[hillsnrains]

Finally after 10 years of ownership and 1, 55, 000 KMS of blissfull drive with wonderful memories, we have decided to say good bye to our beloved Skoda Rapid and welcome pre-worshipped Skoda Superb.



It was 2011 December when we bought Skoda Rapid home after a last minute cancellation of Fiat Punto. Long story short, I wanted a good frugal hatch whereas home minister wanted a sedan. That was one of those rare moments, where I got bigger and better car after compromise. By and large 10 years of ownership was a bliss and many memorable road trips. In those 10 years we visited 9 different states and numerous Hill stations, Jungles, Beaches, Temples and Heritage monuments.

There were only two instances, where we have to turn back in the middle of a trip. First instance happened in 5th year of ownership, when the Intercooler developed a leak. This was not caused due to any accident, but opening of a weld along the edge of the intercooler. This resulted in intake pressure drop and subsequent glow plug plus engine light on display. Immediately turbo was cut-off and maximum speed limited to 80 KMPH. Due to this I had to drive back ~200 KMS w/o air-condition that to with a max speed of 80 KMPH.

Second instance happened in September 2020 which is the nightmare of Rapid/Vento owners, yes your guess is right, injector gone kaput. To avoid this very situation, I did injector overhaul when Rapid hit 1L milestone. Off late I became lazy and many times drove the car with low fuel warning, which I have avoided first 9 years of ownership. I used to tank up most of the times when the fuel level is 1/4th that to from selected/regular fuel pumps. The recent negligence could have also contributed to the injector blockage. In this instance I was forced to maintain the RPM within 2000-2500RPM range and appropriate gear (2, 3 & 4 only) to match the above RPM range. This was needed to avoid the vibrations caused by lack of fuel supply to one of the four injectors. I had done this circus for ~100 KMS.

There were two more instances (7th and 8th Year of ownership) when I have got only glow plug warning due to contaminated Air Mass Flow sensor. Off late we are having frequent hiccups hence itch to upgrade.

Adieu shots of Rapid (taken on the last day).

Search for that dream car:

As usual there is a lot of confusion all though the selection and purchase process. I had helped quite a few friends and colleagues in their car selection process by clearing their confusions/doubts. However, when I am in that situation, Team-BHP came to my rescue. As a first step, listed out “must” and “good to have” in the new car.

Must:
• Multi-link suspension
• Automatic
• Sunroof (this is the only requirement for son)
• Luxurious than Skoda Rapid
• Split and foldable seats
• ~500L boot

Good have:
• ~200 mm ground clearance
• 4X4 drive
• Reclining rear seat
• Apple Car play/ Android Auto
• Ventilated seats

Just to add little more context, there was no specific need for SUV. All elders in the family are for Sedan and only son is in favour of SUV. However after couple of test drives on SUV’s and crossovers, entire family could converge to the ultimate choice that is sedan. Here I should thank horrible Bangalore roads which made the SUV test drives very bumpy and unsettled. I have never considered C1/2 segment sedans and cross overs as we are looking for upgrade. We have a budget of ~30L and open for both new and pre-worshipped options (~2 years and < 20K KMS on the ODO). As a thumb rule, I always consider top end variant. I have spent about three months from test driving to closing the deal. Starting from November till mid-January most of my weekends have gone into the dream car search.

Shortlisting and Test Drive experience:

Harrier XZA: This is one of the car which I have been following very closely since its launch. Harrier is a head turner on the road and a very good value for money proposition. I did couple of test drives and came impressed on the engine response and the real estate. My last test drive car had broken door handle, which forced the sales advisor to open the door from outside. Home minister is not impressed with the interior fit and finish, especially the materials used for upholstery.

Compass Limited Plus 4X4: Facelift is due for launch in couple of months and pre-facelift price already crossing 30 big ones. Drive and comfort is good but narrow rear bench is the real deal breaker. We are not ready to settle for such as small car (I mean inside) after paying north of 30 big ones. Thanks to over optimistic pricing of the facelift, which ended the road for Compass.

Endeavour Titanium Plus: We were not ready to spend 40 big ones on the car, but wanted to give a try and see if we can get any good car in the used car market. This beast is such a pleasure to drive and manoeuvring in the narrow city roads is also not as cumbersome as I initially thought. The biggest negative for me is ~2.3 Tonne weight and of course the size. Brand new car is out of my budget and used ones are very expensive in the market.

Kodiaq Style 4X4: This is a perfect blend of a spacious sedan and 4X4 capability. I have tried two 2018 model cars. Test drives left me impressed on how the speed and size is masked, unfortunately one car is with higher ODO reading and other one is having dubious re-paint work. Here the dealer tried to hide the repair/re-paint. This was noticed during the second visit by my companion. This is where I realised the importance of multiple visits and that to accompany by a different person.

Tiguan Highline: I personally liked the understated looks and considered only used ones. The biggest let down in this is the black interiors especially the leather grade used for seats. I explored two cars, one is ruled out because of body color (silver). The other one is in perfect condition but 2017 model.

Octavia L&K: This is the perfect sedan with perfect blend of space and luxury. I had test driven 2018 with 20K on the ODO. The car is in perfect mechanical condition but one door is repainted, which was disclosed by the dealer himself. Otherwise also this could have been caught easily due to the poor workmanship.

Superb L&K: New car on road price is north of 40 big ones hence decided to explore in the used car market. The options were very limited for my requirement. I have tried two cars one I let it go due to 40K KMS on the ODO, the second car is of 2018 model with 20K on the ODO. We couldn’t like anything else after an extended Superb test drive. The icing on the cake is higher state of tune of 2.0 TDI engine compared to Tiguan/Kodiaq. After the second test drive son also convinced for the used car.

Few important factors that helped during my selection process:
No of seats: We were confused 5 vs 7 seats in the beginning of our search. As our search progressed, it became clearer. Most of the time (90% of time) only three seats will be occupied including driver, then why three rows? We decided to go for spacious two rows against three tight rows.

Petrol/Diesel: I am the one always preferred diesel over petrol. In total 60% of drive will be long drives on highways, where the torquey diesels are effortless to cruise in triple digits. Advanced turbo petrol engines are pretty close to diesel in terms of performance, but higher torque and lower fuel bill made us to stick with diesel despite the trending inclination towards petrols.

SUV vs Sedan: I do trips occasionally to odd/remote locations, where that additional ground clearance comes very handy. However I am not ready to trade off those relaxed/settled long drives (~700 KMS a day) for occasional off road capabilities.

Manual/Automatic: Manual gearboxes are my forte, I rarely enjoyed the automatic cars. I used to drive home ministers Ford Aspire 1.5AT fitted with Torque converter gear box. Off late my left knee started feeling the weight of extra hard clutch of Skoda Rapid 1.6 TDI, hence decided to go for automatic only.

Challenges I faced in purchasing a pre-worshipped car:

1. Convincing my 9 year old son for purchasing a used car. He don’t want to miss the showroom reception and the photo opportunity. I could convince him with lot of difficulty by explaining my budget constraints and of course luring him for a bigger/better car.
2. Missing that new car feel and of course new car smell.
3. There is a little bit of doubt/confusion in the mind. Not really about the price but about any invisible damages/scratches/dents etc. In order to comfort myself, I did the following

• Always visited at least twice to inspect/test drive the shortlisted car.
• Made sure that a different person accompanies me on my second visit.
• Always performed my visual inspection in open place (typically middle of test drive) that to under day light.

Purchase Experience:

Only few used car dealers have given positive experience, rest are not really interested to sell. I have visited seven different dealers, only two bothered to call back and check if I have made any decision. In general used car prices in Bangalore is an eye sore, always prices are on higher side. Agree, Bangalore road tax is high, however used car dealers are very difficult to bargain may be formed as a cartel?

RC ownership transfer is part of the deal which is completed as promised, however timeline has been pretty long. Post transfer of RC, I have visited Reliance insurance along with NOC from the first owner. I had to pay the pro-rata NCB amount for the reminder of the policy and luckily I could complete the vehicle inspection also on the spot. Overall insurance transfer process is seamless and received the revised policy in 3 working days.

First few weeks with Superb:

Finally we got the vehicle on the day and time of our choice, drove straight to home. Next day early morning we visited Gali Anjaneyaswamy Temple in Bangalore for divine blessings. The dealer hadn’t cleaned the vehicle to our liking, hence decided to go for a through detailing session at 3M, JP Nagar. Team at 3M did a great job
Here are the two pics shot using iphone XR @ 3M, JP Nagar.



Next few weeks we couldn't manage to venture out of Bangalore city but had multiple drives on the NICE road. Here are my first impressions.

Like the most:

• Multilink suspension gobbles up minor road imperfections without any sweat.
• Gear shifts of the 6 speed DCT are precise and quick. My left leg relaxing on the perfectly positioned dead pedal.
• Spacious and comfortable cabin and of course huge legroom at rear. Now son prefers rear seat against his usual choice of co-driver seat.
• All around disc brakes inspires confidence during emergency breaking.
• Steering is very accurate and loads up very well at higher speeds.
• I can’t thank enough of the cooled seats once the outside temperature crosses 35 degrees.
• Electical seat adjustment for both front seats.
• Adaptive cruise control is very handy on wide and lazy highways.
• Huge boot with foldable split seats is a dream. I have used once to transport my sons bicycle to mechanic.

Not so good:

• Rear view mirrors are one size smaller for the car.
• There is ample storage space for the driver however the real estate had been split all around the driver seat. In general storages are small in size, except the storage under the hand rest. Agree all the storages are intended for a specific purpose like phone, cup holder etc., but this limits the flexibility of open storage like the one I had in Skoda Rapid. May be I have to get used to the new layout.
• Glove box is also one size smaller for this XL size car, heck even smaller than Rapid. I used to keep one tissue box inside the Rapid glove box, can’t do it anymore in Superb.
• Sunroof opening is smaller compared to the size of the sun roof. Sunroof pops-out on opening.

Few observations and glitches during the initial days:

• Engine start/stop button location is little annoyed on day one but after a week I got used to and not a problem at all. I never expected I will get used to it so quickly. Funny enough, I started searching for the start button on steering column of Ford Aspire (start button is on dashboard).
• The 360 degree sensors are an annoyance in the city traffic, where two wheeler riders stand right next to you (or on top of you?). Not an issue post adjusting the type of beep tone and its intensity.
• I didn’t find right place to keep my wallet (I hate driving car with my wallet in back pocket especially on long drives). I used to keep my wallet in common storage of my rapid, where the storage is deep enough. One another option is the cooled storage underneath the armrest (I know this is not the right place for wallet), but opening and closing this storage itself is a big exercise. One may think, what was the need to have access wallet frequently during the journey as? I stay far away from Bangalore city and have to use NICE ring road frequently, where one has to pay cash.
• Apollo tyres doesn’t do justice for Superb, quite a bit of road noise peeps into cabin. I will be waiting for the tyre upgrade.
• Engine has to be cranked in order to bring the wipers in service position. Why to crank engine unnecessarily? I just want to wash the car.
• TMPS setting doesn’t show individual pressure values. I am re-setting after every re-fill. Am I doing something wrong here?
• Low windscreen washer fluid level warning message popped up on the driver display.
• Car remote low battery warning also came on driver display, which I did myself. Why did the battery drain so fast?
• Unavailability of 3D mats for Superb MK-III model (something like Kagu).
• First owner couldn’t pass on Skoda Umbrella’s, I have to wait until my next trip to UK.
• None of the three 12V sockets works. Yet to check fuses. Right now managing with USB port.

First long drive:

After a long wait we decided to go for a four day holiday to Chikmagalur during the last week of February. First long drive excitement helped us to start early @ 5.30 AM. In no time we were cruising at triple digit speeds towards Chikmagalur. Made a breakfast stop near Hassan and the next stop is Belur Chennakesava Temple. After spending couple of hours at temple, finally headed for to Chikmagalur and we stayed at beautiful Honeydewwz exoticaa resort.
Highway drive had been excellent and the way Superb masked the speed is pretty amazing. Occasional overtakes were breeze, surprisingly adaptive cruise control is pretty handy during quick overtakes. I may be little gentle on the throttle hence taking that extra second or two during overtake. I was totally spoiled by the adaptive cruise control, due to which I started feeling that the accelerator pedal is little harder and/or slow throttle response. Surprisingly the wind noise is little higher side, may be due to good cabin insulation. That was not an annoyance anymore with a slight uptick on the music volume. Do note that my reference here is Skoda Rapid, which doesn’t have so good cabin noise insulation.
Next day morning before starting to Amruthapura and Kemmenna Gundi hill point.


We thoroughly enjoyed the curvy roads and scenic views alike. Superb handles the twisty roads extremely well that too without any sweat. Few click shot with DSLR near Amruthapura



Few more clicks enroute to Kemmenna gundi, shot using Samsung S9 plus



Third day morning we decided to visit Baba budangiri, initially we thought of Mulyangiri but given a skip as we have visited just about a year ago. Again amazing views enroute and below are some more pictures. Home minister couldn’t control her frustration by third day and asked, “Does this trip is for car shoot or for us”? I couldn't control my laugh (tried my best to hide facial expression )



Apollo tyres doesn’t compliment Superb’s handling and performance, tyre noise is on the higher side especially on highways. Steering weighs-up pretty nice at high speeds and always encourages to push around the corners. All around disc brakes inspires confidence during emergency breaking.

Three nights stay at Honeydewwz exoticaa had been excellent. Here is the beautiful view from the balcony.


Son before starting a chess game


Return trip to Bangalore is pretty smooth and comfortable. I can’t appreciate enough of the cooled seats. Wow, I didn’t realise the benefit earlier. So far driven ~2500 KMs in about two months which includes 750 KM drive to Chikmagalur. I will try my best to keep this thread alive with regular updates as there are very few Superb threads in our forum.

Concluding this post here with a parting shot (location: Baba Budangiri)

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Reviews section. Thanks for sharing!

Your car is going to our homepage today .

[Axe77]

That’s a fantastic upgrade hillsnrains. Many congratulations and wish you many miles of happy ownership.

The Superb is incredible enough value new but to get a relatively recent model as used is just a killer steal I am sure.

Apologies if I have missed it but will be nice to know the year and month of manufacture and how many kms the car had at the time of purchase. If it is all right with you, what price did you pay and how much does the same variant cost new on road in Bangalore. I have frequently read about how tight the used car dealer market in Bangalore is. Will be nice to have insight with actual numbers.

Finally, hope you are trying to get the longest warranty possible if that is permitted with Skoda to get post facto. You seem to keep your cars long - a car like Superb will only help that given how hard it is to upgrade from. An extended warranty should go a long way in making that ownership as risk free and peaceful as practicable.

[kamilharis]

Congrats on the new beast, this is nothing less than a "NEW" car I would say.

A few more questions if you don't mind. Was this a dealer car itself that you had test-driven, and how were the warranty terms? Can the second owner extend the warranty later & for how many years? And finally, the price so that it will help the future buyers.

Also, some pics of the interior, please!

[Turbohead]

The Superb/ Passat I believe, is the logical upgrade from a Rapid! You get the full blown Skoda flagship experience!

From using a car for 10 years to buying a pre-worshiped almost brand new car, you're a true blue Bhpian!

Wish you many happy miles behind the wheel of that beautiful wafter

[gulerianeeraj]

Great buy and wishing you many years of uneventful pampering by the Superb. Few questions if I may ask..
1. What about Ground clearance? Did you faced any issues so far?
2. Would love to see some shots of the interiors if possible.
3. This and the next question is with respect to RAPID. How did you found out that Injector has gone kaput? Was it some drop in vehicle performance or you came to know about it during regular checkup?
4. Any issues with gearbox so far (Rapid + Superb)?
I was not aware about the fact that driving in low fuel will be actually be responsible for clogging the injector. After reading above I realised the point is absolutely valid and I need to change my habit of refuelling only when reserve light switches on. Thank you for the info.

[imp!]

Congratulations hillsnrains. A 2.0 TDI Superb is a workhorse of a car. I have a Jetta 2.0 TDI that has crossed over 100K Km that I bought pre-owned and is running fine. It just keeps on chugging along without a fuss as long as you ensure proper maintenance. I've been contemplating another pre-owned car to refresh our ageing stable and am fed up with the used car dealers I have come across in Ka. The expected prices seem to indicate an attitude of I buy new or used but the next buyer needs to bear the depreciation! I would love to have a chat with you sometime about your experience.

Cheers!

[itwasntme]

Excellent choice of vehicle, hillsnrains and a very evocative TBHP handle name too :-). I am glad you went for this one over the pre-worshipped Tiguan. The sheer luxury of the Superb L&K is amazing. My Octavia was wonderful and I can only imagine what the Superb will be.

Congratulation and wish you many years of trouble-free ownership!

[PradoGdr88]

Noob Question Alert!

I just read about the fuel injector going kaput because of the fuel level maintained being low. Is this applicable only for diesel Rapids? The reason I ask is because I own a Petrol Rapid and of late, I too have been guilty of the same mistake.

[slayer23]

Excellent write-up & wonderful car! Hearty congratulations & wish you a ton of happy driving.

Finding a good used vehicle is indeed a challenge in Bangalore. Could you suggest the used car dealers you tried?

[sarang.vaidya]

Excellent writeup! Congratulations on your new ride.
I will be keeping an eye on this thread as Superb is one of the car on my list and I might also plan to purchase a good pre-worshipped one if the opportunity come in the future.

[nerd1200]

Congratulations on the Superb choice of a car, hillsnrains! It's a lot better car with simply clever luxury touches than any of the other cars on your list. I'm sure you'll have many happy miles with the car. The business gray looks awesome in person both under natural daylight and at night. IIRC it was exclusive to the L&K.

Since your car is at the 3 year mark, please do opt in for extended warranty and Skoda 2 years RSA for additional peace of mind.

Few comments/pointers from my end - Hope this helps!

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

Glove box is also one size smaller for this XL size car, heck even smaller than Rapid. I used to keep one tissue box inside the Rapid glove box, can’t do it anymore in Superb.

Yes, part of the multimedia system does eat into the cooled glovebox space. However you can utilize the passenger's under seat storage box for keeping these items.

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

[*]Adaptive cruise control is very handy on wide and lazy highways.

I don't believe Superb had/has ACC. It's just Cruise control with Speed limiter.

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

[*]I didn’t find right place to keep my wallet

What about the cubby under the headlight switch?

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

[*]Engine has to be cranked in order to bring the wipers in service position. Why to crank engine unnecessarily? I just want to wash the car.

Once you turn on and off the accessory mode and press down the wiper stalk for a second, it should bring them to the service position. Ideally shouldn't have to crank.

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

[*]TMPS setting doesn’t show individual pressure values. I am re-setting after every re-fill. Am I doing something wrong here?

True. These are passive TPMS systems unfortunately.
Yes, you would have to reset it post every top-up.
You might explore proper TPMS options such as Sensairy for better instrumentation.

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

[*]Low windscreen washer fluid level warning message popped up on the driver display.

Since Superb has headlight washers, each time you wash your windshield at night, it sprays the headlights too. This results in rapid depletion in windshield washer fluid levels. I would normally turn off my lights, spray & turn them back on at night. Additionally, do keep a premix of about 2 liters of washer fluid in the boot if feasible. This has saved me umpteen number of times during monsoon trips.

Originally Posted by hillsnrains

[*]First owner couldn’t pass on Skoda Umbrella’s, I have to wait until my next trip to UK.

That's a bummer!
TAFE should be able to source it for you if you provide them the part numbers.

[Pkumarblore]

Congratulations. The Superb L&K is indeed an epitome of luxury in its category. I would always pick the Superb over the Passat or even the Audi A6 for the sheer VFM it offers. You are lucky to get hold of a neat and relatively new piece. It almost looks like new at the 3M place. If you are ok with it can you please share some information on your purchase price vs. its on-road price when bought new in 2018 along with the dealership experience. Please see if you can get the extended warranty if you plan to keep it for long.
Happy and safe motoring.

[Rajeevraj]

Congratulations. That is a wonderful purchase. You pretty much wrote down all the requirements that I am thinking in my head for upgrading my Vento when it is close to 10 years, Although that is still a couple of years away. A great decision to go for a preowned a car 2 clear segments above the Rapid.

Wish you many miles of happy ownership.

[car_guy1998]

From Rapid to Superb, what an upgrade! Generally, I see people upgrade their Rapid to crossovers like Seltos/ Creta/ Harrier/ Compass, but you have jumped from one segment to the above segment!

Anyways, congratulations on buying this beauty and the looks beautiful in this colour though I liked it in Magnetic brown, the colour which one of my dad's friends own a Superb, and can you please disclose the price of the vehicle so that it will be more useful for future car buyers!

We are also looking for a used Superb TDI(no petrol as our running is quite high) as a replacement for our Innova as my dad is a big-time fan of Superb due to its rear seat comfort, but sceptical about going for it as Skoda discontinued the Diesel engine last year and the availability of parts might be an issue in the future if we want to keep the car for a longer period and if we aren't successful in getting a well maintained Superb, then we have to look at brand new crossovers only.