Superb Mk.2 Diesel 2.0 Estate Manual Buying Advise

[Jonnyboy95]

Hi All,

I wonder if I can pick your brains please?

I'm looking for some buying advise, I currently drive a 2006 Toyota Avensis T Spirit  2.2 Diesel manual estate.. I purchased it with 40K on the clock in 2011 and its now at 150K, It has proved to be very reliable (tempting fate I know) but I'm getting a bit bored with it and the miles are beginning to rack up now, so I'm now looking for a replacement vehicle.

 I work as an Field Service Engineer, so it needs to be an estate and it needs all of the creature comforts, on my short list is the mark 2 Superb Diesel 2.0 Elegance manual 140 or 170 bhp, the Avensis Excel 2.2 manual Tourer and possibly a Mazda 6.

I like the Avensis  however its a  bit dull to drive I know and the EPB appears to be a potential weak area, but a good motorway car with a really good spec.

The Superb looks good, has a good spec, excellent boot space (better than the Avensis). There's certainly more Superb's on the road than the Avensis, I would say.

Taxi drivers generally seem to favour, the Octavia, Avensis or Superb from my observations

 

What are people's thoughts on the Superb mk.2 ?

have owners generally found them reliable ?

if you have had faults were they expensive to fix ?

Dealer customer care ?

Any recommendations to pro-actively avoid expensive failures ?

 

Thanks in Advance

 

Jon

 

 

 

 

 

[Solarstorm]

Based on this thread: http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/363426-clutch-eats-gearbox-and-bank-balance/

 

A pre-emptive clutch replacement to one made by LUK might be something to consider to avoid the clutch eating the gearbox!

[Jonnyboy95]

Thanks for the recommendation, I had read that thread as well, interesting that the Sachs clutch can double up as a ''Lathe'' for the gearbox housing  :dull: !!

[Superb170]

I've had two 170 TDIs and going for a Superb III in a few weeks.  Both were manual and I did 120k kms on each.  Generally, no major problems at all.  Only thing was a replacement EGR valve on my last one and you'll see that a few of us had that issue. Have a good search on the site here as many have obviously asked the same question as you before.  There are no major underlying issues really.  The most important thing is to do your research and find a good example with service history etc.  You can be unlucky with any car of course and even high end premium cars have more than their share of issues (!) but Skoda and the Superb in particular has been consistently at the very top of nearly every survey etc over the years, both for reliability and dealer service.

 

On balance you'll find very positive reviews of the Superb, especially those of us that have a few years experience of them.  I'd certainly recommend one and there is no doubt that nothing comes close in the segment (and the one above for that matter!) in terms of space and that's obviously a major factor for you.  For comfort, space, value and reliability it is right up there and I'd be confident in deciding on one.

Edited 12 December, 2016 by Superb170

[chimaera]

Have you a spec level in mind? Elegance gets you some nice features: adaptive bi-xenon headlights, auto wipers, climate control, heated front seats. It comes with the Columbus nav unit too - you'll see mixed opinions on that. I've been perfectly happy with it: I like the tidy nature of the built in unit compared to the aftermarket unit I had stuck to the windscreen in my last car.

 

There is a heated windscreen option, but from my experience of searching, it's quite rare. There's a panoramic roof option for the Combi too. 4x4 is available on the 2.0 TDIs. Heated rear seats were optional on the Elegance too.

[Jonnyboy95]

Thank you for all for the feedback so far.

I was indeed looking at the Elegance model as this is the comparable spec to the Avensis Excel.

The observation about replacing the Sachs clutch with the LUK manufactured unit is also valid, I think.

[DEL80Y]

Get a test drive in a DSG equipped car you will never look back( I havent :clap: )you wont need to worry about the Sachs clutches then also the L&K has a TV in it for sitting at the service stations drinking your coffee and air cooled seats if your doing long mileage or lots of hours..

Edited 13 December, 2016 by DEL80Y

[jafo]

Plus 4x4 then chip/remap it

[TheRobinK]

My last car was a well specified 5 Series Estate. 

 

If I bought a high trim Avensis Estate, I'd have said to myself "Not bad Robin, saved yourself a lot of money, less repairs and you have a decent, well made car." 

 

With the Superb Estate in Elegance spec, Its a case of "Tickle my nuts! Yah boo BMW!!!  I've still got a huge luxury estate, I have more space, limousine leg room and  I've lost remarkably little in quality feel over the BMW and I've got twice the toys AND I'VE GOT €30,000 difference LEFT IN MY POCKET!". 

 

:sun:

[Bristolf2b]

stick to the manual. DSG  :thumbdown:

 

To be serious, try one but I am very happy that I avoided getting one by buying one of the last pre-facelift 170 tdi

I have had my 4x4 elegance for three and a bit years. it replaced an Audi A4 3.0 Tdi. the only thing I miss about the Audi is the motor- well, to be more specific the 240bhp.

Edited 13 December, 2016 by Bristolf2b

[psycholist]

With a remap you may be able to match the power to weight ratio of 240 bhp 3 litre A6 with the 2 litre Superb. It'll never sounds as good though. Of course if you're remapping the 3 litre and have Quattro rather than Haldex 4WD there's no comparison .

[supersnail]

I bought a 2010 2.0 4x4 eighteen months ago and I think its possibly the best car ive ever had the economy is very good especially on long runs last year I ran from Dunkirk to 100ks south of Lyon on 50 litres of diesel. The only repairs so far have been a sidelight and a wheel bearing. My other car is a L200 and bits fall off that for a pastime mind you it has a hard life!

[LeadesJohn]

I purchased a Superb II, 2012 Elegance 170CR Manual 4X4 with 140,000 Kms on the clock about 3 months ago An ex lease car with a fully detailed skoda service history.  An absolute dream to drive.

I'm still finding the adaptive headlights a novelty. The rear heated seats are a talking point for friends, Loads of power and zest and an understatement of a motorcar.

The space is enormous. Leg room, Shoulder room and Boot. It is 6" short of 5M long. ..and, Its very easy to park with a great turning lock at the wheels. The sensors and pop up parking display on the Columbus unit work great.

 

However, the 18" with 225/40 wheels don't grade well on my roads. The VAG EGR problem cropped up under warrenty, costing my third party dealer 8 hrs (4X4) labour. Skoda, in fairness,Skoda still offered warrenty on all the parts. When you consider this cars age V's milage- Its a testement to them for protecting the brand.

We purchased a 2012 Nissan Quasqui+2 1.6 4X4 last year for herself and there is No comparison in build quaility. Fact.

It will depricate slower than the Skoda for different reasons such as demand for 7 seat nappy wagons etc  ;) 

The Superb has has a large fan base with sites such as this one,which are really helpfull. Any issues that may crop up seem to have informed answers and remedies and solutions.

Hope this helps. I would recommend the Car.

Edited 18 December, 2016 by LeadesJohn

[silver1011]

The best test for any car is mileage and what sort of costs you have to shell out as the miles rack up.

 

Up until a few weeks ago I was a huge supporter of the Superb, I'd just passed 110,000 miles without a single issue.

 

A few weeks ago I suffered the Sachs clutch issue. Thanks to this thread I recognised the symptoms and got it to a garage ASAP. This saved me a £3,000 gearbox.

 

Had I not been lucky I'd now be seriously ****ed!

 

As it stands I've a new clutch and DMF and so I'm now hoping the car is good for another 100K.

 

The Avensis may be a bit dull but they have a reputation for reliability for a reason, and it's not exactly a bad looking car...

 

[Superb170]

I purchased a Superb II, 2012 Elegance 170CR Manual 4X4 with 140,000 Kms on the clock about 3 months ago An ex lease car with a fully detailed skoda service history. An absolute dream to drive.

I'm still finding the adaptive headlights a novelty. The rear heated seats are a talking point for friends, Loads of power and zest and an understatement of a motorcar.

The space is enormous. Leg room, Shoulder room and Boot. It is 6" short of 5M long. ..and, Its very easy to park with a great turning lock at the wheels. The sensors and pop up parking display on the Columbus unit work great.

However, the 18" with 225/40 wheels don't grade well on my roads. The VAG EGR problem cropped up under warrenty, costing my third party dealer 8 hrs (4X4) labour. Skoda, in fairness,Skoda still offered warrenty on all the parts. When you consider this cars age V's milage- Its a testement to them for protecting the brand.

We purchased a 2012 Nissan Quasqui+2 1.6 4X4 last year for herself and there is No comparison in build quaility. Fact.

It will depricate slower than the Skoda for different reasons such as demand for 7 seat nappy wagons etc ;)

The Superb has has a large fan base with sites such as this one,which are really helpfull. Any issues that may crop up seem to have informed answers and remedies and solutions.

Hope this helps. I would recommend the Car.

Great to hear you're enjoying your Superb. Regarding the wheels, perhaps try changing to 225/45/18 - some of us have changed to the slightly profile and I think it makes all the difference. You'll see a few threads on here re changing tyre and profile types which might be helpful

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/372068-change-to-45-profile/

I totally agree though, the lower profile just doesn't suit what is otherwise a luxury car.

Edited 18 December, 2016 by Superb170