The 280PS Thread

[bryans69]

seems ok, but there is a 7k miles car for 27.5k...

 

both have BROWN leather which is not so great. :-)

Isn't that the problem with early L&K's though

[frazered]

not so much a problem, but obv a preference thing :-)

[frazered]

you can still spec and order a new sportline 280 with lots of toys for under 30k - whether it gets cancelled is another thing...

[harrylime]

I was considering a Skoda Superb to replace my Mk 2 Octavia, but the consistent talk of rattles and road noise has put me right off. It may have been acceptable when Skodas were good value compared to the competition. An almost new Superb now costs around the same as a similar Audi A6, although sadly the A6 are all diesel. It's a joke. If Skoda are serious about selling cars at this price level, , they need to work on refinement, which in my view is one of the most important qualities in a car, reducing stress on long journeys etc. I quickly sold my new Octavia Scout because the road noise was horrendous. My current 1.9 tdi was cheap to buy, and is a brilliant workhorse, so the road noise etc is less of an issue for me. I use my Lexus LS for long trips, which at 17 years old is almost totally silent. My old Audi 90 (1989) was almost silent at motorway speeds. If it was achievable all those years ago, you would think it is achievable now.

[penguin17]

I was considering a Skoda Superb to replace my Mk 2 Octavia, but the consistent talk of rattles and road noise has put me right off. It may have been acceptable when Skodas were good value compared to the competition. An almost new Superb now costs around the same as a similar Audi A6, although sadly the A6 are all diesel. It's a joke. If Skoda are serious about selling cars at this price level, , they need to work on refinement, which in my view is one of the most important qualities in a car, reducing stress on long journeys etc. I quickly sold my new Octavia Scout because the road noise was horrendous. My current 1.9 tdi was cheap to buy, and is a brilliant workhorse, so the road noise etc is less of an issue for me. I use my Lexus LS for long trips, which at 17 years old is almost totally silent. My old Audi 90 (1989) was almost silent at motorway speeds. If it was achievable all those years ago, you would think it is achievable now.

Brexit led to less refined cars.  Fact*

 

 

 

*not strictly true

[old newbie2]

seems ok, but there is a 7k miles car for 27.5k...

 

both have BROWN leather which is not so great. :-)

 

not so much a problem, but obv a preference thing :-)

 

I was considering a Skoda Superb to replace my Mk 2 Octavia, but the consistent talk of rattles and road noise has put me right off. It may have been acceptable when Skodas were good value compared to the competition. An almost new Superb now costs around the same as a similar Audi A6, although sadly the A6 are all diesel. It's a joke. If Skoda are serious about selling cars at this price level, , they need to work on refinement, which in my view is one of the most important qualities in a car, reducing stress on long journeys etc. I quickly sold my new Octavia Scout because the road noise was horrendous. My current 1.9 tdi was cheap to buy, and is a brilliant workhorse, so the road noise etc is less of an issue for me. I use my Lexus LS for long trips, which at 17 years old is almost totally silent. My old Audi 90 (1989) was almost silent at motorway speeds. If it was achievable all those years ago, you would think it is achievable now.

Maybe you should look for a late Mk2 Superb, If you aren't worried about the unavailability of the 2.0 TSi (which we were...) the facelift models look quite sharp & are probably better quality than the superb 3.

 

We've owned my Superb & SWMBO's Octy 2 FL at the same time & the Superb was much nicer to live with for long trips / vacations, better ride quite & relaxing.

 

Even now we would prefer to use it over our new Golf if we wanted a quiet day out! 

 

DC

[philsmith]

I was considering a Skoda Superb to replace my Mk 2 Octavia, but the consistent talk of rattles and road noise has put me right off. 

 

There has been some talk of this here on the forum,

 

But I would like to say that I have not had one single rattle squeak or problem with my car, it is perfect. So they are not all bad!

probably no more bad'ns than any other make I would guess.

 

The OE Pirelli summer tyres are a little noisy on some surfaces, especially concrete, (that stretch around the A3 on the M25 is especially bad) but on the winter Continental tyres it is much better.

Edited 15 December, 2016 by philsmith

[harrylime]

Maybe you should look for a late Mk2 Superb, If you aren't worried about the unavailability of the 2.0 TSi (which we were...) the facelift models look quite sharp & are probably better quality than the superb 3.

 

We've owned my Superb & SWMBO's Octy 2 FL at the same time & the Superb was much nicer to live with for long trips / vacations, better ride quite & relaxing.

 

Even now we would prefer to use it over our new Golf if we wanted a quiet day out! 

 

DC

I was considering a Golf, as I was under the impression they are quiet? The last couple I drove ( few years ago) certainly were

[harrylime]

There has been some talk of this here on the forum,

 

But I would like to say that I have not had one single rattle squeak or problem with my car, it is perfect. So they are not all bad!

probably no more bad'ns than any other make I would guess.

 

The OE Pirelli summer tyres are a little noisy on some surfaces, especially concrete, (that stretch around the A3 on the M25 is especially bad) but on the winter Continental tyres it is much better.

"some talk on this forum" is a bit of an understatement. Search "noise" in the superb 111 forum and see how many hits you get. Between road noise and other noises caused, presumably, by poor build quality, it is enough to put anyone off in what is now, in my opinion, an expensive car. With modern technology including robots, computer aided design, supposedly ever more rigid body shells etc., there is no excuse for it. Our roads are pretty poor, but with better design and a decent amount of insulation, it should not be beyond the wit of man to produce an utterly refined car, particularly at this price point. I had a 1972 Renault 16 that was beautifully refined and incredibly quiet.( I also admit to having a 1970s Datsun 180B SSS that was hideously noisy, with an excruciating booming noise). Car makers have the wrong priorities now, trying to shave 0.5 of a second off the 0 - 60 times, or an extra 0.5 of a mpg off the fuel consumption , which are works of fiction anyway. I have not always been in my current position of being able to spend virtually as much as I want, within reason, on a new car and I am so disappointed in what is available. I could expand on this, but I think a new thread on this would be better

[philsmith]

As I said, and others have as well, I have had no problems at all, and the tyre noise is down to Pirelli not Skoda!

[Sagalout]

I would just add my voice to saying go try it and see for yourself; don't be put off by what you have read in here.

The S3 is a very quiet and generally smooth car. Many of the items reported on here are little more than squeaks and rattles that can occur on any car irrespective of the buy in cost. It is also a completely new model from last year so there were bound to be some niggles with early production  models. Yes I have one or two but nothing worse than I have had with cars costing half as much again. 

 

For interest, I tested an A6 before buying the Skoda and I wasn't impressed at all. I found the ride hard and typically jittery, the seats as comfortable as a cold park bench and the tyre noise more pronounced than in the S3. 

 

However, as we all know most of this is very subjective anyway so the only way is to take a test drive.

 

By the way, I am not surprised that your Lexus LS is smooth and quiet. At £99,950 today (about £60,000 back in 1999?) it had better be and is it really fair to compare the S3 against that?

 

p.s I do agree that Clarkson and various focus groups have  a lot to answer for in regard to the riding quality of everyday family cars but things are changing at last. Back to reality is not far in the future I hope.

Edited 15 December, 2016 by Sagalout

[IsoE]

No problems, rattles, noises etc here either. Most of the common problems mentioned here have been fixed in MY17 version.

 

Also I don't see how one can claim in a 280ps thread that Superb costs almost as much as a similar Audi A6. I don't know how the prices are in the UK, but at least in Finland the difference is clear.

 

A6 Avant Business 1.8 TFSI ultra S tronic 140 kW - 55 875 EUR. 0-100 km/h 8,2 s. (No 4wd)

A6 Avant Business 2.0 TDI quattro S tronic 140 kW - 58 587 EUR. 0-100 km/h 7,9 s.

Superb Combi 2.0 TSI 280 4x4 L&K 206 kW - 57 135 EUR. 0-100 km/h 5,8 s.

 

The Audis come with just the basic stuff. If you want better audio, leather seats, keyless use, Webasto (a must here), reverse camera, adaptive cruise control, lane assist, navigation etc etc etc that you get from L&K, the aforementioned Audis cost around 80k, if not more. Aaand they are still slow AF compared to the 280.

 

Similarly quick A6 is the 3.0 TDI Quattro, which costs 78k here, with basic options.

[old newbie2]

I was considering a Golf, as I was under the impression they are quiet? The last couple I drove ( few years ago) certainly were

Our Golf is an R estate, therefore it has a "sporty" exhaust system, it's a typical estate so there is more noise than normal from the rear of the car & it's on it's OE Bridgestone Potenza tyres

 

The Superb is the twin-door, rather than an estate with a very well insulated boot area, a fully working 4-tip but quiet exhaust system & the OE Cont. Sport Contact 2s were repalce with Goodyear Efficient Grip-Performance tyres, which really do make a difference. 

 

The golf is a much more sophisticated car with regard to the engine, the DCC suspension & the infotainment system, but the old Superb seems to have been designed to be their "flag-ship" vehicle, quiet & comfortable enough to be an official Czech Government vehicle, & I'm happy to own it.

 

DC 

[indyjukebox]

New member here. Recently picked up a Sportline 280 in black. Absolutely quiet and refined with no rattles or squeaks after 1500 miles. Just starting to enjoy the redline and what a car! Coming from a Golf R estate, I much prefer the Superb. The R was a bit too harsh for us (only softened by the DCC option), whilst the Superb feels just right. Perhaps a little bit slower and slightly less precise around corners, but in exchange you get a bucket load of space, comfort and toys (all extra on the R). The bonus was dealing with the Skoda dealership, which was lovely and pleasant as opposed to the general snootiness present in the VW brand.

[indyjukebox]

I was considering a Skoda Superb to replace my Mk 2 Octavia, but the consistent talk of rattles and road noise has put me right off. It may have been acceptable when Skodas were good value compared to the competition. An almost new Superb now costs around the same as a similar Audi A6, although sadly the A6 are all diesel. It's a joke. If Skoda are serious about selling cars at this price level, , they need to work on refinement, which in my view is one of the most important qualities in a car, reducing stress on long journeys etc. I quickly sold my new Octavia Scout because the road noise was horrendous. My current 1.9 tdi was cheap to buy, and is a brilliant workhorse, so the road noise etc is less of an issue for me. I use my Lexus LS for long trips, which at 17 years old is almost totally silent. My old Audi 90 (1989) was almost silent at motorway speeds. If it was achievable all those years ago, you would think it is achievable now.

 

My folks run a LS600h L. Whilst supremely comfortable in the rear, it is a bit rubbish to drive. Whiny jerky CVT and a wallowing barge in the corners. I think I preferred their older LS with a conventional gearbox to the new one. The Audi A6 that you compare the Superb to actually has a very jittery ride. We test drove one and were not at all keen.

[harrylime]

I would just add my voice to saying go try it and see for yourself; don't be put off by what you have read in here.

The S3 is a very quiet and generally smooth car. Many of the items reported on here are little more than squeaks and rattles that can occur on any car irrespective of the buy in cost. It is also a completely new model from last year so there were bound to be some niggles with early production  models. Yes I have one or two but nothing worse than I have had with cars costing half as much again. 

 

For interest, I tested an A6 before buying the Skoda and I wasn't impressed at all. I found the ride hard and typically jittery, the seats as comfortable as a cold park bench and the tyre noise more pronounced than in the S3. 

 

However, as we all know most of this is very subjective anyway so the only way is to take a test drive.

 

By the way, I am not surprised that your Lexus LS is smooth and quiet. At £99,950 today (about £60,000 back in 1999?) it had better be and is it really fair to compare the S3 against that?

 

p.s I do agree that Clarkson and various focus groups have  a lot to answer for in regard to the riding quality of everyday family cars but things are changing at last. Back to reality is not far in the future I hope.

Fair comments, and I did drive an A6 Allroad a few year ago and was less than impressed. I mentioned my Lexus because although it's in a different class to a Superb, I'm comparing a 17 year old car that still drives like new to a new top of the range Skoda. I wonder what a 17 year old Superb will drive like. You are right though, I do intend to go and try one, I'm at the research stage really and these things are very subjective. I will make sure I go in my Lexus, because anything should feel more refined than my octavia 2 1.9 (which I like a lot)

[harrylime]

My folks run a LS600h L. Whilst supremely comfortable in the rear, it is a bit rubbish to drive. Whiny jerky CVT and a wallowing barge in the corners. I think I preferred their older LS with a conventional gearbox to the new one. The Audi A6 that you compare the Superb to actually has a very jittery ride. We test drove one and were not at all keen.

The CVT transmissions are the reason I'm not keen on a newer Lexus, such as the RX 450h. The gear changes in my LS400 are so smooth as to be difficult to feel at all. As above, I tried an a6 allroad and was unimpressed. Honestly, it's difficult to find any car that's as good as it should be given modern technology

[indyjukebox]

The CVT transmissions are the reason I'm not keen on a newer Lexus, such as the RX 450h. The gear changes in my LS400 are so smooth as to be difficult to feel at all. As above, I tried an a6 allroad and was unimpressed. Honestly, it's difficult to find any car that's as good as it should be given modern technology

 

Of the german marques, the only one that impressed me was Mercedes. But then for a similarly sized/specced car to the superb, you would be paying 50k+. So depending on your spending needs, a well specced E class or a relatively lower end S class would easily beat the LS. The other alternative is a Jaguar XJ and slightly used XJs are close to the RRP of a new top end Superb. I also looked at the BMW 7 series and around £35k, you would get a really nice relatively low mileage example. But we wanted a new car and nothing could beat the Superb for our needs. Our sportline with a fair few extras was a steal at £26k. The only thing missing from my want list was the Canton upgrade, but the difference is quite small and I can live with that given how much I have saved off RRP.

[old newbie2]

If we did go for a 280, we would keep the R Wagon 'cos she likes it......so we would be able to make back to back comparisons.

 

I'd be tempted by the Sportline rather than an L&K, but it would need some options (such as DCC) to make it probably comparable to the Golf.

 

As for dealers, yes VW dealers can be a PITA, but we found JCB Medway to be an exception to that image.

Since we've lost our local Skoda dealers, I'm at a loss to find a decent replacement, so I'd like to know who got your business...........

 

DC 

[indyjukebox]

If we did go for a 280, we would keep the R Wagon 'cos she likes it......so we would be able to make back to back comparisons.

 

I'd be tempted by the Sportline rather than an L&K, but it would need some options (such as DCC) to make it probably comparable to the Golf.

 

As for dealers, yes VW dealers can be a PITA, but we found JCB Medway to be an exception to that image.

Since we've lost our local Skoda dealers, I'm at a loss to find a decent replacement, so I'd like to know who got your business...........

 

DC 

 

I preferred the sportline too. Maybe in a few years time when I get past the 40 barrier, I might like the L&K better? Maybe?

 

DCC, seems less important in the Skoda than the R. In the R, it was really required to soften the ride, especially with our child in the back. Crashing over every pothole/bump was not a viable option. And because the ride was reasonably hard, comfort mode worked well. In the 280, I just leave it in normal all the time. Comfort is just too soft and ship like, almost nauseating. Normal is the perfect mix for the cars character. Sport seems to harden the ride for no particular benefit in a large comfy cruiser, really out of character for the Superb. If I was paying for the options, I dont think I would have ticked the DCC box per se. Rather have put the money towards something else.

 

We are based in West Sussex, so a fair distance from your location. We needed the car quite quickly, so bought from a dealer who had a Sportline on order and close to being delivered to them. The car was due to arrive into the dealership soon after we started making enquiries. I think they had some sort of target to hit, so got a great deal. Plus under 2 weeks from agreeing a price to the car actually arriving at the dealership. I guess we were quite lucky in that respect, but the flip side is that we had no choice with regards to options/colour etc.

Edited 17 December, 2016 by indyjukebox

[Falconmick]

Guys I'm new to the forum and have done introduction in correct section.

Considering buying a 280DSG and would appreciate advice on the following-

*Are there many known instances of houses being burgled to get keys for 280s?  (previously had Golf R and two attempt breaks, so got rid)

*A mate who has one is talking of a 350bhp remap - any thoughts on this please?

[eurotraveller]

Think about it: ‘hot hatch’ (with an ‘R’ badge) vs. a family barge – what’s your average car thief going to prefer? But the insurance premiums (plus excess amounts) will probably give you the most accurate reflection of comparative risk.

 

As for the 350ps ‘upgrade’: sweet. Very sweet. Yesterday I had an extended play in Bentley Continental convertible with the W12 engine. It felt not one little bit faster (OK, it probably weighs twice as much – or at least feels that way. And the Bentley’s steering was hopelessly vague = far from the best VW I’ve ever driven = the Superb is the better barge :D ).

[superbtte]

Guys I'm new to the forum and have done introduction in correct section.

Considering buying a 280DSG and would appreciate advice on the following-

*Are there many known instances of houses being burgled to get keys for 280s?  (previously had Golf R and two attempt breaks, so got rid)

*A mate who has one is talking of a 350bhp remap - any thoughts on this please?

 

A lot of info here regarding different remaps (stage 1 to 3) and much more:

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/416122-skoda-superb-iii-4x4-280-a-sleeper%E2%80%99s-journey-%E2%80%93-280ps-to-520ps/

[Falconmick]

Think about it: ‘hot hatch’ (with an ‘R’ badge) vs. a family barge – what’s your average car thief going to prefer? But the insurance premiums (plus excess amounts) will probably give you the most accurate reflection of comparative risk.

 

As for the 350ps ‘upgrade’: sweet. Very sweet. Yesterday I had an extended play in Bentley Continental convertible with the W12 engine. It felt not one little bit faster (OK, it probably weighs twice as much – or at least feels that way. And the Bentley’s steering was hopelessly vague = far from the best VW I’ve ever driven = the Superb is the better barge :D ).

 

Thanks for the reply, but  although the Superb itself may not be as appealing to many as opposed to the Golf R, the engine and  mechanicals would be just as tempting to many who could then fit them into another car?

[old newbie2]

Thanks for the reply, but  although the Superb itself may not be as appealing to many as opposed to the Golf R, the engine and  mechanicals would be just as tempting to many who could then fit them into another car?

Possibly true, but since a 280 Superb is almost anonymous ( 4x4 badges & different exhausts?), it's never going to attract much attention from the average car thief.

If you can live with the sheer size of the 'berb then it's going to be a great "Q" car, especially as it doesn't need to be driven hard to enjoy it.

 

i find that our R is reasonably discreet in "normal" driving, but there are places where I'd not want to park it overnight....

We have a holiday booked next year in Germany, & I'm wondering if a RHD Golf R is going to be a target for thieves over there.

(I won't have the same worries if we decide to use our 5 year old Superb!)

 

DC