Hi all fellow Skoda drivers.

I'm currently driving a 66 plate Octavia 1.6 diesel and it's time for a change.

The Octavia has proven to be a great car overall, personally I quite like the looks and size. However my biggest complaint would be the lack refinement and poor sound proofing.

So it's replacement time. Looking for a roomy family car with a preference towards comfy and refinement . Budget around £20k. My list of options are

Karoq (22/23 plate)( however there seems to be just as many complaints again about noise levels)

Superb?(22 plate) ( I love the style and size, however difficult to find)

And lastly a Tiguan (22 plate).( Yes a move away from Skoda, however very similar but hopefully much quieter) .

Any recommendations please ?

I had a 1.5tsi dsg karoq SEL for almost 3 years. I found it exceptionally quiet. It was frugal easy to get 48-52 mpg (average over 20k miles was 47mpg accurate as Skoda's always 2.5% optimistic.

Swapped the SEL for a 1.5tsi dsg Sportline. As car only has 1500miles on it so a tight engine and currently on a trip to Spain, averaging 47mpg but keeping speed around 60-65 and occasionally up to 70ish mph.

Didn't like the fact that both from shock absorbers were leaking at 20000miles only - serious questionregarding quality of some parts.

We have had a Fabia estate, 2 Yetis, 2 karoqs.

We had a 19 plate Karoq 1.5 Tsi 4 x 4 Edition a few years ago. Was my wife's car which I drove as well. Quiet enough but front tyre wear was a bit excessive & DSG hesitated on take off so much I had to fit a Racechip Throttle pedal. In the end my wife thought it was too big for hear so we chopped it in for a 2nd hand Hyundai Kona EV. Our first electric car which has been OK & just the right size for my wife (not too small & not too big). Bit of a choppy / stiff ride but other than that it's been OK & very cheap to run (saved us around £1,500 a year on petrol alone).

I've got a Superb estate. Marvelous car. Space & pace aplenty. Took me a while to find mine as a used buy back in 2018 but definitely worth seeking one out. I wanted a petrol one as I was retiring from work & wouldn't be doing high mileage. There seem to be more diesels around if that's what you prefer / need. My vote would be a Superb estate or hatch - both have a massive boot & limo leg room in the back.

I moved from an Octavia SE L 1.5 DSG, estate, 68 plate to a Karoq Sportline with same engine and gearbox, on 23 plate. Octavia load space was much bigger (no surprise), and low, so ideal for Labrador. Eventually proved to low for elderly mother (how often do drivers, who get out on road, forget that passengers have to get out on kerb side). Karoq was OK for mother, but dog struggles (she is elderly, too). Apart from virtual dash, everything is about the same for driving. Can’t comment on noise, because I have music volume on high!

Just now, Choclab said:

I moved from an Octavia SE L 1.5 DSG, estate, 68 plate to a Karoq Sportline with same engine and gearbox, on 23 plate. Octavia load space was much bigger (no surprise), and low, so ideal for Labrador. Eventually proved to low for elderly mother (how often do drivers, who get out on road, forget that passengers have to get out on kerb side). Karoq was OK for mother, but dog struggles (she is elderly, too). Apart from virtual dash, everything is about the same for driving. Can’t comment on noise, because I have music volume on high!

Similar reason I swapped from a MG5 to a Enyaq , mum and brother struggled to get in and out of it and I was finding it not so easy either

Got full adjustable seats on the Enyaq

5 minutes ago, Choclab said:

I moved from an Octavia SE L 1.5 DSG, estate, 68 plate to a Karoq Sportline with same engine and gearbox, on 23 plate. Octavia load space was much bigger (no surprise), and low, so ideal for Labrador. Eventually proved to low for elderly mother (how often do drivers, who get out on road, forget that passengers have to get out on kerb side). Karoq was OK for mother, but dog struggles (she is elderly, too). Apart from virtual dash, everything is about the same for driving. Can’t comment on noise, because I have music volume on high!

We had a yeti and an MB coupe (super car). Changed to s single car and had to be easy access for wife and friend. The Karoq was our choice for access and boot space.

Hi , thanks all. Just been to test drive a Tiguan... Very similar to drive as my Octavia apart from being a more refined drive and quieter. I'll have a look out for a superb ( however really hard to find ! ) I do like the karoq so maybe I should just test drive one

We test drove a Tiguan but not sure why, but it felt heavy and not instantly as satisfying as the Karoq.

Sorry for all the questions but has you have driven both. What did you think of the noise levels compared to the karoq. Just reading the forums on here, loads seem to be complaining about it. I'll be honest, it was a car I was looking at ( I do like Skoda styling) but the user comments put me off.

Noise - very quiet. SEL Karoq excellent. sportline almost as good despite stupid 19" wheels.

Can't understand anybody complaint about Karoq noise?? I had an MB for years and to be honest I was amazed by the (quiet) noise levels. Suggest you test drive one and I'm sure you will agree the noise is pretty minimal

Edited 25 May25 May by survey
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If you are looking at 22/23 year models, check the fitted wheel sizes. For a short period, the Sportline, at least, was supplied with 18 inch wheels. Mine was first registered March 2023, and has them.

Had octavia tdi 2006 driven that for 9 years, traded it for a yeti, which was fine, but not a roomy as the octavia (duh), I found the yeti very noisy. Traded the yeti for an 2019 Karoq; very pleased. More space, more comfort, and, very quiet. Obviously going from diesel to petrol makes a difference, but my octavia tdi was quiet as well.

Over all after 9 months of ownership and 35.000 km I think it is a great car. On 18” and with no problems whatsoever.

I have a 2.0 Petrol DSG Sportline 4x4 I think its very quiet, I had a 2.0TDI DSG Touran for 11 years before the Karoq, and I find the Karoq just as comfortable and quiet as the Touran. Very similar in size and weight. The Karoq with 4wd handles better when cornering. The 4x4 Karoqs have the VW mutti-link rear suspension and 45 profile tyres a combination which gives a softer and quieter ride. The 2wd Karoqs have a beam axle rear suspension setup and that I believe tends to give a harsher ride.

I would have expected the Tiguan , as its based on the same platform as the Karoq to be very similar, with perhaps better soundproofing, the Seat Ateca use the same basic bodyshell as the Karoq, with some minor external panel differences.

re: Noise

Don't some models have the 'Soundactor' that adds artificial noise?

tom

They are relatively quiet and comfortable, even on 19" wheels Tyre road noise is not bad. The ride is helped with DCC in comfort mode. My sister recently asked if my 1.5 DSG was electric whilst cruising at 65-70 on the Honiton bypass. Mind you she has been known to bounce her BMW 328 soft top off the rev limiter so perhaps she's simply hard of hearing..