Well I have had my Skoda Superb Elegance Estate for two and a half years so now feel able to post a long term users review.
I purchased the 2.0 petrol with the DSG (auto) box. It has now covered 15,000 trouble free miles. If I had been interested in fuel consumption I would have purchased the diesel, but as I am not and prefer petrol (it is quieter) that was the chosen route.
The car, as most Skodas are, very good value for money, I was able to spec it up a bit. Additions added were heated front screen, tinted glass, spare wheel, connection for ipod, heated screen washers, wood trim, KESSY (more about this later) and most importantly full length opening panoramic sunroof. The car is finished in Amythyst Purple with Ivory leather interior.
This car is big, and I mean big at about 5 metres it hangs out of most parking bays but is not a problem parking. The reverse park sensors and display on the Columbus Sat Nav system are very accurate. For such a large car it has very good road manners with surprisingly little body roll. In fact it will handle switchback lanes with ease. It is just as happy around town as it is on motorway journeys.
Cruise control makes a world of difference and I can recommend it to anyone who hasnt used it before. With the touch of a button the set speed can be increased or decreased 1 mph at a time.
The memory front seats are handy for when my wife or I drive. just a press of the button and everything is restored for that driver, including the mirror settings. Whilst talking about mirrors the offside one can be set by a rotary switch on the drivers arm rest to point downwards when reversing so you can see the wheels saves any alloy damage.
The car is heavy and very solid. For this I dont think I will get much more than 20,000 out of the tyres.
The media system comprises of Sat Nav, radio, single CD, ipod player and SD card slot, all of which work very well. There was an option to upgrade the speaker package which I did not do. Having used the standard set up for two an a half years and listened to most types of music I cannot find fault with the standard set up.
KESSY or in Skoda terms keyless entry system. The remote has the usual buttons if you chose to use them. Just walk up to the car with the remote in your pocket, touch the door handle and hey presto you are in. No ignition key, the remote stays on your person. If you accidently put the remote down inside the car and get out to lock it, it recognises the remote is inside and will not lock. Each remote can be programmed for each driver. There is quite a lot you can do with it, for example mine is programmed to unlock all doors but my wife prefers hers to just unlock the drivers door. You can operate the roof and windows as well from it. It has a very small range when being used without touching the buttons, you have to be within a couple of feet from the car for it to work. For button usage the range is half way across a supermarket car park. So on a really hot day I can open the roof and windows to let the heat out before I get to it.
Headlights are the adaptive HID types which follow you on bends and increase their range as the speed increases.
The boot is large, if something rolls to back, up against the rear seats, you have to climb in to retrieve it. We went camping last summer with a six berth tent, air matresses, sleeping bags, cooking stuff, table and chairs and all the other paraphernalia associated with a week away and was still able to close the luggage cover.
The foot room in the back rivals just about anything out there and rear passengers have their own face level vents in the B posts.
Another interesting thing is the ability to set up interior mood lighting in the footwells. This can be adjusted for brightness and strange as it sounds it is really very pleasant for night driving. It seems to balance out the dashboard and console lighting giving a relaxing, but not too relaxing glow.
All in all the Superb does what is says, it is a Superb car.
I purchased the 2.0 petrol with the DSG (auto) box. It has now covered 15,000 trouble free miles. If I had been interested in fuel consumption I would have purchased the diesel, but as I am not and prefer petrol (it is quieter) that was the chosen route.
The car, as most Skodas are, very good value for money, I was able to spec it up a bit. Additions added were heated front screen, tinted glass, spare wheel, connection for ipod, heated screen washers, wood trim, KESSY (more about this later) and most importantly full length opening panoramic sunroof. The car is finished in Amythyst Purple with Ivory leather interior.
This car is big, and I mean big at about 5 metres it hangs out of most parking bays but is not a problem parking. The reverse park sensors and display on the Columbus Sat Nav system are very accurate. For such a large car it has very good road manners with surprisingly little body roll. In fact it will handle switchback lanes with ease. It is just as happy around town as it is on motorway journeys.
Cruise control makes a world of difference and I can recommend it to anyone who hasnt used it before. With the touch of a button the set speed can be increased or decreased 1 mph at a time.
The memory front seats are handy for when my wife or I drive. just a press of the button and everything is restored for that driver, including the mirror settings. Whilst talking about mirrors the offside one can be set by a rotary switch on the drivers arm rest to point downwards when reversing so you can see the wheels saves any alloy damage.
The car is heavy and very solid. For this I dont think I will get much more than 20,000 out of the tyres.
The media system comprises of Sat Nav, radio, single CD, ipod player and SD card slot, all of which work very well. There was an option to upgrade the speaker package which I did not do. Having used the standard set up for two an a half years and listened to most types of music I cannot find fault with the standard set up.
KESSY or in Skoda terms keyless entry system. The remote has the usual buttons if you chose to use them. Just walk up to the car with the remote in your pocket, touch the door handle and hey presto you are in. No ignition key, the remote stays on your person. If you accidently put the remote down inside the car and get out to lock it, it recognises the remote is inside and will not lock. Each remote can be programmed for each driver. There is quite a lot you can do with it, for example mine is programmed to unlock all doors but my wife prefers hers to just unlock the drivers door. You can operate the roof and windows as well from it. It has a very small range when being used without touching the buttons, you have to be within a couple of feet from the car for it to work. For button usage the range is half way across a supermarket car park. So on a really hot day I can open the roof and windows to let the heat out before I get to it.
Headlights are the adaptive HID types which follow you on bends and increase their range as the speed increases.
The boot is large, if something rolls to back, up against the rear seats, you have to climb in to retrieve it. We went camping last summer with a six berth tent, air matresses, sleeping bags, cooking stuff, table and chairs and all the other paraphernalia associated with a week away and was still able to close the luggage cover.
The foot room in the back rivals just about anything out there and rear passengers have their own face level vents in the B posts.
Another interesting thing is the ability to set up interior mood lighting in the footwells. This can be adjusted for brightness and strange as it sounds it is really very pleasant for night driving. It seems to balance out the dashboard and console lighting giving a relaxing, but not too relaxing glow.
All in all the Superb does what is says, it is a Superb car.