Superb Estate Eleg Greenline II - initial impressions

[birket]

Great car!

Got it on Friday with 6 miles on the clock and had a run up to the North-West and back over the weekend, so it now has around 400 miles on the clock. On these runs I managed to achieve around 66mpg combined, which isn't too bad at all. I guess my main worry with this car, especially coming from a BMW 320d, was general performance - essentially acceleration. Now of course, the Superb isn't even going to compete, but it is certainly better than I thought. Motorway crusing was very smooth indeed and getting up to speed caused me no concerns at all. Obviously, I'd love to get 0-60 in 8 seconds, but it just doesn't seem that important now.

I'm still fiddling with the seats quite a lot. As a 6'5" driver, seats are always a bit of an issue. I have quite severe back ache after a couple of hours driving North, but coming back the other way, it seemed better. The up/down (if thats what it is) doesn't seem to have very much effect. One of the options I had was the ventilated seats. To be honest, they don't seem to do a lot. Maybe I was expecting too much (an increase in fertility for instance??!!!).

Satnav seems very good - easier to use than the iDrive system. One weird thing is the fact that some of the settings are available only in the maxidot display and not the main satnav screen.

Audio is 'ok'. I'd like more bass really - just a richer tone generally. My BMW had a subwoofer under the drivers seat I think, and it managed to hit some really deep notes very well indeed. I like to listen to quite varied music - from Led Zep through to Aphex Twin, so I tend to really test any sound system. I might investigate having a sub fitted somewhere...

Only just found the switch for heated wing mirrors!

Cup holders for the front seats are a bit on the small side, and a bit awkwardly positioned for the driver.

I'm sure more thoughts will follow...

[Coops]

Agree on the cup holders, when you put in a bottle for instance, it does get in the way a bit. I liked the door pockets in the Octavia as I would quite often put a bottle in there.

[Gwynt Cryf]

I've just got one of these on demo. Very initial impressions, i.e. whilst taking delivery and parking it up in the work car park, are that the 1.6 engine seems a bit intrusive. I was looking forward to a whisper-quiet interior as has been touted but I guess the 1.6 is a different animal. I've got until Thursday to give it a good test anyway, so we shall see.

[birket]

Certainly isn't whisper quiet, but then again it is quieter than the 320d that it is replacing. Again, it would be 'nice' if it was whisper quiet, but I have no real complaint with that aspect.

Could anyone point me to a company/cost/solution for adding a subwoofer into the car, and perhaps replacing the front two door speakers with something decent? What are we talking here? £200 or £2000?

[Gwynt Cryf]

I haven't played much with the sound yet, except to increase the bass to max. At low volume it seems adequate, but I appreciate there are plenty who like it louder than me.

Impressions from the drive home last night, are that the 1.6 takes a bit of revving. I suppose I was trying to get the same response I get from my A4 2.0TDI, i.e. whilst I'm happy cruising at 60-70, I don't like to hang around too long in getting up to that speed. It's obviously not the way though - computer showed 55mpg from 90% motorway, although to be fair that included a few 60-80 overtakes to test out the acceleration (which was more than adequate). With a more relaxed, I-don't-care-how-far-up-my-ar*e-you-are-I'm-taking-my-time attitude, I'm sure I'd get 60+mpg.

Also seems to be a bit of a bone shaker, although I'm probably not 100% comfortable in the seat yet.

Comparing to the Hyundai i40 1.7 I tried, the Hyundai is far more plastic but has a very decent, smoother engine. Little touches impress me in the Skoda, like the interior door handles in metal with a rubber finish on the interior (compared with, and I couldn't believe this, brushed chrome effect plastic in the Hyundai). Also the Skoda's steering is easily the best, of the electric systems I've tried. Not too light at low speed, and weights up just right at higher speeds. Voice recognition is spot on and very quick compared to the Hyundai and a Prius I also tried.

Overall it's swings and roundabouts so far. Both the Hyundai and Skoda are around the same price to lease, mpg isn't actually that important (I do 10k pa), they have slightly different spec (panoramic roof, privacy glass in the Hyundai vs. bi-xenons in the Skoda), the Skoda comes out on top for quality and, I'd say, longevity (4 year lease for me). Bass is better in the Hyundai but something like Portishead distorts at moderate volume anyway. And, of course, and perhaps most importantly, I'd be able to have ivory leather and plastiwood in the Skoda! :-)

[birket]

What I have found is that the engine in the greenline II is very very smooth. I seem to be able to glide away from the lights without aggressive noise etc. I find that the gear change is very smooth too. The 320d that I have come from just seemed a lot 'gruffer', and I rarely managed a super smooth gear change in the lower gears. A big part of this no noubt comes from the more powerful engine of the BMW.

The auto stop/start seems smoother in the Skoda (compared to the 320d) too, although there seems to be a slightly annoying 'click' from the display behind the wheel as the engine cuts out. I can't quite work out what it is yet... The BMW used to rock slightly when you depress the clutch as the engine re-starts.

Not entirely sure on the protocol for properly starting the engine with the keyless system yet (I need to re-read the manual (which is awfully wordy)). Its a diesel engine of course, so you are supposed to wait for the pre-heat coil icon to disappear before you fully start the engine. With the keyless system, you don't seem to get this option. Enter car > depress clutch > press start button. Can I ignore the coil symbol?

[Gwynt Cryf]

I would expect the car to wait until pre-heat is complete before starting the engine. A bit like my A4 - I insert the key, no pre-heat light. I then press the key in, the pre-heat light comes on and in cold weather there is a delay before the engine starts.

[Gwynt Cryf]

I agree the engine is smooth, it's my driving style which needs work. It's all too easy to actually get WORSE mpg in the 1.6 than in a 2.0, or at least no better.

[lowedb]

The engine is new and tight, so your MPG will be worse for a little while than on an older car.

[Gwynt Cryf]

True. It's a 12 plate demo though, however I didn't check how many miles it's done.

[ddyer79]

The engine is new and tight, so your MPG will be worse for a little while than on an older car.

+1

Mine took until 15K miles before it felt really loose and providing the best fuel consumption, and at 25K it was a real GEM.

It gets better with age.

[Cemesis]

I found the clutch on BMW's is quite agressive and badly sprung. The VAG clutches are much eaiser to use, as is the gearbox.

The Greenline is quite gutless but then it doesn't pretend to be otherwise. My currently lifetime economy over 2950 miles is 62mpg (on the OBC) which I think is pretty good considering alot of that is urban driving. Back from Newcastle with the air con on and doing 80mph alot of the way I got 68mpg. I still believe the car is brilliant.

I went for most of the options but decided against ventillated seats in the end and it sounds like that was a good move. The keyless entry is great though and I'd recommend that to anyone.

[Gwynt Cryf]

I think I'm getting the hang of it now. It is quite quick when needed, and I'm getting around 60mpg on a few runs.

[veloplus]

Little touches impress me in the Skoda, like the interior door handles in metal with a rubber finish on the interior (compared with, and I couldn't believe this, brushed chrome effect plastic in the Hyundai).

Although the interior door handles look metal, they are in fact chrome coloured plastic. How do I know? My Mother-in-law managed to snap the o/s rear door handle in my last Superb! I give full credit to my local Skoda dealer, Startin, who replaced the handle at no cost to myself.

The GL ride is harsher than the standard 1.6Tdi, however, the trade-off is less body roll when cornering.

My 8 month old GL Combi is achieving 64.92mpg from new, with just over 24,000 miles on the clock. This represents an 11% fuel economy improvement compared with my Previous Superb, a 1.9Tdi engined Twindoor.

I tend to drive in a fuel efficient manner, however, this engine likes to rev and is far quieter than the old Pump Duse unit.

My only grumble is the driving position and front seats. By way of comparision, i felt more comfortable sittting in the current Passat, even without lumbar adjustment on the 'S' spec version I test drove.

[Danny 57]

True. It's a 12 plate demo though, however I didn't check how many miles it's done.

From Capitol or White Dove?

[Gwynt Cryf]

Direct through Skoda UK, as it's a company car lease and all done through them. I asked the lease company whether they would consider using someone local, but alas no. I guess I'd go to Capitol for servicing though. The sales staff seemed nice enough when I was there looking around.

The demo car has only done 5.5k, so I guess has yet to loosen up fully.

I'm surprised by the interior door handles being plastic, but I would say they're chromed plastic rather than chrome-coloured? They are certainly cold to the touch. At least the roof rails are metal(?), again the i40's were plastic and warped (hopefully just a one-off).

It's a shame I don't have the opportunity to drive in the dark at this time of year, but it was dark enough at 7:30pm yesterday to notice the lit footwells at least.

[Danny 57]

The footwells are on low light (when lights are on) together with the cats eyes though the footwell lights come on fully when you open any door.

[Cemesis]

Managed a new record today. Filled up and had 970 miles on the range. I'm going to drive steadily back from Birmingham later today and will fill up again to see if I can hit 1,000

[veloplus]

Managed a new record today. Filled up and had 970 miles on the range. I'm going to drive steadily back from Birmingham later today and will fill up again to see if I can hit 1,000

Getting the MFD to show a range of 1,000 miles isn't too hard. The real skill is in achieving a range of 1,000 miles on one tank of fuel. I believe that on a long steady run a range of 1,000 miles should be possible. To date, I've achieved 933 miles and this was based on everyday driving (mainly motorway).

Edited 13 June, 2012 by veloplus

[birket]

Is it me or does the satnav/radio/media system take a long time to get going when you first get in the car? I need to do some further testing, but I can be driving down the road before I am able to choose the radio station I want.

[Danny 57]

I have found that if my car is close to the house then the signal can be weak, if my car is only a few feet further from the house then it is fine.

I have not timed it but I think it takes about 30-45 seconds to be up and running.

[birket]

I have not timed it but I think it takes about 30-45 seconds to be up and running.

This is a bit crap isn't it?

What signal are you referring to? Radio signal? Satnav signal? Surely the radio should be pretty instantaneous shouldn't it, like when I turn on my radio in the kitchen? I would understand if it was just the SD card, or the satnav disk spinning up, but I get delays just trying to select a radio station.

[Gwynt Cryf]

The one I demoed took a minute or so to be up and running. The system just takes a while to initialise I guess? I think it started playing music from the SD card before that though, but I couldn't change anything before the system had booted up fully.

[StarForce]

Getting the MFD to show a range of 1,000 miles isn't too hard. The real skill is in achieving a range of 1,000 miles on one tank of fuel. I believe that on a long steady run a range of 1,000 miles should be possible. To date, I've achieved 933 miles and this was based on everyday driving (mainly motorway).

Amazing figure!

To achieve a good range depends also on how brave you can be meanwhile autonomy is close to zero.. and I'm not brave at all

Do you remember how many miles you covered until the refill icon raised in your board?

[Danny 57]

This is a bit crap isn't it?

What signal are you referring to? Radio signal? Satnav signal? Surely the radio should be pretty instantaneous shouldn't it, like when I turn on my radio in the kitchen? I would understand if it was just the SD card, or the satnav disk spinning up, but I get delays just trying to select a radio station.

The radio is instant the tv comes after that and the sat nav that takes the rest of the time.