Picked the car up yesterday and have done about 60 - 70 miles of local miles so far. Just wanted to share a few of my initial impressions:

Looks

The car, to my mind, looks better in the flesh than in pictures. The 16inch alloys of the Greenline don't trouble me as much as I thought (have come from 18inchers on a Saab Aero). From a little distance, however, they could be mistaken for wheel trims! The candy white suits it well but there is no mistaking it is a biiiiig car and many people have referred to it as a "limo" already. The tan trim is sublime and looks just great (I am pleased that the carpets are now black rather than light brown like they used to be. They would be a nightmare to keep clean!). The tan leather is very light and I will be interested to see how grubby it looks after a year or so.

To Drive

It is a very relaxed car to drive and (so I have been told) to be driven in. It is very quiet after my Saab and the big surprise is how light on it's feet it feels. I have come from a 180bhp diesel so was a bit worried about the loss of 75bhp to be honest. So far I have been pleasantly surprised. It is a bit slow off the mark but once you are rolling there is a pleasing slug of torque low down which you can surf with ease. The car seems so effortless (quiet and smooth) so it gives the impression of building speed without fuss, which in turn gives the impression of it being faster than it probably is. The engine revs freely for a diesel and it is certainly no hardship driving this car.

In the corners it feels quite well planted. It's steering loads up a fair bit in the bends and I am not sure if this "manufactured" feel or real but it is quite different to my Saab. Not sporty but reassuring. This sounds odd but I have driven a couple of Rolls Royces over the years and the drive reminds me of them a little. Not fast but effortlessly mile munching. I think you get a sense of momentum in action once you are on the go.

The Kit

Much to learn still but everything seems great. The seats are great. The adjustability is mind boggling. The lumbar support which can be moved up and down and inflated and deflated is a stand out feature. The Columbus satnav seems pretty sophisticated but I still need to learn much more about how this works in full.

Stand Out "Likes"

Seats

Space

Sense of occassion

Looks

Quality of build

Economy (already seen 58mpg on a 40 mile A road run at 60 - 70 mph

Sophistication of the kit compared to my old Saab ('58 model year)

Pleasantly surprising (apparent) pace

Low down torque wave from tiny engine

Back seat environment (cupholders, space, armrest)

Dislikes?

None so far but a couple of "not sures:"

Sound quality from Columbus unit. It is better than expected and I have spent a bit of time fiddling with the tone settings and fader and it is now better. Plenty of definition to the sound but seems a touch "thin" if you know what I mean.

The car is so sophisticated in some ways my kids (8 & 11) have already identified a couple of things that it doesn't do which would have been nice. These are:

The satnav usefully shows the speed limit for the road you are on. It would be nice if you could set an alarm of some sort to gently warn you if you go over this. It is very easy to underestimate your pace in this car because of the refinement levels so having the choice an alarm would be a nice touch.

The led readout in the back shows the time and the outside temperature. It would be nice to be able to change what this display shows to match some of the info on the maxidot such as consumption or average speed.

Summary

Pretty chuffed so far! We saved the VAT on this in the Skoda deal and the car cost about £20K brand new. A massive bargain I would say! I am pleasantly relieved about the step from a 180bhp Saab to this car. So far it is certainly no hardship. This is a way more relaxing car to drive and, I suspect, will endow me with more humility and patience as a driver. Looking forward to putting some miles on the car.

PS. Photos will follow in due course.

Congrats on your new ride! Enjoy

I collected my Greenline SE on the 3rd March and I have to agree with you about the engine & torque.

The 70-80 MPH acceleration is brilliant. I drive a S320 CDi Mercedes sometimes and the feeling you get from them is very similar. The mercedes has twice the engine capacity and power aswell.

The buld quality is really good and I'm confident the build quality and quite interior will stay that way.

are you sure about your cars acceleration being the same as a Mercedes 320cdi at 70-80 mph i think you might have new car fever.

bill

Nice write up, glad your enjoying your car.

Great to hear that you are enjoying your car!

I'm due to receive the same model in early June, if the dealer's delivery estimate is accurate. I had a three-day test-drive before placing my order, but nonetheless was completely sold within an hour of being in the car. Similarly I was surprised that the power was not a handicap - even in the context of my current Audi A4 and Porsche 944 Turbo weekend car. OK it's not a rocketship but nor did I feel bogged down either thanks to the decent amount of low-rev torque. That was a big relief and worry out of the way. My work colleagues were blown away with the build quality, space and kit.

Is it really that big though? Whilst it certainly seems so, the overall length is still less than an Audi A6, BMW 5 series and Vauxhall Insignia. It's only 6cm longer than the current Mondeo. Assuming I've got my figures correct. Certainly everyone remarked that it was enormous (jokingly so) but maybe it's a trick of the eye? Getting back into my A4 after three days, and looking over my shoulder to the back seats, it honestly felt like I was in a 2+2 - not a medium-sized saloon!! Such was the closeness of the rear seats again.

Can't wait for it to arrive...

Edited 25 March, 201214 yr by Jules Tohpipi

Good first review and glad you are pleased with your Superb! You have (of course) picked the right colour which I think acentuates the size.

The satnav usefully shows the speed limit for the road you are on. It would be nice if you could set an alarm of some sort to gently warn you if you go over this. It is very easy to underestimate your pace in this car because of the refinement levels so having the choice an alarm would be a nice touch.

There is a speed warning feature available but that is contained within Maxidot and not connected in anyway to the sat nav. It has to be set manually.

are you sure about your cars acceleration being the same as a Mercedes 320cdi at 70-80 mph i think you might have new car fever.

bill

Have a second read I said 'The feeling you get is very similar' - I didn't say that the acceleration was the same? I've not timed them so I wouldn't know.

As for new car fever a just I've checked back and I've bought 11 new cars/minibuses since April 2008 so I've gone past the fever stage!

Further to post above I am now 2,500 miles into my Superb Greenline II Elegance ownership. I am now in a position to qualify some of my initial impressions and add some meat to the bone following a few more miles and hours of ownership.

Best bits

For me it is still the "sense of occassion" that you still get when jumping into the Superb. It is a very nice environment in which to spend time. With the tan leather the interior is very airy and spacious feeling. It is quite a narrow car, however, so two big blokes in the front can feel a bit close at the shoulders.

The little touches. The footwell lights at night (adjustable intensity). The led lights in the overhead console which just give a bit of ambient light without distracting. The lights behind the interior door handles. The rubber grips on the back of the chrome (or at least "chrome feeling") interior door handles. The quality of the light switches in the overhead console. All very, very well executed and adding to that air of quality and longevity.

I do like the 1.6 CR TDI. It is torquey and pretty quiet. Generally very unobtrusive. The quiet of the interior helps to make the car feel sufficiently rapid in most circumstances. It is certainly no hardship to spend time in this car. Progress up to 80 mph (only on private land or unrestricted autobahns obviously!) is absolutely fine. Only the real boy racer brigade will find anything to complain about here (and I came from a 180bhp twin turbo Saab).

Space. The rear accommodation is palatial. Comfy, very roomy and quiet. Again, however, it is pretty narrow for three adults.

Economy. With no real attempt to break any records for economy I have achieved about 58 mpg in the car so far. Cruising steadily at up to 80mph (same caveats about location as above!) seems to make no real differnece to that figure on a run. Repeated hard acceleration and running it further up the rev range repeatedly will drop that figure down, but only to early - mid 50's.

"

Lack of preconceptions about me based on what I drive. I have noticed that the Skoda marque is sort of a "neutral" marque - a bit like my Saab was. It doesn't say too many negative things about you to other road users / neighbours etc. Not so with BMW, Audi (especially Audi I would say), Mercedes. I like that .

Electric seats are ace! Range of adjustment is vast. Very good.

Stuff that the jury is still out on

The sound qulaity from the Columbus sound system. Try as I might I haven't really been able to adjust the unit to deliver a totally satisfactory sound. It does vary on track to track but the midrange is generally pretty "harsh" to the point of discomfort at higher volumes. Currently I have got the mid range slider pretty much down to zero to help compensate for this. Bass is way up and treble is a couple of notches above the midway point. Fader is slightly rear biased. This, for me, gives the best compromise but it ain't great! I think the speakers aren't up to the standard of the rest of the car which is a shame. I would go for the 10 speaker upgrade next time I think.

Ride is fair but not outstanding. It is a touch on the jiggly side on certain surfaces. Handling ain't bad for the size of car but I find the helm a little slow to react when a quick change of direction is needed. The grip from the low resistance tyres is very good, however, even in the wet.

Sat Nav is more sophisticated than in my Saab but not as intuitive. The other day it took us ages to find out how to avoid certain types of roads (motorways for example) from a chosen route. The sophistication hides some of the more useful functions. The 3D map is great, however.

Overall

This is a very, very good car and I can't imagine anyone really disliking it. It is a great place to spend loads of time. Would I have one again next time? Probably..................not. Firstly because I have never had the same car twice. It is a bit like going back out with an old girlfriend. However, I probably would be tempted by another Superb. I think an estate in the same spec but with the 140 bhp and DSG would be a nice alternative. More car tax, much lower economy but, perhaps, just different enough to bypass my "don't look back" rule!

Its nice to hear this as I'm collecting mine in a couple of weeks (hopefully).

I am slightly concerned about the ride as it seemed abit firm but I'm hoping it works out OK.