Škoda Superb SportLine (ready to order)

[dubincalling]

Hi guys,

Getting ready to place an order for SportLine for 181. It's an Irish spec car so may differ somewhat from UK or even rest of Europe. Waiting time is  some12 weeks.

It's a petrol, TSI, 280 HP 4x4, 6 speed automatic.

 

Would like to hear some feedback from the ones who have a SportLine but also form the ones that have the Superb III if the below is a good spec or if I should drop something...(or add something else)

 

Extras

• Rear side airbags
• Additional front underbody guard and underbody stone guard
• Dynamic chassis control (DCC)
• Sunroof
• Temporary space-saver spare wheel
• Heated windscreen
• Acoustic insulation with Sunset tinted windows
• Heated 3 spoke leather multifunction steering wheel with DSG paddles
• Adaptive Cruise Control - up to 160km/hr
• Front fog lights with cornering function
• Park assist
• Wi-Fi with LTE internet
• Travel assist
• Light assist with Lane assist and BSD
• Columbus touchscreen satellite navigation system
• SPORTLINE Edition 
• Care Connect 1 year and Infotainment Online 1 year *** Free on Style trim ***
• Heated windscreen washer nozzles
• Crew Protect Assist - Rear
• Rear window wiper
• Dynamic steering
• Private emergency call system
• Electrically operated boot
• Heated front and rear seats
• Digital radio reception

Edited 4 November, 2017 by dubincalling

[fiki]

You have a really good spec right there. Does it have 19" as standard? What does this sportline edition mean? I've got a sportline,a would sugest you go for ACC,sensors all around,sat nav,19",heated seats,progressive steering and the rest is just a bonus. I would skip dcc,it drives very nicely on sport suspention that is standard on sportline,and i've heard dcc is much softer,even in sport mode. I personaly find sport suspention perfext blend of sporty (stiff) and comfortable enough to drive around town.

[dubincalling]

2 hours ago, fiki said:

You have a really good spec right there. Does it have 19" as standard? What does this sportline edition mean? I've got a sportline,a would sugest you go for ACC,sensors all around,sat nav,19",heated seats,progressive steering and the rest is just a bonus. I would skip dcc,it drives very nicely on sport suspention that is standard on sportline,and i've heard dcc is much softer,even in sport mode. I personaly find sport suspention perfext blend of sporty (stiff) and comfortable enough to drive around town.

 

Thanks for response fiki.

The car comes in Ireland with 17'' as standard. The 19'' Vega can only be ordered on SportLine trim and look nice.  Thanks for the feedback re DCC

[fiki]

Yeah,but i meant are 19 vega standard in sportline trim? Because in my country 18" zenith sre standard and 19 vega are pricy option (about 1000 euros) so i didn't spec them,i am looking to buy them seperatly(i can buy whole set for about the same price) and basicly keep these 18" for free (because if i paid 1000e from factory,i wouldn't get them).

Regarding DCC,everybody says it is on the soft side,and i don't really like that (if i did i'd buy a Renault ),and it is quite costly.

[MaddicIrl]

Thats quite a spec, must bring the car close to €60k list. I have a sport line and would agree by and large with what @fiki has said.

 

18" Zenith are standard in Ireland, Vegas are approx. €500 extra.

 

I would add the phone box, the wireless charging wouldn't bother me as you need to connect the usb cable for CarPlay or AA anyways. I bought a short USB but there really is no where to put the phone.

 

If its a hatch, the wiper really takes away from the look Imo but this is personal preference, the wiper does add a washer for the rear camera which might be handy though (according to the manual).

 

What colour are you going for?

[dubincalling]

Thanks for the feedback fiki (hvala na savjetu) and Maddiclrl.

 

I think I will stick with the 18'' Zeniths.

I had my doubts re DCC and I keep adding it and removing it. Not sure what dynamic steering adds though (as a compromise). Cant find anything on it?!

@Maddiclrl: is the phone box really worth the 800 euro?  Other than acting as signal booster (antenna), what's the other role? Does CarPlay mirror Google maps?

Advice re wiper for the hatch taken onboard. 

I am struggling with colours! I like the Dragon Skin and the Quartz Grey. However, we have a Superb in Metal Grey which is the identical col0ur so, don't fancy having 2 Superbs with the same colour. I am considering the Moon White metallic. Even the black colour might look well. What colours do yours have?

 

[MaddicIrl]

I have the Moon White, sport line looks well as it highlights the black bits. I also have dynamic steering, with the sport line setup others have said makes a good difference, I don't know as I have no reference but steering is sharp. DCC I have no idea but I certainly don't miss it, the ride is good even on 19"s, I would ask you to reconsider these, they really fill the wheel arch.

 

The phone box would not be an additional 800 as you are already getting the LTE and WIFI so it would be an extra 300-400 over your current spec I believe. It also supports wireless charging but as above not a big deal if using AA or CarPlay. There really is no where to put the phone unless you don't mind a wire crossing the gear shift area.

 

Not sure if CarPlay will show google maps but will show apple maps (doesn't show as an option on mine at least), I use the built in sat nav, traffic updates not so important where  I live and I like the directions also showing on the maxi dot.

 

As its a 280, I certainly would consider the dragon green but see it in the flesh, photos won't do it justice. Black is also really nice on the sport line but hides the black bits, again though as its a 280 I would consider the black to be a bit of a sleeper. The superb design really lends itself well to all the colours but go for the lighter colours if you want the sport line aspect to stand out. There is also a velvet red which would look really good also.

Edited 5 November, 2017 by MaddicIrl

[dubincalling]

Thanks MaddicIrl.

I think white it will be for me too!

Can you confirm if your maxi dot is coloured or monochromatic? The colour maxi dot doesn't come up as an option when I am building mine. 

 

 

[fiki]

I was considering laser white or magic black and went with black,it looks very elegant and agressive in all black finish. 

I would tick those vega rims as they are quite cheap(here they are more than double the price) and look muzh better,especially if you go for white or green car (for me these zenith go great with black car because they make it elegant,but vegas make it stand out).

I personaly would skip dcc,but progressive steering is very nice adition,also it is quite cheap. It makes steering very light in parking,and it firms up at speed,also it makes steering much faster so you can go through 90 degree turn without moving your hands of the steering wheel (it requires just a quarter of a turn).

I wouldn't give 800euros for phonebox,and i would definitly skip rear wiper,it looks awful.

I considered 280,but went for 190 dsg 4x4 (they cost the same in my country,but too much speed bothered me because of young driver in my household).

With that spec you will be a nightmare for average arteon drivers,they paid much more for same car (which in most cases has less equipment and performance).

A odakle si ti,koliko kosta superb tamo?

[dubincalling]

3 minutes ago, fiki said:

I was considering laser white or magic black and went with black,it looks very elegant and agressive in all black finish. 

I would tick those vega rims as they are quite cheap(here they are more than double the price) and look muzh better,especially if you go for white or green car (for me these zenith go great with black car because they make it elegant,but vegas make it stand out).

I personaly would skip dcc,but progressive steering is very nice adition,also it is quite cheap. It makes steering very light in parking,and it firms up at speed,also it makes steering much faster so you can go through 90 degree turn without moving your hands of the steering wheel (it requires just a quarter of a turn).

I wouldn't give 800euros for phonebox,and i would definitly skip rear wiper,it looks awful.

I considered 280,but went for 190 dsg 4x4 (they cost the same in my country,but too much speed bothered me because of young driver in my household).

With that spec you will be a nightmare for average arteon drivers,they paid much more for same car (which in most cases has less equipment and performance).

A odakle si ti,koliko kosta superb tamo?

 

Perfect!

You both persuaded me.

The guy in the dealership is going to have a fit with me as I've already changed my mind (for quotation purposes) twice but thanks to both of you, I have a much better picture.

The only two petrol engine specs in Ireland are a 1.4 L (150 HP) and a 2 L (280 HP) which is a shame I think as they should have offered an intermediate  option.

I think as a result of your advice, I will go for the white colour (I am a freak when it comes to keeping my cars clean), will ditch the rear wiper and go for dynamic steering and the Vega 19'' rims (€~475). I'll see what I can do about the phone box...

 

The configuration I chose is here. I just made a mistake with the colour

 

@fiki: Rodjen u Preševu, živim u Irskoj vec dosta dugo

 

 

[fiki]

Srecni sa novim autom,lepo da se navozas. Ide taj 280 vrhunski,ja zbog klinca nisam hteo (a delom i zbog sebe,strumfovi sa radarima na svakom cosku) pa sam uzeo 190 dizel sa dsg i 4x4(ista cena za 280 i taj dizel). Kod nas je 36 hiljada za moj,tu su vidim dosta skuplji.

That spec is perfect,you can go for laser white,it is by far the whitest (it was my first pick,but than i saw blaci one and fell in love,now when it is perpetualy dirty i think about my decision). 

You will be surprised by how well it drives,different to all other skodas (including for exhample mid spec front wheel drive superb mk3,like 2 different cars).

[MaddicIrl]

2 hours ago, dubincalling said:

Can you confirm if your maxi dot is coloured or monochromatic? The colour maxi dot doesn't come up as an option when I am building mine. 

Yep, the maxi dot is colour on the sport line.

 

1 hour ago, dubincalling said:

The only two petrol engine specs in Ireland are a 1.4 L (150 HP) and a 2 L (280 HP) which is a shame I think as they should have offered an intermediate  option.

Agreed, if the 220 was available here it would have made the choice much more difficult for me.

 

My dealer told me that while extra is charged for metallic on the configurator, the cost to the dealer of moon white or laser white is the same, meaning while it may cost more list price wise you can possibly get a better deal with the metallic option. Tar spots are a right PITA with the white, make sure and get mud flaps.

 

Picture of my moon white here on page 65: pictures don't really show the metallic , yours will have the very nice twin exhausts, not the dummies. If you go with sunroof you will also get a black roof (confirm this though) which really suits the sport line Imo.

 

 

[JackySi]

DCC on sport feels very stiff to me. And I love DCC. Would never ever get a car without it again. When driving fast it offers great stiffness in sport mode, when driving on high way even at 240km/h at normal mode it feels awesome. Not to mention that in many cases DCC does feel a lot different than sport suspension. You feel it working at acceleration, breaking, cornering, speed bumps which are huge here in Slovenia and much more. Went on test drive without DCC on Sportline and it was very stiff like Octavia 2014 which feels like its a tank on road compared to Superb. Question is what do you want from your suspension? You don't have formula even at very very fast cornering the car feels like train on the road, doesn't really feel like suspension is any sort of issue. 

I drive very fast some times on roads I really know and honestly the car doesn't have any problems with cornering because of the suspension system. It feels very firm in corners. Before having any issues you will feel ESC limiting your acceleration and even in ESC Sport mode I've never felt any issues from suspension. I really don't understand what people compare DCC with and then how they justify its not worth it. Suspension is like 3th most important thing on the car (after safety and engine). At least for me. 

 

The only issue I have with this car is horse power... I wish I could get 300hp+ diesel engine! If there was one, I'd buy it.  Btw I did 7000km in about 2 months. 

 

P.S.: From my understanding the difference between normal suspension, sport and DCC is the shock absorbers and coils. DCC ofc has active shock absorbers and coils which are "middle". Sport has -15mm and normal is +15mm. Normal and Sport have same absorbers.  I might be wrong so please correct me if I am!

Edited 5 November, 2017 by JackySi

[fiki]

Well,thanks to 4x4 he wont ever have a problem with acceleration ,as it won't spin its wheels and cause esc to kick in. DCC is good if you want softer car,but if you want sportier,firmer ride (which i really like) sport suspention is the way to go. I didn't find dcc worth the extra,it was softer than stamdard sport suspention even in sport setting. 

You will love 4x4 sistem in this car. Combined with xds+ it really feels planted and corners really nice. Throw progressive steering in the equation and it really feels totaly different to "ordinary" superb.

[JackySi]

ESC doesn't really trigger because of spinning wheels on Superb. Its to make ride more comfortable. So if you want "sport ride" you need to switch from ESC to ESC Sport. Otherwise 4x4 or not you will get limited acceleration and speed in cornering. I have 235 wheels and they don't have issues with "grip" at all. I have XDS+ enabled on my ride as well. 

I am not trying to fight you. Ofc it all comes down to preferences. I always hated firm suspensions because spending hours and hours in car I really don't want to feel every damn bump in my spine =). VW cars don't really have "soft" seats. If i wanted sportier ride I'd go for some sportier car =). Superb is not a sports car. That's my 5 cents. 

[Ootohere]

^^^ A  280PS / 205 kW petrol AWD is a bit nearer being a big sports car than a 140 kW Diesel.

Edited 5 November, 2017 by Headinawayoffski

[JackySi]

Just because it has power its not a sports car... All you have on 280ps 4x4 is acceleration... in a turn there is nothing that will make it better than a 140kw Diesel.

Edited 5 November, 2017 by JackySi

[fiki]

Ofcourse,not everybody has same tastes. But difference between superb with and without 4x4 is more than evident. Esc keeps your front wheels from spining (i drove a diesel vrs and it hapened often ),there is no problem with that when you have 4x4,so no real need to switch esc to sport setting. I agree about the sportcar comment (superb 280 is fast,but not a sportcar),but i like firmer ride(makes me feel more connected to the car). Also,xds+ is active on both axels when you have 4x4,which makes a difference. I drove superb with and without 4x4,there is a big difference(so 280 and 190 with 4x4 won't differ much when it comes to cornering,but compared ti something with just front wheel drive,they will do much better).

Edited 5 November, 2017 by fiki

[JackySi]

ESC doesn't really only do that. It actually prevents you from putting to much "torque" or how to call it on your wheels. Wheels have 100% grip, if you use 99% for the turn, acceleration will make  car slide. There ESC takes power away. I love driving at point where car slides a little and that's how I noticed how ESC works. Yes I'm crazy and I have diesel ^^. AWD won't make difference at that point. That's what I'm trying to say. I never had issue with FWD on my diesel when it comes to fast driving. At 280HP yes FWD would make car spin and yes it would feel bit worse in corners. But XDS+ isn't just for differential. It also uses rear breaks to compensate power from one to another side. So 4x4 again doesn't do much difference compared to FWD.

I do agree it makes difference in ride quality. But in "grip" and "sport" there is not much that you will profit from that. All these systems do is make you "FEEL" safer. If you exceed tire limit, you're out. 4x4, FWD, RWD, nothing makes difference there. I am not saying its bad  As we said, matter of what you like and whats your preference. I drive cars to the limit. I don't expect my car to last over 6 years. I know that. I also know if I bought 280 I'd drive even faster. But that's why I got a slow and lazy 140kW diesel. 

P.S.: Forgot to say one thing. ESC is actually not "ASP" which prevents wheels from spinning. Its actually "group" of safety systems like ESP, ASC, ABS, etc...

Edited 6 November, 2017 by JackySi
Forgot a text :D

[fiki]

Well,i am now pretty sure you haven't driven a 4x4 car,because you basicly just said esc makes 4x4 irrelevant...

It makes a huge difference,having power on rear wheels makes the car much more neutral,and making fwd car "slide" is not rocket science,actually it understeers easily. That is where 4x4 makes the difference,it takes much more to get it to slide(that is why it is described as "rails").

Acceleration doesn't make the car slide,just wheels not having enough grip. It is true,esc is a number of sistems that keep you safe,but as far as messing with acceleration goes,it keeps you from spining wheels which occurs when too much power is being sent to the wheel,so tyre can't transver it to ground (resoulting in sliping). When you have 4x4,you have twice more traction to put the power down,so esc doesn't kick in and cut the power (which it does in a fwd car,to make it regain traction).

Do you know what xds+ does? In a FWD car it brakes inside wheel on front axle to make the car turn better,in a 4x4 car it does just the same but on both axels,compared to just front axle on FWD car. 

4x4 doesn't just make you feel safer,it in facts makes the car safer(and not to mention snow,wet etc.)

Go out and drive a superb with and without 4x4,you will see the difference.

If you want to slide,go and drive a RWD car. Esc off ,floor it on turn in,oposite lock and pleasure is there. Of course,it needs practicing but really isn't that hard.

[JackySi]

I drove over 250.000km with Audi A6 Quattro so I know how AWD feels.

[Whenwillilearn]

This is great banter! A driver quotes "drives to the limit" "drives very fast" then announces his ride is a 140kW diesel. Is this skoda irony? 

 

Lets get one thing clear. A superb no matter what variety is no sports car. It was never designed as such. I have a 220 sportline. Feels quick in isolation but its not rapid. Its a big car to get moving along, but what the 220 has apart from more bhp than the 140kW diesel is just as much usable torque and it does not drone or vibrate. I can only deduce the 280 petrol has even more torque and is clearly what someone should have purchased instead of the "140 kW" diesel.

 

 

[fiki]

4 hours ago, JackySi said:

I drove over 250.000km with Audi A6 Quattro so I know how AWD feels.

And you think esc makes 4x4 obsolete? Something doesn't make sense.

220 and 280 have same torque,which is 350NM. 190 diesel has 400NM.

Edited 6 November, 2017 by fiki

[Superb170]

Wow, what a spec and a brave purchase considering the inevitable depreciation on a 280.  If you're keeping it for years, that doesn't matter too much of course.  Spec is very much personal thing so there are probably things in there that you might use more than others such as park assist.  Most of the extras are worthwhile IMO and if you're spending that sort of money, you may as well go all out!  Heated steering wheel is great and I sort of regret not going for active cruise so another good one to have.  I didn't see ventilated seats but then realised you will probably have alcantara seats.  I would be adding that if they were regular leather seats.  Wise move on the 18s, especially with our roads!  I'd echo the above comment on the rear wiper as it does transform the Superb (and not in a good way on the nicer looking specs ).

[penguin17]

@dubincalling - nice spec.  Personally, I'd keep the rear window wiper.  I agree that it ruins the aesthetics of the car but in the rain and frosty mornings you'll be glad of having the ability to see out of your rear window.  I had a Passat CC for a few years and the lines of that car would have been ruined with a rear wiper but I still wanted one every time I looked in my rear view mirror, in bad weather.  Luckily the sweeping roofline allowed some level of clearance at motorway speeds.  The slab sided Superb doesn't have that luxury.