSG!

[jrw]

Ah yes the 20% discount - forgot about that. Also looking they don't seem to do a 2.0tsi for some reason!

Have you looked on www.drivethedeal.com. got mine from there and got an extra £3k off what the dealer was offering.

3.6 comes in at £23898

1.8TSI DSG comes in at £20021

So not actually that much in it. Best bet is to phone round the dealers and look for a 3.6 to drive and also a 1.8tsi if they have one as only you can decide!!

[jrw]

There are 2 3.6's on Autotrader! Both at Skoda garages.

One at Beadles which is in Maidstone

Other at Loders which is in Yeovil

Both quite a way from Scotland!!

They may have some nearer to you as not all the dealers advertise on AT.

[skotl]

Ah yes the 20% discount - forgot about that. Also looking they don't seem to do a 2.0tsi for some reason!

Have you looked on www.drivethedeal.com. got mine from there and got an extra £3k off what the dealer was offering.

3.6 comes in at £23898

1.8TSI DSG comes in at £20021

So not actually that much in it. Best bet is to phone round the dealers and look for a 3.6 to drive and also a 1.8tsi if they have one as only you can decide!!

Hmmm... hadn't come across them. I was on buyacar.com and it came out at £25,100 (including a bunch of extras). Just plugged the same list into drivethedeal.com and it's £27,070. All food for thought, though!

[jrw]

There is also carfile and GMPdrivercare to have a butchers at.

[Lady Elanore]

The Superb won't handle as well as your 540, but there again there aren't many cars at any price of that size that do. I think the Superb is a really nice car, but does the 3.6 hold it's value well? When I was in car sales, something like a big engined Passat used make us all run for the hills if it was a part ex. The owner was always upset at our offer :(

[sadgit1]

Hi Scott

I have a V6 on order (wk 15 fingers crossed). I am leaving the world of Audi, a 2001 All Road and the Skoda appears just as well built. OK a brand new Audi maybe better but also Much more expensive :wonder: .

A couple of things to remember about the V6, apart from the 20% discount :p , is that not only do you get DSG but also 4 wheel drive (a big plus in Scotland)( the only other model with both is the 140bhp diesel ), the wait is less for delivery, no DPF problems and a very rapid and fun car!

Even the Stig gave it top billing in this weeks Mail on Sunday.

Lack of test drive models is a pain and yes most on the forum will say 'Get the diesel' which is sensible advise, but who wants to be sensible all the time? If you can afford to run the BM get the V6 and enjoy .

Oh estate of hatch?

[ghunkin]

I moved from a 535d to a Superb 3.6.

I do miss the torque of the Diesel but the cars have identical pace, both being 0-60 in 6.5 secs.

What I have gained is a fantastic ability to catapult the car out of junctions with no wheelspin, the ability to drive to the top of our road when my neighbours 530d is parked at the bottom in anything deeper than a dusting of snow and the ability to wipe the smirks off hot hatch drivers faces at traffic lights.

(I've seen more than one mouth "WTF" as they shrink in my rear view mirror).

Add in a built in 20GB iPod, SatNav that works, the ability to read SMS text messages in the dash (dangerous, but useful), fantastic DSG box (get the 3 spoke steering wheel with flappy paddles and play F1 driver) and options at prices that dont take the p**s.

Sorry BMW, I priced up a new 535d with equivalent options and got as near to £50k as not to make a difference.

£25k vs £50k is an easy decision....

Edited 14 February, 2011 by ghunkin

[Lady Elanore]

Having gone from a rwd BMW to a Quattro Audi I can appreciate the benefits of 4x4. And cost aside, the Quattro is a brilliant benefit to the driving I do. But although my Audi is quicker cross country than the BMW was, it doesn’t handle as well. It grips harder and goes faster, but I miss the BMWs ‘adjustability’ (as the magazines call it). I spent a fortune (for me at least) adding to the A4s spec, to put full ADS and Sports Differential on it, all in order to make it handle better. It does work really well and is much better than the RWD purists would imagine, but it isn’t quite the same.

My conclusion was, if you can stand the compromise and like the purist nature of things then the BMW was is a no brainier, but in the real world with rain, sleet and snow, the Quattro is a life saver. Perhaps as long as I can afford it i should stick to 4x4 too and when I retire (at the age of 80 probably) buy a RWD

It’s a nice engine the 3.2 but the V8 BMW’s is gorgeous

Edited 14 February, 2011 by Lady Elanore

[barts2]

I moved from a 535d to a Superb 3.6.

I do miss the torque of the Diesel but the cars have identical pace, both being 0-60 in 6.5 secs.

What I have gained is a fantastic ability to catapult the car out of junctions with no wheelspin, the ability to drive to the top of our road when my neighbours 530d is parked at the bottom in anything deeper than a dusting of snow and the ability to wipe the smirks off hot hatch drivers faces at traffic lights.

(I've seen more than one mouth "WTF" as they shrink in my rear view mirror).

Add in a built in 20GB iPod, SatNav that works, the ability to read SMS text messages in the dash (dangerous, but useful), fantastic DSG box (get the 3 spoke steering wheel with flappy paddles and play F1 driver) and options at prices that dont take the p**s.

Sorry BMW, I priced up a new 535d with equivalent options and got as near to £50k as not to make a difference.

£25k vs £50k is an easy decision....

HI wat phone are you using to get the texts up on the columbus/maxidot ??

[jrw]

HI wat phone are you using to get the texts up on the columbus/maxidot ??

Any with RSAP - my Blackberry and Nokia N86 gets them. I hope my Galaxy S will work when i get that tomorrow!

[vRSLen]

As said, the ex Stig loved it

Me, I will wait for the vRS model.......

[ghunkin]

HI wat phone are you using to get the texts up on the columbus/maxidot ??

I use 3 phones that all connect perfectly and deliver SMS texts to the maxidot;

1 - Blackberry Curve 8520

2 - HTC HD2

3 - Nokia 6021

[RedDog]

As others have said, you won't find another car that gives you so much for so little! ( comparatively speaking of course! ). It can't half shift as well! :yes:

[tomcatdk]

Hi all - first post, but hopefully many more to follow!

I've had my current car, a 2001 540i (4.4l V8) for six years now and have spent the last couple of years wondering what to get next, that has similar oomph and all the goodies and luxuries. Oh, and that won't bankrupt me!

So, yesterday I started at one end of Edinburgh's "car showroom boulevard" intending to gather a few models to shortlist, principally to go look for on the second hand market. Little did I suspect, when I started, that I would come away seriously considering a new Skoda! But that's what happened... A very nice gentleman asked me about my own car first, and then said "come in - I've got something that may well interest you", which turned out to be the Superb Elegance, with the 3.6l V6 (although they don't have that in the showroom).

So, a good chat ensued and since then I've been perusing the Internet, looking at reviews, and trolling through these excellent forums and I can't believe what I'm seeing. Nobody has a bad word to say about it! The reviews are excellent (and compare it to Audi / BMW / Merc, rather than Mondeo and Passat) and even the questions on the forums seem mostly benign / positive (have a look at the woes on the BMW forums...).

With the 20% discount (aka "no VAT") deal currently on offer, I could throw a few goodies in and have more or less the same car as my 540i, except ten years yonger, for around £26,000!

So, is it really that good? Anyone else move from Merc, BMW or Audi?

By the way, the MPG doesn't frighten me as I get 16.1MPG right now so anything has to be an improvement on that

Only slight sticking point is that they can't see me getting anywhere near a V6 to test drive. Is anyone aware of a dealer that has one? I travel a lot and so the dealer doesn't need to be close by.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Cheers,

Scott

Drove a highspec Volvo before...

The Skoda Superb is just as well equipped.

One thing that Skoda won't give you, is the 4 rings on the front though.

[tomcatdk]

Add in a built in 20GB iPod, SatNav that works, the ability to read SMS text messages in the dash (dangerous, but useful), fantastic DSG box (get the 3 spoke steering wheel with flappy paddles and play F1 driver) and options at prices that dont take the p**s.

I have the Columbus installed with maxidot in my 2011 elegance. Where can i read sms text messages?

[jrw]

I have the Columbus installed with maxidot in my 2011 elegance. Where can i read sms text messages?

You need OEM RSAP bluetooth

[RedDog]

..... Where can i read sms text messages?

In the maxidot display. When your phone is paired as soon as you get a text or a phone call it comes up in the display. You just click on the read option using the thumbwheel. :yes:

[tomcatdk]

You need OEM RSAP bluetooth

I have the latest model with all the extras for stereo, columbus, mdi etc...

Shouldn't the 2011 have RSAP?

Where can i find out about that?

Edited 15 February, 2011 by tomcatdk

[tomcatdk]

In the maxidot display. When your phone is paired as soon as you get a text or a phone call it comes up in the display. You just click on the read option using the thumbwheel. :yes:

Mine doesn't.

Could it be a configuration issue?

Edited 15 February, 2011 by tomcatdk

[Slinksuperb]

Drove a highspec Volvo before...

The Skoda Superb is just as well equipped.

One thing that Skoda won't give you, is the 4 rings on the front though.

Personally speaking, I wouldn't want the four rings. Had the blue/white quarters and that was nothing special!