Hi

My daughter is about to buy a Superb Estate on an approx 20K budget, so looking at maybe 2022 or thereabouts. She currently has a VW Tiguan with the 1.5 TSi/DSG combo but needs more space for big rear facing car seats, a dog cage for the labrador etc etc. We reckon that the Superb is probably the best car to handle (literally) everything that she can throw at it and as I say, she is familiar with most of the mechanicals from the Tiguan.

The plan is to keep this vehicle long term i.e. at least 7 years. Useage will be a mixture of driving, various local kids clubs, days out om single carriageway A roads, the odd longer motorway journey, probs about 15K per year. She's a sensible driver, sticks to speed limits, never has to thrash the engine, keeps up with oil changes etc.

I was wondering what folks here thought of that engine/gearbox combo in the Superb from their own experience? I know it's a small engine in a big car but looks like it's only 60kg heavier than the Tiguan which copes more than adequately with 150bhp

Any obvious problems to watch out for? (I know about the kangarooing in earlier manual models). What's the highest mileage anyone here has racked up in a 1.5Tsi? (looking to buy sub 40K)

Any thoughts, suggestions very gratefully received.

I can only offer some insights from my almost 20 months' ownership, and I had over the holidays a Tiguan as a rental, a 6-speed DSG Allspace which was either a 1.4 or 1.5 150cv, for like 10 days....

Space-wise, the Superb will be more than adequate, it is cavernous for both people and cargo. Sometimes the boot's length means awkwards contorsions to get to stuff on the far end - towards the backrest. Having a lower roofline, the capacity to put "tall" stuff (say, a suitcase on its short end) is compromised.

Overall, being 4 persons and associated luggage, the Tiguan did not disappointed me.

Seats (even in basic trim) were comfortable, the layout was the classic one, all easy to use. Pity I my car was missing the cruise due to a reservation mishap, but it was ok.

Dimension-wise, there is a distinct difference in the size of the two vehicles ... the Superb is noticeable larger, and more of a barge when comes to manouver. I recommend a test-drive to get to familiarize somewhat with its girth. After more than 20K km, I still find myself sometimes at odds to manouver "in a loose manner" ... compared to that, I still feel my P38RR like a glove, even if wider and much less prone to easy manouvering than the Superb, for obvious technical reasons 😁

The rear doors, so practical, are also vey large - watch more carefully opening in tight spaces, is easy to bang it on its edge - I havent't done so yet, but came close a few times....

In the driving, the higher driving position of the VW is a plus, here you are lower, with less visibility. The ground clearance is also reduced, a bit more care is needed.

I personally found myself very easy to adapt to the Tiguan, I think the other way around is more challenging, because also the Superb is setup quite "soft", which is comfy, but not so sporty/responsive.

As for the performance, true that I am pampered by the fact mine's a 280, but driving the 150cv Tiguan, fully loaded, on mountain 2-lane (that is overall 2+2 lanes) roads was frankly ... appalling. To keep up with my lead vehicle (a 2.7 V6 4Runner) to keep a brisky pace, I was honestly gunning the engine most of the time, who gave its all very honestly, but it was a tiring exercise. And all in manual, as the 6-speed DSG seems programmed by the same imbecil that did the later 7-spd, with its too early upshifts which simply kill the engines' response ... from this point of view, it your daughter was satisfied with the performance of the Tiguan, I do not believe there will be an issue making the jump!

In the city or in normal driving, the engine was sufficient and ideally suited to go about and keep up with normal traffic, I assume the Superb will be similar ...

Only thing to watch is to drive a little to get a feeling of the different size ... 😉

Thanks Leolito, that's really helpful advice

Steve

If she liked the Tiguan why not look at a Kodiaq... They are similar but larger

Hi,

I had a Superb Mk3 Estate and currently drive a Kodiaq Mk1.

I agree with @leolito's analyze about the Superb. Can't say anything about Tiguan, which I don't know.

MPG:

The 1.5 TSI/DSG is a "camel"dealing with mpg, if driven in eco-driving style. A Superb Mk3 (hatchback) owner on a french regularly hit 1500km with a full tank with a 1.4TSI engine. He was a professional lorry driver and applied eco-drving to his Superb Mk3 too.

Regarding the Kodiaq, it's of course a bit thirstier than a Superb Estate, but not as much as I would have expected. E.g.when I had 7.15 l/100km over 136000 km of ownership with my ex Superb Mk3 Estate (TDI190 DSG6 4x4), I now reach 7.35l/100km with my Kodiaq Mk1 (TDI200 4x4 DSG7). DSG7 may help a bit compared to DSG6.

Boot volume:

A point to know (especially with young kids and a dog): Superb Estate Mk3 boot is 630l (under luggage cover), whereas the Kodiaq Mk1 boot is 750 (in 5 seater version). However, the false bottom of the Kodiaq's boot makes it a little bit less spacious. For holidays, it may be interesting to remove both floor panels of the false floor to save some space.

Baby/Kids seats:

Switching from a Tiguan to a Superb Estate Mk3 may not be a good thing for your daughter's back, if her kids are not old enough to buckle up their safety belt on their own. It may take only few months for them to learn how to do it. But each day of these few months may seem wayyyyy too long to your daughter. This could be a good point for the Kodiaq.

Legroom:

Though the Kodiaq Mk1 is roughly 16-17cm shorter than the Superb Mk3 estate, the legroom for rear passenger is quite similar on both Superb Mk3 Estate and Kodiaq Mk1. I have 3 kids (2 of whom are teenagers, the tallest is currently 5'7") no one complains they have less space for their legs though both front seats are quite pushed backwards (I'm 6'1" and my wife's 5'10")

Thanks for all the really helpful replies guys

On 14/01/2026 at 00:28, Bap33 said:

I had a Superb Mk3 Estate and currently drive a Kodiaq Mk1.

I agree with @leolito's analyze about the Superb. Can't say anything about Tiguan, which I don't know.

That is another valid option. Thanks to your traitorous departure 😄we can get some insight on the Kodiaq ... kidding! Always a pleasure to see you around here, should come more often!

I agree, on all points, you could consider a Kodiaq 1 some sort of .... enlarged Tiguan. And there appears a few coming in the used car market.

Out of the crowd in my apartment's complex, I got a neighbour with a Kodiaq 1, two with Tiguans, one normal one Allspace, and myself with the Superb.

Interior wise, between the two Skodas there is not much of a difference, space is very similar. I though the rear legroom would be more, but the higher roofline of the SUV makes up for it.

As for the cargo area, it is shorter, but taller. You make your choice, for certain things is better. The loading area is higher though, keep in mind for heavy things.

As opposed to Bap above, I almost never take off the vario floor, on long trips I distribute there everything that I can "separate", is practical like that. Takes a bit more time to load and unload, with lots of "fragmented" pieces of luggage, but it keeps the boot tidier, in my opinion.

I think you could look for some adverts in the region and tell your daughter to go for a test drive on one of those as well, to put in the mix another option. Personally I would have gone for such - makes sense as the earlier runabout was a P38 Range Rover, very similar in size overall to the Kodiaq - but I wanted to move away from a SUV.

On 15/01/2026 at 09:05, leolito said:

As opposed to Bap above, I almost never take off the vario floor, on long trips I distribute there everything that I can "separate", is practical like that. Takes a bit more time to load and unload, with lots of "fragmented" pieces of luggage, but it keeps the boot tidier, in my opinion.

Until now, I didn't have to remove both panels of the false floor to save space. I was only saying it could be an option, depending on what you have to load in the boot.

With the Kodiaq Mk1, I just had to changed the way I load all the things in the boot for family holidays. In my ex- Superb Mk3 estate, I started with the big suitcases or bags and finished with the very small things the tiny remaining spaces. Now, I start with small / flat things under the vario floor and then only, I load the big suitcases and bags. It helps keeping everything hidden by the luggage cover.

I have always loaded as you say ... traveling in places where the various administrations and border controls are very ... curious about everything, the less is on sight, the better it is.

Even if you have nothing to hide, is just a hassle.

The best setup: not to pass the luggage cover level, and no bulky stuff on the seats 😉

Before I had the Superb I have now I had a 67 plate Tiguan for four years (and before that a Superb mk2 facelift estate). While the Tiguan is a little higher to get in/out of the seats didn't go low enough to the floor for my liking, it felt more like I was sitting on dining chair, the Superb feels more like sitting in an arm chair, having said that I had the Tiguan from new and covered 148k miles in it so it did the job perfectly well. The boot capacity of the Tiguan is quite misleading as it's a much higher boot floor to roof distance than the Superb, and the Superb has a much larger usable floor space. Both the current Superb & Tiguan were 150 TDI DSG so not comparable to your daughters requirement of petrol, but our second car is an Octavia 1.4 TSI DSG and that goes very well, much better than the 1.4 capacity would suggest so I'd be quite happy with a Superb 1.5 TSI.

Given the choice of a new Tiguan or new Superb I'd take the Superb without question.