Early Days Superb Estate L&K 190tdi DGS in Metalic brown.

 

Well having received my new car on 28^th April and waved my son off with my old trusty Mondeo 175 Hatch on Sunday 1^st May I am now staring to get accustomed to my new vehicle. It would be fair to say I am more than happy with it as well, Looks are a personal thing but I prefer the Estate and think that in metallic Brown, with the 18" Pegasus anthracite wheels looks fab, from just about any direction.

The engine is very new and I have not pushed it at all but just used at the most ¾ revs, even so it picks up it's heels and moves down the road quite nicely. I must admit I am looking forward to pushing it a little harder when it has a few more miles on it. I have tried a few of the engine modes ECO I find a little slow of the mark and changes gear far to early for my liking taking 3^rd or 4^th when I would be in 2^nd or just changing to 3^rd. Normal mode I find much better and more suited to my steady driving in the town. Out on the open A class road I have found Normal again to be satisfactory for just relaxed driving however should I wish to make a little more progress on the way out of a bend or roundabout I have found myself braking to the speed for the bend / roundabout and then using the paddle shift to drop down to the appropriate gear say 2^nd on the roundabout and accelerating out under a little more control manually (with the paddles) changing back up the box to 3,4,5,6^th before dropping the speed again for the next hazard and then paddle shifting back down to the correct gear for that point in time. All in all you can to all intense and purpose drive this car just like a manual gear box, which it is only with two clutches which change smoother up and down than you can. I have used sustain gear changes and have done for 30+ years in Manual gear boxes but this box is smoother than I am.

ACC and Lane Assist, Ye they take a bit of getting used too, but they are nowhere near as intrusive as I imagined or some on here have stated. So far I have not found myself wishing to turn it off and in fact I am quite impressed with it, particularly if I'm not in any sort of rush and just following another vehicle on a good A-class road, it tends to hold a good 2 second rule distance from the car in front when set on 3bars.

A little bit more about this DSG gear box, I have for years been a committed Manual gear box man, and in all honesty disliked Auto boxes, as they never give that true control you need driving at any speed. Now some 8-10 years ago I drove my first DSG type gear box in an AUDI A6 and was quite impressed. For the first time you had an automatic box, over which you as the driver had full control being able to select and hold onto the gear you choose. I then had access to an Audi RS6, BMW, and MERC. AMG. All of which had tip-tronic Type boxes, Ye you guessed it I became a fan the best of both worlds a lazy man's car if you wanted it to be, fully automatic do nothing just push the stop or go peddles OR if the fancy took you, a fully controlled Manual box which you can drive just like a manual by use of the Paddles or the gear leaver in the manual position or as I have previously stated half and , leaving it in Auto mode but using the paddles to change up or down as you desire depending on the road conditions ahead of you. Ye I like this gear box one final thing My son is a mechanic and has driven a number of expensive cars with DSG type boxes His words not mine “Bloody hell dad this is the smoothest Gearbox I have ever felt”, seriously I changed from 3^rd 4^th 5^th back down to 3^rd all at 45mph and he only felt the last change and that was my fault coz I accelerated. GREAT GEAR BOX FULL STOP

Columbus Infotainment, I have had fun with that I have literally sat in the car for about 3 hours on and off just playing with it, I now have a 32gb sd card with all my music on it, about 13 gb and a second SD card with 30 full films on it, that took some doing converting them all to .mp4 720 x 576 format. But eventually I did it. Tries out Android Auto and it works fine but I don't need it. I have the phone connected via blue tooth and that does me, one other good thing is I have also connected the wife's phone so both can be connected via blue tooth at the same time. The navigation system appears to work well but I will probably continue to use SYGIC on my phone, I tried one of those sticky mat things to hold the phone in the middle of the dash but it kept moving. As a result I have stuck a holder to the window low down and it hardly effects visibility at all and plugs into a charger in the fag lighter socket.

Mpg is already showing 7-8 more than the Mondeo did and I have only done 250 miles. It can only improve coz I have not done any good runs in it yet.

Regrets, at the moment not one, I am sure I have made the correct decision with this purchase. No rattles or bangs other than those I would expect driving on British roads and less than my admittedly 8 year old outgoing Mondeo. The wait is worth it

Edited 3 May, 201610 yr by russ1610

Glad you're enjoying it! Interesting comments about the DSG box. As a committed manual driver myself I have to admit being tempted to go with a DSG next time.

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Glad you enjoy your car - and I agree on your opinion regarding Combi and Magnetic Brown Doesn´t your car have the Phone Box (where the ash tray would be)? I keep my phone in there, so I don´t have to look at a cheap aftermarket holder in the wind screen. The Phone Box easily accomodates my iPhone 6S, even when it´s connected to the USB port next to it.

After six years of my S2 manual I'm looking forward to the DSG on my new S3. Roll on July!

Similar experience. Got my 190 DSG hatch L&K 10 Cappuccino with Beige leather (Irish version) 10 days ago. Have a 1,000 km on the clock, and really Love it - pictures on other thread. My 24 year old son had his friends around to have a good look at it - and all said its the best looking family type car on the market - nicer looking than BMW or Merc!

positives;

It looks fantastic and I've gotten so many compliments - most of all for the 19" anthrecite alloys - on the tires - they feel just fine no issue in terms of ride

ACC is great - but takes a bit of getting used to - trusting the car to slow itself down and stop is a bit scary a first - I did a 70k stretch without once using my feet !

Can find no fault with the build quality whatsoever (still early days!)

The foot release for the boot is great

The space is fantastic !

The boot - such space and that's coming from a V70! I can get golf clubs in length ways !

Comfort - this is just the perfect car for a long trip, plus you won't find a better cruiser

Electronic handbrake - you get used to it very quickly

DSG - having come from an auto (Volvo V70) I didn't think I notice any difference, but this is a step up

Acceleration From 100k is very good - you can find yourself at 170k (106mph) very quickly - have to watch myself!

Infotainment is great - but I've so much to learn yet

Reversing camera is great and huge step up on the sensors

The only ok bits

To get the car to accelerate from low speeds I find you have to be heavy with the right foot, could be more responsive

DCC - probably because I haven't really changed much from Normal - need to really try Sport mode

Fuel consumption - in first 1k I'm getting an average of 48mpg which is poor versus Skoda claims but great versus the Volvo figures of 25mpg ! I expect this will get better

Satnav is weak - a new stretch of motorway (m11) opened since last July is not on it, but it's good the way it's integrated with maxi dot

Maybe it's the settings, but I've found Kessy a bit temperamental eg if I use my foot to open the boot and then go to the drivers door it won't open - I have to use the remote to get in

The rear view could better - it feels like I'm getting a restricted view but probably am not

The steering wheel position in relation to the drivers window sill - I'm used to driving with right elbow leaning on the door - but due to the height of the door it's not all that comfortable

The drinks holder in the middle only accommodates small bottles or coffee cups.

That's it for now - I waited 149 days to get the car but I now think it was worth the wait !

The steering wheel position in relation to the drivers window sill - I'm used to driving with right elbow leaning on the door - but due to the height of the door it's not all that comfortable

 

 

When I had my Octavia, the top of the door card was quite soft and after 4 years it had a reasonable dent in it.

 

It appears that the S3 is of a similar material so I tend not to rest my elbow on it, instead I use the lower rest (halfway up the door).

Nice run down russ1610. Looking forward to getting mine....whenever that is!!!

I have the 190 dsg l&k but I only getting 7.8 ltr/100km that's over 1500km. I going on a long run next week so will see how it goes. I also have the rattle in the rear driving over an uneven surface at low speed , also the park assist button sticks down sometimes when pushed . Other than that it's a great bus and a good sound system too

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That's how kessy works. If you open the boot while the car is locked, the car stays locked when you close the boot. To open the door you don't need the remote, just touch the inside of the driver's or co-driver's handle. To lock touch the outside of the handle.

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When I had my Octavia, the top of the door card was quite soft and after 4 years it had a reasonable dent in it.

Snap. Mine has actually split. By the time I realised it was an issue it was already too late, plus breaking the habit of putting my elbow there was hard. Determined not to make the same mistake when my S3 arrives.

No one wants this happening to their car!

Snap. Mine has actually split. By the time I realised it was an issue it was already too late, plus breaking the habit of putting my elbow there was hard. Determined not to make the same mistake when my S3 arrives.

No one wants this happening to their car!

 

Yep mine went the same, just not as bad, had a small rip straight down.

As I'll be selling my Octavia privately when the Superb is finally on its way, I've been looking for a replacement door card, but I can't seem to find one. Dozens of rear doors and plenty of NSF but only one drivers which was £75 and in a worse state than my existing one! Makes me think we're not the only idiots to do this

Steering Guidelines from Roadcraft

1) Do not place your elbows on the window frame or arm rests because this reduces control. ( old book used to say and looks slack) should also have said and breaks your door cards.

2) Place your hands on the wheel in the ten to Two or Quarter to three position: only grip tightly when you need to exert Maximum effort

3) Keep both hands on the wheel when cornering, braking firmly or driving through deep surface water

4) On slippery roads steer as delicately as possible or you may skid.

 

Ha HA

I found KESSY a bit temperamental at first. But is wasn't KESSY, it was me, doh!

 

Tech showed me how to unlock by holding the door handle and flicking across the button; to lock you just push with one finger on the button; dont hold the handle. Hey presto, works every time for me now.

Nice review, I too came from manual box’s but after 15+ years of driving mainly auto box trucks I decided now was the time to give it a try (but with an extended warranty as the repair costs are expensive!)

It’s certainly not perfect, BUT it’s more perfect than me, in other words it will make a duff gear change much less often than I will make a rough manual change, so it’s worth it IMO, SWMBO needs to do a LOT more miles driving it to convince her though!

 

FebThe only ok bits
To get the car to accelerate from low speeds I find you have to be heavy with the right foot, could be more responsive

 

Find someone local with VCDS and this will a thing of the past!

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/380829-superb-mkiii-vcds-adaptations-tried-and-tested/?p=4611928