| Week at the Wheel | Skoda Superb Estate 1.8 TSI |
Inside & Out:
The Superb's utilitarian styling won't be to all tastes, but the estate's sheer length bestows it with significant road presence. Roof rails and a whacking great boot leave you in no doubt that it's a serious load-lugger, while the Marmite looks are actually quite cool if you go in for understated style.
Inside, the cabin is clean, easy to use and very well built. It's not the most exciting interior around, but it's easily the best quality for the money and puts costlier rivals to shame. The only real downside is that the Skoda's vast size can render it a bit of a handful when parking, but the sensors help out with that.
Engine & Transmission:
A 1.8-litre petrol engine now sounds daft in a big estate, but this one works. It's the VW Group's renowned TSI unit, sporting a supercharger and a turbocharger, so there's more than enough slug when you need it, but it's smooth and civilised at the same time.
The 1.8 TSI is easily as good an all-rounder as the 2.0-litre TDI diesel, which most people will naturally gravitate towards - and the latter is currently £340 dearer. Though the diesel's running costs are lower, you'd need to do a good few miles a year to cancel out the financial difference.
A 0-62mph time of 8.7 seconds (8.6 if you have the DSG gearbox) is no mean feat at all for such a big car, while the manual gearbox is smooth, with a chunky action.
Ride & Handling:
There's a mind-boggling amount of space inside the Skoda Superb Estate and the seats are exceptionally comfortable. At this money, it's definitely the most comfortable car in its class and with as composed a ride as it has, the Skoda even gives top-end BMWs like the 5 and 7 Series a run for their money.
Refinement is equally impressive. It's not quite as hushed as the aforementioned executives, but they do cost tens of thousands of pounds more. For the price, the Superb is unbeaten. The trade-off with comfort means that it wallows a little during cornering, but that's a small price to pay and acceptable considering the kind of car it is.
Equipment, Economy & Value for Money:
Even the most basic Skoda Superb Estate comes with full electric windows, alloys, air conditioning, and a CD/mp3 stereo. The 1.8 TSI that we tested starts at £18,885 in manual guise, so it really does represent a lot of car for the money. During our test drive, which contained a thorough mix of A- and B-roads as well as urban driving, the Superb hovered between 40- and 41mpg - not bad considering that Skoda's quoted average is only 38.7mpg.
Overall:
Even if you're a badge snob, it's hard not to like the Skoda Superb. It just does its job incredibly well and belies its value price tag. The big Skoda is also the second most capacious estate car on the market, lagging just behind Merc's E-Class Estate in the maximum boot space stakes - the E-Class has a total of 1,950 litres, while the Superb manages a highly credible 1,865. Difference is, the Merc's starting price is a shade over £30,000, while the Skoda's is £17,720. Need we say more?
