I always go for the 2 litre diesel , they are really economical , slightly worse than a 1.6 around town I suspect but I'm willing to live with that extra expense.

 

My 4x4 2 litre 140 's performance was really flat and lethargic as standard until I had it mapped, so a 1,6 must be really tiresome to drive. I wouldn't like to take the 1.6 on an autobahn

 

A 140ps 4x4 Superb will be about 20% worse mpg city than a 105ps FWD Superb . Then again, it might also be 80% better on slippery corners! I'd love to try one.

 

You also take a performance hit with the Haldex 4x4 which is probably why you felt the need to remap. It is wrong though to transfer your 4x4 2.0 experience and derive a firm opinion on the 2 wheel drive 1.6 on that basis.

 

I have the 1.6, I've had more powerful diesels too  - and I can promise you it is not tiresome to drive. I've also cruised very happily, no fuss, at 165kph on the bahn.

 

Don't get me wrong - I'm not saying that there is no need or desirability regards the 2.0. I'm just saying that if higher MPG, lower VAT, lower CO2 emissions (hence annual tax in my country), lower insurance etc is very attractive then you can have it with a 1.6 and experience far fewer compromises than a paper comparison would indicate. Its attractive to me as I find the car a great luxury cruiser and as a company owner claiming mileage expenses - far more of the 59 cent per km I can claim stays in my pocket.

 

If there is one thing I've learnt over last 5 years or so - engine size and to some extent HP is a more minor function of drive-ability than it was. What matters now is the engine, chassis, gearbox and drive wheel combo. Just going by engine size doesn't do it.

 

Hell, one of the happiest Skoda owners I've met has a Superb III with a 1.4 Tsi. He preferred the drive over a 2012 Audi A4 2.0 diesel he had traded it for. Now, if I was asked a few years ago for my opinion on a 1.4 petrol going into a Superb sized car, the response would definitely have contained a line like "...surely that couldn't pull a drunk sailor off my granny"...  Turns out it will. Easily.   :p   

I've done about 114,000 miles on my 2009 170 and I've got over 216,000 on the clock.

 

It's costing me £500 annually in extra diesel over the 1.6TDI. Not enough to justify changing the car but enough to miss!

 

Yeah the 170 is nice to drive but when doing the sort of mileage and driving that the superb excels at your pouring money away driving to and from work which is very frustrating!

 

I've not had DPF issues but I do think I'm on the verge of needing work on the EGR, and I think this problem may have been exacerbated by trying to drive it as economically as possible, light throttle extra. You only need about 50bhp, to hold 70. Obviously you need a bit more than that to allow overtaking but you don't need 100bhp/tonne. I'm wondering if the diesels suffer from under use when trying to get the most miles per tank. I did achieve one 700 mile tank but have now gone back to cruising on the motorway at 70 and 75% ish throttle acceleration in the hope of clearing out the crud.

...also look at the insurance groups for the different engine sizes. BIG differences there. Owning 170 grants the insurance company permission to wallet empty each year!

...also look at the insurance groups for the different engine sizes. BIG differences there. Owning 170 grants the insurance company permission to wallet empty each year!

 

that hurts

 

my insurers have just gone under.....£1100 paid in January.....what next?

...also look at the insurance groups for the different engine sizes. BIG differences there. Owning 170 grants the insurance company permission to wallet empty each year!

 

My insurance dropped by 216 euro from my previous 186hp  2.5 litre diesel - and that's with me having a full no claims bonus and I'm no young boy racer (50 next month - how did that happen?). 

 

That really surprised me - the Superb would be worth 5.5 times what my 525d was traded for (we don't have, or at least are not told, about Insurance groups here - hence it was only when I called to change vehicle on my current policy that I got the good news).

 

Speaking of my 525d - I was interested in your comment "I'm wondering if the diesels suffer from under use when trying to get the most miles per tank." One of the biggest, annoying costs with that car was having to replace the Turbo. The turbo actuator valve was getting stuck. I was told this was because the previous owner had done lots of motorway miles and the engine probably was not worked enough. If you have a big diesel (a BMW 6 cylinder one anyways), you need to give it a good thrashing from time to time to clean her out.

 

(If anyone reading this has a 6 cylinder 525 or 530d - they made the actuator a separate replaceable part in late 2005).

Speaking of my 525d - I was interested in your comment "I'm wondering if the diesels suffer from under use when trying to get the most miles per tank." One of the biggest, annoying costs with that car was having to replace the Turbo. The turbo actuator valve was getting stuck. I was told this was because the previous owner had done lots of motorway miles and the engine probably was not worked enough. If you have a big diesel (a BMW 6 cylinder one anyways), you need to give it a good thrashing from time to time to clean her out.

This goes for any diesel, especially those with a variable nozzle turbo. Driving them gently lets soot accumulate in the turbine housing where it gets baked hard and stops the vanes from being adjusted. No harm once a week to give it a good hard pull through to the redline once the engine has warmed up (our Superbs have an oil temperature readout on the MFD - once it hits 90 *C you're good). Pull from 1200-1300 rpm in third all the way through the rev range and it'll dislodge the soot while giving the turbine guide vanes a good workout too.

 

I'd imagine it should help on an engine with EGR valve clogging too.

The online parkers guide has the UK insurance groupings. Think the 170 TDCR Executive hatch is group 24 or 26. Either way the 1.6 is much lower and my the insurance group for my project vehicle is one less and it is a 3.9l V8i '95 Land Rover Discovery!

So we buy diesels for economy then have to thrash em to blow out the soot...

 

BTW, a stuck actuator is often a sign of a stuck VGT, put simply the wastegate cant move (its solid) so the actuator cant move...

I'm knocking on so insurance is cheap for me :-)

My insurance was 330 for the year on my 1.8 turbo but I need to tell them I've changed jobs and am doing at least 22K plus annually - was 7k before!

My insurance is around the 500 mark. I'm mid 30s, 25,000 annual mileage on a 2009 170 hatch elegance. No acidents or speeding tickets for around 8 years. Far from the worst insurance rating area but on the edge of a large town, so worse than living in the sticks.

Insurance groups (2008-2015):

1.6 TDI Elegance Greenline 3: 16

2.0 170 TDI CR Elegance L&K 24

2.0 170 TDI CR Elegance 4x4 25

2.0 170 TDI CR Elegance 26

Yes, 2WD elegance 170 is worse than L&K packed elegancr, or 4x4 elegance. Insurance companies run their theivery by stats, so could be due to limited L&K examples and the 4x4 slowing you down.

My £1100/year taxi insurance is now on a knife edge as the insurers have gone tits up

My £1100/year taxi insurance is now on a knife edge as the insurers have gone tits up

 

Is that the Gibraltar based "Enterprise Insurance" crowd that has collapsed? New stories here are suggesting 14,000 Irish policies are affected.

........  have gone tits up

 

Used to the phrase "tits up" (work in IT! ) - my definition is "Total Interruption To Service        Unspecified Problem " 

£225 pa fully comp and protected no claims and £50 excess on everything but a screen....

Used to the phrase "tits up" (work in IT! ) - my definition is "Total Interruption To Service Unspecified Problem "

Must remember that one! (I'm head of infrastructure!)