[blue_seather]

Hi everyone! I'm an owner of a Skoda Superb 3 facelift MY21 L&K 272 PS, with all of its bells and whistles. When I was buying it brand new 2 years and a half ago, I was looking at a G20 330i xDrive as an alternative but it was smaller and more cramped, had to get it with little to no extras for the price of the Skoda and - the most deciding factor of them all - it was slower (5.1 vs 5.7 to 62 mph).

Now, I'm in a little bit of a dilemma. I intend to keep the Superb for a little over a year more at best so I've started looking already. I might wait for the Mk. 4 Superb but I somehow doubt it will be any better than the Mk. 3. The current gen Audi alternatives seem too old at this point and the S4/S5 are diesels which make no sense for my driving. On Mercedes's side, the CLA feels like it's in the same segment as my previous car - a Skoda Fabia, and the new C43 looks too cheaply made inside for my taste. This leaves me, yet again, with BMW, though this time I've prepared to stretch my budget a bit to an M340i or an M440i GC.

What's troubling me is that all extras accounted for, it's still about 35% more expensive than the Superb as new, and I want to make sure that those 35% will be money well spent. I'm about to test drive an M440i GC in a couple of days but I wanted to check if any of you guys have some, if any, impressions, perhaps even long-term ones.

I wonder how the ride quality will compare, most of all. I'm used to the Superb riding like a boat with the DCC in Comfort. The suspension is very hard to settle, even sometimes comically so, and it's also quite noisy, but then again, feels smooth. I've been riding on R19s, with 235/40 Bridgestones and it's been pretty comfortable overall, even on bad roads. For the M-Lites', though, I've heard that even the adaptive suspension on R19s is quite firm, especially on run-flats. I heard some people say that the adaptive suspension makes the ride harder than the standard one, even. And to get away from the run-flats one has to spec into the sport tyres, which cost quite a bit extra and wear out faster.

P.S. Comparison insights with VW Arteon 272/280 PS would also do as it's practically the exact same car as the Superb.

[330Stevie]

Can only comment on the M340i, but would say it rides fine and in the nicest sense is in another league of performance having looked at the Skoda stats.
Take the test drive and see what you think

[Herr Gross Byte]

I've driven the Superb and Octavia as hire cars. Plus a road trip with a friend in a Superb where we shared the driving. Not sure if they were the same gen as yours because I don't know Skodas. They are fine for what they are but you can't really compare. I'm surprised an M340i is only 35% more money because it is 350% better.

Take a test drive and if you are serious, you'll buy one.

[Alanli722]

I'm not much of a poster (just mainly lurk).

We've had an M340i since Feb 2020 (the wife's daily) and I've got a 66 plate Superb Estate LK 190 tdi. It's neither a 272/280 nor a facelift but thought I might be able to give some comparison.

My 63 plate Mondeo's auto box gave up the ghost last year in Jan, waited 4 months for a new Corolla Estate as it was 0% finance only to get rid of it after a few months for the Superb which actually costs more when you factor it's age.

I've found the Superb to be a nice place to be in even with its age. It is definitely a boat in comfort mode (mines pretty creaky so I usually have the suspension in sport which helps a bit). The M340i isn't too bad in comfort but it's never going to be great on runflats and the reason I haven't changed to normal tyres is because it's mainly driven by my wife so safer for her to not have a flat tyre. I'm on ACS springs so that doesn't help as well, if I ever have it out of comfort mode I have it set to sport individual with just the engine being in sport mode and everything else in comfort. If I want the transmission to hold gears longer I'll put the shifter over to sport.

Spec wise I'm not sure exactly what would be in LK these days but I can tell you what my Superb has that the BMW doesn't. Heated windscreen and ventilated seats (which I loved in the Mondeo), rear heated seats, cooled glovebox (and possibly center cubby), panoramic roof and shade and adaptive cruise control. The panoramic roof you can get with the touring (I think, not kept up to date with packages and specs) and adaptive cruise control obviously can be in a package which I wish my car was specced with.

Infotainment is a bit crap and slow but probably to do with it's age, idrive is much better although I'm not a fan of the missing climate control buttons and shifter in the newer cars so glad I got a pre LCI.

A Skoda will always be a Skoda and the BMW is without doubt a much nicer car quality wise and to drive. If you picked the Superb over the 330i because of a few tenths if a second a 40i car will definitely not disappoint apart from the lack of space. An M340i is all car I'd ever need, I said this to the sales guy whilst waiting for some new tyres. Even he knew what I meant and didn't bother trying to get me into a new car as I was coming up to 3 years of my PCP.

Sorry if this was a long winded post, hopefully it's helped a little bit at least.

[Charlie (Wessex)]

Biggest difference is B58 vs EA888. Both fine engines, but the B58 to me is far nicer with the extra cylinders.

Also the chassis and FWD vs RWD bias. I far prefer the RWD bias of the G21 over my old Golf R Estate. The VW had understeer....not huge amounts and not really noticeable unless pushing on, but I'd been in RWD BMs for over 20 years prior to the VW. I presume the same will be in the Superb as it uses the MQB platform.

[blue_seather]

Thank you for the input, guys!

Surprisingly, the Superb packs a punch. It's the same EA888 engine as in the Golf R and just like the M340i is probably underrated and most likely around 400 hp, the Superb is at least 300 hp. A few days ago I tailgated an M340d and, to my surprise, even though initiating acceleration from higher speeds it would pull ahead at the start with its massive torque, overall, the two cars were on par - almost identical performance. That's probably the reason I got a little scared that an M340i might not feel like much of an upgrade, especially considering price to performance. I could only hope I can get to push it a little bit later this week to make a proper comparison.

I've never ever driven a BMW before, to be honest, and I know that their biggest strength lies in their chassis control and their ability to grip extraordinarily great in bends. Also, the rear-biased xDrive might help with that, as opposed to the Haldex system in the Skoda. I'm really wondering, though, if there would be any real noticeable difference in this regard, however, due to most commute happening on either city roads or motorways anyway.

On the subject of ride quality, I'm perhaps a bit traumatized by an F36 430i test drive I did a couple of years back. Back then I drove a 13k pounds Skoda Fabia Estate and wanted to try the BMW out simply out of curiosity (it was way out of my budget anyway). I even brought a friend and the ride was so bad that afterwards he said his back hurt and we both agreed that the cheap Fabia rode miles better. I think the 430i lacked adaptive dampers and the tyres may have been run-flats but it felt like riding a carriage with wooden wheels. I haven't driven a G2x car so far but I've read online that they've stiffened them compared to the previous generation and that the M-Lites are yet even stiffer, thus my reservations.

One weird thing I noticed (and I'm not sure if it's not just in my mind) was that while the 5 series felt exactly like the Superb in terms of space in the driving seat, the 3 series was a bit too cramped (especially width-wise), with me being 6' 3". The 4 Series GC was a bit more roomy so thus far I'm maybe more inclined towards it (also, because of the hatch trunk that I'm used to from the Skoda).

Noise is also quite interesting to me as even though I've specced Acoustic Windows on the Superb, there's still a little too much wind noise for comfort at higher speeds and the huge amounts of tyre noise on those 19" Bridgestones doesn't help either. I wonder if an M440i, also with acoustic windows and 19s, would be better. I've always feared that frameless windows might not insulate as well but somewhere on this forum I read that the M440i is somehow even better isolated than the M340i.

Other than that, in terms of extras, I don't think I'm too concerned. I'll miss out on windscreen heating, rear window blinds, rear seats heating, front seats cooling (because I like the red leather too much and even the 4 series has cooling only on the other leather colors), glovebox / central cubby cooling and umbrellas in the doors, but I guess I don't keep any of those things in a particularly high regard anyway, except maybe for the seat cooling. I don't dislike iDrive 8 and maybe even prefer it to iDrive 7, mostly in terms of the digital cockpit which was way too boring and weird before and definitely worse than Skoda's, but what's the most important to me is wireless Android Auto / Apple CarPlay which both cars have. The Skoda has a pretty decent Travel Assist that is adaptive and keeps the car in lane by itself but I've seen that the BMW can also start driving automatically in traffic, while the Skoda tends to disengage it until you press the pedal yourself again, which sounds like a nitpick but is actually quite annoying. Also, I was over the moon that I'll be driving a DSG as opposed to a torque converter but I guess I might make use of a torque converter in city traffic as the DSG is way too clunky at crawling speeds.

[330Stevie]

Suggest the M340d was not really trying too much?

Anyway have a look at the link which is a database of various car test data sheets from various reliable road tests to compare cars……

https://zeperfs.com/en/duel8310-8349.htm

[blue_seather]

This is a very interesting database, thanks! Although, there is something wrong with the Superb here.

Draggy tests (or similar) pretty much settle at a 5.1 sec for 0-62 and 19.6 sec for 0-124.

The M340d is 4.68 sec for 0-62 and 19.38 sec for 0-124 based on a YouTube reference. That's what I also found - above 124 mph, the Superb started pulling on the M340d as it fell off a bit.

Then again, an M340i should sit around a 4.3 and 16.05 respectively, with a larger engine that I've heard pushes torque really nicely even up in the higher revs, unlike the EA888. Can't really comprehend if it will feel much different here from the keyboard but it would be interesting to see on the motorway test drive.

EDIT: This report seems a bit more realistic, albeit this is the pre-facelift Superb with the 6-speed DSG which is slower than the next model with the 7-speed one - https://zeperfs.com/en/duel6528-8977.htm

[xenon]

I'd say that given how much you rate the Superb then the 35% extra expense is a waste of money. Surely the fractions of seconds in arbitrary acceleration tests have no relevance in real-word driving scenarios?

[blue_seather]

The Superb is probably the best value practical "performance-ish" car out there, that's true.

Smaller engine, FWD-biased Haldex, vacuum cleaner exhaust, bad noise insulation, boat-like suspension and relative design age (as a new model is round around the corner) are among its biggest flaws, however, and I acknowledge them fully.

Also, I'm determined to change it before the end of the PCP so I've pretty much narrowed it down to an M340i, M440i and also an S4, S5 or a Mk. 4 300 hp Superb, neither of which are announced yet, let alone released or even confirmed. So far I'm 95% inclined towards the M440i GC, to be honest, but even though I've accepted that I'll sacrifice a great deal of rear passenger and boot practicality, I want to make sure there's no other area which may suffer due to my high performance inclinations (i.e. road noise and ride quality). Hopefully, the test drive gives me some insight but I'll be driving an M440i coupe. For all I know, an M340i or an M440i GC might feel totally different. Also, RFTs vs non-RFTs, adaptive vs non-adaptive, acoustic vs non-acoustic windows. All those variables might make all the difference. The dealers, unfortunately, never tell you much more than "a BMW is a BMW and a Skoda is a Skoda" and "if you're looking for a similar practicality you should look into an X5, X7 or a 7 series".

[paulockenden]

It also depends how much you value badge status. I don’t, but I know some folks do. And if you’re of that persuasion I don’t think your neighbours will ever be overheard saying “wow, next door have got a new Skoda”.

[blue_seather]

Not really, no. Design and feel drive me way more than the badge. To be honest, I'm even a little scared of the BMW badge. I feel like I'm going to worry quite a bit more about the car when I leave it parked out on a random street with a brand new BMW, compared to a brand new Skoda. Jealousy vandalizations and keyless entry signal interceptions seem to be way more common with the more premium brands.

[330Stevie]

It sounds like you are very happy with Skoda. There is zero wrong in the brand in this day and age. Take the test and make a balanced decision.

[Rhino at Work]

Hi blue_seather. You mention that the BMW is 35% more expensive to buy but have you done the maths on ownership costs taking into account depreciation or GMFV depending on how you're financing it? I don't know the answer but might change your thinking.

[Alanli722]

If design and feel wise the BMW is the better of the two.

OP seems to have made his mind up on changing cars and probably leaning more towards the BMWs. Like Xenon said in real world terms the extra second or so 0-62 isn't probably that relevant. Sometimes it's nice to have that power when needed and when I do get a chance to drive the car it always puts a grin on my face. Whether or not you can justify spending the extra money for it and having less space only you can decide. I reckon once you test drive the car you'll just want to get one regardless.

There tend to be a lot of fairly nice cars parked in streets these days so seems to be the norm what with PCP enabling people to get into nicer cars.
As far as relay key thefts, BMW keys do go to sleep and stop transmitting after a few minutes of inactivity. A relay is obviously much easier for them but the way I look at it is if they want the car they'll break it for it as they're usually cars stolen to order etc.

[G30M]

340/440

tyre noise is crazy loud. that's on 225s. won't be much better than skoda.

ride and handling is like go-kart. every mm of steering wheel movement is felt by every passenger. you will feel every bump even in comfort.

they are different cars.

power wise you get used to it. after a week of flooring the pedal the car started to feel slow.

[Herr Gross Byte]

Plot twist: OP is a, Skoda salesman trying to make us switch brand. We already have discovered the Skoda as quick, better optioned and 35% cheaper than a G2x M-lite. I'm thinking about getting one.

Anyone want a M340i touring with 2k on the clock and all the options apart from the towbar? I'm joining the darkside.

[Herr Gross Byte]

Originally Posted by paulockenden

It also depends how much you value badge status. I don’t, but I know some folks do. And if you’re of that persuasion I don’t think your neighbours will ever be overheard saying “wow, next door have got a new Skoda”.

Lol

I am going back to Skoda after 18 months a BMW owner, looking at a Kodiaq vRs to replace my first and last BMW..

Dealers and BMW themselves are completely useless!

This thing of mine has an issue with the radio looing signal on a regular basis and all DAB stations... so a useless radio... and has been since I had the car ..

As it was working OK on the day that BMW looked at it then tough! nothing wrong with it despite the same day it lost signal for 5 mins and then ALL DAB stations .. and BMW UK are not interested..

Back to Skoda, working radios and much, much better service from dealers and manufacturer.. no wonder I had them for 20 odd years, no issues, great service, 18 months BMW just rubbish...

[Charlie (Wessex)]

Originally Posted by g21

340/440

tyre noise is crazy loud. that's on 225s. won't be much better than skoda.

ride and handling is like go-kart. every mm of steering wheel movement is felt by every passenger. you will feel every bump even in comfort.

they are different cars.

power wise you get used to it. after a week of flooring the pedal the car started to feel slow.

Tyre noise on my old Golf 7.5R Estate was utterly horrendous. I think the concept of sound deadening was totally lost as it seemingly was virtually non existent. One of the reasons I was happy to come back to the fold. I've got to the age where I like a bit of peace and quiet and the G21 has that. Not as good as my old E61 (though maybe memories are wrong there), but chalk and cheese with the VW. I can't imagine Skoda would be that much better, though maybe I'm wrong there.

Talking about comfort, one of the other reasons I like BMs is the extendable under thigh support. Find it so much better on long drives. I'm 6'3" and wonder if other tall people find this invaluable.

[marksandygill]

Comparing a Superb to a 3/4GC is a bit strange to start with, one is a large FWD executive saloon car designed for comfort, the other two are smaller AWD cars designed more for performance?

Would make more sense to compare a Octavia to those two?

Racing M340Ds makes me think you're more interested in performance, so I'd probably suggest you really want the M340i, it'll get you banned faster as well...

[blue_seather]

Originally Posted by Herr Gross Byte

Plot twist: OP is a, Skoda salesman trying to make us switch brand. We already have discovered the Skoda as quick, better optioned and 35% cheaper than a G2x M-lite. I'm thinking about getting one.

Anyone want a M340i touring with 2k on the clock and all the options apart from the towbar? I'm joining the darkside.

Haha! If only that were true... I'd definitely enjoy the dividends

The Superb is practically a VW but a Passat/Arteon one, so it should most probably be better insulated than the Golf. Either way, despite some reviewers stating otherwise, to my ears it's pretty horrible - maybe the issue lies with me. I haven't ever driven anything more premium (i.e. 5, 7 series, E, S Class, etc.) to compare, unfortunately. The go-kart thing scared me quite a bit, to be honest, but we'll see how it goes this Saturday. The test car will be on RFTs, unfortunately, so there's that...

The under-thigh support is something I'm also looking forward to. The Superb is said to have somewhat uncomfortable seats but I've known no better so far and it would be nice to compare.

The issue with me is that I like nothing else but saloons. I dislike estates, SUVs, crossovers and especially this new breed of aerodynamic pebbles - the likes of the new VW, Mercedes and Hyundai EVs. My driving patterns don't make sense to buy a diesel, I also dislike the idea of PHEVs and am not ready for an EV just yet. That narrows my choice down pretty severely. With VW ditching the Arteon and the Passat saloon, I'm pretty much left with Skoda and the three premium German brands.

The A4 feels outdated at this point and is basically a smaller, inferior and more expensive Superb (the platform, engines and most of the parts are shared between them anyway), and the S4 is a diesel. I sat in the new C class and it felt as cheaply made inside as a Dacia, not to mention that the C43 is more expensive than the M340i, yet the drivetrain seems inferior in every single possible way. I was thinking of the brand new Mustang too, even though the plastics inside look identical to the ones in a Civic Mk6 I used to own, but two doors, RWD and a manual transmission seem like a no-go for me at this point.

Ideally, I would upgrade to a V6 Audi A6 or the upcoming 540i/M550i, if it's any good, but in order to afford them, I'd have to spec zero to no extras which would be a downgrade in itself. So, even though size-wise, the Octavia is closer, weirdly enough it is the Superb which is in the 3 Series' segment, and therefore the M340i/M440i seems like my one and only affordable-ish upgrade path. It's a pity, though, that there are a few M340i vs Octavia vRS comparisons out there on the web but pretty much nothing on M340i vs Superb 280, or 3 Series vs Superb in general for that matter. As you can see, I'm not as obsessed by either comfort or performance, as much as not to accidentally downgrade my overall experience, comfort and performance both being parts of it. Not sure if it makes much sense, saying it out loud, but in my head, at least, it somehow does