Looking at getting an Octavia (or Superb) as my next company car. I've got £26k to spec one up - and must've plowed hours into the car configurator!

 

Looking at SE Tech Superb as a base, has to be diesel and I definitely want the DSG box.

 

Has anyone got any experience of "energy blue?" as a free option? It'd be great if I could use that money for more options, but I've no idea what it looks like. Pacific blue seemed like a good option, but no longer available.

 

Also, I can't figure out if getting an Octavia (SE L or SE Tech) with lots of options or a more modestly spec'd Superb is the better route. Any advice much appreciated!

 

Have a great Christmas

The choice will depend on how much rear legroom you want. The boot sizes are largely similar. 

There may be subtle differences in how they drive due to size differences so one may suit you better. 

So test drive both to see which you prefer.

Moving from an Octy II to a Superb III due to wanting more rear legroom for my kids now they are getting older.

I had a Seat Toledo in Pacific Blue although Seat insist on calling it Mediterranean blue. It was an inoffensive colour which could be described as boring. Just had a look at a Kodiaq in Energy Blue and it is a little lighter and in my opinion a subtly superior colour for a larger car.

Superb also has more safety features and its a little better isolated at the engine. Other than that as mentioned before, test drive is a must to see which one fits you most.

We have put the Octavia Estate on our wish list twice in the past and on each occasion it failed simply because of the very high wind and tyre noise. This is regularly mentioned on here and on other forums. Some appear to accept it since the car is very good in areas they need the car to be good in but for us a noisy car is a liability on a 430 mile drive. The first time we bought a Kia Ceed SW which we had for 5 years and proved relaxing on our holiday trips, the second time we bought a Seat Leon which despite being identical under the skin to the Octavia was very refined.

 

Last time we swapped we tried the Superb and to be honest expected it to be inferior to the Leon but we were wrong, it was magic. But before we ordered on we felt we had to try another Octavia just to check if they had improved. Dealer loaned us a hatch which had acceptable road noise but very high wind noise but the Estate was pretty much as before.

 

For the small extra cost the Superb was far superior in every department and it fits in the garage at the new house.

Thanks a lot for the advice, really useful.

I’ve put my money where my mouth is, Kirku - signed up for a Superb TSi DSG. Clincher for me was a test in a Superb Sportline, which - despite lower suspension and low profile tyres - still rode better than my Octy.

 

If you look carefully at the spec, even a Superb SE isn’t poverty by Octy standards, so that’s what I’m going for with a couple of extras. It’s cost more than a new Octy would have done but it’s a price worth paying for three years of comfort.

Edited 26 December, 20178 yr by MorrisOx

Definitely go the Superb route if at all possible.  I’ve owned a good few Octavia’s and they are great cars but the Superb is really in a different class.  Well worth moving up for the comfort and refinement alone, not to mention the space!  You can tire of those nice-to -have options but you won’t tire of the more cosseted driving experience of the Superb.

Going to pull the trigger on the Superb - once our fleet department are back at work!

 

I wish I knew what Energy Blue looked like, as it's a pain having to spend £550 of my option budget on a colour. If Energy Blue looks anything better than "bloody awful", I'll use the money on KESSY, or something. 

 

Has anyone driven the 1.6 TDI? 

5 hours ago, MorrisOx said:

I’ve put my money where my mouth is, Kirku - signed up for a Superb TSi DSG. Clincher for me was a test in a Superb Sportline, which - despite lower suspension and low profile tyres - still rode better than my Octy.

 

If you look carefully at the spec, even a Superb SE isn’t poverty by Octy standards, so that’s what I’m going for with a couple of extras. It’s cost more than a new Octy would have done but it’s a price worth paying for three years of comfort.

Are you getting one built, by any chance? Just wondering how long they say they'll take to deliver.

 

If it were up to me, I'd also go TSI DSG - but I've got to buy diesel, company policy (sounds like one rooted in the past - to me, at least..)

Yep, deal guaranteed now on a factory order due for delivery in time for the 18 plate in March.

 

I’m guessing your company policy is driven by discounts available to business purchasers,  which will probably be pretty hefty on diesels now. They’ll need to be, though - when I was negotiating my deal on the Superb TSi I was told that PCPs are factoring in lower values on diesel compared to petrol in the long-term.

 

Either way, you won’t regret a Superb. Driving two (an SE L and then a Sportline) over the past two months convinced me that the basic platform (which has multi-link suspension at the rear) is significantly better.

Edited 26 December, 20178 yr by MorrisOx

Dealers / Lease Companies know now that a diesel with the VED at £200 first year needs to be first registered by April & the Band increase as it is going to £500 

and then the Business user increase.

So it will be interested to see the changes that dealers / lease companies will be doing with the cars price / deposit / monthly etc.

Edited 26 December, 20178 yr by AwaoffSki

23 hours ago, kirku said:

Has anyone driven the 1.6 TDI? 

 

If you mean the 120PS 1.6 TDI, that's what mine has.  I'm no expert and haven't driven any more powerful cars, but for my daily commute (roughly 60 miles each way) it drives fine and has enough oomph to be sufficient for my needs.  Power to weight ratio is probably not great, but I'm no boy racer.  Given I came from a Seat Ibiza 1.2 TDi with 75PS it feels a lot more powerful!!

12 minutes ago, MCG1975 said:

 

If you mean the 120PS 1.6 TDI, that's what mine has.  I'm no expert and haven't driven any more powerful cars, but for my daily commute (roughly 60 miles each way) it drives fine and has enough oomph to be sufficient for my needs.  Power to weight ratio is probably not great, but I'm no boy racer.  Given I came from a Seat Ibiza 1.2 TDi with 75PS it feels a lot more powerful!!

 

How is it for overtaking on B roads? Also living in Norfolk, means I deal with that far more often than I'd like!

It’s low to mid-range torque you need for that, kirku. The 1.6 TDi’s torque is the same as the 1.4 TSi, but it runs out of breath where the petrol TSi is getting into its stride. For what you’re doing, I suspect the entry-level 148bhp  2.0 TDi will be better as it’s got more low-end grunt than both.

Edited 27 December, 20178 yr by MorrisOx

4 hours ago, kirku said:

 

How is it for overtaking on B roads? Also living in Norfolk, means I deal with that far more often than I'd like!

 

Have to confess I don't have that as much as my commute takes me away from Norwich to Cambridge along the A11/A14 so it's more cruising speeds and dual carriageway overtaking.  That said, when I've needed it it's there, albeit maybe with a drop of a gear or two.  As I say, I've not much experience with more powerful cars (or petrol, as I've had diesel company cars since 1998) so I'll bow to others for their knowledge.

 

If you're anywhere near Wymondham I'm sure we could go out for a run to give a feel of the thing... 

4 hours ago, kirku said:

 

How is it for overtaking on B roads? Also living in Norfolk, means I deal with that far more often than I'd like!

 

I'm afraid I haven't driven the 1.6, but I can say that the 2.0 150 gives you a lot of confidence to overtake safely on rural A and B roads. I'd recommend it.

21 hours ago, MCG1975 said:

 

Have to confess I don't have that as much as my commute takes me away from Norwich to Cambridge along the A11/A14 so it's more cruising speeds and dual carriageway overtaking.  That said, when I've needed it it's there, albeit maybe with a drop of a gear or two.  As I say, I've not much experience with more powerful cars (or petrol, as I've had diesel company cars since 1998) so I'll bow to others for their knowledge.

 

If you're anywhere near Wymondham I'm sure we could go out for a run to give a feel of the thing... 

 

Thanks, I might well take you up on that offer - very kind! Haven't found any dealers with that engine, so really hard to judge.