Although it has been true for several years now that a car as large as the Skoda Superb is available with a 1.4-litre engine, it still comes as a bit of a surprise. Cast your eye over it and you might have difficulty believing that something so tiny could propel it at any speed at all.
It is, of course, no ordinary 1.4-litre engine, but the Volkswagen's powerful turbocharged TSI petrol unit. In the new third-generation Superb it appears in two forms, one with 123bhp and one, as here, with 148bhp. That's the same output produced by the 2.0-litre TDI diesel engine, and the key performance figures are identical for both. The 0-62mph sprint takes 8.8 seconds, and the top speed is 137mph.
The characteristics of the two engines are very different, of course, but not quite as different as you might expect. While not as strong as the diesel at lower revs, the TSI can muster 70bhp at 2,000rpm, which is sufficient for everyday motoring. For serious acceleration though, you'd be best to drop a gear or two before flooring the throttle.
In its 148bhp form the TSI has Active Cylinder Technology, which shuts down two of the cylinders when only moderate power is required. This leads to the surprising effect that Superbs fitted with this engine are more economical than those using the non-ACT 123bhp engine. It records 57.7mpg versus 52.3mpg assuming a six-speed manual transmission is used in each case. CO2 emissions are also 10g/km lower at 115g/km, so the ACT engine has an £80 advantage in terms of Vehicle Excise Duty and is two percentage points lower for Benefit In Kind taxation.
The situation is complicated by the fact that the 123bhp engine is available only with the most basic trim level, called S. 148bhp versions start at the SE trim, and among other things that means that they come with one umbrella stored neatly inside each of the front doors.
And there's much more to it than that. SE trim models also have 17-inch alloy wheels (the S runs on 16s), cornering lights, dual-zone climate control, electric folding door mirrors, rear parking sensors and adaptive cruise control. There’s also DAB digital radio and Bluetooth connectivity which feature on all Superbs. This may be the second lowest level of specification in the range, but nobody could describe it as sparse.
You can have it for £21,190. That's a figure worth paying attention to, because the cheapest Volkswagen Golf with the same engine costs £23,615. And the Golf is, of course, a much smaller car. You can fit four adults into it, but they won't have anything like as much space as they would in a Superb.
Nor are they remotely comparable in terms of luggage space. Offering 620 litres with the rear seats up, the Superb not only beats the Golf, it also beats the Audi A6, BMW 5-Series and Mercedes E-Class even though the Skoda is shorter than any of them. Furthermore, unlike those cars it's a hatchback rather than a saloon, so you can fold down the rear seats and raise the capacity to 1,760 litres.
The Skoda doesn't lose out much to the German brands in terms of premium feel. The interior is the most attractive yet devised for a Superb, and the noise levels are very low. They are so low, in fact, that you can't hear the four-cylinder hum turning into a two-cylinder throb when the ACT kicks in, as you can in some other cars fitted with the same engine.
The driving experience isn't thrilling, but it's pleasant enough. The ride and handling are marginally better than those of diesel Superbs, owing to the better front/rear weight distribution, and probably for the same reason it's easier to turn smoothly into a corner.
The only awkward aspect is that the attempt to give a hatchback some of the appearance of a coupe has forced Skoda to use small rear windows and therefore limit visibility. This, however, is a rare miscue in the design of what is otherwise a very practical car which feels as if it should cost far more than it does.
