Hello folks,

I today own a Superb MY 2012 Elegance 105 hk Greenline with a number of addons.

I have now ordered a Octavia TDI 150 hk 4x4 Elegance with pretty much all options available.

The cost for the Superb 2 years ago and the Octavia today is almost the same.

I now start to think about if I make a down-buy if you understand what i mean.

Should i instead have ordered the new Superb with less equipment to make up for the higher cost compared to fully speced Octavia?

The Superb has a number of things that the Octavia dont have, such as huge legroom in the rear and rectractable sunscreen net on the rear windows. I also believe that my Superb looks better in the front than the new Octavia. The new Superb however looks more like the new Octavia.

The Octavia on the other hand had much better tech toys such as radar, front camera and so on and a more modern platform.

Is there anyone here on the forum that have replaced your Superb with a Octavia recently. What are your thoughts of changing to a smaller car?

The manual for the new Octavia has instructions for a retractable sun screen in the parcel shelf if fitted. My Elegance doesn't have one and I haven't seen it as an option, maybe it will come later though.

I think OP means the rear door windows, not rear window. I think superbs had fitted blinds which rolled up from the door panel. I expect new Octavia will, at some stage, have blinds for it like current MkII.

Sarge.

I think OP means the rear door windows, not rear window. I think superbs had fitted blinds which rolled up from the door panel. 

Sarge.

Fair enough -the Octavia definitely doesn't have those   I know what you mean though as I have seen them on various other cars.

Well the new octavia is big enough in the back for my 6'6 OH to sit comfortably so it's not exactly skimpy on room in the back lol. Not sat in the back of a superb to compare tho

Superb is huge in back. Has my dad who is 6'4 in front with seat back to where he would drive. I sat behind him with at least 4 inches clearance in front of knees. I'm 6'3. Still went for the Octy there's plenty of room in the back of it really.

Fair enough -the Octavia definitely doesn't have those   I know what you mean though as I have seen them on various other cars.

Right, rear Windows is what I meant.. My Superb has those embedded in the door panels and it is great when I have two children in the rear seat, one of them beeing just a few months.

I spent some time looking at the Superb to change upto from my MkII octy estate. the main reason was the dealer was desperate to get rid of their showroom model.

 

I loved the spec, but the total length was just far too much, and I also realised that I would get atleast 20mpg more in the Octy III.

 

My hatch is bigger than my old estate, so unless you have to have stupid amounts of room, and you dont care about MPG I would go for the octy over the superb.

 

good luck in your decision process.

I switched from Superb II Eleg with rear side and tailgate blinds and sunset glass fitted as extras, amongst a few other bits. I paid £21k for my spec Octy III and for £1k more I could have had a late pre-facelift 170CR Superb Eleg with Park Assist, Ventilated Leather, Heated Screen and the rear blinds. After 4 years with the Superb I was ready for a change and didn't expect to get the FL Superb for the same deal if I waited, so nearly went for a Mondeo, but the £3k saving off list on the Octy III on launch weekend tempted me into signing. On the whole, having driven 5k so far in the Octy, I would summarise as follows:

Space

Not an issue, the new Octy is as wide as the Superb so you can get two child seats in the back, side and middle and a small adult on the other side, bit of a squeeze but no worse than in the Superb, the loss of about 3" of rear leg room does not matter, there is plenty of knee room for two tall adults to sit one behind the other. In the Superb, I often found it a pain that I could not reach across to one of the kids without undoing my seat belt, when stationary of course! Boot space comparable to Superb also. The Octy is also easier to park as it is 150mm shorter overall so fits better into regular parking bays.

Toys

Swings and roundabouts really, the new audio and info computers in Octy III are streets ahead of old tech in Superb and it seems FL Superb still on old kit. I don't miss the leather as I used to overheat on long journeys, even without the seat heating on and even in winter. Not had any issues with the Alcantara in this summers heat wave. Apart from the blinds and sunset, not really missing anything, thinking about getting the rears tinted though on Octy.

Engine

Comparable power to weight ratio between Superb 170CR and Octy 150CR, if anything, the Octy is quicker, especially in sport mode, economy loads better also, not as good as official figures would lead to believe but I am getting similar range of about 500 miles and saving at least £10 per fill up due to smaller tank which equates to about 15-20% saving, big saving on road tax too.

Styling

Octy has better side and rear styling, feels more in proportion, Superb is just too big and the twin-door makes for a bit of an ugly rear end, I am not comparing with the Combi as I have the hatch and had a twin-door Superb. The FL Superb does have better rear lights but the side profile still not as handsome as Octy imo. Superb II pre-FL front end is still awesome imo, I do like the OctyIII front end too, much better than Octy II FL, but now that they are all going to look the same, I would rather each model retain some individuality.

Build Quality

I hate to say it but this is the one area where the Octy III is a little disappointing. I have a few squeaks and rattles, one was so annoying, I had to return to dealer and it was cured, but there are a few others now, not major issue, whereas the Superb just felt more bomb proof and only just started to creak on the drivers door after 80k. Octy is still a nice place to sit and the driving position is better for me than in the Superb as the seats feel more comfortable and the centre console does not intrude as much as in the Superb, I used to get a sore left leg due to it rubbing on the edge of the console on long journeys. Most of the bits you touch in the Octy are nice soft touch, some of the plastics in the centre console and lower down are a bit hard, but that is no worse than the Superb or other models from other manufacturers. The biggest disappointment is the door cards, the Superb had soft touch tops, similar to Octy II. I think they were trying to prevent the delaminating problem that my Superb drivers side door card suffered but I would rather have a softer resting place for my elbow and put up with a couple of bubbles in the plastic!

Overall, I am happy with the change, I think anyone upsizing or switching from Octy II will find the Octy III perfectly adequate. Ex Superb owners may have mixed emotions from time to time. If they sort the styling on the Superb III, and slot in a 150CR with the new audio tech, I will probably be first in the queue but for now I am glad I switched and will enjoy my time with the Octy, after all, it's only a tin can on wheels!

Think you are right to buy new Octavia instead of Superb!

Octavia is a much more modern with the engines and safety equipment.

 

Congratulations on a smart choice of model

The space, however, IS smaller. I´m 202 cm. tall, and I do not fit behind myself in an Octavia III, as I do in my Superb. The same problem for my two year old in her chair on the backseat - there is no room for her legs, me sitting in front of her, unless it´s a Superb. But then again, not many people is as tall as me

I switched from Superb II Eleg with rear side and tailgate blinds and sunset glass fitted as extras, amongst a few other bits. I paid £21k for my spec Octy III and for £1k more I could have had a late pre-facelift 170CR Superb Eleg with Park Assist, Ventilated Leather, Heated Screen and the rear blinds. After 4 years with the Superb I was ready for a change and didn't expect to get the FL Superb for the same deal if I waited, so nearly went for a Mondeo, but the £3k saving off list on the Octy III on launch weekend tempted me into signing. On the whole, having driven 5k so far in the Octy, I would summarise as follows:

Space

Not an issue, the new Octy is as wide as the Superb so you can get two child seats in the back, side and middle and a small adult on the other side, bit of a squeeze but no worse than in the Superb, the loss of about 3" of rear leg room does not matter, there is plenty of knee room for two tall adults to sit one behind the other. In the Superb, I often found it a pain that I could not reach across to one of the kids without undoing my seat belt, when stationary of course! Boot space comparable to Superb also. The Octy is also easier to park as it is 150mm shorter overall so fits better into regular parking bays.

Toys

Swings and roundabouts really, the new audio and info computers in Octy III are streets ahead of old tech in Superb and it seems FL Superb still on old kit. I don't miss the leather as I used to overheat on long journeys, even without the seat heating on and even in winter. Not had any issues with the Alcantara in this summers heat wave. Apart from the blinds and sunset, not really missing anything, thinking about getting the rears tinted though on Octy.

Engine

Comparable power to weight ratio between Superb 170CR and Octy 150CR, if anything, the Octy is quicker, especially in sport mode, economy loads better also, not as good as official figures would lead to believe but I am getting similar range of about 500 miles and saving at least £10 per fill up due to smaller tank which equates to about 15-20% saving, big saving on road tax too.

Styling

Octy has better side and rear styling, feels more in proportion, Superb is just too big and the twin-door makes for a bit of an ugly rear end, I am not comparing with the Combi as I have the hatch and had a twin-door Superb. The FL Superb does have better rear lights but the side profile still not as handsome as Octy imo. Superb II pre-FL front end is still awesome imo, I do like the OctyIII front end too, much better than Octy II FL, but now that they are all going to look the same, I would rather each model retain some individuality.

Build Quality

I hate to say it but this is the one area where the Octy III is a little disappointing. I have a few squeaks and rattles, one was so annoying, I had to return to dealer and it was cured, but there are a few others now, not major issue, whereas the Superb just felt more bomb proof and only just started to creak on the drivers door after 80k. Octy is still a nice place to sit and the driving position is better for me than in the Superb as the seats feel more comfortable and the centre console does not intrude as much as in the Superb, I used to get a sore left leg due to it rubbing on the edge of the console on long journeys. Most of the bits you touch in the Octy are nice soft touch, some of the plastics in the centre console and lower down are a bit hard, but that is no worse than the Superb or other models from other manufacturers. The biggest disappointment is the door cards, the Superb had soft touch tops, similar to Octy II. I think they were trying to prevent the delaminating problem that my Superb drivers side door card suffered but I would rather have a softer resting place for my elbow and put up with a couple of bubbles in the plastic!

Overall, I am happy with the change, I think anyone upsizing or switching from Octy II will find the Octy III perfectly adequate. Ex Superb owners may have mixed emotions from time to time. If they sort the styling on the Superb III, and slot in a 150CR with the new audio tech, I will probably be first in the queue but for now I am glad I switched and will enjoy my time with the Octy, after all, it's only a tin can on wheels!

Great post Matt pez 

You made a convincing and informative comparison. Thank you.

I'm with you on the knee space in the front. Every time I've sat in a Superb it's felt narrow to me and I've found my left knee pressed into the centre console too. The Octavia seems fine when I've sat in it.

just noticed this....

http://www.whatcar.com/car-news/skoda-octavia-vs-skoda-superb/1209554