19 hours ago, eurotraveller said:

Autobahn reality of course is that there's rarely opportunity for high-speed cruising over meaningful distances. Mostly it's a matter of fairly short bursts, so my sub-20 mpg figure was rather in jest.

Yes, I go to Stuttgart twice a year and have been doing this trip for 15 years or more. It used to be 'get into Germany as fast as you can' so you can take advantage of the high speed cruising on the Autobahn. So we would go through Belgium and drop down into Germany.

But now it is a case of 'stay out of Germany for as long as possible' because of the congestion and construction on the Autobahns!

To this effect we now stay in France until Strasbourg, from Calais you only go through to major cities, Reims and Metz, the Autoroutes are empty and you get no hold up's.

Edited 8 August, 20187 yr by philsmith

7 minutes ago, philsmith said:

Yes, I go to Stuttgart twice a year and have been doing this trip for 15 years or more. It used to be 'get into Germany as fast as you can' so you can take advantage of the high speed cruising on the Autobahn. But now it is a case of 'stay out of Germany for as long as possible' because of the congestion and construction on the Autobahns! So we would go through Belgium and droop down into Germany.

To this effect we now stay in France until Strasbourg, from Calais you only go through to major cities, Reims and Metz, the Autoroutes are empty and you get no hold up's.

They've had construction works for the last few years, anyone know when they are planning to complete this? 

 

We drive up to belgium, around Brussels, Luxemburg and then down the scenic B10 into Karlsruhe down to Munich into Austria, Slovenia, Croatia.

i used to avoid France Because of the toll roads. Whats the cost to get from Calais to Stradbourg and What route do you take?

 

It's been a pain last few years with the autobahn regeneration.

Edited 8 August, 20187 yr by TonyTonic

22 minutes ago, philsmith said:

Yes, I go to Stuttgart twice a year and have been doing this trip for 15 years or more. It used to be 'get into Germany as fast as you can' so you can take advantage of the high speed cruising on the Autobahn. So we would go through Belgium and drop down into Germany.

But now it is a case of 'stay out of Germany for as long as possible' because of the congestion and construction on the Autobahns!

To this effect we now stay in France until Strasbourg, from Calais you only go through to major cities, Reims and Metz, the Autoroutes are empty and you get no hold up's.

 

Agree. I go north and stay in Holland as long as I can. Set ACC at around 140 km/h and chill.

Here’s a thought on mpg, though: never mind all this my-mpg-is-higher-than-yours willy waving, who can get the lowest and how? Now there’s a competition. Rules exclude e.g. endless London traffic jams or pulling 10-ton trailers; you have to be more creative than that.

2 minutes ago, eurotraveller said:

Now there’s a competition. Rules exclude e.g. endless London traffic jams or pulling 10-ton trailers; you have to be more creative than that.

 

We had something like this a couple of years ago, lowest over a 20 mile run, I managed to get mine down to 20mpg, but the best was a guy whose trip to work was straight up a mountain every day, something like 12mpg if I remember correctly!

 

Wonder what could be ‘achieved’ by a couple of laps of the ‘Ring. Mind you, the brakes would probably be cooked long before the finish line.

On 07/08/2018 at 12:52, BillyJim said:

Managed 42 mpg from Farnborough (Hants) to my destination slightly short of Hannover on one tank of fuel (just). Saturday into Sunday overnight trip and didn't want to arrive too early at my destination so set ACC to 110 kph. Most boring drive I've ever done. At 4 am on a Sunday morning I had the usually busy East/West A2 autobahn virtually to myself.

Unexpectedly managed 41 mpg throwing the car around the bends in East Anglia. Not high speeds but plenty of gear work, keeping the engine revs in the higher range.

On the continent I usually get 30-32 when pushing 100-155 mph on the autobahn, mid 30's when not pushing 100+, whilst locally I get 32-36 on rural, 28-30 in urban off-peak, low 20's at peak times.

Bends in East Anglia. where?

(Harwich - Hoek ferry? If so any good,? I used to use this route over-night back in the '70's - 80's, but seem to prefer 2 hours Dover-Dunkirk then on through N. France & Belgium towards Aachen nowadays.)

 

DC

5 minutes ago, old newbie2 said:

Bends in East Anglia. where?

(Harwich - Hoek ferry? If so any good,? I used to use this route over-night back in the '70's - 80's, but seem to prefer 2 hours Dover-Dunkirk then on through N. France & Belgium towards Aachen nowadays.)

 

DC

 Some lovely roads around Suffolk and Norfolk if you get off the main roads. Though I'm often amazed at the amount of roadkill littering those roads! It's where I did a lot of my original advanced driving out of Chelmsford HQ.

 

No ferry, I always use EuroTunnel. Then it's via Ghent-Antwerp-Eindhoven-Venlo-Duisburg if heading north or central, Ghent-Brussels-Aachen-Stuttgart if heading south (but occasionally go via Luxembourg).

Off to Düren in a couple of days so that will be the Ghent-Brussels-Aachen route. I have my green sticker for the Ruhrgebiet. I'm an hours drive from the Nürburgring but I won't be indulging.

 

4 hours ago, BillyJim said:

5 hours ago, old newbie2 said:

Bends in East Anglia. where?

 

Look up the B1145 between Aylsham and North Walsham. Locals used to say 24 bends in 8 miles. Never counted them myself but remember aching arms in the days before power steering  

6 hours ago, BillyJim said:

 Some lovely roads around Suffolk and Norfolk if you get off the main roads. Though I'm often amazed at the amount of roadkill littering those roads! It's where I did a lot of my original advanced driving out of Chelmsford HQ.

 

No ferry, I always use EuroTunnel. Then it's via Ghent-Antwerp-Eindhoven-Venlo-Duisburg if heading north or central, Ghent-Brussels-Aachen-Stuttgart if heading south (but occasionally go via Luxembourg).

Off to Düren in a couple of days so that will be the Ghent-Brussels-Aachen route. I have my green sticker for the Ruhrgebiet. I'm an hours drive from the Nürburgring but I won't be indulging.

 

I was being a bit cynical, I did Southwold & back last Sunday afternoon mostly on the A12, not a fun drive....

If you were based in Chelmsford you might have experienced the the B 1010 into Burnham. I lost a wheel trim into a field from a Sunbeam Rapier 

on  one of the 90 degree bends about 50 years ago...

 

I've often stayed in Epen (Zuid Limburg) & used Herzogenrath or Duren as railheads to explore by train, rather than try to find parking space in the local city centres. 

(If you're ever in Monchengladbach there's a superb Oriental Buffet near the station.)

 

Ferry or tunnel, used to prefer the overnight ferry when visiting mother-in-law in Den Haag, tunnel in snowy mid-winter for father-in-law's funeral, but the 0800 Dover-Dunkirk

works if I'm heading to Epen or L.uxembourg, or with an overnight stop near Boppard en route to Lindau.    

 

Your routes seem to be a little more north than mine, I'd leave Calais or Dunkirk, onto the A16, & then the A25 to the Lille ring-road, A27 to the Belgian border, the E42/E40 to Aachen & the A4 towards Cologne.

 

DC

 

Bit off topic this, but: 

 

i like Harwich - Hoek. Spend a bit more on a nice cabin going overnight and it’s a very pleasant micro-cruise. While nice enough environments, the big downsides are the restaurant / cafeteria. I bet Stena deems its customers on its Scandinavian routes to be worthy of far more acceptable standards of food.

Just filled up after my first 500 mile tank !

14 hours ago, Nick_H said:

Just filled up after my first 500 mile tank !

I get so close and decide to divert home via the N Y Moors and then I just watch the MPG drop.  

Just returned from a continental journey - via Hoek-Harwich

 

Extensive autobahn travel with what felt like more than usual opporunity for driving at 120+ mph. Car said about 24 mpg during those stints. Best guess: 25-30% at high speed; remainder at 80-140 km/h.

I know people are always interested in fuel consumption so thought I share my experience of a recent trip across Europe. Car is the 280 Sportline Estate, I run it on 98 fuel, and it has now covered about 5000miles. We did a round trip of about 1500miles down to Austria via Euro-tunnel, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany. Most of the way with the ACC set to the speed limit and aiming for about 120mph on the unlimited sections of the German roads - having to keep slowing and accelerating is what hinders fuel economy more than actually cruising at those speeds. Overall recorded consumption was 33mpg with an average speed of 58mph. Drive on the way back was a good run, Soll in Austria to home in Woking in just over 14 hours including stops and Euro-tunnel, mile munching really is easy.

First 5k miles done and I'm mightily impressed with the 280.  I'm so glad I made the swap; the engine/drivetrain combo make an excellent car even better.  

 

The engine now revs freely and willingly, the little bit of hesitation at 4-5K revs has now vanished and economy is also slowly improving.  The last tank got me 530 miles before topping up and my (tank-to-tank) calculated MPG was 34 which isn't bad for a mixture of driving and the last 1/4 of the tank was used up going from A-B on shorter urban journeys.  I did make a concerted effort to drive economically for the first 400 miles of that tank on a 200 mile return trip though.   The car seems to prefer Tesco 99 Momentum which is good as it's cheaper than the price of BP/Shell/Jet 95 octane.  I think the engine is wearing in well.   Oil consumption is pretty good with the level not appearing to be going down, according to the dipstick.  

 

Unfortunately this Sportline hasn't been as well bolted together in comparison to the last.  I have two rather irritating vibrations; one from the centre of the dash occurs at ~4k revs and another from the A pillar area occurs at ~1.8k revs but that is intermittent.  I also fixed another rattle in the drivers door top speaker, with a little bit of Silent Coat deadening foam.  I reported the faults quite early on and the dealer has a new central dash vent assembly on backorder and they'll look at the other vibration when I eventually get the car booked in.  I also had the handle of the ski hatch come off in my hand on it's first use but that is commonly reported on here. 

 

I can't fault Derek Slack Skoda in Middlesbrough who have been great at resolving the ski hatch issue and also been very forthcoming in getting the dash and door vibrations investigated.  No resistance to the work being fully covered under warranty.  Their Service Manager seems to be a rare Skoda employee in that he's got a great customer service ethos.  Just as it should be. 

 

I ordered Meteor Grey without seeing another Superb in that colour (in the bare metal; pardon the pun!) and I was still unsure about my colour choice right up until I finally got to collect my car.  No regrets whatsoever.  I know it's a very marmite colour but I think it suits the Sportline gloss black trim and Superb shoulder swage lines really well.  I'm a bit miffed it's now a freebie colour and is likely to become a bit more common.  I've seen lots of Sportlines but no other MG's, as yet.  

 

First scuff appeared on the car last week; some  tw47waffle decided to bump into the car then drive off, whilst I was in a local shop.  I returned to find a signifiant black scuff at the front of the wheel arch. Luckily a heavy cutting pad and compound removed 99% of the damage and only a small paint chip remains.   I didn't like applying Carlack twins the first time due to the 'hardening' period x 2,  doing it again on a single panel was a ball ache to say the least.   I'll get a touch up stick soon.  

 

Car insurance for this year was actually cheaper than my 150TDI which I can't quite fathom but hey, it's a bonus.  

 

I'm actually looking forward to an 800 mile round trip at the end of October, when we're off to Cornwall for a family wedding.  The perfect job for the 280.   The downside is that my wife has committed to sharing some of the driving.  A driver profile has now been created, seats/mirrors all set up.  Naturally I've done the logical thing and booked a hotel at the halfway point of the journey down and back, that way she won't get anywhere near the drivers seat 

 

Next big 'milestone' will be an oil and filter change at 10K miles.  After which I think the engine will be even sweeter.   

 

In short, so far so good.  The car never fails to make me feel excited to be behind the wheel and it's hands down the best car I've ever had.  I've looked around and with the exception of a Volvo V60 Polestar there's nothing else I'd even consider as a replacement.  Yes I know there's plenty of cars that are 'better' (in some regards) and some are even cheaper but I prefer the underdog factor of a Skoda, it's all round ability and the fact a 280 is an old school Q car. 

 

  

 

 

Edited 21 September, 20187 yr by penguin17

@penguin17 great write up and great to hear all is as you expected (aside from the unfortunate scuff and some niggles)

 

You've made me start to look forward to mine even more! However, thanks to you and others on the forum, my pile of bits and pieces I've already bought for the car is ever expanding! 

@penguin17 my review of my 280 combi would basically be 'ditto'. The thing is just perfect for everything I want it to do. I've been lucky and had zero issues with rattles etc . The thing goes like a bat out of hell and despite strapping 4 bikes, a roof box and a huge trailer to it it seems unstoppable. Its a comfortable and effortless cruiser and can be fun on some smaller roads if you want it to be.

Certainly the best car I've ever owned.

 

Off to Kirkbymoorside for a week soon. I'll be sure to shout 'what about a topcoat on that primer' if I see you passing

 

15 minutes ago, edwards said:

@penguin17 my review of my 280 combi would basically be 'ditto'. The thing is just perfect for everything I want it to do. I've been lucky and had zero issues with rattles etc . The thing goes like a bat out of hell and despite strapping 4 bikes, a roof box and a huge trailer to it it seems unstoppable. Its a comfortable and effortless cruiser and can be fun on some smaller roads if you want it to be.

Certainly the best car I've ever owned.

 

Off to Kirkbymoorside for a week soon. I'll be sure to shout 'what about a topcoat on that primer' if I see you passing

 

Great stuff. Glad to hear. 

 

Ooh lovely part of shire. Enjoy! 

51 minutes ago, boydeee said:

@penguin17 great write up and great to hear all is as you expected (aside from the unfortunate scuff and some niggles)

 

You've made me start to look forward to mine even more! However, thanks to you and others on the forum, my pile of bits and pieces I've already bought for the car is ever expanding! 

Thanks. 

 

I think (hope) you’ll enjoy. The wait will make you appreciate it even more. 

 

I’ll be interested to hear what the 7 spd DSG is like, if that’s what will be fitted to yours. 

Great to hear you are enjoying it @penguin17. One question if I may - you've commented a couple of times that the 280 isn't as well put together as the previous 150. Do you think that is true, or is it that the higher powered cars spend more time on the right hand side of the rev range, with the higher stresses and strains that come with that? 

10 hours ago, BriskodaJeff said:

Great to hear you are enjoying it @penguin17. One question if I may - you've commented a couple of times that the 280 isn't as well put together as the previous 150. Do you think that is true, or is it that the higher powered cars spend more time on the right hand side of the rev range, with the higher stresses and strains that come with that? 

Good point Jeff and you may be right.  It may just be the characteristics of each engine and how I use them. 

 

It it could be that the frequeny produced by the petrol invokes a different type of vibration (? That makes sense in my head) or simply because the petrol is that little bit quieter that I notice more noises in the cabin. 

 

The tyres/wheels defo aren’t to blame as they came from my previous car. 

 

One thing I have noticed is that both of the vibrations are becoming more sporadic so I’ve surmised the cooler weather has meant things have contracted enough to not come into contact with adjacent surfaces etc. 

Edited 22 September, 20187 yr by penguin17

19 hours ago, boydeee said:

@penguin17 great write up and great to hear all is as you expected (aside from the unfortunate scuff and some niggles)

 

You've made me start to look forward to mine even more! However, thanks to you and others on the forum, my pile of bits and pieces I've already bought for the car is ever expanding! 

 

Seconded, always enjoy your positive comments @penguin17, makes the waiting more bearable!

 

Re the bits and pieces comment from @boydeee, I was planning on purchasing the tunnel cover plus a couple of other things, but can anyone confirm whether the Sportline comes with mats as standard?  I’m sure the specs at the time said it did (material rather than rubber) but would be good to know for sure. Cheers

Just satisfied an old dream of owning a maxed out Superb with the biggest engine. On paper it says 2018, TSI280 L&K with DSG6, but the dealer claims it'll be the 2019 model year including the digital dash and other minor changes. Only problem I see is that Skoda is re-mapping this model without too many offical specs. so it will actually end up being a TSI272 with DSG7, having still an unknown fuel consumption and 0-60mph/0-100km/h performance. Anyone with insight that can explain why they do this?

 

Eventually I will want to chip tune/re-map my car anyway. Will I notice this factory-reduced power to the extent that I want to chip tune/re-map even within the warranty period? And will the DSG7 hold up to the added forces as good as DSG6 has?

 

 

Thanks

The peak torque is still the same and at the same rpms. The seat of your pants feels torque, so I doubt you could tell as the 8ps has been lost right at the screaming silly end, which you'll barely ever touch.  The 7 speed will probably help with that

Thanks dg360.

 

So do they do this for some environmental reasons? I mean the customers that are interested in these engines might not care too much about that anyway right . Since June this year the Swedish government makes sure to punish the TSI280 with an increased yearly tax of like 4-500 GBP. For that money I want as much horses under the hood as possible...

 

Cheers