What would owners replace their superb with?

[GoneToBeemer]

On 01/06/2018 at 14:13, GaSelle said:

Well, I don’t agree. Sure, the 5’er has a few fancier details, but the quality doesn’t seem higher to me. 

 

The three 520d’s I’ve driven (all 2018) has been noisier than my 2018 Superb TSI. The 520 is a lovely car, to me it’s just not worth the extra cost. 

 

Thing is though, the “extra cost” is a bit of an imaginary barrier really. The vast majority of people lease / PCP their cars these days, and all that’s really important is the monthly payment. My 520d with a few nice options was about £50 a month less than I could find a Superb L&K 190 for anywhere, and that was a major factor for me. 

 

Still, each to their own! Always said the world would be a boring place if we all had the same opinions 

[GaSelle]

Over here the cheapest 520d saloon without any extras are about 20K£ than a compareable Superb Style. 

[skidpan]

On 31/05/2018 at 23:34, toni8b said:

Superb quality (materials, sound proofing) the same as 5 series? What are you drinking?

 

At the moment a coffee. All that caffeine stops me worrying about what all our neighbors think about us having 2 inferior Skodas on the drive.

 

If I wanted I could buy a 5 series cash today but I would get no more pleasure from owning one and it would not make me a nicer person. Did 1000 miles in the Superb last week and I can 100% tell you no car would have done a better job.

 

Tonight I will be feeling smug about my car choice.

[teebs]

My father got a 65 plate 520d M Sport the same month I got my Superb.

 

The Skoda has been far more reliable than his BMW. In 2.5 years his car has been in the garage for about 6 weeks in total with quite a few different issues..my Skoda, despite having over double the mileage has only been in for routine servicing.

 

I won't even go into lease costs, fuel economy and comfort because the Skoda is leagues ahead In those respects. 

 

[dg360]

I've seen a few mentions of plastics and materials in this thread. I know the motoring press thinks that the score they give to a car is directly linked to the softness of the plastic stuck on the dash, but does it really matter to anyone else beyond the 3rd week of ownership?

Without going out to your car - describe the squishy-ness of the plastic under the windscreen.

As long as all of the bits you touch are made of appropriate functional, durable materials - who cares?!

 

Next car for me - hybrid Superb estate or a Volvo V90.

[jeehi]

I've had quite a few Skoda's over the years and my thoughts are yes the quality of the cars has improved over the years but the experience especially with the dealers (and their quality control) has decreased. My current superb whilst being the best Skoda I have had for quality, In the 2.5 years I have had it I have been back to the dealers more that 3 times my last MK2 Octavia VRS did (including for services). This was because it takes sometimes up to 4 visits to get a problem fixed. The front door window rubber as an example 

 

Visit 1 - glue rubbers

visit 2 - 8 months later replace passenger rubbers upon pickup noticed new rubber glued with gap of 1/2 inch between body and top of door (out of alignment) car booked in for 3rd visit

visit 3 - renew passenger rubber also drivers rubber as it had also gone, upon pickup drivers window glass was outside the rubber (Skoda senior tech (just out of nappies) at first couldn't see problem until I dropped coin onto seat with door and window closed. took car in and fixed - complaint made to service manager about quality checks before car is returned to customer - was informed no checks done just rely on technician doing good work

visit 4 - revisit for chrome to be replaced as wasn't available on previous visit. Rubbers still not aligned as per say a new car but been told its as best they can do, Skoda backed dealer.

 

I an not counting the initial visit to log the problem.

 

so I like the cars but the dealers have put me off from having another Skoda or VW group car. Its also telling that a couple of years ago Skoda was 2nd for dealers in the power survey, now they are heading to where VW wants them - bottom of the pile where VW, Audi and Seat reside.

[GoneToBeemer]

20 hours ago, teebs said:

 

I won't even go into lease costs, fuel economy and comfort because the Skoda is leagues ahead In those respects. 

 

 

Think it just depends on when you look and what deals are on. When I was shopping last October, I couldn’t find any decent deals on a Suberb L&K 190, so much to the fact my 520d with Harman Kardon, Elec lumbar, Online Services and ACC was nearly £50 cheaper a month. It seems all the really cheap deals were on the likes of SE Business trims. 

 

I had both cars on extended test drives over a whole weekend (the Superb in SE-L trim with 190 engine, the 5er in 520d M-sport trim), and I’m sorry but the BMW even on M-sport suspension was streets ahead in terms of ride quality and road noise.

 

I’m also now easily seeing MPG in the mid to high 50’s on a run too now the car has some mileage on it - which is great.

 

As I’ve said, the Superb is a great car, and I would have another Skoda again in a heartbeat (not a badge snob at all)...it just all depends what you can get for your money at the time you’re looking!

Edited 3 June, 2018 by GoneToBeemer

[dg360]

I literally have no clue why people buy large Vauxhalls anymore.  When I was looking at leases, an Insignia estate was £100 - £150 a month more than a Superb (for less car).  Well into BMW and Merc territory.  

If I was choosing without a worry in the world and I didn't need an estate - I'd get an Alfa Giulia.

[freelunch]

When my warranty is up, the first car I will look at will be the Giulia Veloce. The main reason I didn't buy the Giulia 18 months ago, is because it was the first of a new model. I had no end of problems in the past with that. So, I figured I'd wait until they sorted it out first.

 

There are loads of problem threads re: the Giulia, mostly due to ECU issues and subsequent updates. Owners even started running a thread about how much they loved their cars and how few problems they'd had with them, just to balance the situation. I'm glad I waited. 

 

Now, they're talking about with a GTV coupe model, like my old, beloved Brera. Different skin, but the chassis and electronics should have all been worked out by 2019. 

 

Thing is, this Sportline is really growing on me. The practicality, boot size, mpg, reliability, etc, etc. It will be a hard decision and I look forward to being able to make it when the time comes.

[toni8b]

On 6/2/2018 at 18:08, skidpan said:

 

At the moment a coffee. All that caffeine stops me worrying about what all our neighbors think about us having 2 inferior Skodas on the drive.

 

If I wanted I could buy a 5 series cash today but I would get no more pleasure from owning one and it would not make me a nicer person. Did 1000 miles in the Superb last week and I can 100% tell you no car would have done a better job.

 

Tonight I will be feeling smug about my car choice.

Dont be recalcitrant.

 

Superb can be compared to passat and maybe 3 series in the terms of material quality and sound insulation, but comparing it to 5 series is just plain ignorant.

[Whenwillilearn]

On 03/06/2018 at 00:46, dg360 said:

I've seen a few mentions of plastics and materials in this thread. I know the motoring press thinks that the score they give to a car is directly linked to the softness of the plastic stuck on the dash, but does it really matter to anyone else beyond the 3rd week of ownership?

Without going out to your car - describe the squishy-ness of the plastic under the windscreen.

As long as all of the bits you touch are made of appropriate functional, durable materials - who cares?!

 

Next car for me - hybrid Superb estate or a Volvo V90.

You have a valid point.

 

Even if skoda used carbon fibre as a major material inside which would really please some skoda fanatics i would still think it a pile of junk if that also started to fall to pieces after 12 months.

 

This is my point of view alone, VAG components may be shared across the group which will also mean the same faults will be shared across the group. Also when assembling the likes of the superb its a proven point just from this forum the skills in the factory must be lacking and quality control is very lacklustre.

 

Some might argue that all manufactures suffer the same issues time to time but when skoda start loading up a car full of equipment and prices are over £30000 new then customers expectations may be higher and skoda standards all round need to be higher. Kia and Hyundai are killing them for private sales in the UK so they need to raise the game.

[skidpan]

1 hour ago, toni8b said:

Dont be recalcitrant.

 

Superb can be compared to passat and maybe 3 series in the terms of material quality and sound insulation, but comparing it to 5 series is just plain ignorant.

 

Clearly owning a Superb has not made you a nice person.

 

Here is another observation of mine. Earlier this year I was passenger in a 17 plate Mercedes E Class, not sure what engine, car the same age as our Superb. It cost the owner £38000, double what I paid for our Superb.

 

In the front it was a nice place to be but not a huge amount better than the Superb. In the rear the plastics were definitely harder than those in the Superb.

 

The ride was no different to the Superb but it seemed to have more road noise. If the engine was a petrol it was a noisy one, if it was a diesel it was OK, but you could hear it when cruising along, you cannot hear the 1.5 TSi in the Superb.

 

Then there was the seats. The owner was really happy with the standard "Leather " trim which in truth was what Mercedes call "Artico Leather", in fact its plastic or what Mercedes call "man made". So for £19000 over the price of our Superb you get plastic seats, what a bargain. Last car I had with plastic seats was a Vauxhall Viva. Kia fit plastic seats in some cars and call them "faux leather", looks like Mercedes studies their brochures.

 

So by comparing a Superb with E Class costing double the E Class ignorant.

 

Dream on.

 

Why not buy a "my other car is a BMW" sticker if driving a Skoda offends you.

[RickTT]

On 03/06/2018 at 00:46, dg360 said:

I've seen a few mentions of plastics and materials in this thread. I know the motoring press thinks that the score they give to a car is directly linked to the softness of the plastic stuck on the dash, but does it really matter to anyone else beyond the 3rd week of ownership?

Without going out to your car - describe the squishy-ness of the plastic under the windscreen.

As long as all of the bits you touch are made of appropriate functional, durable materials - who cares?!

 

Next car for me - hybrid Superb estate or a Volvo V90.

 

I had a new ford focus the other week as a hire car, the hard smooth plastics in that are awful, so yes, i think it really does mater..

[RickTT]

Mondeo is getting old now - but heres a new review

 

 

 

where its been compared to the Superb and passat..

 

[xman]

4 hours ago, skidpan said:

you cannot hear the 1.5 TSi in the Superb.

 

Neither can you see the 1.5Tsi in the Superb, as such a beast does not exist. 

[skidpan]

10 minutes ago, xman said:

 

Neither can you see the 1.5Tsi in the Superb, as such a beast does not exist. 

 

Whoops, hit the wrong key, should have been 1.4 TSi obviously.

[Svend]

Should be interesting with several suggesting BMW 3 or 5 Series. 

Didn't the designer of the Superb leave for BMW last year!? 

Let's see what BMW come up with in the next few years. 

[bigjohn]

27 minutes ago, skidpan said:

 

Whoops, hit the wrong key, should have been 1.4 TSi obviously.

 

Not sure you can buy a 1.4 new at the moment unless you find one in stock. I think it's ready for real-world emissions testing.

[Whenwillilearn]

1.4 and 1.5 in a huge car? Turbos running almost permanently? Is that a good idea?

 

 

[xman]

8 minutes ago, Whenwillilearn said:

1.4 and 1.5 in a huge car? Turbos running almost permanently? Is that a good idea?

 

 

 

Indubitably!

 

The superb  is not a huge car.

 

THIS is a huge car -

 

 

Edited 4 June, 2018 by xman

[Whenwillilearn]

1 hour ago, xman said:

 

Indubitably!

 

The superb  is not a huge car.

 

THIS is a huge car -

 

 

Gallons per mile??

[GoneToBeemer]

7 hours ago, RickTT said:

Mondeo is getting old now - but heres a new review

 

 

 

where its been compared to the Superb and passat..

 

 

I watched this last night - no way is it anywhere near as nice inside as a Superb or Passat, and the Mondeo seems to have lost its edge now. Unless you could get a mega good deal on one, you can’t imagine anyone choosing one over the Skoda / VW counterpart. 

[GoneToBeemer]

10 hours ago, toni8b said:

Dont be recalcitrant.

 

Superb can be compared to passat and maybe 3 series in the terms of material quality and sound insulation, but comparing it to 5 series is just plain ignorant.

 

Problem is, some of the die hard fan boys would argue a Superb is comparible to a Bentley inside.

 

The Superb is a lovely car, as is the Octavia, but they are built to a price, simple as.

 

 

[dg360]

Mercedes are getting 350hp+ out of a 2l these days, with 12,000 mile service intervals.   I think 150hp out of a 1.4 is pretty unstressed.  Go turn on whichever of the phone apps it is that shows how much power you are using - I can never remember which.  I bet it doesn't go above 100ps very often.  It's probably the ideal engine for the car.

Edited 4 June, 2018 by dg360

[Alan_P]

53 minutes ago, GoneToBeemer said:

 

Problem is, some of the die hard fan boys would argue a Superb is comparible to a Bentley inside.

 

The Superb is a lovely car, as is the Octavia, but they are built to a price, simple as.

 

 

Well Bentley can only dream of Skoda build quality

Seriously though, it is a Skoda forum so it’s to be expected. Let them get on with it… as long as they are happy
 

56 minutes ago, GoneToBeemer said:

 

I watched this last night - no way is it anywhere near as nice inside as a Superb or Passat, and the Mondeo seems to have lost its edge now. Unless you could get a mega good deal on one, you can’t imagine anyone choosing one over the Skoda / VW counterpart. 

Just to add to my previous comment about Skoda build quality being better than “current” generation Fords. I previously owned mk3 and mk4 Mondeos which I believe were designed in part by a poached VW team in the noughties and built in the excellent Genk plant. The current mk5 (based on the US Fusion and built in Valencia) doesn’t compare to the previous models IMHO.

Ongoing issues with the Ecoboost engine and reliability in general might have contributed to their decision to stop production of almost all saloons by 2020 in the US… Focus Active and Mustang only. I can’t see that happening in Europe though.

 

 

Edited 4 June, 2018 by Alan_P