I've had my Superb for 1 week now and can report the following. I'm comparing this to my previous 2007 VW Jetta 103TDI (PD engine) with DSG.

It's anElegance Combi 103TDI 4x4 DSG in Candy White. I don't think you need pictures as it looks the same as every other white Superb combi.

The good:

- It's very quiet inside compared to the Jetta;

- Engine is very smooth. The PD engine used to vibrate a bit but the CR is almost petrol-like smooth;

- The space inside the cabin is huge;

- I found the seats comfortable enough. I know some people have been having trouble finding a comfortable position but I've been OK.

- The arse defrosters (heated seats) are great;

- Visibility is very good, even to the rear although, like the Jetta, the A pillars are HUGE;

- those boot thingies are great (the retracting belt and the aluminium sliding thing) for holding in luggage and stopping it sliding around;

- Mine arrived with umbrella intact (i.e. not stolen);

- I like the active headlights and they do make a difference. It's subtle if you're not watching for it but I'd rather have them then not;

- Big sunroof is nice. I've never had a sunroof before. Doesn't seem to make the car any hotter;

- Lots of people were complaining about the quality of the OEM carpet mats. I can't really see any problem with mine but as usual I have scotchguarded them. The ones in my Jetta lasted the whole 6 years of ownership so lets see how the Skoda ones go;

- We can't have the Skoda OEM towing pack as it hasn't been tested against Australian Design Rules (Australia is almost as much of a nanny-state as England in terms of being told what you can't do). I was expected a dealer-fitted butcher job with jagged holes in my panels but the dealer fit item is great quality and the install work is top notch. It connects pretty much like the OEM one, just a bit less elegant;

- OEM mudflaps look integrated and not an afterthought;

- Fuel filler pipe looks like it can take a high-flow pump. The Jetta used to burp on high-flows and spit fuel everywhere. Not tested yet;

- Haldex is good. It's seamless and on bitumen there is no wheelslip at all. Of course, this engine doesn't have any low down torque to cause wheelslip but the Jetta used to wheel-hop like a madman before the ASR interfered whereas the Superb is refined and just goes. Tested on dirt, it just spun all 4 wheels. Not tested in mud yet;

- The electric boot door is great, now that I've turned off that stupid buzzer;

- Side mirrors are huge and have great visibility;

- The oil dipstick is not black! Finally! I don't know which moron at VW thought a black dipstick was a good idea but TDI's soot up the oil very quickly and you try to find black oil level on a black dipstick. The Superb has a grey dipstick which makes the process much easier (I check oil every weekend along with the tyre pressure and windscreen washer fluid).

- Oddly enough, mine came setup for variable servicing intervals. It's currently claiming service in about 29,000km. Our typical service interval here is 15,000 so I guess it's something the dealer overlooked. I'll be getting it serviced every 15,000 as usual anyway but I found that odd;

- I was worried about the green cabin lighting but it's actually not bad.

The not so good (minor stuff mostly):

- Compared to the Jetta it's SLOWWWW. The new CR engines seem to have a very linear torque delivery compared to the old PD engine which gave you a massive shove at 1500RPM. I'm getting the ECU flashed soon (Superchips) so we'll see how much that helps. I acknowledge that the Superb is around 100kg heavier than the Jetta and the Haldex system adds further losses but the Jetta was much more fun to drive. Maybe in 30,000km when the engine has loosened up it will get better.

- The cruise control is crap. The one in my Jetta would keep a rock solid 113km/hr up the Western highway despite the up and down of the land. The Superb seems to feel that +/- 3km/hr is fine. I'm not sure if it is just the slow engine reaction to throttle and the ECU re-flash will help or not but there is nothing else I can do about it. (Speeds measured with GPS and scanguage);

- I have a rattle already. Not sure where yet, appears to be something to do with the drivers seat. I need to investigate further;

- It gets into 6th gear much too early. This CR engine does not have any torque while bumbling along at 60km/hr in 6th. It should be staying in 5th until 70km/hr like the Jetta DSG did. Again, the re-flash will help with lower-down torque;

- With this new version of the central electronics controller (also known as body-control-module), they took away the option to delay the headlight washers. In the old version, I could set a 3 second delay before the headlight washers came on (i.e, hold windscreen washers on for 3 seconds and then the headlights are washed). The new CEC only has the "wash on 1st and every N washes" and no delay. This means that every time I wash my window with the headlights on after starting the car, the headlights wash. Not happy about this one.

- The steering and brakes feel completely dead. The Jetta was pretty insulated but you could at least feel the road a bit through the steering. The Superb feels like I'm driving a train.

- I know this is an all-of-VW problem, but the new climatronic control design is crap compared to the 3-knob design that disappeared around 2008. I really miss being able to adjust in 0.5 degC increments (sounds silly I know) and the buttons in the middle feel cheap and are hard to find by touch.

Sounds like you should have saved your money and kept the jetta with all those complaints, lets hope the sat-nav does not start playing up like mine did, had to have two replacements in mine in 3 months .

what with that and the constant vibration in 6th gear when the car changed up too early .the superb is a really good car apart from these few problems

bill

Yeah as I said the complaints are minor and not a deal-killer at all. I'm happy with the car and all cars have compromises.

Sounds good, I'm sure the minor issues will sort themselves out.

PS Candy White is the way forward!

PS Candy White is the way forward!

The Jetta was graphite blue. I loved that colour but needed to clay and polish it every 6 months to keep it looking tip-top. Enjoying a white car so far. Booked in to have 3M protective film attached next week.

i like our superb but it aint no sports car,but its not supposed to be,brill under 60mph though.i still miss my mondeo sport.now to drive that was fantastic,but always made my 7 year old son sick.touch wood, over a year on the superb has stopped this...........