Testing a V6 on Friday...

[Superbalicious]

I'm off to test drive a Superb V6 Elegance Combi tomorrow I've been waiting for one to be local to me for ages, so I can't afford to miss the opportunity. I've got the 170 CR DSG Elegance at the moment which is great, although I feel the need for a bit more poke - I wish the 3.0 diesel was a possibility, but I know that's been discussed many times on here!

I currently get low to mid 50's out of my Superb (indicated) and I know it's likely to be about 1/2 of that for the V6. I currently do about 10,000 miles per year, about 50% of which are motorway cruising.

I'm in two minds whether to take the missus along. She knows how fanatical I can be about these things, but if there's the slimest of chances we could end up with such a car, I'm not sure if her being present will tip the balance the wrong way - if you see what I mean..!

So, all you V6 owners out there... is there anything I should be aware of?

[peanut18]

I couldn't stomach paying £450 a year RFL to the Gov !!!

[skodanorman]

I don't know if there are any V6 owners out there? I would love one but most are put off by high running costs. Much respect to you if you do go ahead and buy it! Also, report back on how it drives please.

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[dieselV6]

Don't get sucked into the vortex in the fuel tank when you step on accelerator

Also, before purchasing, consider that Superb might get uprated diesel (still 4-cyl, but perhaps 184bhp) after Octavia 3 vRS is launched in May EU/July UK.

Pure speculation on my side, but I find it unlikely that Skoda would let the Octavia to be more powerful than their flagship Superb. My main issue with petrol V6 is range at speed, if it had a 75l+ fuel tank I'd consider it very seriously.

Still, I wish that VW finally made it to market with 2.5TDI 5-cylinder offering, it would be a perfect match for the Superb, and it would have sufficient range with the 60l/65l fuel tank (and more refined than R4, 220bhp, and lower running cost overall). Unlikely though.

[RedDog]

Are you testing a new V6 or second hand? There are a few owners on here and at least a couple that do 25K miles per year! If it's brand new, then I can promise you that you won't get a pokier motor with plenty of space and four wheel drive for less money! With the present 20% off it's a really good deal! If you do most of your mileage on the motorway you'll easily get 30 mpg. If you're trundling around in traffic you'll go down to 16 to 19 mpg. I've found that you get better mpg if you actually press on while you're driving! Good luck with your test drive........watch the brakes 'cos they're really sharp!! The discs are much bigger on the V6 than your 170CR!

[Coops]

I couldn't stomach paying £450 a year RFL to the Gov !!!

I certainly couldn't but if the OP can then go for it I say.

Needless to say I don't think he'll be doing any serious driving at speed so the fuel tank won't be an issue :think:

[dobbey]

Do it, but its already been said, watch the brakes, they'll sent you through the windscreen with minimal effort

Mine does mainly town driving and it averages 27MPG. On a run it'll do 30-31ish

[bill2]

Superbalicious

thinking outside the box why not have a look at the v6 diesel Audi.?

[Superbalicious]

It's a used model, but we're not sure if we want to take the hit on RFL or fuel, or whether we'll wait for the Octavia, or even the new VRS, or even look at a 3.0 diesel Audi A4... tomorrow is just the first piece of the puzzle!

I'll keep an eye on the brakes... that's if I can stop looking at the fuel gauge for a minute!!

[RapidRonnie]

Mmmmm

[powerd]

... that's if I can stop looking at the fuel gauge for a minute!!

Superbalicious - I have a V6 wagon, but here in Australia petrol is a bit cheaper than the UK(and than diesel) plus where I live the urban driving is fairly easy so round town economy is OK. Would be worse in a big, busy city. Recently did a 3,500km trip and averaged about 9.4l/100kms including some fast driving, medium speed country and some city stuff. Have achieved as good as low 8s in gentle freeway runs or as bad as 14.4 in Sydney. On the open road I have found the fuel range OK - can get nearly 600kms. In Australia where distances can be very long between towns, another 5-10 litres would be good. Don't think it would be an issue in Europe though where things are very close together.

However, I really love the way the car drives and the power is brilliant. Super smooth, always ready to boogie, nice induction sound when pushed but quiet and responsive in normal driving. Passing is just case of press and go, speed gathers very quickly. After the vRS Octavia 2.0T, I appreciate the extra performance and handling, the good ride, the space and equipment, the quietness and luxury feel - but I miss the precision, lightness and driver engagement. They are quite different cars.

My advice would be to decide before you buy that you just won't think about the fuel economy or cost when you drive, otherwise you won't enjoy the performance and exploit its potential and you'll be unhappy with your choice. If you can't ignore that, then don't buy it - it's the wrong car for you.

Good luck - be careful though, if you have a spirited test drive, it'll be difficult to say no!

Cheers

powerd

[RWG]

I got mine three weeks ago. 2nd hand ex Skoda UK motor. It replaced a Discovery Series 3 so it has a lot to live up to! Except the LR running costs and reliability issues of which I had many. So fuel economy and road tax are the same for me.The performance is fantastic, bit stuffy at low speed though. Fuel tank capacity is useless, the audio is disappointing for the top spec car. The heated seats take ages to heat up . And the brakes are exactly as described above- still getting used to them. wished I had them on the 3 tonne D3.

haven't tried it in snow yet- been a shortage around here and not gone up mountains nor pulled trees down yet so not fully tested yet.But so far so good.

[Noddy90]

Mmmmm

That will get you about 12-15mpg, tops.

[dobbey]

Who cares when it makes that sound Surely its worth spending the extra £££ over the noisey, slow diesel just for that

[littleade]

Take the wife! Otherwise you're likely to come home like an excitable child and end up on the naughty step. Don't mention the VED, be optomistic about fuel economy and how 'little' extra it will cost due to your low milage and major on any improvements between the 2 that she'd appreciate?

Try and get the saleman to help- it'll be in his interests too!

[Kiwi 5UPERB]

Buy the V6, then get it re-mapped. Great to drive, frighteningly quick - but then there are those brakes to sort that out...! And the re-map didn't do anything bad to the economy - in fact possibly a small improvement due to the extra torque.

[stever750]

^^^^^^ what he said

Mtfu! It's a V6 petrol. If you want the things that go with it get it, but fuel economy isn't one of them. Think of it as spending money on "leisure", if that doesn't work then dont buy it. Get a 1.8tsi with the extender fuel tank option

Sent from my GT-I9300 using Tapatalk 2

[RWG]

some more positive points to help you overcome your demons-no turbo to break, no cam belts just nice strong chains and no egr valves or dpf to trouble you. These helped me in my decision making. Bad experience elsewhere!

[ukcruiser]

thinking completely outside the box (like i did last week!)

E-Class 250 CDI AMG Sport Estate (204 BHP 2.143 Twin-Turbo Diesel) 7 Speed Auto, 500nm torque and the price, smidge over £30k for a '62 plate pre-reg with 30 miles on the clock. (Lisa Price, £41,800)

oo, it's £135 to tax for 12 months too.

The V6 is 6.6 to 60 and 36mpg on the motorway, the EClass Diesel, not far behind at 7.4 but rated at 67mpg.

We've still got my 170 4x4 Superb and i love it, it's classed as "dad's" car now. - I priced an "OutDoor" and specced it to the current Superb, which took it over £30k.. hence the merc for the same price.

Al.

[ddyer79]

You will notice a significant difference in the torque characteristics of the V6 over the 170CR. Having moved from the 170CR to the V6 driving around town, the V6 is not able to hold a high gear at all until you get over 40mph - I find that quite frustrating and there's where you burn the fuel.

That said get on A roads and motorways and the effortless cruise and overtaking ability is awesome.

I am one of the 20K+ a year drivers and love every minute in the car.

Current seeing 29.5mpg over 21K miles.

Enjoy your test drive - it will take days to get the smile off your facce

[Octygone]

We had an open day at a dealers a few years ago, and the V6 was one of the cars we were allowed to test......it got down 7 mpg overall on the day...nice car but most people preferred the 170 diesel on the day

[sadgit1]

Had my V6 for over 20 months-13k miles and it's GREAT!

Yes it does like a drink, fine on a run but not good around town, but I knew that before I got it.

Yes the Road Fund is stupidly high, but I knew that before I got it.

I also drive a 1.8 2L (the 200bhp job) Superb twindoor,work pool car, done over 10k miles in last 8 months, nice car, quick but in a more frantic way, wheel spin if you boot it out of a junction, engine very nice, for a four pot, but it's no V6, plus my mpg figures are worse on the 1.8! (but as its normally only driven around town and short trips not surprised, it did do 38mpg when I took it to France).

The V6 feels mature, it's hard to describe, just feels like a car from a class above, real power 'when pressing on' no wheel spin even if you boot it in the wet, very safe when overtaking.

It makes a great noise, would like it louder, maybe sports exhaust after 3years?

The other thing is depreciation, yes its high, not a problem for me as I am keeping mine for at least 5 more years.

I drove an Audi AllRoad before, great car very safe and solid but also very dull, did look at another before I got V6, but, to get spec I wanted would have cost near £60K!! V6 well under half that, plus if you want depreciation EVO mag ran an AllRoad for 6 months and it lost around £16k!!!!

Try the V6, then balance the pleasure of the car with the pain of the cost. I am lucky I dont do vast mileage in mine and (currently!) have a enough funds to run it without any issues plus it makes me smile, what more can you ask from a family wagon?

[Albervin]

I have had my V6 for a year now. It is truly Jekyll and Hyde stuff. Nice and sedate, luxurious and refined until you put the boot in. Fuel economy on a motorway is surprisingly good and if you drive in the "torque band" on hills it isn't too bad. It will never be an economic plan but if you like driving then it will satisfy. I actually think the sound system is quite good; I mainly use an SD card with my iTune library on it. It is all Apple "no loss encoded" so pretty much CD standard and when I roll up The Spencer Davis Group the seats vibrate! My first wagon and I am using it more and more, such as trips to the gardening centre (nursery). I have only used launch control once and that was when an R32 wanted to prove a point, he was wrong!

[Noddy90]

thinking completely outside the box (like i did last week!)

(Lisa Price, £41,800)

Bloody hell - Lisa Price is expensive these days! I reckon I could get Kate Moss for that sort of money...

On topic, I'm envious of the V6ers, but as I think my 35mpg out of the 1.8TSi is criminal, I don't think I'll be buying one!

[RapidRonnie]

The solution to this predicament is clearly to get the V6 for longer journeys and a Citigo for town use