Czech automaker Skoda was founded during the pioneering days of the automobile in 1895, making it one of the longest-established car companies in the world. Skoda has been part of the Volkswagen Group since 1991.
Since the brand’s flagship Skoda Superb was launched in 2001, over 1.6 million have been produced. The model has been the best-selling car in its segment here over the last seven years, with over 10,000 units delivered to Irish homes. Some 584 Superbs have already been sold this year against the 638 for the whole of 2024.
While many competitors have abandoned the large saloon segment, Skoda deserves much praise for sticking with the traditional large saloon styling of the Superb and the Combi estate version. I prefer to think of the hatch as a lift-back saloon. Both versions are longer and taller than their predecessors, while wheelbases remain unchanged.
This large, stylish car is a great option for those seeking an alternative to a crossover or SUV as their family car, as it offers premium looks, enormous interior space for five, refined luxury, cutting-edge technology, high-end performance, as well as a very generous amount of useful standard equipment at a competitive price. It is more than capable of holding its own against the premium German marques.
My SportLine version is distinctive from all angles, sporting a bold black gloss front grill surround, narrow-styled headlights, front and rear sports bumpers, and contours giving the car an understated elegance, especially in the grey colour exterior, which shows off my car to perfection. The many aerodynamic features helped improve efficiency. Stylish 19-inch black alloy wheels add to the look.
The luxurious interior has an uncluttered and spacious feel and some lovely 100 per cent sustainable materials. The SportLine grade includes black suede upholstery on the front sports seats, which have power adjustments, can be heated and ventilated, have lumbar support, and a massage function. The driver’s has 3-way memory seat settings.
The dash is simple and stylish with the free-standing 13-inch infotainment touchscreen centre stage. It includes navigation, wireless smart link to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The screen is logical to work through, so no problems there. The 10.25-inch digital driver display is traditional in style with two dials and your current speed digitally displayed in the centre.
The transmission selector has been moved to the steering column, freeing up space on the central console for storage, two cupholders, a wireless charging pad, and two USB-C type charging points along with another one at the mirror, and two more in the rear.
The long wheelbase allows for good head and knee room in the rear with space to stretch feet under the front seats. The two outer rear seats can be heated. My car had hands-free boot opening and a generous 645 litres of luggage capacity that can expand to a huge 1,795 litres with rear seats folded. There's a safety net for shopping, and a 'skinny' spare below the floor. Those who require more luggage space can upgrade to the Combi estate with its 690-1,920 litres of luggage space for another €2,000.
Trims are Selection, Selection+, SportLine, and L&K. The entry grade features keyless entry with an alarm and a power-operated boot door; Selection Plus adds heated and ventilated leather seats; SportLine adds Matrix LED headlights and its own interior styling pack, while L&K gets a sports chassis and a combination of luxury extras.
Other features were a leather sports steering wheel with paddles, aluminium sports pedals, a drive mode select, 360-degree camera, front and rear parking sensors, rear window wiper, blind spot monitors on the insides of side mirrors where you see them easily, a rear-view camera, hill hold control, adaptive cruise control, and traffic sign recognition.
My review car was the 2.0 TDI version with 150hp with a claimed 5.1 L/100kms fuel consumption, a top speed of 223 km/h, max torque of 360Nm and a 0-100km/h capability of 9.2 seconds. Road tax is €210. The diesel can also use HVO (hydrogenated vegetable oil). There’s a new 1.5 TSI mild hybrid (mHEV) also with 150hp while the Combi range includes a 1.5TSI 204hp petrol/electric 6-speed plug-in-hybrid version. All new Superb models feature smooth DSG automatic transmissions.
I could hardly believe how economical this diesel engine is and it comes with at least 1,200 km of range before refuelling is required. When I returned it a week later, there was almost the same amount left.
Superb is a joy to drive, effortless really, very refined, and with plenty of punch in the diesel for overtaking or joining the motorway. Steering is neither too heavy nor too light, and the car has an 11.1 m turning circle. Occupants travel in sublime comfort front and back. Towing is 2,000kg braked; 750kg unbraked.
The entry-level mHEV petrol is priced from €49,365; my 2.0 TDI diesel from €55,290.
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