Six Weeks With a Superb: Motoring Motoring Discussion forum

Motoring Discussion > Six Weeks With a Superb	Miscellaneous
Thread Author: Bromptonaut	Replies: 21

View Threaded

Sat 15 Mar 25 15:58

Six Weeks With a Superb - Bromptonaut

We’ve now had the Superb for 6 weeks so it seemed a reasonable time give an appreciation of how it’s done so far.

Its diesel, manual and 2 litres. SE trim.

The first impression is how bloomin enormous it is. Width ways it’s much the same as the ‘lingo but it’s a good half metre longer. It overhangs some supermarket bays and even where the bay is long enough it needs care to ensure one end or the other isn’t in other people’s way. It’s also easy to clip the n/s rear tyre being too close to the inside on sum roads; take a bow Grosvenor Centre Car Park in Northampton!! Trim too low for it to be able to park itself like my Daughter’s in laws Passat.

Instruments are a ‘virtual cockpit’ set up with several options. I’m sticking to relatively conventional round dials with revs on the left and speed to the right. Speed is repeated digitally. It has a nag function which seems designed to offend my sensibility about letting engines labour. In practice I suspect with an automated digital engine control labouring isn’t really a thing but having it tell me I should be in sixth at not much more than 40mph doesn’t feel right!!

On the road it handles pretty well. Not as surefooted as the Xantia was was but that had incredibly sporty handling for a medium/large estate car. It’s got 150PS under the bonnet and torque to match. First car I’ve owned where it’s relatively easy to spin the front wheels on a dry road. Performance off the line is well north of adequate. It was three or four driving modes which I’ve not yet fully explored, but even in economy it’s amply quick.

First car I’ve owned without a conventional parking brake which is complete with a ‘hold’ facility. While you forget about it and just drive the car it’s fine. Start thinking about it and it can be confusing. The hold thing needs you to be on the brake pedal as the car comes to a halt. Taken a while to get the art of getting it to set without my/my passengers’ heads bobbling avoiding which is a bit of smooth driving I pride myself on. Think I’ve got it now.

Auto lights and, it seems, auto wipers too. Not sure I’m 100% with either. It nags me if I go somewhere where I probably should have lights on but don’t. Probably a dipping mirror too but I’ve not used it much at night yet. Headlamps are pretty good, much better than either the ‘lingo or the Fabia.

Radio etc system is brilliant except that for some reason it refuses to hang onto Times Radio around my locale - the Fabia clung to it like a limpet. Android Auto connects over Bluetooth rather than needing USB like the Fabia and provides all the Navigation needed. Phone itself integrates seamlessly as you’d expect and pairs with either my phone or hers.

Heating and Ventilation are controlled by a mix of buttons for airflow direction and rotary dials for temperature with the option for different temperatures for driver and front seat passenger. Just leave it on automatic and it performs well and in near silence.

It has cruise control, another first for me as the Fabia only had a limiter. It functions brilliantly with me just tweaking the speed up and down with buttons on the end of the indicator switch.

Economy for a car with a kerbweight around 1600kg is incredible. Well over 40 to the gallon around town and over 50 on the open road unless I’m caning it.

First proper outing was for a family weekend at Center Parcs Sherwood. Swallowed everything with ease. Bromptons sit a tad higher relative the tonneau cover for the boot than they did with the ‘lingo’s parcel shelf but it’s easy enough to remove the cover. It was always removed from the car when travelling long distance/loaded in every estate car we’ve owned. There’s a large blanket somewhere in the house that will cover stuff as it did in the Xantia and ‘lingo #1. Brilliant on the road per the account above re autothrottle etc.

We finally got a towbar fitted on Monday after some procrastination about make of bar and fitter. The guys where we store the ‘van suggested a local agent for Towbars UK. He did an excellent job. Bumper had to come off and the wiring, proper kit dedicated to the Superb, needed quite a bit of interior dismantling. It was then coded to the car.

Did a quick run up the M1 to J18 and back down the A5 with the 'van. All entirely without drama except for some bumping noises under stop start conditions – the ‘lingo does that sometimes as well. It’s much less prone to follow the crudely suspended Xplore’s every jiggle on local roads.

One issue we have is that the tow ball is considerably higher than on the ‘lingo – where it’s almost implausibly low. The 'vans mud flaps contacted the ground on a couple of horse/cart era bridges over the Grand Union as we returned it to store.

Will probably be better if the car’s loaded at the rear and, as we’re no longer on a knife edge with nose weight, I can add a second gas cylinder and one or two other bits and bobs in the nose compartment too. If push comes to shove the van’s only got mudflaps because it was some sort of special edition so they can come off.

When Garry, owner of the storage yard and sales/repair place where we keep the van saw us with a new and mahoosive car he asked if we were putting the ‘van in the boot!!

Since ‘lingo #2 in 2013 all our cars have had names. Superb now has our own 1951 vintage personal plate on but the reg it came with had the prefix EJ. I worked with a gentleman with those initials early in my Civil Service career who was known as Emlyn. He had a distinguished war record and one or two other claims to fame and I quite like that as a name. Mrs B wants a Scots Gaelic theme and suggests the alliterative Seoras, the Gaelic form of George.

At the moment we’re disagreeing but I expect I’ll be rolled over in the end!!