SKODA SUPERB 206 TSI

$54,290 19 POINTS

VALUE

The Superb matches the Mondeo’s kit but on a more expansive stage, which helps justify the 10 per cent price premium. There’s a 9.2-inch touchscreen with smartphone mirroring, three-zone aircon, heated front seats and auto lights/wipers. Service intervals are 12 months/15,000km and the first three trips are priced at $1346.

DESIGN/TECH

If space is a priority, the Superb fills the bill. It is the closest conventional alternative to a Falcon or Commodore for rear seat room and boot space (an impressive 625L with the seats up). The interior is typical VW Group black and grey. There are more buttons on the dash than in the Mondeo but they’re fairly intuitive to operate. The Superb is rated to tow 2200kg.

ENGINE

Skoda turns up the wick on its 2.0-litre turbo to channel 206kW/350Nm to all four wheels via a six-speed dual-clutch automatic — as fitted to the Volkswagen Golf R — and it smokes the Mondeo for performance and fuel economy. The claimed 7.3L/100km will equate to about 10L in normal driving.

SAFETY

Rear side and curtain airbags bring the count to nine. Recent updates have added blind spot and lane departure alerts and rear cross traffic assist to the standard city-speed autonomous emergency braking. ANCAP awards five-stars, the blemishes being a marginal rating for the driver’s chest in the frontal crash test and marginal whiplash protection for those in the rear.

DRIVING

The Skoda is a willing accomplice on a winding road but its larger size means it doesn’t corner with as much authority as the Mondeo. We suspect the optional adaptive chassis control might address that. There’s a touch more road and tyre noise in the cabin than the Ford but the brakes are equally capable of hauling the Superb up in a short space.