Skoda Superb Range Car Review

Facts At A Glance
Car: Skoda Superb
Prices: £15,905-£26,885 – on the road INSURANCE GROUPS: 7-13
Emissions: 151-235g/km
Performance: [TDI 170] 0-60mph 8.8s / Max Speed 138mph
Fuel Consumption: [TDI 170] (urban) 36.7mpg / (extra urban) 58.8mpg / (combined) 48.7mpg
Safety: Nine airbags, ABS, ESP, EBD
Dimensions: length/width/heightmm 4838/1817/1462mm

WHAT’S IN A NAME?

Our Rating: 7.0 / 10

Skoda’s Superb was always big but now it’s bigger. Jonathan Crouch reports

Skoda’s Superb has always been a family four-door offering executive standards of space for Mondeo money. The fact that you could only have a saloon put off some who wanted five doors from trying the first generation version but the mark two model brings a design that offers the best of both. There’s also extra quality and more technology. It’s not the still not the sharpest car to drive but it is exceptional value for money.

Back in the late Nineties, Czech President Milos Zeman, embarrassed at having to use a German car for his official duties, went knocking on Skoda’s door asking if they could do him a stretched version of their Octavia family five-door. Initially, he had no luck. The Octavia then, as now, was based on the underpinnings of a VW Golf and expecting to create a limousine out of it was asking a bit much.

What could be provided however, thanks to Skoda’s membership of the Volkswagen group, was the basis for a stretched MKV VW Passat. This had already been created for the Chinese market, the engineers extending the wheelbase by 95mm. All the Czechs then had to do was to Skoda-ise this package. So was born the Skoda Superb, a saloon with the space of a BMW 5 Series for the cost of a Renault Laguna. Originally, this was to be a one-off, ‘toe-in-the-water’ effort from Skoda into uncharted upper class market territory but so successful was it that we’ve now the second generation version that I’m looking at here.

It’s a fact: Britain’s roads are the worst in Western Europe, except perhaps for those in the Czech republic. Small wonder then, that it’s taken a Czech maker to produce a car that rides beautifully here. Over-large wheels with stiff suspension that produces a supposedly ‘sporty’ drive sound great on paper but can be a misery to live with, day-in, day-out. The Superb, in contrast, dispenses with all this nonsense and offers up wonderfully supple suspension. The comfort emphasis isn’t just focused on ride either. Refinement is outstanding. As a result, it’s a great car for long distances – or even better, to be driven in.

On the road, though the Superb certainly feels big, we’ve found that it shrinks around you. The controls are light and accurate and the whole car really feels solid. What it isn’t is particularly sporty to drive, but then if you’re after that, then this Skoda is unlikely to be on your shopping list in the first place. Unlike its predecessor however, it’s now on a par with a Volkswagen Passat in this respect and there’s the option of the VW Group’s creamy smooth seven-speed DSG twin-clutch semi-automatic gearbox. The Superb is front wheel drive in standard guise but 4x4 versions are offered further up the range for those seeking greater traction.

The Superb’s size immediately strikes you. The first generation version was hardly compact but this model is 35mm longer still. From some angles, the shape isn’t particularly graceful – though from others, it looks, well, superb. Either way, once you’re sat inside, it’s hard not to be impressed, in contrast to the MK1 version which in places, felt built down to a price. This time round, Volkswagen and Audi design cues are evident all around the interior and the general feeling of quality is tangible. In the rear, fortunate passengers will enjoy legroom of a level only usually found in luxury saloons. There’s 19mm of extra kneeroom over the old Superb and space for even the preposterously tall to get comfy.

Hatchback or saloon? It’s the perennial poser for buyers in the medium range sector but the Superb neatly sidesteps it in a way we really like by being both bodystyles at the same time. With their ‘Twindoor’ system, Skoda have engineered a novel rear opening for the car which provides access to the large 565-litre luggage bay in the style either of a saloon or a hatchback.

Press one of the buttons on the Superb’s rear and a conventional bootlid lifts open. But if you continue to press until the high-level brake light flashes, your upward pull releases the whole of the rear windscreen as one with the boot lid to form a