LIVING WITH A SKODA SUPERB
Our most comprehensive survey ever crowns the winning cars in nine different categories
CHRISTOPHER Wise, from Storrington, West Sussex, might easily have been talked into buying a Mercedes E-class or Jaguar XF Sportbrake instead of his first Superb. So what was it that swung things for him? “It was the customer service,” he told us.
“The Mercedes and Jaguar dealers seemed fairly uninterested, but the Skoda salesman was really good. We were only there an hour, he asked us all the right questions and we left with a business finance quote; the Jaguar quote took 10 days to turn up.”
That first Superb impressed Christopher, too, and he’s now on his second example – a high-spec Laurin & Klement version with the 148bhp 2.0 diesel.
With two grown-up six-footers in the family, the rear legroom is a major boon. He said: “Eighty per cent of my driving is for business, but we’ve been on family trips to Switzerland, too. I can drive the Superb 600 miles in a day quite comfortably.
“It also has a lot of tech, while features such as radar cruise control and blind-spot monitoring are much more useful than I thought they would be.”
“THE SKODA SALESMAN WAS REALLY GOOD. WE WERE ONLY THERE AN HOUR, HE ASKED US ALL THE RIGHT QUESTIONS AND WE LEFT WITH A BUSINESS FINANCE QUOTE” CHRISTOPHER WISE STORRINGTON, WEST SUSSEX
THIS year, we asked new car owners to rate their vehicles in nine different categories that were made up of 31 various areas, ranging from engine refinement to the safety kit on board. This made Driver Power 2017 the most comprehensive survey Auto Express has ever carried out.
As you read through the next five pages, you’ll find out the winners in each of the nine categories, as well as the areas that made up each of the categories. With more questions than ever, it meant that for a car to be crowned a category winner, it had to master multiple aspects of ownership.
Several themes emerged this year. Firstly, it was clear how impressed owners were with electric cars and hybrids. It wasn’t only the low running costs that had owners singing the praises of the likes of the Nissan Leaf and Toyota Prius, as the instant torque and acceleration from these cars’ electric motors scored key points in the engine category.
Another surprise this year was how impressive budget cars can be. Infotainment, connectivity and electrics is a field premium brands often do well in, but as our results show, mainstream cars also have plenty to offer here. Plus, just because a car’s getting on a bit, it won’t necessarily fall out of favour with owners. This is proven by the likes of the Skoda Yeti and Volvo XC60 outscoring newer rivals in several areas.
Although there can be only one winner, each of the cars listed did very well to make it to each category top 10, as the competition was extremely fierce throughout the survey.
FOR families, practicality and boot space is one of the key criteria, so it’s no surprise to see the top 10 list filled with cars that have big boots and plenty of rear legroom. Given that the Skoda Superb was ranked highest for rear legroom in the interior and comfort category, it’s little surprise to see it score so well for practicality. Its 625-litre boot couldn’t be matched by any of its rivals for size or versatility. Owners also said the front and rear seat flexibility was best in the Superb. Child-friendly features are key for families, and although the Superb did well here, it couldn’t match the Subaru Outback. Subaru
has done very well in the practicality category, with the Forester and the Outback scoring highly. The Skoda Octavia and Kia Cee’d also show that a car doesn’t have to be massive to be practical – both models score highly thanks to decent boot space and lots of interior storage options.
RELIABILITY is one of the most important attributes for drivers, and Toyota can be very happy it takes top spot here with the RAV4. Owners were impressed with the mid-sized SUV’S quality and dependability, with just 6.25 per cent reporting faults to us. Although Lexus CT drivers said they encountered the fewest problems (alongside VW up! and Citroen C1 owners), at just two per cent, the CT placed seventh in the category, as overall quality was rated below reliability. The Lexus NX and RX make the top 10, despite the fact that more than 20 per cent of NX owners and 16 per cent of RX drivers told us something had gone wrong with their cars. But they were happy with the overall quality, suggesting that the faults reported were not major ones. The Skoda Yeti and Audi Q3 complete the podium, with a tie for second place. Yet owners of both models reported more problems than for the winning RAV4.