Changing from an Octavia II to a Superb II - Ground clearance

[psycholist]

I'm looking to change my 2005 1.9 PD Octavia hatch and an 2009 ish Superb Combi CR170 looks like it might fit the bill as a replacement as well as a very nice upgrade.

The only other options would be older models of the A6 3.0 TDI or the BMW 530D (No point in paying for a premium brand name unless you're getting a lot more engine than the Skodas have), but they're so rare in Ireland that even finding a test drive is a serious quest in itself.

My main worry though is that while the Octy II has just enough ground clearance to not touch down on forest roads and the ridiculous speed bumps around here, the longer wheelbase (175 mm extra I believe) and 1-2 mm less ground clearance on the Superb may cause problems.

I had an Mark I Octy before this and it touched down on everything while the 25 mm higher Octy II is just high enough. With 5 people, their biking gear and a trailer it touches down between the wheels on one speed bump I have to go over. The part that touches is a plastic cover hanging below the rest of the bottom of the car thankfully - nothing structural, but I don't want worse than this.

Has anyone had experience of whether the Superb touches down more than the Octy on back roads and speed bumps?

Also will the 15" alloys I use for winter tyres on the Octavia fit the Superb or will it only take 16"s? The tyre diameter is the same on the Octy and Superb.

Is the rear suspension on the combi stiffer than the hatchback by any chance? That would help with the laden ride height. Apologies for the long post...

[Brockysuperb]

Garage questions really...but one word is to avoid the low profile alloys on rough roads and you'll feel every crash and bang. I've never bottomed my Combi tho' with four adults inside on military training areas (roug ash roads) in Germany. Depends how fast you drive...

[unclerichy]

Re: tyres - the Superb will not take 15s as they're too small and won't clear the brake discs.  They wouldn't fit my wife's Fabia either as the PCD is wrong so I ended up selling them on fleabay to a guy with a VW Caddy.  Much money down the drain 

 

As for suspension stiffness - we tow a caravan (80kg noseweight) with our Combi and that combined with an electric mobility scooter in the back has the car squatting down quite a lot and it takes careful loading to not have it pulling wheelies.  That in part is due to the long rear overhang making the rear wheels act like a seesaw.

[psycholist]

This all sounds pretty encouraging - looks like I won't be losing chunks of the car on the road with the driving I'm doing in the current one, while probably getting better fuel economy for most driving too. The heaviest load I carry with any regularity is 5 people, their biking gear (not a lot of weight) and a trailer that comes in at under 300 kg laden, with a nose weight of maybe 30 kg. Usually it's 2 people and 2 bikes in the back though.

 

I test drove the twindoor version of the CR170 Suberb on 18" wheels and the ride on rippled B roads was unbelieveably good. Much more planted than the Octavia, which is already very confidence inspiring. The weird thing was it felt like the car was somehow staying poised touching the peaks of the bumps on the road without ever dropping into the holes and getting bogged down. It also stayed pretty flat through the corners too (Well as much as you can do with the guy from the garage in the passenger seat anyway) giving good feedback from steering inputs without sending any harshness through. The Superb still has fully independent rear suspension too, unlike the non-VRS Octy III, which should be better through ripply corners.

 

Very very impressed by how quiet it is inside at cruising speed compared to the PD engined Octy too. It seemed at east as quiet as the last S Class I was in, though that was a couple of years old...

 

Also there seem to be 2 versions of this thread around for some reason. The other version has more replies on it but it seems to have got lost :(...

I found it here: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/290974-changing-from-an-octavia-ii-to-a-superb-ii-ground-clearance/#entry3458269

Edited 14 October, 2013 by psycholist