What would owners replace their superb with?

[TonyTonic]

Just now, Steviedakota said:

 

Hence what I said about it speaking volumes for the Superb.

Indeed.

[Matt_FW]

If the lease deals are still as good as they are now I'm having a Volvo S90 next. D4 Inscription most probably. I do have 16 months left so things may change but unfortunately I won't be having another Skoda, it just hasn't lived up to my expectations and don't see it doing so between now and then.

[TonyTonic]

45 minutes ago, Matt_FW said:

If the lease deals are still as good as they are now I'm having a Volvo S90 next. D4 Inscription most probably. I do have 16 months left so things may change but unfortunately I won't be having another Skoda, it just hasn't lived up to my expectations and don't see it doing so between now and then.

Can you elaborate a bit more? I’m curious. What’s missing?

[Matt_FW]

I wouldn't say missing, this is personal opinion, I know a lot of people on this forum love the brand, the model, I've nothing against any of you.

 

I personally do not feel that this is a great car, it's an average car that I'm sure a lot of people would appreciate, space and practically, but at the end of the day it's a budget car and for me it shows.

 

My personal issues with the car are 

 

Creaks and rattles (just too many for my bat like hearing)

Hard ride (I didn't get DCC)

I hate 2nd to 3rd gear change at lower speeds (DSG)

Nasty auto hold jerks when setting off

Only 1 USB socket in front

Too much light bleed from the screen

Larger buttons on the steering wheel have too much movement

Isofix covers have to be removed

 

These are just my opinions, there's things I like about the car, I just don't love it.

 

[Whenwillilearn]

I think i mentioned it elsewhere that after parting with almost £40k for my current and previous skoda(s) the realisation is that was money wasted.

 

Numerous problems, numerous glitches, numerous courtesy cars. This is skoda for me. The laughable brand of decades ago and certainly to me laughable again. 

 

And for that wasted £40k i could have had a stereotypical premium vehicle. As opposed to one attempting to be.

[eurotraveller]

Hmmm, well, it’s all very personal. I struggle to fault mine; and I/we have always also had a newish, highish-spec ‘premium’ brand vehicle on the drive (Mercedes C / E; Porsche Macan). To me, the Superb generally compares very well with those.

 

Besides, you can spend 40k on a Superb or 70k on a similar spec and size ‘premium’ car; both assets will waste away quickly, but the latter much more so in pounds and pence. That’s one reason why we usually take the Skoda on our many journeys; it’s our high-miler. The other reason is simply the unbeatable space.

 

I really don’t see any big differences between the brands apart from one: the Skoda’s seats / driving position could be a whole lot better. That’s what might tempt me to go for BMW another time; plus I love BMW’s HUD.

 

Also, never forget it’s not just that ‘premium’ costs at least 50% more to buy. Every visit to the dealer costs roughly double with a ‘premium’ brand. It’s not just the money; it’s the feeling of knowingly walking into a rip-off that bugs me. And then there’s all the pretentiousness to try and justify or establish a difference – doesn’t work on me. Besides, the Skoda dealer provides a far better service than the Porsche ‘Centre’ in my book.

 

Edited 13 June, 2018 by eurotraveller
formatting

[eurotraveller]

PS: Volvo is an interesting one. Can anyone figure out where that brand sits in the perceived pecking order? I can’t, which I would count in its favour. And, on brief glances, some of the latest models look pretty smart inside and out.  But. My difficulty is that China will dominate our markets so much anyway; do I really need to give that additional support?

[Mickey43]

1 hour ago, eurotraveller said:

 

I really don’t see any big differences between the brands apart from one: the Skoda’s seats / driving position could be a whole lot better. That’s what might tempt me to go for BMW another time; plus I love BMW’s HUD.

 

 

 

 

One of the worst driving positions I've ever encountered was in my manual Audi A6.  

 

Those offset pedals....

 

 

 

 

[TonyTonic]

1 hour ago, eurotraveller said:

PS: Volvo is an interesting one. Can anyone figure out where that brand sits in the perceived pecking order? I can’t, which I would count in its favour. And, on brief glances, some of the latest models look pretty smart inside and out.  But. My difficulty is that China will dominate our markets so much anyway; do I really need to give that additional support?

 

Not sure where they ar enow perceived but their goal was to be added as the fourth option to BMW, AUdi, Mercedes.

 

I think the Brand is there or thereabouts now. Certainly from pricing and spec levels they are now on par with the other three.

 

p.S. that new V60 looks tidy

Edited 13 June, 2018 by TonyTonic

[TonyTonic]

1 minute ago, Mickey43 said:

 

One of the worst driving positions I've ever encountered was in my manual Audi A6.  

 

Those offset pedals....

 

 

 

 

But that's due to LHD drive conversion no? It's not their fault we drive on the wrong side

Edited 13 June, 2018 by TonyTonic

[Mickey43]

Just now, TonyTonic said:

But that's due to LHD drive conversion no? It's not their fault we drive on the wrong side

 

True!  

 

My twisted skeleton acknowledges this

 

I'm sure an auto version would be fine but the clutch is in the middle under the steering wheel!  Same with many BMW's, I had a 5 series years ago which was just as bad.  Stunning car, but the pedals were a killer.

[TonyTonic]

9 minutes ago, Mickey43 said:

 

True!  

 

My twisted skeleton acknowledges this

 

I'm sure an auto version would be fine but the clutch is in the middle under the steering wheel!  Same with many BMW's, I had a 5 series years ago which was just as bad.  Stunning car, but the pedals were a killer.

It's the same issue with every conversion, aren't the buttons in the Skoda the wrong way round too?

[Mickey43]

2 minutes ago, TonyTonic said:

It's the same issue with every conversion, aren't the buttons in the Skoda the wrong way round too?

 

Don't know.  Wonder if the pedals are offset too.... any manual drivers confirm?

 

 

Edited 13 June, 2018 by Mickey43

[CheshireBumpkin]

17 minutes ago, Mickey43 said:

 

Wonder if the pedals are offset too.... any manual drivers confirm?

 

 

 

No, they're not offset.

[Mickey43]

1 minute ago, CheshireBumpkin said:

 

No, they're not offset.

 

Glad to hear it!

[Sagalout]

12 hours ago, Whenwillilearn said:

And for that wasted £40k i could have had a stereotypical premium vehicle.

 

Which, of course, are plagued with their own set of niggles, rattles and multiple post-purchase visits to the dealer.

 

Did anyone notice the news that Banksy sent in art work for the Summer Exhibition under an alias and it was rejected. He resent it under his own name and it was accepted. Reputation is more important than reality? 

I think all this brand brandishing is much the same. 

[TonyTonic]

2 minutes ago, Sagalout said:

 

Which, of course, are plagued with their own set of niggles, rattles and multiple post-purchase visits to the dealer.

 

Did anyone notice the news that Banksy sent in art work for the Summer Exhibition under an alias and it was rejected. He resent it under his own name and it was accepted. Reputation is more important than reality? 

I think all this brand brandishing is much the same. 

this

[skidpan]

12 hours ago, Whenwillilearn said:

I think i mentioned it elsewhere that after parting with almost £40k for my current and previous skoda(s) the realisation is that was money wasted.

 

Numerous problems, numerous glitches, numerous courtesy cars. This is skoda for me. The laughable brand of decades ago and certainly to me laughable again. 

 

And for that wasted £40k i could have had a stereotypical premium vehicle. As opposed to one attempting to be.

 

And there is the issue, its not the car but the amount you spent.

 

When we bought our Superb the Octavia was also in the running. But the Octavia had issues, road noise was a major one. Price was another, the Superb SE had everything we wanted as standard except rear tints, to get an Octavia with the same spec would have meant us buying the SE-L (or SE with loads of extras) and both would have cost about the same as the Superb. But the fit and finish on the Octavia was not that of a £22000 car wheras the Superb was, way better than the Octavia.

 

Basically I am more than happy with the Superb since the fit finish etc match or exceed my expectations, in truth I have no idea what I should be expecting from a £40,000 car since I will never spend that much on one (excepting inflation). But if the Merc E Class I wrote about earlier is an example of a £40,000 car people are being robbed far more than people who buy Superbs. At best its a £22,000 car with a £18,000 badge.

[Whenwillilearn]

No you are incorrect.

 

I have spent the money with skoda. Both cars were below standard. Both cars were heavily specced.

 

Its a pity but im aware this can happen with any brand. But it did not it occured with the mighty VAG brand. 

 

Bubble has burst im afraid i dont have faith or any belief when im told skoda shares some components with VW and AUDI. In what i have seen skoda shares components with Lada. I can only assume that VW AUDI and SEAT all suffer the same similar problems as SKODA. Generic problems.

 

Hence my alternative ride post superb comments never suggested AUDI of indeed VW.

 

Dont get me wrong here but i sense im more of a car enthusiast than yourself. Hence i buy cars that are heavily specced and are more performance orientated. My buying options clearly do not have any similarities to yours.

[Matt_FW]

I'm not an enthusiast, I want a low cost lease deal for a decent car over a short period. I only got the Superb as I believe I had VW finances pants down, plus I put in hours and hours of reviews, I read this forum top to bottom. Yes there were others with issues but surely not me? I'm just putting it down to bad luck. I mentioned the Volvo S90 as as far as I can see they're practically giving them away too and like the Superb get solid reviews, in fact most diesel lease deals are excellent due to the current topics. I want something I love to drive, safe and comfortable, irritation free! I thought I was going to get that with the Skoda but I haven't. Not the end of the world, we'll see what's about in 16 months. My last car wasn't loved either so third time lucky. For now it's all I've got so I'm liking it.

[The Wanderer]

I've had my relatively heavily specced Superb for just over 6 months and 21,000kms. Nothing has gone wrong as yet and I've encountered no creaks or rattles. My impression is that it's really pretty well put together and it's a nice place to be on the road. It's also very comfortable, if a bit crashy over bumps.

 

If I was to switch, some new Volvos do look very nice in and out (though I understand they're not keen drivers' cars), I like the look of the Audi A5, Merc interiors tend to be nice places, Beemers I find dreary to look at. However, I'd rather save my money for other things and stick with what so far has been a very good car.

Edited 13 June, 2018 by The Wanderer

[skidpan]

1 hour ago, Whenwillilearn said:

Dont get me wrong here but i sense im more of a car enthusiast than yourself.

 

Impossible to say, we don't know each other.

 

Been on the road for 44 years now and had a good few cars in that time and the wives have had a few as well. The Superb is the most expensive car I have bought in terms of list price (£22000) when bought but taking the RPI into account 2 examples would be the 2008 BMW which would be £25000 but that is beaten by the 1989 Golf GTi which would be almost £27000. That just shows we have never had it so good. The wife had a Golf in 1996 and that car put us off buying VAG for almost 20 years. It never let us down in 7 years and other than servicing the only bits it had was a back box and new front pads but it was wallowy and rattly and when the independent dealer sold out to a national group any idea of service disappeared. Only when I tried the new model Leon in 2013 with the new 1.4 TSi 140 PS did I feel the desire to come back and it was a decision I have not regretted.

 

Still have one car I bought new in 1992. Its never seen a garage other than for the annual MOT and its not had an easy life when you consider I did a fair bit of competition with it for the first 10 years of its life. No intention of selling it, probably be buried in it.

[GaSelle]

So, just had a brand new Mercedes E220d as a rental for a week in the UK. I don´t have a clue about the price on one of these things, but here in DK a standard E220d without delivery costs, paint, extras etc. is £72638. A Superb Style 2.0 TDI 190 DSG is £52400. (BMW 520d = £64200).

 

I´m really trying hard not to sound as a "fanboy", but...

 

The Mercedes had pleather seats, that gave a "sweaty arse" after a very short time. They are only partly eletrical adjustable, you still have to move them back and forth manually. Sat-nav (which is not standard on either cars in DK) were not inituitive to use at all, gearbox was clunky on downshifts, engine rather sluggish (but the car had only covered 800 miles, so it might loosen up), it had LED lights (but non adaptive...), no adaptive cruise, no Lane Assist, no Blind Spot, cheap looking silver plastic on the dash, limited space on the rear seat.To me it´s NOT worth the premium price. I like the 520d a lot more, but again, the price is excessive. I don´t know how they are standard equipped in the UK, but a 520d in DK has manual cloth seats, no sat nav, no adaptive cruise, no safety features - add all that, and the price goes sky high. The BMW has some fancier details, like the interior lightning, that switches from white to orange at night time, more fancy ambient lightning etc.

Another weird detail is the "partly keyless system" that both cars use. You need to unlock the car using the remote,, but it still has keyless start? Bet full keyless is an optional extra, like everything else. Both cars suffered from noise from the wheels - the Mercedes had a rattle at idle  from the engine bay, and the engine is really loud when pushing it.

 

It was a joy to get into my own Superb in the airport last night. It´s a 1.4 TSI DSG Style Combi with leather, blind spot, lane assist, paddles, adaptive cruise, fully electric seats, Canton, sat nav, KESSY, adaptive lights, tri-zone climate and loads of other gadgets. The price was £41200 all included. Yes, it lacks a bit of power compared to E220d/520d when flooring it, but i do 50/60/70 MPH most of the time anyway, enjoying the quiet comfort. and the way more spacier interior. It´s my second 3V, and never had a rattle, thing come off or any visits to the dealer apart from service and a new clutch /warranty) on the first one.

 

Call me a fanboy, but IMHO I got the better deal here. But each to their own, of course.

 

To me, it sound more like you have crappy dealers and an even "crappier" import organization in the UK.

[eurotraveller]

@GaSelle

 

Exactly my point about £40k vs. £70k / Skoda vs. 'premium' more or less fully equipped in each case. (Plus the huge difference in servicing costs).

 

One pedantic point: Skoda UK is not an "import organization" ... yet. It looks like it will become one after March next year. It's a funny one I've seen in other product markets where regional distributors within the EU describe themselves as "importer", or even "official importer", to put it into the minds of prospective buyers that they are the exclusive source for a given product. Citizens of the EU are of course free to buy from any distributor / dealer in the EU.

[skidpan]

1 hour ago, GaSelle said:

The Mercedes had pleather seats, that gave a "sweaty arse" after a very short time.

 

In the UK its called Artico Leather and has never seen a cow. But the fact that it has "leather" in the title probably cons most buyers into thinking its the real thing.

 

Kia do the same but they call it "faux leather". The use of the word "faux" should alert buyers that its fake but I suspect the word was chosen because market research showed sod all people knew what "faux" actually meant.

 

Last car I had with plastic seats was a 1972 Vauxhall Viva. Never want another.