ANOTHER 10,000 mile update

[philsmith]

apart from the rubbish windscreen washers

 

 

The washers on the passenger side were ok on mine but the drivers side barely reached the screen, suddenly though they have started working properly! A full powerful spray in the correct place, must need running in!

[Gizmo]

Having come straight from the (350Nm) CR170 Mk2 to a (400Nm) CR190 Mk3, I was expecting a little more oomph. Granted my Mk3 DSG weighs in at ~1500kg, versus the ~1487kg of my previous manual Superb. But even so.......

 

 

*cough* remap *cough*

 

220BHP / 505 Nm makes a WORLD of difference over std 

[dstev2000]

220BHP / 505 Nm makes a WORLD of difference over std

The R word has been rattling around in my head for some time now. The car feels like it needs that extra bit ofgrunt. I'd be interested to hear from any 190 manual drivers to see if it's just the engine's characteristics that make it feel ponderous, or whether the DSG's mapping and a possible bias towards economy have any influence.

This is my first DSG so obviously I'm wary about remaps, the increased torque and specifically the clutches in the 'box.

I'd expect a well written map has torque limitations where needed, as the DSG can (and does) slip the clutch when pulling away in 2nd. It feels a bit abusive but I presume it has been engineered to tolerate it.

I didn't actually bother testing a 190 manual as it was never an option for me.

Interestingly, I was at my local-ish dealership yesterday ordering SWMBOs new Yeti and the salesman agreed. To quote: "we were expecting much more from the 190". A few people have in fact opted for the 150 after testing both engines back to back.

[dstev2000]

Great review and thanks for taking the time to put that together. Some very interesting comments in there. I'm starting to look towards my next car change and will be ordering over the next few months. 190 v 150 is a big question for me, having had two 170s and I'm leaning towards the 150 based on what I've read from a few members on here. I've driven the 150 and it feels fine and almost equal to the 170. Disappointing to hear about some quality problems especially the rattles.

How would you rate overall refinement (I know you said the engine is noisy) especially of you've driven other similar cars?

Rattles aside, the car is generally very quiet and feels refined. There is a bit of tyre roar but that's because they are 235/19s and it could be a little to do with the Pirelli rubber that was put on at the factory. Should be interesting come tyre changing time.

The engine noise is most likely a temporary problem caused by an issue around the firewall. When the car is gently cruising and not affected by the noise issue, it's perfectly fine.

Wind noise isn't bad either. Overall, it's more refined than the Mk2 Superb, but this is to be expected as it's a leap across generations and to the MQB platform.

Saying that, it's not as though the Mk2 is bad or anything - far from it. I had two on the trot and did over 170,000 combined miles in them. I still have huge respect for the 3T Superb as it's still a great car. If I had to give up my Mk3 I would go straight back to a Mk2.

[Superb170]

Rattles aside, the car is generally very quiet and feels refined. There is a bit of tyre roar but that's because they are 235/19s and it could be a little to do with the Pirelli rubber that was put on at the factory. Should be interesting come tyre changing time.

The engine noise is most likely a temporary problem caused by an issue around the firewall. When the car is gently cruising and not affected by the noise issue, it's perfectly fine.

Wind noise isn't bad either. Overall, it's more refined than the Mk2 Superb, but this is to be expected as it's a leap across generations and to the MQB platform.

Saying that, it's not as though the Mk2 is bad or anything - far from it. I had two on the trot and did over 170,000 combined miles in them. I still have huge respect for the 3T Superb as it's still a great car. If I had to give up my Mk3 I would go straight back to a Mk2.

Thanks for the feedback. Nothing wrong with the SII as you say. I've had two as well but would be hoping for the SIII to be a step up all round. Good to hear that refinement is okay. Personally, I think I probably wouldn't go beyond 18s as they are the optimal in terms of looks, noise and comfort plus the 40 profile is just too thin IMO. 19s are standard fit on the L&K in Ireland so would be a no cost downgrade if I was to get an L&K.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[blue_boy]

Coming up to 10k and booked in first service. Thought it was just oil change but ends up being mini service. Anyway just wanted to say love my S3 150 L&K hatch in petrol blue and beige.

Seems I was v.lucky as bought through NCD, not a rattle or squeak, no significant problems at all so far, perhaps the car play needs an upgrade as after an hour it will disconnect on its own and a reconnect last only a short time, but can live with that. Even think the slightly higher profile have saved from any small kerb accidents. My s2 just needed to see a kerb and it would leap out and catch it.

Overall mpg 55

After initial hesitation I,pretty much live by ACC only thing is it leave bigger gaps on motorway than I would keep and folks love to jump in them resulting in a little sudden breaking but liveable and does feel safe.

[mavala]

Having done 28500 miles since December, the car has been perfect. It is the manual 190 SEL Estate and it does not rattle and it is certainly not slow at picking up speed, I did fit a little box to improve fuel consumption and it works great. The make is DRAKEBOX MONZA and it is made in Italy. I fitted it in February and it now achieves more or less 54MPG. It is always in sport mode and acceleration for overtaking is great. At 70 MPH, you go down to fifth, put your foot down and it speeds up very, very quickly. While accelerating, there is no tailing off and it keeps on pulling to 5000RPM. Here is a link to fleabay with the description:   http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chip-tuning-Skoda-Superb-2-0-TDI-CR-190-hp-digital-performance-diesel-/191900069554?hash=item2cae22aeb2:g:5h4AAOSwM4xXZR9j

[Gizmo]

Having done 28500 miles since December, the car has been perfect. It is the manual 190 SEL Estate and it does not rattle and it is certainly not slow at picking up speed, I did fit a little box to improve fuel consumption and it works great. The make is DRAKEBOX MONZA and it is made in Italy. I fitted it in February and it now achieves more or less 54MPG. It is always in sport mode and acceleration for overtaking is great. At 70 MPH, you go down to fifth, put your foot down and it speeds up very, very quickly. While accelerating, there is no tailing off and it keeps on pulling to 5000RPM. Here is a link to fleabay with the description:   http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Chip-tuning-Skoda-Superb-2-0-TDI-CR-190-hp-digital-performance-diesel-/191900069554?hash=item2cae22aeb2:g:5h4AAOSwM4xXZR9j

 

Chiptuning Skoda Superb 2.0 TDI CR 190 hp  

Before190 hp DrakeBox Monza Power  263 hp 

Torque Standard +40% (so 560 Nm)

Consumptions Standard -20%

Speed Standard +10%

 

I would love to see this on a dyno as I fail to see how any £99 tuning box can produce those figures on its own!

 

263BHP and 560Nm on a fwd car would also be virtually unusable (I speak from experiance of 219BHP / 505Nm)

 

Are your fuel consumption figures calculated or from the maxidot? 

[mavala]

The fuel consumption is from the maxidot, but it is quite accurate.

I do about 750 miles with a tankful and when refiling, I put about 60 litres in. I don't know if the figures stated in their advert are realistic as it seems a little optimistic to me. But the car drives great, as no lag on acceleration and the fuel consumption is very good,

[Deerjohn]

Thoughts in general

 

I love the car's looks. It looks really good from any angle. The Mk2 was a bit awkward from the back but the Mk3 has been well and truly fixed with the horizontal lights across the boot. It still gets lots of looks and pointing at in the traffic. I still don't see any on my travels so it's still a very exclusive car. 

 

The Petrol blue metallic is surprisingly difficult to keep clean. It shows dirt easily and watermarks show up too much. I'm also disappointed by the fact some bird **** that was identified the next morning and dealt with has left some permanent marks in the lacquer on the bonnet. Marks that are beyond my best efforts with some car polish. 

 

The car cruises really well on the motorway and is great for long distance driving. It's a very comfortable car to drive. The back end feels a little loose through the bigger bumps but I'm not sure if this is to do with the rear bushes that is associated with the knocking rear suspension. 

 

If I had to criticise the driving position, I would say the steering wheel needs to come out a little further for taller drivers. 

 

I really didn't like the door mirrors at first, but now I've got used to them they are ok. They still lack visibility though, and could really use some wide angle aspheric tips. 

 

To be honest, the car is a love/hate thing at the moment. I love the car in general but there are a few little things that annoy the hell out of me, mostly the vibration and noise coming through the firewall from the engine, the knocking rear suspension and the failed stitching on the rear seat. Oh, and the rattles. It's also recently developed a metallic 'click' from the front nearside wheel when turning lock to lock or pulling away. I'll add it to the list..... :|

 

As I've already mentioned, the engine is really underwhelming, even at 10,000 miles. I thought the car would be noticeably quicker than my old CR170 Superb, what with it being lighter and the extra 20PS. To be honest, it feels slower than my old car  . It would have to be the 240PS twin turbo next time round. Failing that, I would consider the 220PS petrol as the overall average fuel consumption of the CR190 driven normally isn't that great. 

 

The boot is probably the car's biggest asset. I run my own Air conditioning business so I often have to carry lots of heavy equipment. The Superb is exemplary at this. This was the main reason I went for my first Superb estate, it's bloody massive! 

 

Despite having the beige interior, it's still looking good. As long as you keep on top of cleaning and protecting the leather seats, the colour isn't a problem. 

 

So all in all, I still really like the car apart from the few niggles it has. I hope they can be fixed with relative ease when it goes in to be looked at. 

 

If the Kodiaq wasn't on the horizon, I would definitely go out and buy another one next time round - with a better engine  :p

 

Thanks dstev2000 for good review. Maybe you can explain and elaborate a lit a bit more about this noise "It's also recently developed a metallic 'click' from the front nearside wheel when turning lock to lock or pulling away." I have also noticed on my superb some strange metallic "click, click,..." noise coming from front when driving (with open window) slowly on roads covered with stones or driving over tram rails. Did you show this issue to your dealer?

[Deerjohn]

Yesterday I visited Skoda dealer's service in Latvia and here is "phenomenal" explanation concerning the strange metallic rattle sound coming from the front of the Superb III. So, Skoda has to rename this car "Skoda Superb Phenomenon"...

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/uploads/monthly_08_2016/post-139504-0-70088800-1472187367.jpg

[sandervdw]

Yesterday I visited Skoda dealer's service in Latvia and here is "phenomenal" explanation concerning the strange metallic rattle sound coming from the front of the Superb III. So, Skoda has to rename this car "Skoda Superb Phenomenon"...

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/uploads/monthly_08_2016/post-139504-0-70088800-1472187367.jpg

Worst possible response a company can make. They should never tell you that the problem isn't a problem but a "feature". You, as a customer, experience this as a problem which means it IS a problem. What they should have said:

"We acknowledge the sound coming from the gearbox. This is a design flaw in the gearbox which we won't be able to solve. As a compensation we provide you <<add random goodie>>".

[MartiniB]

As a compensation we provide you <<add random goodie>>".

Latvian dealer Karlo Motors can't even replace broken umbrella - answer: it isn't part of the car.

to solve rear rattles we had to fight half year long

also dead chrome isn't problem - another useful Phenomenon

 

but look positive, now i know what brand i will avoid in future

[Montegue]

 

Blind spot detection: I'm not going to get involved in the whole 'you shouldn't need them blah blah' argument. They are an excellent safety feature as long as you DON'T RELY ON THEM!! They are an added layer of safety to the Mk.1 human eyeball. They certainly aren't a substitute for looking over one's shoulder before changing lanes. They are very good at picking out the bellends on the motorway who change lanes right into your blind spot. I'd have them again and would pay money for them too, they were standard on the L&K. 

 

They seem to get a little confused by the Blackwall Tunnel. The close proximity to the concrete walls might be causing the radar to reflect abnormally, causing the driver's mirror to light up nearly constantly. No problems with the Dartford, Hatfield, Rotherhithe or Holmsdale tunnels so I'm putting it down to the close walls as the cause. :p

The Blackwall tunnel is lined with metal panels and its the metallic content that sets off the BlindSpot detectors.