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| Launch Report Skoda Superb |
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Low-Priced Excellence
Already this is looking like a very favourable bang/buck ratio, but there's more. Every model has a truly outstanding amount of space in the rear, to the extent that other manufacturers have to make special long-wheelbase versions of their cars to match it. The old Superb - an appealing device, though rather less visually distinctive than the new one - was already excellent in this respect, but this one is something else. All Superbs also share a very clever tailgate arrangement. It's called TwinDoor, and it removes any need Skoda may have felt to create separate saloon and hatchback body designs. The Superb has both: at the touch of a button a normal saloon-like boot opens, but if you touch a different button, wait for the high-level brake light to flash and then touch the first button again the entire tailgate opens, as with a hatch.
The arrangement is not ideal, partly because, in a very saloon-ish way, the lower part of the opening is fairly narrow and has a tall sill, and partly because the double button-pressing business is a bit of a faff (would it really not have been possible to devise a system whereby you could open the whole tailgate in one go?). But it's a very clever idea, reasonably well-executed, and I'd be astonished if other manufacturers aren't already thinking about copying it. Other cleverness is available for extra cost. There's the adaptive headlight system, which gives different extents and directions of illumination if you're in town, or in the country, or on a motorway, or if you're going round a corner, or if it's raining, or even if you're abroad (the system is easily adjustable for driving on the right).
Adaptive lighting is actually standard with the Elegance trim level but optional on the lower S and SE. Regardless of the specification, you'll have to pay more for Park Assist, a technology carried over from Skoda's owner Volkswagen: this system checks for a suitably-sized parking space and will steer the car into it (though the driver remains in control of the brakes and accelerator). Like many other features of the new Superb, this is one which nobody could possibly have associated with the Skoda brand as recently as, say, ten years ago. Inside, the Superb is more elegantly designed than any previous Skoda, and as well as having a vast amount of rear space it also offers plenty of room for front occupants, to the extent that this is one of the few cars I can drive without having to set the driver's seat as far back as it will go. None of this compromises the luggage capacity, which starts at an impressive 565 litres (equating to 113 watermelons, Skoda kindly informs me) with the rear seat in place and extending to an almost van-like 1670 litres up to roof level when the seat is folded.
The only complaint I have about the interior - so trivial that it's hardly worth bothering you with - is that the steering wheel doesn't adjust as far downwards as the driver's seat does. Apart from that, the driving experience is generally excellent. I say "generally" because the two Superbs I've driven so far have been in Elegance trim, and as well as absolutely excellent seats that also includes low-profile 40-section tyres on 18" wheels. These do not suit the suspension settings which go with the 140bhp 2.0 TDI turbo diesel engine, and the ride is fussier than it should be as a result. But I've also driven a Superb with the similar-sized 170bhp TDI (which, incidentally, meets the forthcoming Euro V emissions requirements, unlike the older 140bhp unit). The suspension settings seem to be slightly different on this car, and that makes a world of difference - the ride is substantially better, and it's matched by handling which feels extraordinarily nimble considering the size of the car. I'll take that one stage further: a Skoda person recently told me that the company didn't even attempt to match the driving characteristics of the Ford Mondeo. I'm not sure I entirely believe this, but even if it's true, what has happened is that the Superb (or at least this particular Superb) has exceeded the Mondeo in this respect, and not by a small margin either. As well as the two 2.0 TDIs just mentioned, and the 1.4 TSI and 3.6 V6 referred to earlier, the Superb is also being offered with a 160bhp 1.8 TSI petrol unit and the venerable but still not-to-be-dismissed 105bhp 1.9 TDI which will also be at the heart of the low-CO2 Greenline version available in the near future.
The Superb has already been put through the Euro NCAP crash test procedure, and was awarded five stars out of five for adult occupant protection, four out of five for child occupant protection and two out of five for pedestrian protection (not great, but a major advance on the old model, which was so appalling in this category that Euro NCAP gave it no points at all). Several other cars of this type have matched these ratings, but none has ever done better. |
