It's 26 days since I collected my new car and it's covered 332 miles so far.

I changed from a Superb MkI V6 Tip Elegance, so I've inevitable I'll make comparisons between the two. Overall, I'm very pleased with the new car and I've no regrets about the change, although I was very happy with the old car and was sorry to see it go.

Most of the things that stand out on the new car have already been mentioned by others on here, but here's my list:-

Performance

As the car is still very low mileage, I've not used the loud pedal very much yet, but it seems very quick to respond even when you accelerate lightly.

Gearbox

The DSG gearbox is a big improvement on automatics I've driven in the past. I have to keep looking at the display to see what gear I'm in as it changes so quickly and smoothly. I keep looking at the rev counter when it is changing and the needle moves instantly as it goes up or down the gears, which is so different to the old 3 speed autos with torque converters.

Economy

The car is still very new and it may not return the best economy yet, but it's much better than my MkI on short journeys around town. The only longer journeys so far have been Brecon to Abergavenny once a week for work. Going there, I've achieved 55 mpg and coming back 45 mpg, compared to the MkI 45 mpg and 38 mpg respectively. I can never understand why the car's always more economical going in one direction compared to going the other way!

Comfort

I've found the car very comfortable so far, with a smooth ride. The steering is lighter than the MKI at low speed and is more responsive on the move. I haven't made any longer trips than 20 miles yet though.

I do have a few niggles, though as mentioned on the thread about Superb's build quality, you get far more comments about bad points than about good points.

Heating and ventilation controls

I find the controls are rather small and difficult to see and the piano black trim around them doesn't help. My sight is fine for driving, but I need glasses for reading, so maybe that makes it more difficult for me to see them. It is not a good idea to be peering down at them when driving in traffic! I'm getting to know where the heated front and rear windows are by touch, which are the main ones you need to turn on and off as you're driving, so I should be OK.

Ventilated seats

The first time I went to Abergavenny, I was disappointed that I was not very warm in the car. I then found that both front seats had the ventilation switches on, which was counteracting with the heated seats. I've since noticed it's easy to knock the switches with your heal as you get in and out of the car, especially in a car park with limited space to open the door, so I regularly check they're off whilst it's cold in the morning. There's no warning light to show they're on, but I suppose it's because they were added fairly recently and the switches were added where no alterations were needed to tooling to make the panels and trim.

Seats

I noticed that the seats are open underneath at the front and you can see the fan and a plastic cover on the floor. You can also see the front of the seat runners as I'm tall and have the seat towards the back end of its travel. The MkI was covered to the floor to keep it looking tidy and you couldn't see the runners, but I suppose the MkII is open for the ventilated seats to give space for the air to circulate?

Sun visors

There is a large gap in the middle around the mirror which is not covered by the sun visors. It is heavily dotted in black, but it doesn't have much affect with the low sun at this time of year. The MKI had a visor in the middle behind the mirror.

Lights

The MKI had bright LED lights under the exterior mirrors, but the MKII only has a dim glow by comparison.

The headlights are brilliant, but I can't see the point of the fog lights coming on when you are in reverse. Can you change this? It's a pity you can't use sidelights with the DRL's so you've got lights to the rear without using the headlights. When you use the headlights in the day and don't need the cornering lights, is there any way of disabling them?

Carpets

As commented by others, the carpets are very thin. I wonder how long it will take for the carpet on the corner of the seat runner near the door for the driver to wear through? The covers for the compartments in the boot seem to be made of carpet and their hinges made of a tongue of carpet that falls out when you open them is very cheap.

Display

In the MKI, SWMBO could see the outside temperature on the Climotronic display. The MKII shows it for the driver and rear seat passengers, but the front seat passenger has nothing!

Door handles

The MKI had slim blade door handles but the MKII are much larger, chunkier and protrude further. I find they obstruct the view when reversing and the nearside mirror is dipped to see the kerb.

Twindoor

The twindoor is a clever design, but if they produced the car as a simple hatch and charged extra for the twindoor, I wonder how many would bother with it and what it would cost? The hinges encroach on the space and are something that will be very expensive to repair if it goes wrong when the car is older.

Next year, we're planning a trip to Lithuania in early summer and then Munich at the end of summer, so that'll be interesting to see what the economy and comfort are like on such long journeys.

Good write up Penpusher

Sun visors

There is a large gap in the middle around the mirror which is not covered by the sun visors. It is heavily dotted in black, but it doesn't have much affect with the low sun at this time of year. The MKI had a visor in the middle behind the mirror.

Agreed on this - it is annoying, I recall there was a small flap which folded down in the Octavia.

Lights

The MKI had bright LED lights under the exterior mirrors, but the MKII only has a dim glow by comparison.

The headlights are brilliant, but I can't see the point of the fog lights coming on when you are in reverse. Can you change this? It's a pity you can't use sidelights with the DRL's so you've got lights to the rear without using the headlights. When you use the headlights in the day and don't need the cornering lights, is there any way of disabling them?

I actually find this quite useful for some reason - when I arrive home at night and reverse onto the drive, it does help. Don't know why but it does!

Carpets

As commented by others, the carpets are very thin. I wonder how long it will take for the carpet on the corner of the seat runner near the door for the driver to wear through? The covers for the compartments in the boot seem to be made of carpet and their hinges made of a tongue of carpet that falls out when you open them is very cheap.

Doesn't generally bother me - the mats cover the carpet!

Twindoor

The twindoor is a clever design, but if they produced the car as a simple hatch and charged extra for the twindoor, I wonder how many would bother with it and what it would cost? The hinges encroach on the space and are something that will be very expensive to repair if it goes wrong when the car is older.

I went for the estate, much more practicable in my opinion

Going there, I've achieved 55 mpg and coming back 45 mpg, compared to the MkI 45 mpg and 38 mpg respectively. I can never understand why the car's always more economical going in one direction compared to going the other way!

It's only going to be the same if they have same profile, gradients etc, traffic patterns etc. and you drive both directions identically. If its consistently more economical going there than back and assuming traffic is similar, it's going to be that there are more or steeper gradients on way back than going there. So you are going down them on the way there, and up on way back.

Cheers

Steve

Ah yes, both towns are on the River Usk and I start out at about 550 feet above sea level in Brecon and end at about 200 feet above sea level in Abergavenny. I assume this must be the cause of the difference?

Ah yes, both towns are on the River Usk and I start out at about 550 feet above sea level in Brecon and end at about 200 feet above sea level in Abergavenny. I assume this must be the cause of the difference?

Could it be the time of day you travel at? When I commute to work in the morning my economy is worse than when I travel home. And I certainly don't rush to work. However, I do tend to have lights on and heater on max plus as its cold out side it can take about 25 mins before my oil gets to temp. Coming home the car is warmer and only the radio is still blasting out!

Could it be the time of day you travel at? When I commute to work in the morning my economy is worse than when I travel home. And I certainly don't rush to work. However, I do tend to have lights on and heater on max plus as its cold out side it can take about 25 mins before my oil gets to temp. Coming home the car is warmer and only the radio is still blasting out!

But my economy is worse going home! I often use the heated front and rear screens in the morning when I start out, but I don't need them in the evening. I leave about 7:45 am and return at about 5:30 pm and like yours, the car is warmer in the afternoon.

Good write up Penpusher

Than you!

Sun visors

There is a large gap in the middle around the mirror which is not covered by the sun visors. It is heavily dotted in black, but it doesn't have much affect with the low sun at this time of year. The MKI had a visor in the middle behind the mirror.

Agreed on this - it is annoying, I recall there was a small flap which folded down in the Octavia.

And sunglasses are not much good as the shadows are very dark. You wouldn't see anything ahead in the shade!

Lights

The MKI had bright LED lights under the exterior mirrors, but the MKII only has a dim glow by comparison.

The headlights are brilliant, but I can't see the point of the fog lights coming on when you are in reverse. Can you change this? It's a pity you can't use sidelights with the DRL's so you've got lights to the rear without using the headlights. When you use the headlights in the day and don't need the cornering lights, is there any way of disabling them?

I actually find this quite useful for some reason - when I arrive home at night and reverse onto the drive, it does help. Don't know why but it does!

Carpets

As commented by others, the carpets are very thin. I wonder how long it will take for the carpet on the corner of the seat runner near the door for the driver to wear through? The covers for the compartments in the boot seem to be made of carpet and their hinges made of a tongue of carpet that falls out when you open them is very cheap.

Doesn't generally bother me - the mats cover the carpet!

The factory mats came with the L&K package and these too see a bit thin.

Twindoor

The twindoor is a clever design, but if they produced the car as a simple hatch and charged extra for the twindoor, I wonder how many would bother with it and what it would cost? The hinges encroach on the space and are something that will be very expensive to repair if it goes wrong when the car is older.

I went for the estate, much more practicable in my opinion

We went for the VAT free offer that you couldn't have with the estate and probably wouldn't have bought the L&K without it, plus the interest free finance. We were going for an Elegance, but with the savings, we decided we could stretch to next model up. The estate would have been too expensive unless we had gone for one with lower trim, but we're more than happy with our choice.

But my economy is worse going home! I often use the heated front and rear screens in the morning when I start out, but I don't need them in the evening. I leave about 7:45 am and return at about 5:30 pm and like yours, the car is warmer in the afternoon.

I was just wondering. I go to work at 6 and return at 5:30 so in the morning there is a lot more load on the engine. I thought if your day was shifted to later on it could be the reverse of mine!! Strange.

Maybe your sublimely driving quicker to work so you can get a good strong coffee fix before you start. I know I always need one!