Im looking to get a Superb as a new company car.

the Elegance model is within my budget and the leasing cost of the 130 1.9 and 160 2.5 is not much differant.

however the tax is a big jump and im thinking that the performance isnt much differant. anyone drive all these cars can give me some insight?

2.5 seems to drink a lot more fuel

is the 1.9 the best engine? (I currently have a 110 bhp Leon).

it seems that the 2.5 is more noise less economy but not much extra performance.

can anyone point me in the direction of a decent online review - the parkers and aa sites seem a bit lacking.

I'd go for the PD130 myself ( and may well do so )

Had a spin in a pd130 superb.Plenty quick enough and I drive the octy vRS.

Stepfather had 2.5.Seemed to return about 35 mpg but he only did short journeys.I think if you were doing motorway miles it would give a better return.Never let me drive it so I don't know how different the two are power wise.

1.9 seemed more than capable to me though

I will hopefully drive both but it takes me longer than a few hours to adjust to a car so i dont get a good picture from a test drive.

just in case anyone is interested, i found a review of the passat 2.5, probably very simlar to the superb.link

I'd go for the PD130 myself ( and may well do so )

Agreed, I prefer the way it drives.

Before I bought my Superb I test drove the 1.9 first and was going to buy it until I made the "mistake" of trying a 2.5. It was much better - faster and more responsive. The engine was a bit noisier but it was a V6 "growl" that was acceptable and not intrusive.

I ended up buying the 2.5 and do not regret it. Forget the 0 to 60 times or top speed (although they are both reasonable for a large luxury car). What is really impressive is the mid range "punch". When you are trying to overtake (the most dangerous manouvre?) it is this that really matters and the 2.5 makes overtaking cars and lorries quicker, easier and safer.

I have one with tiptronic and am heavy footed and still average 35mpg (according to the computer) on trips. On motorway runs I average 40mpg at well over the speed limit and I guess that 45 or 50mpg would be achievable within those limits.

My advice would be to go for the 2.5 (with the tiptronic gearbox for nice easy motoring) as long as you think it is worth the extra tax.

Reference the hours taken to adjust - a few weeks ago Skoda were offering 24 hour test drives on Superbs bookable on their web site - don't know if they still are.

get the 24hr test drive and find them out for yourself

I recently bought a 2.5. I don't think that there is a comparison between it and a 130PD. So much more relaxed and much smoother. I comute 40 miles each way to and from work and get between 41 and 43 mpg on each trip. It is mostly motorway but it sits between 80 and 90 mph all of the time. On a run from Manchester to Edinburgh and back it averaged 46 mpg. That was going up the A1 at between 80 and 90 mph and coming back down the A7 and M6 at much higher speeds. I know the 1.9's are more economical but they are not the same to drive.

Also, as a thought.... I just fitted a diesel chip to mine. Fuel economy is down about 3-4 mpg but thats down to me driving it harder at the moment. When I've done a few business trips in it I will know better the true cost. The car however is transformed again onto a different level though. Torque at 1400rpm is incredible and you can now drive through town in 6th at 1000rpm and just accelerate away. The engine revs upto its limit at 5000rpm(ish) but does not loose any power after 3800rpm like it did. The car is now a hooligan dressed as a vicar!!! The response and power to overtake is there and its instant, if you drive a chipped one you wouldn't even look at the 1.9's or even the 2.8 petrol. The only bad thing about the chip was the fitting. Not that hard but slightly confusing instructions didn't help, it was worth the hour it took though.

Hi all

Just bought second hand Superb 2.5V6 Tdi - swopped for my previous Audi A6 Avant 1.9tdi.

Holy cow - what a difference!The V6 is exceptional and noticeably more powerful than the 1.9Tdi Superb which I also test drove - excellent mid range power.It could do with a 6th gear (as the Audi had) on the tiptronic gearbox,but otherwise it really is fun and gives the car an "edge".

As for the car overall - beats the Audi in every department.....never thought I would ever say that!

Regards

Miko

To those who thought there was no diff in performance....

IN GENERAL, THE BIGGER THE ENGINE, THE MORE POWERFUL AND CAPABLE THE CAR!

Mil, not always the case - big heavy cars arent always faster than lighter cars with smaller less powerful engines.

I'm not saying they are faster, I'm saying they're more powerful and capable of handling high power levels.

In this case however, we are talking about one model holding two different engines. The bigger engine is the more powerful one here, and therefore with the relatively the same weight, will make it quite a bit faster than the smaller-engined one. V6 vs inline-4? Come on...

The 2.5 i would think to be better all round for distance driving and a re-map should pump it over 200bhb and even more monstrous torque to play with.

The 2.5 V6 is a big old block whereas the 1.9 is the new kid on the block (excuse the pun).

As for tuning I would think both would be similar but the 1.9 is a lighter engine and would have a better turn in on corners.

When it comes to economy, again both would be similar.

I personally would opt for the 1.9 however not having driven the 2.5 I couldnt say for definate.

As for tuning I would think both would be similar but the 1.9 is a lighter engine and would have a better turn in on corners.

Isn't a bigger engine more torquey and doesn't rely on the turbo so much to get it moving. This means it's more relaxed and effortless to drive, despite having the same peak power as the 4-cylinder, which is what you'd want in the Superb. Turn in speed is immaterial on a Superb, imho

Chris

I'm in a similar boat to the thread starter. Got a SEAT Toledo TDI (110 non PD) and I'm thinking about Superb to replace it once the two year warranty expires (12 months time) as I'm less than impressed with the new Toledo and Altea.

The wife has a Leon 150PD and that's a lot of fun, but it seems to have lag issues that I'm not used to in the non PD 110. To be honest, I prefer the Toledo for day to day driving.

I did have a shot of the Superb 130PD tiptronic just before I went for the Toledo 12 months ago, and to be honest, I felt it could do with a bit more poke. This was more to do with performance through the gears.

I guess a comparison of throught the gears between the 130PD and V6 TDI would be the best bet.

There *is* the additional tax and that extra 10MPG to account for too. I get 60MPG in my Toledo and I'd be upset if I had to drop to any less than 55 with the current cost of fuel.