Just a week ago my beloved SIII Sportline was written off in a head on (me) side impact with a BMW. The good news is that the NCAP 5* rating is deserved. It was a hard impact but the Superb absorbed the blow and I limped away with just a little bruising and I'm now fully recovered. The silver lining was the RTI GAP insurance which will provide a good deposit and some to spare after settlement.

Now the hard part. In all of my over 40 years driving I've never connected with a car that suits my lifestyle better than the Superb, so I going back to the well for another. Here my dilemma begins...

I always value the opinions of forum members so please feel free to chip in. 

 

I had the TDI 190 engine but my mileage is decreasing and I'm going to plump for petrol - TSI 1.5 DSG, after driving my wife's Karoq. It is one sweet engine. I would consider a Karoq as the SE L version has just about everything I would need, but 'his 'n hers' Karoqus would just be wierd! 

 

My first Superb MK II was a 4x4 Elegance and I loved it. With Skoda's current £3000 offer as a contribution and a decent deposit it takes a hefty bite out of a new SIII 1.5 TSI SE L Executive. Its a well specced comfortable car, except I'm going to have to find one with Pegasus 18" rims. This is the sensible buy.

 

But I really liked the Sportline...

 

Now my excellent local dealer has tempted me with an ex-Skoda Executive Management, Quartz Grey Sportline 2.0 220 TSI DSG with Columbus 9.2" and heated seats as additional options. It was reg in July 18 and has 3.6k miles. This is the 'heart' buy. It sounds like a lovely car...but so is the SE L Executive.

 

I have to make a decision soon. Can I hear from owners of both please on reflections driving/owning your cars?

 

Thanks as always

 

Ash

 

Edited 4 February, 20197 yr by Ashmount

If you like them equally then to me it is what is the best you can get for the least amount of money.

Get the 220. You only live once and after 40years of driving, you can't go wrong with something you want. 

 

Less mileage also means fuel costs difference will be insignificant in the scheme of things. 

Get the Karoq - just make sure you wear matching clothes if you go out together...  

Get the 220. I have the 190 Dsg in a SIII and also the 1.4 equivalent of the current 1.5 in an A3, again Dsg. I don't think I would want the 1.5 in as large a car as the SIII. 

Also the difference in fuel costs would in percentage terms be quite small with all the other running costs and depreciation taken into account.

Scrap your current thoughts and go for a 280 !

The 220 is beautifully matched to the S3. It has plenty enough power for 'fun days' and yet can be driven economically as well. I average mid 30's with ease. My sister has the 1.5 Karoq and although it goes OK. When used in 'poodle along' mode it is comfortable but ask it to do some work and it gets noticeably more difficult.

Either would be fine in the S3 imobut I would go for the 220; you know youwill always regert not doing it if you dont 

 

Good to hear the old one kept you safe and reasonably OK and your experience is a useful reminder of why GAP insurance is essential for any new car purchase.  

Edited 4 February, 20197 yr by Sagalout
typos

Get the 220 Sportline.  Sometimes the sensible choice should be ignored in favour of something that will actually make you smile. Ask me how I came to have my Sportline

 

Sorry to hear about your accident.  

 

220TSI Sportline.  Tis all the car you need and tis the one you want too.  No brainer. 

 

I took out the older 1.4TSI in a demo SE L and whilst it's a good engine I think it's better suited to a smaller, lighter car; 'Adequate' is how I'd describe it.   I can't help but feel a car the size of the Superb 3 just suits the larger TSI units or the torque of a diesel lump. 

3 hours ago, Nick_H said:

Scrap your current thoughts and go for a 280 !

Or this if you want to go all out. I was considering a 220 but ended up with a sportline 280. 

Life is too short. Go for it if you can afford it. 

@ Ash : Go for 220 or 280, if possible. In France, the 220 is not proposed, it's either 180 or 280. The gap is then "huge"... I had to chose a model already on the assembly line for short delivery, I've chosen a TDI190 (due to some specific equipments I absolutely wanted), but if I had to chose again, I would manage to wait a little bit to get a TSI280... 

Edited 4 February, 20197 yr by Bap33

My 220 used to be the sales manager's ride. Good price. Excellent car.

Go with your heart and also the general concensus, 220 Sportline. I say this because I had the 1.4TSi in a Superb back in 2016 and it suited me at the time for great economy and quiet refinement, it was never going to be exciting. The wife has the latest 1.5TSi engine in her Karoq and as you will know already entry/exit is easy, it is so quiet I sometimes go to get out without turning off the engine (KESSY) and economical for a petrol SUV but again it can't be described as exciting. When my wife drives my 2.0TSi Octavia you can tell she enjoyed herself by the huge smile across her face, so do yourself and your wife a huge favour and get the 220. Life's too short to have regrets. Small point but there is only 5mpg difference despite one having 188bhp more than the other.

Glad you are ok after your prang. I own a 220 sportline with heated seats. It's a  real wolf in sheep's clothing with plenty of power when you ask for it. I drive mainly in eco mode and get around 33mpg but do some spirited overtakes using the other engine modes.  It is comfortable well specced and good looking. Have enjoyed the heated seats in this cold weather too. There is some throttle lag which I alleviated with a pedal box hidden in the key cubby below the steering wheel.

I got the 220 SE Luxe after test driving the 1.5. The engine is wonderful :-) Agree with all previous comments on the 220.

I can only speak for the engine as mine is L&K trim.....The 220 engine is "Superb" - it's so smooth, quiet, refined and relatively efficient but packs a punch when you need/want it. It's the Golf GTI mk7 engine.

 

I recently had a stage 1 Revo map applied so mine now produces 320bhp which is just insane, but as I said the 220 standard is still a brilliant engine.

 

Good to hear that you weren't badly injured - you can replace cars but not people!

Do you have any photos of the damage from your accident? It'd be interesting to see how the car did in a real world crash rather than just the euro ncap testing.

Chaps,

Its decision time tomorrow...and I was going to wait until then to post. It's not all about the engine size, but the whole deal in the round. My local dealer Mervyn Stewart, Belfast has been fantastic at  sourcing cars for me. Nothing too much trouble and no pressure to buy either.

However, for @drewellis here are some the of damage. Can't send the accident photos I'm afraid.

It doesn't look like much in the photos, but enough damage to write it off. The front end did a great job of absorbing the impact and dissipating the energy. Bags did as expected inflated and quickly deflated 

From the B Pillar back not a mark.

 

Front airbags and footwell airbag went off. Windscreen stayed intact.

Helluva way to deal with those stone chips on the bonnet. 

I keep my cars like new. Guy who came to collect it on the low loader said it looked like I'd vacuumed and polished it for him coming. 

The BMW deployed bags. Windscreen crazed but didn't shatter. Front nearside wing and wheel took the impact, but when the police went to move it off the road it collapsed on the front suspension.

 

However, NCAP isn't everything. Heavy gauge steel works just as well. Long ago and far away I drove one of the original Lada to be imported to the UK. the 'full and empty' markers on the petrol gauge were in Cyrillic lettering. 

Without going into detail I hit a parked Ford Cortina Estate at about 25mph. I broke a headlight and put a slight dent in the grille and the bonnet edge. However, I pushed the the Cortina up the kerb and through a fence, bending the sub frame in the process. It was a write off.

Expected the owner to be livid. Turned out he thanked me. It was a reps car and he hated it. said I'd done him a favour. Every cloud...

 

[photos won't load in this post. I'll load individually in the next posts below]

Edited 7 February, 20197 yr by Ashmount
poor typing skills

here you go...

Especially as your mileage is decreasing, buy with your heart, not your head.

 

My last few cars were bought with keeping costs to a minimum in mind. Not next time, I'll be buying a car I really want.

I drove the 1.4tsi when looking, but ended up buying the 2.0t 220bhp.. the 1.4 (or 1.5 now) would of done the job, but everytime I would of got into it I would of wanted the 220bhp.. 

1 hour ago, technics100 said:

I drove the 1.4tsi when looking, but ended up buying the 2.0t 220bhp.. the 1.4 (or 1.5 now) would of done the job, but everytime I would of got into it I would of wanted the 220bhp.. 

 

Yeah. I'm glad I never drove the 280.

16 minutes ago, freelunch said:

 

Yeah. I'm glad I never drove the 280.

 

I know, although sometimes I wish I had.. 

Really sorry to hear about your accident @Ashmount and this may be too late, but I agree with the advice above. Buy this one with your heart, but make sure you use your head when checking it over. I worried for weeks about choosing a 190 over a 150 due to fuel consumption. Looking back, I don't regret it for a minute. Good luck with whichever you choose. 

10 hours ago, freelunch said:

 

Yeah. I'm glad I never drove the 280.

IME you'd be hard pushed to feel that much of a difference under 'conservative' or everyday driving.  Only when you get to the business end of the rev range does the extra power in the 280 really make itself known.  I dare say there's a big difference in the wet, under load but I had a dry and fairly warm Spring day for back-to-back test drives. 

 

If I couldn't have bought the 280 then I would have been just as excited and pleased with ordering the 220.....but  the child in me does really enjoy that area between 3-6.5k revs  

Taking running costs, depreciation etc into consideration then the 220 is likely the better proposition between the two.  I think you have to compare the 280 to other cars of similar performance/spec/price/practicality before you can really appreciate the whole package.