Skoda Superb Estate 280 4x4

To the Netherlands and back home on one tank of fuel

AN IMPORTANT TEST FOR A FAST ESTATE car is to find out how it performs on a long journey, so when John Barker and I were making plans to visit Maturo Competition Cars in the Netherlands for a recent Ignition story (evo 308), we decided to drive there in our Superb long-termer.

With the car full of photographic kit and luggage, we headed down to the Eurotunnel, brimming the Skoda’s tank on the way. After the short train journey to Calais we changed the car’s instrument units to kilometres and began our 315km/196-mile drive to Veghel. Comfortable in the sports seats and with podcasts playing to help pass the time, progress was truly effortless. John mentioned how impressed he was by the refined ride and even enjoyed the dual-clutch gearbox, which was perfect for the inevitable Dutch traffic jams. Even despite those hold-ups, just three and a half hours after driving off the train we had arrived at our hotel.

The next day was spent meeting the Maturo team and photographing their incredible Integrales, then as evening approached it was time to head back home. The Skoda’s fuel gauge was still showing a healthy level, so John and I set ourselves the challenge of trying to complete our return journey without filling up. And this wasn’t because the business fuel card doesn’t work abroad, we promise…

One long, smooth run later, we’d made it back to the UK and all the way to my Hertfordshire home, still with a little fuel to spare. The final tally for our round trip was 658 miles at an average of 36.7mpg, with the last 500 or so miles on a single tank. The 66-litre tank capacity helps, of course, but those figures show just how economical modern petrol performance engines can be.

All of which got me wondering how many people have been tempted by this enviable combination of performance and practicality. Skoda’s figures for last year show that 3326 Superbs were sold in total, 272 being 2-litre petrol estates, with 81 of those in Sportline Plus 280 PS 4x4 DSG specification like ours. Not a bad result, but I think that number would be higher if more people knew what they were missing out on. I’m finding our Superb hard to fault, and it has fast become my favourite of all the Skoda long-termers I’ve had the pleasure of running.

Date acquired December 2022 Total mileage 8264 Mileage this month 2771 Costs this month £0 mpg this month 36.7