http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/britains-most-comfortable-car-drive-10599065

 

 

Apart from Lexus, there are no 'premium' brands in there....interesting!

1 hour ago, Superb170 said:

Apart from Lexus, there are no 'premium' brands in there....interesting!

Is it because most people now get Audi's, Mercs and BMW's specced up with huge wheels, sport and lowered suspensions?

 

Also runflats on all BMW's and Mercs tend to make for a harsh ride

Depends on your perspective of comfortable. To drive yes and only car I've had that could cope with the ruined rural roads as well where I live was an xc90 - that was comfy. My kids all complain that it wallows and rolls too much though making them feel sick in the back. Although I should probably stop driving it like I do my Z4.

The most comfortable car I have is my X6 running on 19" RFT.  It is specced with 'Comfort Seats' which leave the Škoda version wallowing in a pothole!

I'm surprised that the press still thinks that the motoring public will be "shocked" by Skoda making a credible car... The seats imho are excellent in my SEL-executive. Road noise and wind noise are low, though every so slightly more engine boom at than I'd have expected at higher motorway speeds - not overly unpleasant or intrusive, just not expected.

12 hours ago, PaulJS said:

I'm surprised that the press still thinks that the motoring public will be "shocked" by Skoda making a credible car... The seats imho are excellent in my SEL-executive. Road noise and wind noise are low, though every so slightly more engine boom at than I'd have expected at higher motorway speeds - not overly unpleasant or intrusive, just not expected.

Agree in the engine noise but it is still minimal, to the point that it is probably quite difficult to avoid this on most diesels.  Even Mercs (especially the last gen E-Class with the 2.1 unit which was far worse that the Superb) and Beemers have a degree of diesel rattle.

2 hours ago, Superb170 said:

Agree in the engine noise but it is still minimal, to the point that it is probably quite difficult to avoid this on most diesels.  Even Mercs (especially the last gen E-Class with the 2.1 unit which was far worse that the Superb) and Beemers have a degree of diesel rattle.

Agree completely. To be fair, a number of people who've been in the car think I'm noticing nothing, and reckon it's similar noise level to most petrols, which is probably fair.

I've collected my Superb this morning after a week at the dealers. I've had a 66 plate Octavia which is a lovely car but my god getting back into the Superb it really did feel like a Bentley compared to the Octavia. I don't know if I could go back .....

22 minutes ago, Nick_H said:

I've collected my Superb this morning after a week at the dealers. I've had a 66 plate Octavia which is a lovely car but my god getting back into the Superb it really did feel like a Bentley compared to the Octavia. I don't know if I could go back .....

Agreed.  My brother has a MY16 Octavia Scout and whilst it's a lovely car, the Superb is a noticeable step up.  BUT as it should be as it's pitched as an exec model, with a higher price tag too. 

 

The majority of my work colleagues are Audi and Merc owners and they had a Scooby Doo headshake moment when they first got into my Sportline.  I think they were genuinely surprised; one of them an A6 owner nearly gave it a compliment but then remembered he's a Audi owner and ergo a twunt, so held his tongue.  

My female boss, who knows little about cars, said to me "Pesmog, your Mercedes is so much more comfortable than my husbands Merc C Class and his is only six months old", ahem, ahem

 

For the record, my Superb is a mk2 Greenline with 100k on the clock, so god knows how far the latest Mercs have fallen .......

"so god knows how far the latest Mercs have fallen".

I can tell you exactly how far. Very far. They are still hooked on providing an 'engaging' ride which on the current C Class, even with air suspension, means that you are fully engaged with every little bump in the road and pitched about like a yacht on the high seas. Maybe great for tearing around the roads like a demented piglet but not for everyday driving. Shame because the interior has improved tremendously; feels class once again.

The S3 is a class above in terms of costs, ride comfort, performance and toys but still doesn't quite match the interior of the current C Class. 

3 hours ago, Sagalout said:

"so god knows how far the latest Mercs have fallen".

I can tell you exactly how far. Very far. They are still hooked on providing an 'engaging' ride which on the current C Class, even with air suspension, means that you are fully engaged with every little bump in the road and pitched about like a yacht on the high seas. Maybe great for tearing around the roads like a demented piglet but not for everyday driving. Shame because the interior has improved tremendously; feels class once again.

The S3 is a class above in terms of costs, ride comfort, performance and toys but still doesn't quite match the interior of the current C Class. 

I can't comment on the C Class, but it certainly isn't the case with the E Class. I moved a 16 plate E Class on to buy the Superb, and as nice as the Superb is, it's way behind the Merc in terms of ride. When I bought the Merc though I deliberately bought the SE, because I didn't want the bigger 18" alloys or the firmer suspension of the Night Edition.

14 hours ago, Sagalout said:

"so god knows how far the latest Mercs have fallen".

I can tell you exactly how far. Very far. They are still hooked on providing an 'engaging' ride which on the current C Class, even with air suspension, means that you are fully engaged with every little bump in the road and pitched about like a yacht on the high seas. Maybe great for tearing around the roads like a demented piglet but not for everyday driving. Shame because the interior has improved tremendously; feels class once again.

The S3 is a class above in terms of costs, ride comfort, performance and toys but still doesn't quite match the interior of the current C Class. 

A work colleague has a C class and while it looks very nice from the outside and the interior is very smart, the ride I find extremely harsh.  Put that down to the runflat tyres but from what you say its also suspension related.

11 hours ago, Jaytip said:

I can't comment on the C Class, but it certainly isn't the case with the E Class. I moved a 16 plate E Class on to buy the Superb, and as nice as the Superb is, it's way behind the Merc in terms of ride. When I bought the Merc though I deliberately bought the SE, because I didn't want the bigger 18" alloys or the firmer suspension of the Night Edition.

As much as I like the Superb and Skodas in general, I have to say the E-Class would be my ultimate choice.  There was a 10% price reduction in Ireland for most of the last six months and I was a bit tempted but it would still have been an extra €8K-€10K to match the Superb's spec.  Very content with the Superb though and compared to most other cars (even in a class above) the ride and refinement is up there with the best.

Trouble is when you want the performance and petrol as well as the space... How much would an equivalent petrol Merc cost with the 280's performance ?

15 minutes ago, Nick_H said:

Trouble is when you want the performance and petrol as well as the space... How much would an equivalent petrol Merc cost with the 280's performance ?

This is true of most manufacturers outside of the VAG.  The 280-310ps engine is an absolute gem and accessible for sub £30k on a brand new car.   On the Leon Cupra ST you're paying for the engine and performance as the interior and general build quality isn't the best.  The Cupra is now dangerously close to Golf R money, which to me makes no sense, though dealers are often willing to heavily discount the Leon; a bad sign for future value.  The Golf R is a step up in overall quality but unless you opt for the estate it's not the most practical.

 

The S3 isn't enough car for the money. Though the S3 saloon's proportions overall appearance remind me of a junior DTM car, looks nice IMO. 

 

This leaves the Superb...at the moment I'd take a 280 Sportline over any other car on the market.  As you say nothing comes close to the performance/space/value/quality at the moment.  

 

My mileage is due to half soon and by the time I'm in a position to buy my next car I'm hoping Skoda will still offer the same engine (hopefully over 300PS) and possibly make the Sportline more than just a few cosmetic tweeks.  Perhaps the Sportline will be popular enough for Skoda to finally offer a vRS Superb.