The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Flagship Skoda hatchback still living up to its name
Skoda’s Superb features a smarter suit, a slicker chassis and better engines in its third generation. This time round, the weird twin-opening hatch is replaced by a more conventional rear aperture but there’s still more space inside than in some London starter homes and the pricing remains sensible.
The exterior is a whole lot more assertive, with a clean, design-led approach. It’s a sign of a more confident Skoda and that’s always been a good sign when it comes to their products.
Skoda’s been dipping into the almost unlimited largesse of the Volkswagen Group to bring us some mouthwatering engine and gearbox combinations with this latest Superb. There was a time when Skoda was just given the cast-offs, the engines that were in the final years of production, while Audi and VW got the shiny new technology.
That’s not the case any longer, with the Superb getting petrol engines like the excellent downsized 124bhp 1.4 and even a monster 2.0-litre turbo with 276bhp, four-wheel drive and a dualclutch DSG gearbox. In between those extremes, petrol folk get to choose between a 148bhp version of the 1.4-litre TSI unit and 218 and 280PS 2.0 TSI variants.
Go diesel and you’re looking at 148bhp and 187bhp 2.0-litre TDI engines with six-speed manual or DSG transmission.
Both of these engines are also available with all-wheel drive options. Dealers will also take orders for a super-frugal 118bhp 1.6-litre GreenLine version emitting just 96g/km of CO2. A plug-in hybrid like the VW Passat GTE is also on the cards.
At 4,861mm long and 1,864mm wide, the third generation Superb is 28mm longer and 47mm wider than its predecessor, while the 2,841mm wheelbase is 80mm longer, allowing for greater space within the passenger compartment. Rear legroom is frankly ridiculous. It’s vast in the back. The boot is 30-litres larger than before, at 625-litres, expanding to a cavernous 1,760-litres with the rear seat backs folded.
The Superb, it has to be said, keeps on living up to its name.