I posted a version of this on the Octavia MkIII forum at the beginning of December, but I was originally attracted to a Skoda Superb Combi before the Octavia, so I would appreciate comments from this forum too.

 

I’m a long-term SAAB driver – 5 over the past 26 years and other marques before that. For the past 10 years I’ve been driving a MY2004 SAAB 9.5 (2.3litre) HOT Aero Estate with the following vital statistics:

250bhp, 350Nm, 140bhp/tonne, 0-60mph in 6.9 secs, max speed 152mph, ~33mpg.

I love this car which I drive with a ‘smooth, spirited style making good progress’ (IAM language), rather than driving like a hooligan (been there, done that). To be honest, I rarely use (or need) the car’s full potential in acceleration or speed.

 

My SAAB still drives great after nearly 160,000 miles, but at some point I’ll need a replacement. Should it be a Skoda and if so, which one?

 

The Superb Sportline TSI estate might be an obvious choice (good looking and, I think, 220bhp ought to be enough), but should I consider a Superb 1.4/1.5 ACT Sportline Combi (1.5 ACT will probably be available by the time I switch)? Acceleration is good at 7.1secs (similar to my SAAB). After ~40 years driving experience a 1.4/1.5 litre engine seems too small to me (prejudice?), but technology moves on and it has some interesting tech and economy. Not as exciting, but perhaps it’s good enough? I only cover about 10,000 miles/year these days (early, active retired, empty-nester, adventure sport enthusiast), so it’s petrol-only please.
Car-lust attracts me to a 280bhp Superb Sportline, but I don’t think it’s the practical/sensible choice. @Hpoom’s Dragon Green 280 Sportline Combi is ‘car-porn’! I want one!

I prefer manual shift, but that is a result of driving ‘old’ boring automatics (and past reports of VAG DSG problems).  Comments on DSG versus manual?
I’m self-funded, so I would plan to keep the car for several years.

 

 

Car	Bhp	Nm	Bhp/tonne	0-62	Max speed	mpg
SAAB	250	350	140	6.9	152	33
Sport 220	217	350	147	7.1	151	40?
Sport 150	150	250	108	8.7	135	50?
Sport 280	280	350	178	5.8	155	30?

 

Discuss…….. (as they say).

I will test-drive, but haven’t done so yet. However, I’m interested in the views of current Skoda drivers, especially anyone else who also move from SAAB to Skoda.

Cheers,

Well anything you drive moving from a Saab will be a good drive as the Saab will be knocking on a bit now.

 

I liked my Saab but any modern car is miles ahead.

 

Test drive yourself, the proof is in the pudding as they say.

 

I had an Octy 3 and was fautless, no getting the Superb as it feels more refined and more space.

Well, if we can get Skoda to produce a model called the Gripen...

28 minutes ago, aldouk said:

Well anything you drive moving from a Saab will be a good drive as the Saab will be knocking on a bit now.

 

I liked my Saab but any modern car is miles ahead.

 

Test drive yourself, the proof is in the pudding as they say.

 

I had an Octy 3 and was fautless, no getting the Superb as it feels more refined and more space.

 

I miss my SAAB Estate - had the HOT Petrol Aero and also the Hirsch Tuned 1.9 Diesel Estate ....... different cars .... but both v good

 

I bought a 2009 9-3 Aero Convertible ....... which I only use in the summer months and I intend to keep it

 

The Aero 9 5 Estate was almost a "perfect" car for me ........ just great to drive

 

you say that the modern Skoda is "miles ahead" ............ if so my next car should be a Superb Estate, (my friend has a 170 4x4 ........ I must admit is it nice ..... but?) .... but I aught then to drive a recent Octavia or Superb, (may a little too big for me)

 

One thing I don't miss is the petrol consumption of the SAAB

 

SAAB's have now started to increase in value ........ try finding a good 9 3 Aero for what you would regard as reasonable money .. some are pushing £9k+

Hardly any 9 5 Aeros for sale, in good nick with reasonable miles

Edited 23 December, 20178 yr by BillN_33

5 hours ago, BillN_33 said:

The Aero 9 5 Estate was almost a "perfect" car for me ........ just great to drive

Roger that!

 

At 160,000 miles my SAAB uses no oil and drives as good as when I first got it. That's why I haven'y rushed out to change it and why it's so difficult to choose a successor.

 

@aldouk "... any modern car is miles ahead". I'm not so sure: the acceleration, top speed and consumption are shown in the table in my OP. They're as good as a Superb Sportline Estate 2.0 TSi. My SAAB has excellent, full leather upholstery, heated front and rear seats, reliability, low long-term total running costs =£21,800 (120,000 miles, 10 years, all servicing and tyres and depreciation to zero, not including fuel and road tax). I don't think you'll see that on any modern car of equivalent performance and comfort. However, another SAAB is not an option..... :-(

 

Hi Viggen,

IMHO the Superb is great to drive and generally quiet (even though road noise is not so well controlled) but the cabin quality isn't quite Saab quality and the audio, even with the Canton system, isn't *anywhere* near the quality of the system in the Aero HOT I had in 2005 or the Volvo S60 system in my last car.

The FWD 220 also suffers with an irritating loud 'bang' when accelerating in the wet if, for example, you drive over an expansion joint and the wheels jump momentarily.

I'd still choose the Superb - it really is a great car - but go into it with eyes open.

1 hour ago, El Dingo said:

but the cabin quality isn't quite Saab quality

 

Much of the cabin is using the VW group parts bin (e.g. air con controls) and is therefore VW quality. Some bits are cheaper feeling - electric window controls are cheaper feeling than I had in a Passat CC and definitely cheaper feeling than in an Audi.

 

But it's an excellent car. And for the same price as an Audi A3 saloon with the same engine and gearbox, I have a lot higher spec (A3 had lots of options too) such as the smart light assist/blind spot/rear alert, ACC, reverse camera, park assist, etc. And lots more room  especially rear leg room (boot is enormous too).

22 hours ago, El Dingo said:

 

The FWD 220 also suffers with an irritating loud 'bang' when accelerating in the wet if, for example, you drive over an expansion joint and the wheels jump momentarily.

I'd still choose the Superb - it really is a great car - but go into it with eyes open.

Search for dogbone insert on this site.

This can cure that.

5 hours ago, facet edge said:

Search for dogbone insert on this site.

This can cure that.

Yep, I know that one (was involved in the discussion on this forum), however, my car is on lease and fitting the metal or poly insert would invalidate the warranty.

It's a pity, as I'd live with the additional engine noise to get rid of that 'bang'.

I too had (automatic) 2,3 litre Saab 9-5's and was sad to see the last one go - it only had 49K on it but was 13 years old - I think it was scrapped off as it hasn't got tax and mot anymore (according to DVLA). It had similar performance to yours but more power and loads more torque due to ECU stage 1 re-programming (can't remember the manufacturer now but bought the programmer from ElkSaab) - abysmal mpg though as used around town high teens to low 20's .

Bought a 220 L&K hatch and it has masses of room, very comfortable, full of tech, excellent mpg and a fair turn of speed when you need it - it doesn't feel as it has as much oomph as the Saab but on paper it does. I think that may be down to the ridiculous torque that mine had. As others have mentioned on the forum the Skoda 220 can take off like a scalded cat. The 280 more so but with a 4x4 weight penalty which is made up by the excellent levels of grip.

The 220 is about 50kg+ lighter than the Saab 9-5 and I regularly achieve high 30's to low 40's mpg.

 

The choice in the end is yours but I would say the 220 is a compromise between getting the power through the front wheels onto the road, good economy and is very similar in performance to an older 9-5 Aero.

I haven't seen the newer 1.5 litre engines but VAG will make it a winner no doubt. If there was one thing I would do it would be replacing the Pirelli P7s for Bridgestone or Continentals as damp weather grip on the factory P7s is not as good (IMHO).

 

Other than that the Skoda Superb is the best car I've ever had.

 

Thank you all for your comments thus far, I appreciate your input. Feel free to comment further.

 

@TerryMK  Prior to my current SAAB 9.5 Aero HOT Estate, I had a 1999 SAAB 9.5 LPT Saloon. I bought it from my neighbour as after 5 years low mileage it was immaculate. That car had a chip set fitted from Hirsch Performance (Switzerland) which took the bhp from about 185 to 220 and improved the torque.

 

Currently, I think 220 TSi may be the more practical/sensible solution, rather than the 280 TSi, over an extended period.

I'm still hoping that some Superb 1.4 TSi owners will post their experiences here for me.

1 hour ago, Viggen said:

I'm still hoping that some Superb 1.4 TSi owners will post their experiences here for me.

 

I've had this engine and gearbox combo in the Superb for 2.5 months and also had it in an Audi A3 saloon for 3 years. I have had no problems, it does not suffer lag, it seems fine for performance.

 

If the Superb was fully loaded with luggage and passengers then it might not be so good but it would just have to change down gears more often. But it's usually no more than 2 people in it and rarely will it have lots of luggage. Often it's just me.

 

This engine really is excellent - better than the 1.8T VW engine I had in a Golf GTI and Passat Sport from 1999-2003.

 

Try it if you can - for my test drive in the UK they didn't have any 1.4TSI DSG Superbs. I had a 220PS for a week's demo.

Edited 28 December, 20178 yr by rtj70

 

I've owned a Saab 900s Coupe Automatic, A Subaru Impreza WRX manual all Prodrive tuned, an Octavia 1.9TDi manual and now the Superb 280 Sportline DSG.

 

You might miss a bit of the old Saab quality but not much and the Superb 280 is an absolutely awesome car for the money. I feel like it has pretty much all the benefits of all the things I liked about my previous cars but in a much more refined, evolved and improved way! It might not drive like the Impreza but it sure has performance and it does drive incredibly well. My Sport line is always in sport suspension and steering mode and the handling has never let me down and it is leagues ahead of the Saab I had! 

I love the DSG and never miss driving a manual car, which I used to love!

 

I say go for the Superb 280 4x4, which, let's face it, you already want. Life is short. Get what you want. You won't be disappointed.

There are lots of Saab / Skoda comparisons throughout this article posted elsewhere on the forum earlier today: https://www.parkers.co.uk/skoda/superb/estate-2015/long-term-reviews/skoda-superb-sportline-estate-20-tsi-4x4-dsg/

 

However good the 1.4 is, I can't imagine in a million years it will come anywhere near to the Saabs you've previously owned in terms of performance - I think the 220 or 280 will be the closest match.

Edited 29 December, 20178 yr by CheshireBumpkin