[Swanand Inamdar]

Well, what to say. Epitome of Opulence it surely is. Luxury redefined, at least in its class.


Most of you know the dilemma I faced while choosing the car. Here’s the link to the “What Car” thread.

So, finally the decision has been made. The Superb is home. Now, there is a twist in that too. No, not in the Superb, but in the buying of the Superb.

After resisting the Petrol variant and the used car market, that is what we finally settled for. Well, life has a way of mocking you, doesn’t it? An acquaintance of my father wanted to sell his Superb. The car is a little more than a year old (VIN decode shows manufacture date to be July 2010) and has done only 14k odd kms till date. Well, we had a look. Thoroughly checked the car, even with the ASC. No problems whatsoever. The entire deal was so tempting, that we did take the plunge. Oh, yeah the price we bought it for – let’s just say, it’s half of what a brand new one costs (OTR Pune). Yes, that’s right. With such a deal, who wouldn’t, right?

Now, coming to the car itself. What has not been said about the luxury it offers?
There are a gazillion buttons for everything. Want to know the tyre pressure and the car to give you a warning? Done, says the car. Want the entire disco effect of the lights, the moment you turn the key? Here is the disco. There is everything and then some. There is nothing that one would need to fit extra in the car. It’s all there. Ok, there isn’t a bathroom in the car, but then that would be asking for too much, innit?

Since the car is going to be used as a daily commute by my father, back seat comfort was of high priority. Does it give that?
Here’s the proof.

[Swanand Inamdar]

Here's what I feel about the car. These are my views and obviously, you have the right to differ.

Positives:

• 160BHP! Absolute rev happy engine. DSG works like a charm.
• Paddle Shifts! Feels like my own F1 car.
• Loads and loads of space. The boot can actually fit in an average human and some luggage.
• Lovely leather. Feels very premium. The quality is top notch.
  Interior components quality. All up to the mark. Actually, a few notches above the expected.
• The ICE. For an ICE noob like me, this is more than sufficient.
• Memory seats. I for one used to hate it, when someone fiddles with the seating. Now, no worries. Just a press of a button, and its back to the way I like it!
• Sun roof. Ok, not much of a positive, but then just feels nice to have one.
• The MID/MFD. That’s a book in itself. I can access anything and everything. Want to change the way the car beeps while reversing, done. Want to change the reading from l/100kms to kmpl? Done. Lots and lots of options to customize.
• 8 parking sensors. All around. I don’t need to even tilt my head to check. The beeps are more than audible. In most cars, once the reverse is engaged, the audio volume is reduced. In the Superb, it’s stopped completely. It’s actually like the car’s trying to tell you- Pay attention while reversing. You can enjoy the music later.
• Audio increases with the speed. (This though, could be a fragment of my imagination. Need to check and confirm).

Negatives:

• Skoda A.S.S. Luckily, haven’t had the need to visit them. Same goes for the Laura.
• Would have loved to have a remote for the ICE, but the steering mounted controls do the job.
• Beige Interiors. Extremely difficult to maintain.
• Tyres. Thankfully, the previous owner got them changed to Bridgestone one’s (need to check the exact model name) from those atrocious Goodyear NCT5’s.
• Spare tyre is a normal non alloy wheel. Come on, cost cutting to this level? How much more would it cost you to give all alloys?

[Swanand Inamdar]

As I said earlier, this one has done only 14k odd on the Odo. Thankfully, the run in period has been done. All that’s left to us is, rip the car! And rip we did. Dad had taken it to Bombay the other day.E-Way is such a charm for those redlining tendencies. No, dad didn’t redline. He didn’t even drive. He has phobia of those AT’s. Doesn’t know what to do with the left foot . Well, for a person who has driven MT’s for all his life, shifting to AT at this age may be a problem. Hence the chauffeur on the weekdays and me on the weekends!

Anyways, I am a bit skeptical of redlining any car. Regardless of the cars capabilities. It’s not that I am scared that I’ll lose control, it’s more of what to expect on our roads. A friend (and a BHPian) is the exact opposite. In his own words – “I want to redline any car, regardless of its capabilities”. And redline he did. On a relatively empty street (South Main Rd, Koregaon Park ). Well, it was well past midnight and the moment he took over, the car was slotted in “S”. Paddle shifts were put to use for the first time, since we got the car. 6500 RPM! Orgasm for an autoholic I tell you!

[Swanand Inamdar]

Driving this car is a pleasure at any speed. Brakes are excellent and so is the acceleration. It just shoots past other vehicles when you want it to. I don't even come to know when the car shifts into lower gears. Even when it shifts into higher gears, I can notice the shift only for the first three gears.

Storage, like I mentioned is aplenty. Cubby holes for everything and anything. The sunglass compartment could have been slightly bigger though. My sunglasses just don’t fit in there, unlike the Laura. There is a storage compartment even under the steering.

The mats, though of good quality are beige in color! Who the hell gives beige mats in India? Have they ever visited India in monsoons? The beige turns into a dark brown with little rains. Need to get those 3D Kagu mats ASAP. As of now, I have those transparent mats in place (on top of the beige fabric mats), and to be honest, they do a better job.

The windows have a lovely green tint to them. Very soothing. I want to get sun films for them, but Dad’s against it. His logic, if they were imperative, it would have come with the car. Who can argue with that! Anyways, the rear curtains do more than what the sun films could do. Such a lovely feature. Adds to that luxury feel.

[Swanand Inamdar]

What else? Oh yes, the Umbrella! Thanks to Sam, the umbrella in the Superb has become the car’s USP. Yes, it is present. Used it the other day, and honestly, I would have preferred a bigger one (thanks to my size), but the wife seemed pretty happy with it. As usual, Dad had no clue of the Umbrella. Had to show it to him the other day. Pleasantly surprised him though.

Another feature that I’ve fallen in love with is the sunroof. On a rainy day (like the way it’s been for the last couple of days) keep the sunroof open to light (not to sky) and enjoy the rains while you drive. Bliss!

As days go by, I am figuring new things about this car.
I shall be updating this thread with whatever new features/modifications I do.

Most of the days the car comes home well after dark. Hence been unable to click some good quality pics. Not that I am great at clicking them anyways. But shall upload more pics soon.

Here's one for the time being.


Here's the Superb parked below my building. Seen in the background is the humble workhorse - Swift.

[GTO]

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Initial Ownerships forum. Thanks for sharing!

[drmohitg]

Congratulations! So finally you didn't have to make a tough call. Almost brand new car at half its price is a steal anyday. The car looks great in black. Wish you many happy and most importantly trouble free miles with it.

BTW how is the back seat compared to the Accord?

[Sugeeta]

Beautiful car Swanand. Congratulations.

Seems you are really enjoying the sunroof.

[Shreyas Aterkar]

1yr old car at half the price of a new one. wow, its just unbelievable! Amazing amount of space this car has got. 1.8 TSI is a gem of an engine and with the DSG, what do i say? congrats for the possession. Wish you a good *** experience with skoda.

[MAS]

Wow.. this car at half the price of the OTR of a new car. Man.. that is a steal.

This car is a wonderful piece of machinery and looks brand new to say the least.

[Reinhard]

Ah, at last the thread appears from the assembly line! Congratulations man! Great car - nothing else needs to be said really. I hope you'll drive her to office when dad takes a day off and I'll get too see her like I get to see your Laura

And a great deal you got really. No doubt about that.
Wish you and your dad unlimited safe & exciting miles with the black mamba - or lets say Black Lightning since you prefer that!

Cheers!

[Utopian]

Congrats for the Superb. How much did you have to cough up for it exactly. Looks in good shape.
The car has done away with one of the two lanes of the road.

[swiftnfurious]

That's a freakin awesome car & an equally freakin awesome deal you got ! Excites me & scares me at the same time. 1 year old car with just 14K for half the price ! MAN !!

I would love to see more pics of this beauty. Please do update when you get time. And could I request for a night pic with all the interior lights ON? the ambient lights, console, dash etc? That's something which I love a lot. One of the reasons why I used to fancy the premium cars was not their engines, but their lighting. Though it's all changed now, but still...

Wish you miles of happy & safe motoring.

[noopster]

Congrats man and trust me you got a SWEET deal!

I absolutely love the Superb and what it's done to the 20-30 lac segment in this country. Was hoping you'd end up getting the 3.6lit V6 engine option but this is well...awesome as well!

I did a 20 km test drive of this beauty and what amazed me about the DSG is that the shifts are vritually imperceptible. Kickdown is an absolute pleasure- in my Vento, if I kickdown hard the engine HOWLS before taking off- here it is absolutely butter-smooth. The paddleshifts are OK- but the novelty fades off quick (for me at least).

It's a little disconcerting how many 'little things' Skoda has addressed in this baby- down to the way you unlock the car- twice if I recall correctly. It's a little embarrassing driving this car for the first time and having to be told, press the fob again, etc.

Enjoy your ride...and keep posting!

[Speed.Demon]

Congrats sir, you finally acquired the black beauty!!

So you decided to follow what your head says after all, .

Man, I must say you really did strike an awesome deal, a 14k run Superb for half price?? Wicked!!
That car definitely deserves better photos, take the weekend off and go snapping!!