BELOVED by taxi drivers and dog owners, the Skoda Superb has long been a go-to vehicle for those in need of a comfortable cruiser with a cavernous interior – and the new fourth generation estate version looks bigger and better than ever.
The fact that a proper family car like the Superb is still described as Skoda’s ‘flagship’ vehicle (OK, so technically it’s “flagship ICE vehicle”, but still) in an era dominated by overgrown SUVs is almost enough to give you a bit of hope for the auto industry.
Set to go on sale later this year alongside a hatchback saloon variant, the new estate has had its maximum boot capacity boosted to an impressively vast 1,920 litres with the rear seats dropped flat, or 690 litres when left in position.
A refreshed, aerodynamically-enhanced exterior smartens up this already handsome wagon without straying too far from the outgoing model. There are six new paint colours to choose from: Pure White, plus the metallic finishes Pebble Silver, Midnight Black, Cobalt Blue, Carmine Red and the greenish-looking Ice Tea Yellow.
On the inside, there are 28 new Skoda Simply Clever features for owners to enjoy, including door pocket umbrellas, rear cargo floor dividers and an electrically-operated load cover with integrated storage pocket.
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Up front, there’s a redesigned dashboard featuring a 10-inch ‘virtual cockpit’ driver display and a 13-inch free-standing touchscreen (a head-up display is also available as an option), plus a trio of Skoda Smart Dials mounted below to allow easy on-the-go manipulation of heating/ventilation settings, radio volume and even drive modes.
The gear/drive selector has also moved to a stalk on the steering column, just like on its similarly styled Volkswagen Group cousin, the new estate-only Volkswagen Passat – No surprise there, really, since both cars share the same Volkswagen Group MEB underpinnings – and the two vehicles will also feature a ChatGPT-enhanced voice assistant: Laura in the Superb, IDA in the Passat.
While you could accidentally mistake one longroof for the other in a darkened car park, in the cold light of day, the Superb might be the more sophisticated looking design.
That’s interesting, given that it will almost certainly be the cheaper of the two vehicles: the new Passat estate starts from £38,480 OTR, so we’d expect the Superb estate to start at around £35k once pricing is confirmed later this year.
Then again, what did Volkswagen expect when it tasked its Skoda boffins with looking after the design of the Volkswagen Group’s ICE-based product, while VW itself focuses on its pure EVs?
Superb buyers will now have a choice of three petrol engine-based powertrains: an all-new mild-hybrid, based on a 1.5 litre petrol engine and offering 148 hp, a 201 hp plug-in hybrid system exclusive to the Superb Estate incorporating a 25.7 kWh battery, an electric-only range of over 62 miles (WLTP) and DC fast charging at up to 50 kW (facilitating a 10-to-80 per cent charge in 25 minutes), and two 2.0 litre TSI lumps making either 201 hp or 261 hp.
There’s even a pair of diesels available, offering 158 hp or 190 hp.
All Superb powertrains are now mated to a seven-speed DSG automatic transmission as standard (six-speed on the plug-in hybrid), while the most powerful petrol and diesel engines are also equipped with all-wheel drive as standard.
There are three trim levels available in an ascending level of luxuriousness, SE Technology, SE L and the top-of-the-line L&K, named for Skoda’s founders, Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement.
Each trim level is available with different Design Selections, which affect interior textiles and seating functionality: the fabric-based Loft, micro-suede-derived Lounge and leather/artificial leather-based Suite. These can be further personalised by themed option packages, such as the Winter Pack, which adds heated front seats.
All-in-all, the Superb certainly lives up to its name on paper: look out for a proper road test in Drive, coming soon.
