After two years of 19,000 miles a year (66 miles a day, 42 roundabouts a day....)  commuting, I changed jobs during the year. I am now doing sub 10,000 miles a year but am doing a 12mile journey of stop start traffic that my CR170 is struggling to do 35MPG in! I am worried about the long term effects on the EGR, DPF and turbo are doing that sort of driving (its now on 86,000 miles). Whilst I do all I can to get it warm and not lazily drive it (rev it when I can and not pootle in low gears), I still don't think it's gonna be doing it any good. 

 

Would swapping to a V6 be a stupid idea? I'm thinking less to go wrong on it compared to the TDI (no EGR, no Turbo, no DPF, easier life on the DMF, easier life for the drive train). I do 10,000 miles or annual servicing (whichever comes first) rather than variable. 

 

How tough are the V6s? Would a 102,000 mile one be a scary proposition? 

 

 

Gone

Edited 9 January, 20197 yr by FlyingSpanner

@Nathanio I've got the v6 and really like it. I think it's a relatively old and simple engine design with little to go wrong provided you service it correctly. As you say, no turbo like many of the other engines and none of the other stuff that goes a long with a diesel. They're great for motorway and A-road cruising.

 

With regards to miles, nine is at 112k now, mileage seems to be having little impact on the engine. I also get it serviced every 10k miles now. It is a bit of a stone magnet on the motorway though, the thing is so big! Even had some in front chuck a drink can out the window in the outside lane of the motorway on the way to work that hit the front bumper this year

 

So..that said, I would not buy this car for around town driving, short journeys or start-stop traffic. On a flowing journey to work, where I almost immediately hit a dual carriage way then M1, I would guess it takes close to 10 miles just to get the oil up to proper temperature - after all, there is about 6.5L of the stuff! So if you got in with no stopping you'd probably just be nicely warmed up. In start-stop traffic, the fuel consumption is high bordering on horrific, as you'd expect for any car this big with a relatively old design large engine I think. If I get caught in traffic commuting it definitely has a noticeable effect on how many miles I'll get out of a tank. Oh and the pre-FL model is £560 road tax now.

 

I think the v6 superb is much better suited to less frequent, long journeys, depending a little on what you want. It can be fun to drive - partly because people don't expect it to have that v6, it sounds good, it's comfortable. It sounds to me like you'd be paying all of the costs (fuel consumption, tax, servicing) with none of the benefits (enjoying the engine, long comfortable cruises) based on your post. Do you need something the size of the Superb to go to work every day?

 

Cheers,

Steve

Not crazy at all. Perfect choice. Swap now...

 

Currently doing 1000kms/week in my 3.6 awd Combi with new work commitment.
2/3 motorway and the rest alpine mountain roads in +5 to -22 C temperature.
Car does not miss a beat 

On 27/12/2018 at 17:26, Nathanio said:

After two years of 19,000 miles a year (66 miles a day, 42 roundabouts a day....)  commuting, I changed jobs during the year. I am now doing sub 10,000 miles a year but am doing a 12mile journey of stop start traffic that my CR170 is struggling to do 35MPG in! I am worried about the long term effects on the EGR, DPF and turbo are doing that sort of driving (its now on 86,000 miles). Whilst I do all I can to get it warm and not lazily drive it (rev it when I can and not pootle in low gears), I still don't think it's gonna be doing it any good. 

 

 

I do about 15,000 miles a year mostly stop/start/slow moving which is one of the main reasons why I bought my petrol (this was pre dieselgate), however I didn't go for the v6!!  

 

A colleague who had a diesel had been having DPF problems onthe sameish run (it was the pd VRS Octavia though - poor implementation).

 

 

Edited 29 December, 20187 yr by bigjohn

On 27/12/2018 at 21:30, FlyingSpanner said:

I changed from an MTM 2.7 V6 BiTurbo A6 Allroad to a 170 4x4  Combi 3T due to ridiculous fuel consumption and tax. I have to say I am loving the combi, it's not as smooth or quiet and certainly slow in comparison, but once at speed on the motorway with cruise on, the fuel consumption is so much better and the tax at the end of the year makes me smile.

EGR, Turbo, DPF are an issue, but mine has only done 40K and I'm in the trade so can sort them myself. I have seen a few chain and sprocket issues which would cost more than the EGR, Turbo, and DPF put together to repair to ELSA requirements. I did seriously consider the 3.6 both in the Passat and Superb, BUT the fuel and tax swayed it for me at the last minute. 

Sussex and Surrey police firearms teams used to use the Passat and Superb 3.6 so they do put up with constant abuse.

Too many times I've headed off to the alps for a winter holiday only to have to refuel every 250 miles at best!! Both in my S4 Avant and the Allroad. My 170 just has the space, tank range and grip (snow) I need and I love it. No faffing swapping the headlights on the tunnel (15-degree kickup- tourist mode), just select it in the DIS, the Audi way was to flick a lever in the headlamp unit before the Eurotunnel staff caught you standing between the cars Could do with more power, but that will have to wait until the emissions two-year warranty is up.

As you do short trips and low mileage the 3.6 might be a good choice for you, but in traffic, I would think the consumption would be down to the mid-teens.  Best thing is to have a go and see what you think, but try to use it for a few days if possible. 

Good luck!

 

I love my estate as it is just so practical but I am not a fan of he CR170. Its not very refined and cabin noise is quite intrusive. The 1.8TSi twindoor I had before was much better from that perspective. 

 

Currently seeing around 420miles a tank on a good day at the moment. At previous job was over 500miles. I got 340-360 miles from my old 1.8TSi. I sometimes really miss that car and regret selling it. I did have a dalliance with a CDAA 1.8TSi 7DSG but used an obscene amount of oil and went back. It wasn't as nice as the BZB 1.8TSi. 

 

On 28/12/2018 at 12:20, spk said:

So..that said, I would not buy this car for around town driving, short journeys or start-stop traffic. On a flowing journey to work, where I almost immediately hit a dual carriage way then M1, I would guess it takes close to 10 miles just to get the oil up to proper temperature - after all, there is about 6.5L of the stuff! So if you got in with no stopping you'd probably just be nicely warmed up. In start-stop traffic, the fuel consumption is high bordering on horrific, as you'd expect for any car this big with a relatively old design large engine I think. If I get caught in traffic commuting it definitely has a noticeable effect on how many miles I'll get out of a tank. Oh and the pre-FL model is £560 road tax now.

 

I think the v6 superb is much better suited to less frequent, long journeys, depending a little on what you want. It can be fun to drive - partly because people don't expect it to have that v6, it sounds good, it's comfortable. It sounds to me like you'd be paying all of the costs (fuel consumption, tax, servicing) with none of the benefits (enjoying the engine, long comfortable cruises) based on your post. Do you need something the size of the Superb to go to work every day?

 

Cheers,

Steve

 

It is our family car and when I did 66 miles a day it was much more comfortable place to be than a small car with a buzzy engine. I did do a quick fag packet calc and the cost of running a second car outweighs the cost of running one more expensive one. Two days (soon to be 3 days) a week I have to get the kids to the child minder so can't get away with something like a smart car which would be perfect. 

 

Does the V6 really take that long to get to temperature? My old 1.8TSi would be up at 70c oil temp within 2 to 3 miles as the CR170 is 8-10 miles. Old PD140 took at least 14 miles in single digit temperatures

 

I did for 4 years 15-16,000 miles a year in a 1.8TSi @ 33MPG so not unused to lower MPG. I really do miss a good petrol engine. There is something about running out a petrol engine to the red line that a 4pot dag-dag can't match. 

 

On 28/12/2018 at 22:19, Wile7 said:

Not crazy at all. Perfect choice. Swap now...

 

Currently doing 1000kms/week in my 3.6 awd Combi with new work commitment.
2/3 motorway and the rest alpine mountain roads in +5 to -22 C temperature.
Car does not miss a beat 

 

The thought of a V6 on chat does seem appealing

 

20 hours ago, bigjohn said:

 

I do about 15,000 miles a year mostly stop/start/slow moving which is one of the main reasons why I bought my petrol (this was pre dieselgate), however I didn't go for the v6!!  

 

A colleague who had a diesel had been having DPF problems onthe sameish run (it was the pd VRS Octavia though - poor implementation).

 

 

 

Which petrol did you go for? I would happily have a 1.8TSI (but BZB no CDAA) with 6spd DSG as a daily. Alas it doesn't exist. I would love a 2..0TSi but they are rarer than rocking horse poo it seems. 

 

I am noticing much more frequent regens than I was before. I never really noticed them apart from the occasional drop in economy. Now they are fairly frequent. Probably goes some way towards why the economy is so bad. 

 

Unfortunately there is no large petrol estates with reasonable running costs like the Superb (for things like tyres, consumables etc)

9 hours ago, Nathanio said:

Which petrol did you go for? I would happily have a 1.8TSI (but BZB no CDAA) with 6spd DSG as a daily. Alas it doesn't exist. I would love a 2..0TSi but they are rarer than rocking horse poo it seems. 

 

I am noticing much more frequent regens than I was before. I never really noticed them apart from the occasional drop in economy. Now they are fairly frequent. Probably goes some way towards why the economy is so bad. 

 

Unfortunately there is no large petrol estates with reasonable running costs like the Superb (for things like tyres, consumables etc)

 

 

I've just got a poverty S spec 1.4tsi bought back in 2015 pre dieselgate so was really good value (used petrols were great value back then). I didn't think a 1.4 would be powerful enough to tug the Superb barge along but on testdrive I found it better than expected expecially re refinement. Tugs it along well even on faster European motorways. Sure i'd love a v6 but for now as I do 15,000 miles of slow/horrible commute a year and the 1.4 keeps fuel consumption reasonable. Getting 45+ mpg which even rises above 50mpg on a longer run if you don't hammer it. Get over 500 miles to a tank  of petrol.

 

 

Edited 30 December, 20187 yr by bigjohn

It is impressive when you consider the size of the car. 500 miles in a petrol is impressive. 

 

Think I might watch the market for a bit longer and tehen work out what to do next. If I could get a facelift in budget then that would only be £315 a year in VED

Hello, FWIW I recently swapped from a CR 170 diesel vRS Octavia to a facelift V6 Superb and am absolutely smitten with the thing.

 

However, I don't use it for commuting as the stop/start part of my crawl from Surrey into West London every morning would soon have me bankrupt due to the woeful (in those conditions) fuel economy of a hefty old VR6.

 

Have you considered maybe going for a vRS TSi Octavia Combi with DSG as a compromise?

 

Prior to my TDi RS I had a pre-FL TFSi Octavia mk2 and whilst it wasn't exactly what you might call frugal it was certainly less profligate than the Superb even when enjoying the urge of the turbo.

The Combi is a very roomy and practical choice and to my eyes a most understated weapon that can slip under the radar with ease. I nearly bought one myself but the lure of the V6 was just too much..

 

Just a thought anyway.

 

Cheers,

D.

Edited 4 January, 20197 yr by ethel
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