4x4 estate dilemma

[DH- Leeds]

Having moved to an area which could have a fair bit of snow - if we ever have a cold winter again - I decided my new Superb estate would be a 4x4.

I am trying to decide which engine - the 150PS diesel is cheapest by several thousand and has the best mpg by a long shot.

The 190PS diesel and 2.0TSI 190PS petrol both have the DSG box which I quite like the idea of - never driven automatic before but a couple of friends rate the DSG very highly. 

I am a bit concerned what the Government might do to diesel drivers in the future - but could they really tax diesel so heavily to outweigh the cheaper cost of the 150PS diesel or better mpg of the 190PS diesel (over the petrol)?

Are there any 4x4 owners/drivers out there who can share their experiences (good or bad) of their chosen type?

Cheers

[DH- Leeds]

21 minutes ago, DH- Leeds said:

Having moved to an area which could have a fair bit of snow - if we ever have a cold winter again - I decided my new Superb estate would be a 4x4.

I am trying to decide which engine - the 150PS diesel is cheapest by several thousand and has the best mpg by a long shot.

The 190PS diesel and 2.0TSI 190PS petrol both have the DSG box which I quite like the idea of - never driven automatic before but a couple of friends rate the DSG very highly. 

I am a bit concerned what the Government might do to diesel drivers in the future - but could they really tax diesel so heavily to outweigh the cheaper cost of the 150PS diesel or better mpg of the 190PS diesel (over the petrol)?

Are there any 4x4 owners/drivers out there who can share their experiences (good or bad) of their chosen type?

Cheers

Whoops typo - should be 280PS for the petrol!

[lukas883]

I will go for 2.0 tsi petrol 4x4...hold on...actually i did that and that was great choice. All my cars was manuals before this one and now im not sure if i ever return to manual, dsg box is so damn fast and comfortable. And about engines i will say go for petrol! Save the planet! Diesels was made for tractors and let them return there.

[Nick_H]

Petrol... Check... 4x4 .... Check ....280PS.... Check....DSG .... Check.... Bowel wrenching performance .... Check...Check...Check... :-D

[muddyboots]

13 hours ago, DH- Leeds said:

Having moved to an area which could have a fair bit of snow - if we ever have a cold winter again - I decided my new Superb estate would be a 4x4.

I am trying to decide which engine - the 150PS diesel is cheapest by several thousand and has the best mpg by a long shot.

 

We have a 150 4x4 manual estate.

I find the 150 TDI engine plenty capable for family duties; with 4 people, full boot, full roofbox and towbar bike carrier on the back it performs fine.

We've not been too impressed with economy though; after ~15k miles we only get mid-40s MPG most of the time, unladen, on roads where you'd expect better. The "150 TDI MPG" thread on here shows a lot of people getting substantially better than this, although admittedly most are 2wd.

Still not bad when you consider the size/weight of the car - it's just annoying that the quoted figures are much higher.

It's no better than my remapped (~205bhp)  CR170 4x4 Yeti with older generation engine and the aerodynamics of a barn...

If I was to change one thing though, it would be the standard suspension - might be OK for wafting along on motorways but elsewhere it's just far too soft and bouncy for my liking. If the sport suspension had been available at the time, I would have ordered that,

 

[penguin17]

Have you tried Winter tyres?  

 

I would say a fwd drive car with a really good set of dedicated Winter tyres would have more grip than a 4wd car on regular road tyres (actually 4wd doesn't offer any more grip, just more traction but let's not get bogged down with that!)

[Sagalout]

+1.Wot he said. Videos out there if you search

[eurotraveller]

4x4 is about more than traction in wintry conditions. Its benefits are much wider. It’s about traction all the time – no more of that annoying front wheel-spin and slow getaways on anything but bone-dry roads. It’s confidence and poise in bends. So not essential, no, but pretty damned nice.

 

On petrol vs. diesel: I drove the 190 (as a 4x4) for a while and thought it felt absolutely no ‘better’ than the previous-generation 170 (manual rather than DSG).  In fact, on that comparison alone I was quite disappointed. Therefore, if it has to be diesel ‘economy’, I’d say you might as well go for the 150.

 

But: the tide is clearly turning against diesel just as the OP already said. And with petrol so much smoother, quieter and faster, where exactly is the dilemma?

 

You just have to get your head around it if – like me – you’ve been ‘conditioned’ to diesel for many years. Had VW’s 240ps bi-turbo diesel been available in the Superb, I would instinctively have chosen that without a second thought. I’m so glad it wasn’t and I therefore didn’t end up with yet another diesel.

[miko15]

I traded in my 190 SE L Exec DSG Hatch a month ago for a used 280 4x4 L&K Hatch and I haven't stopped smiling since!

I think the 190 has a great surge of power above 60mph (having previously driven a Superb 1.4tsi 150 for a week and a couple of Octavia 150TDI's with DSG for a few years)

 

But the 280 4x4 is IMHO so much better than the 190 - giving greater poise and grip along A roads for example. And the quieter engine when just going about it's usual business.

And it's the engine coupled with the 4x4 that brings the smiles - the 4x4 really enables the astonishing (or is it bonkers?) acceleration from 0 all the way up to whenever you take your foot off the pedal on a German Autobahn.

 

The only thing that's missing on the car is a long range rearward facing lens to catch the looks on driver's faces, who might be wondering what just happened to the "just a Skoda Superb in Business Grey" that's vanished into the distance on the motorway.

 

After years of driving diesels, I'm the bloke standing at the pump in the Shell station muttering to himself: "Unleaded, green pump, unleaded, green pump".

And driving out with that smile..

[Bud]

Just done 450 miles today.  The 2.0 petrol is a massive improvement on my previous Mondeo petrol.  Smoother, more powerful and 20% better fuel economy.  Test drove the 280 4X4 and was very impressed but thought the extra £4.3k was too much difference.

 

Not had a diesel for a while and very glad I didn't choose one this time.

[DH- Leeds]

6 hours ago, penguin17 said:

Have you tried Winter tyres?  

 

I would say a fwd drive car with a really good set of dedicated Winter tyres would have more grip than a 4wd car on regular road tyres (actually 4wd doesn't offer any more grip, just more traction but let's not get bogged down with that!)

 

I must say I hadn't considered winter tyres - winter tyres and 4wd would certainly be advantageous!

 

[Gomezz]

I have the Octavia Scout 184 DSG and can only say how great a car it is, I have had 3 Octy 4x4s two of them DSG, although it's not a Superb, it is Superb!!

As far as the diesel V petrol ? the country would be buggered if there were severe restrictions, how could the lorries, buses and the vast amount of other transport run? I would hope the tecno people will have it sorted in the near future, the whole world turns on the stuff.

But as for the car, get one you will not regret it.