Jon Quirk

Skoda Superb Car Review

by JonQ on Jan.26, 2010, under Reviews

You’ll already know that the Skoda Superb makes a damn fine taxi cab, but have you considered it as your own personal chariot? I borrowed one over the snowy festive period without requisite kebab wrappers or wooden beaded cushions and discovered one seriously under-rated vehicle, desperate to be recognised.

It may look like the designer’s creative efforts were expended before the day had even started, but isn’t understatement the name of the game in 2010? The UK economy has grown by a miserly 0.1% in the last three months, so it’s hardly the time to be flashing a new set of extravagant executive wheels to the neighbours, is it?

Observe closer and you’ll notice both semi-successful detailing (twin-door boot mechanism works a treat but rear light clusters aren’t well resolved) and totally unexpected luxury. This Elegance spec Skoda Superb on test came with full leather trim, VW-sourced touch-screen infotainment system, dual-zone climate control, MP3 hook-up and the incredible Park Assist: the only way to reverse park if you scraped through this exercise on D-day.

Plus, the Superb has a price that confirms its relevance: £16,665 for the entry-level 1.4-litre TSI petrol rising to £21,500 for ‘my’ 2.0-litre diesel with DSG (no flappy paddles included) gearbox. That is a humungous amount of car for the money.

But then everything about this car is big. The boot is big (565-litres compared to 528-litres in the all-conquering Ford Mondeo), the rear space is big (best in class, actually), and even the range of this 2.0 TDI offers more than 400-miles between fill-ups. And it is such a habitable sanctuary, the only thing I ever found myself stopping for was a wee.

I’d say the ride is a bit too firm to be described as luxurious, but the trade-up from this is that the nose offers a sharper turn-in. It feels well damped too and proved far-from-shabby in snow. The 2.0-litre diesel engine seems to loosen up on any long distance commute, constantly returning near 40mpg without using hardly any oil.

I understand, for a dwindling few, the Skoda badge may still be an acquired taste but trust me. Spend a few hours behind the wheel of one of these cars and you’ll get where I’m coming from.



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