1st 48hr impressions of living (and driving) 2 Skoda Superb II cars

2011 Black 1.6 Elegance Estate diesel Greenline(ish) - Additional rear suspension highteners

Vs

2014 White 2.0 L&K Saloon diesel 170

 

Bells and whistles - extras on the L&K:

I thought it was only going to be in the music department that the cars would differ - more speakers, better sound in the L&K. But this was wrong.

I am not certain if all the differences are down to the L&K badge, model year, extra options paid for at purchase or even estate vs saloon, but the differences I have found so far are:

More speakers, different controls on the steering wheel (the L&K controls do not have such a quality feel as the Elegance - yes that way round!), Leather seats are far nicer in the L&K (holes for cooling seats), seat cooling,  video on the Columbus, foot rest inserts for the passengers, park assist, front and side proximity sensors, sun roof, KESSY, Heated washers, rear heated seats, Air conditioned glovebox.

 

The power

1.6 greenline (chipped) vs 2.0 170 (VW fixed)

The power is pretty obvious in an "in your face" kind of way. I can only describ it as similar (but opposite) to how the brakes on the Superbs can seem be very aggressive when you first drive it compared to a drum braked 1970s car - you slightly touch the brake and you fly forward in your seat and the car stops. The 2.0 accelerator pedal does this in the opposite direction, the slightest touch and you get pushed back in the seat. Uphill you don't struggle for a gear like the 1.6. The 1.6 hill climb gear selection is something you have to get right first time, pick the wrong gear and you rapidly grind down in speed. The 2.0 makes you feel you have gears to choose from. Leave the cruise on in 5th and it makes it to the top of most hills without slowing. The 2.0 has 6 gears, but I didnt find I was changing gears all that much. I once owned a 6 gear Toyota 2.2 and I hated the fact I was constantly changing gears in the welsh countryside. The 2.0 Skoda doesn't seem to be a problem that way. I speed up in 3rd or 4th and jump to cruising seed in 6th - no need to use all the gears like I had to in the 2.2 Toyota

 

The ride

Massive difference here. The 2.0 is a much more comfortable and quiet drive. My 1.6 was improved when I put shock assister pads in the rear (mainly to help it on speed bumps with a caravan - kept bottoming out). The 2.0 is just a very different feel entirely. On tight welsh roads I often drive on the cats eyes for stretches on road that are falling apart at the edges. The 1.6 makes a horrendous banging noise on each cats eye and pothole, you can also feel every little bump. In the 2.0 you could very easily miss the fact that you are on the cats eyes. a very deep bass thud, this is all you get, but quiet. Is that down to the wide 18" wheels? I don't know. But far more comfortable on rough serfaces all round. The ride hight is also noticable, the 1.6 is very low, even with the rear hight addition, but the 2.0 brings you up and above many other saloon cars. The suspension is 3 years newer, on a lighter car and probably totally different; that difference is a major improvement. Not to say I disliked the 1.6 ride, but the 2.0 is so much smoother, comfortable, refined and handles the corners better. Road surface noise and the rumble feel is much less of an issue.

 

Looks

The 1.6 estate in black has a real classy front end. Look at the front, it has classic lines. My favourite part of the car is the bonnet/hood. The MkII is up there with the Jag, BMW, Audi etc. But the rest of the estate is just an estate; a bit bland and gets very mucky at the back due to picking up road dirt via bad aerodynamics.

The saloon in white is a classic from all directions, could be mistaken for any number of high price cars and hardly shows any dirt. Keeps me looking out the window anyway!

 

Other

I think something is wrong with the 2.0 car!

I don't think I have ever stalled the 1.6. A diesel is pretty hard to stall anyway - not like a petrol. In the 48 hours I have had the 2.0 it has stalled 5 times! Once it didn't seem to want to start again - not till I turned the ignition off and on again. I must admit, I never use 1st on the 1.6 unless I have actually stopped at a junction or traffic jam. But the 2.0 does not seem to like this 2nd gear rolling start. 1st gear seems mandatory under 5mph. Why this should be I don't know. Me or the car? Time will tell I guess. Is it the VW fix problem?

 

 

Edited 21 August, 20178 yr by S00perb

 

The Greenline is designed to be 15mm lower for aerodynamics

 

Re the 2litre an EGR valve starting to fail can cause stalling (which may be a side effect of the dieselgate upgrade - if applied)

 

I tried the 1.6 diesel when I was looking for mine but found it underpowered and lacking even though it should have had similar power to my previous Superb I 1.9pd100.

I nearly walked away as the 2.0 diesel was way out of my price range (by £5k)  but then tried a 14month oid 1.4tsi that had been stuck in the dealer network for 8month of that! Must admit I wasn't expecting much but was pleasantly surprised - then I negotiated one hell of a price, petrol was a dirty word in June 2015

One other thing I have noticed between the 2 cars - the clutch pedel is as light as a feather on the 2.0 - the 1.6 is really stiff. Wonder why that should be so different?

7 hours ago, S00perb said:

One other thing I have noticed between the 2 cars - the clutch pedel is as light as a feather on the 2.0 - the 1.6 is really stiff. Wonder why that should be so different?

 

I can't remember the 1.6 clutch being heavy when I drove it.

 

The clutch release mechanism is very different between the two cars though . The 1.6 diesel has a five speed gearbox, clutch operating arm/release bearing  and an external slave cylinder - The 2.0 diesel has a six speed gearbox with a concentric slave cylinder/release bearing . Neither should be heavy though.

 

 

 

When I had the cutch changed on our aged 2001 1.416v Octavia  which had been slipping it was much lighter afterwards

 

 

2 hours ago, bigjohn said:

The 1.6 diesel has a five speed gearbox

 

It's a 6 speed manual gearbox on my MY2014  Superb 1.6.  I'm guessing they changed the spec at the time of the facelift. It's a nice, light clutch. 

12 minutes ago, TheRobinK said:

 

It's a 6 speed manual gearbox on my MY2014  Superb 1.6.  I'm guessing they changed the spec at the time of the facelift. It's a nice, light clutch. 

 

Indeed - the facelift 1.6 does have a 6 speed box. As far as I know 5 speed until then.

 

My 2014 1.4tsi facelift has a 6 speed box - but this is different box to the 6 speed diesel versions (think the 1.4 tsi always did have 6 speed in this car). Some of the facelift models also have  stop/start

 

 

Edited 22 August, 20178 yr by bigjohn

There is something up if it is stalling like that.  Never noticed anything with the two 170s I had.  I would certainly get that looked at.  I was always surprised by the difference in driving experience (apart from the obvious power difference) between the 1.6 and 2.0 but the 15mm drop does have a significant impact.  Also, having that extra power on tap with the 2.0 means very little high revving required and a gentle push of the throttle will normally suffice - makes for a much smoother ride of course.

1 minute ago, Superb170 said:

There is something up if it is stalling like that.  Never noticed anything with the two 170s I had.  I would certainly get that looked at.  I was always surprised by the difference in driving experience (apart from the obvious power difference) between the 1.6 and 2.0 but the 15mm drop does have a significant impact.  Also, having that extra power on tap with the 2.0 means very little high revving required and a gentle push of the throttle will normally suffice - makes for a much smoother ride of course.

Much smoother ride - apsolutely. Just did yesterday evening in Birmingham - its great in a city. Not stalled it since that first 2 days - must have been me!