Skoda Superb Sportline
We wave off the saloon that combined hot hatch tendencies with huge practicality, all wrapped up in a Q-car business suit
WE LOVE A Q-CAR HERE AT EVO – the melding of stealth and speed is utterly compelling. Yet these underthe-radar machines are a bit of a rarity these days, as manufacturers and buyers alike seem increasingly unlikely to want to hide their car’s performance light under a bushel – if you’ve got it, flaunt it, and all that. In fact, it’s fair to say that until our Skoda Superb Sportline 4x4 slipped almost unnoticed into our car park we’d pretty much forgotten about the Q class.
From the moment it arrived it was clear that this big Czech fulfilled the quick and covert Q-car brief, particularly in its blend-into-thebackground £575 Quartz Grey metallic paint. Sure, our car’s Sportline trim added some attractive 19-inch alloys, a smattering of gloss black trim and a discreet tailgate spoiler, but even keen car spotters would be forgiven for confusing it with a mid-level diesel version. It was a similar story inside, where apart
from a pair of high-backed front seats and a perforated leather finish for the steering wheel, the cabin was pure Superb, which meant it was spacious, solid and soberly styled.
Yet under the plain Jane exterior beat the heart of a hot hatch – the Superb shares much of its drivetrain with both the VW Golf R and SEAT Leon ST Cupra 300. Admittedly, the Superb’s turbocharged 2-litre is detuned a touch, but 276bhp is hardly shabby, and in combination with four-wheel drive it delivered a claimed 0-62mph time of 5.8sec.
First custodian of the Superb was evo staff photographer Aston Parrott, who loved the vast boot – perfect for carting around all his kit and as a platform for car-to-car tracking shots, the latter especially so thanks to the uncanny smoothness of the ride. With the adaptive dampers in Comfort mode the Skoda soaked up bumps with the unruffled composure of a luxury saloon – a dynamic sleight-of-hand that hid the car’s performance potential as effectively as the restrained looks.
Next to get his hands on the keys was John Barker, who wasted no time in exploring the Superb’s configurable driving modes. Unlike Aston, he wasn’t quite as impressed with the damping in Comfort or Normal, finding there was just a little bit too much float and wallow over big bumps. Sport mode delivered a welcome improvement in body control over large undulations, but at the price of a more agitated approach to smaller stuff.
Interestingly, he also found that the 2-litre unit sounded more authentic and benefited from a more progressive throttle pick-up than the virtually identical unit he’d experienced in his Leon ST Cupra 300 long-termer. No, the Skoda didn’t respond quite as keenly to steering inputs as its Spanish cousin, but given it’s a bigger, heavier car, that was no surprise. John also praised the Superb’s electronically controlled all-wheel-drive transmission, which delivered impressive traction yet also demonstrated an amusing rear-wheel-driven bias when battling through the snowy blasts of the Beast from the East.
It was this breadth of ability that marked the Skoda out. Numerous times I wrested the
Superb’s key from John’s hand for a family weekend away, where the car proved to be refined, hugely practical and deceptively quick, that combination of torquey motor and quick-shifting DSG ’box making mincemeat of dawdling traffic. I also loved the way it flowed down sinuous secondaries, its lack of ultimate sharpness and involvement easily offset by its pace, composure and tenacious grip.
At the end of our six months with the Skoda it had surprised us all. We’d expected the space, comfort and trouble-free ownership experience, but not the speed and genuine driver fun. In many ways, it could just be the best-kept fast saloon/hatch secret out there. Just like all the best Q-cars, in fact. Date acquired September 2017 Duration of test 6 months Total test mileage 10,534 Overall mpg 28.2 Costs £0 Purchase price £39,115 Value today £25,000