Can the Superb be as good as or better than the Passat twin?
Exterior – Front
So, lets start with the design at the front and straight from the start you can tell and feel that this is a premium Skoda, more so than the Passat. We get a decent sized upright grill with rounded edges and chrome effect slats inside it giving this car an expensive feel. You also get a set of thin LED Matrix headlights connected to it which again look expensive with the overall look for it. Lower down we get a simple bumper design with one big central air vent, and this is connected to to slim side vents which also has chrome bits in them. to me the front design could almost be passed off as a BMW. What do you think.
Exterior – Side
Moving round to the side and we get a minimalistic design with only really 2 creases. One through the door handles and another one lower down. This does look like a typical estate but with a sloping rear window it does look quite sporty. The wheel designs are also sporty but luxurious, a different perspective over the Volkswagen.
Exterior – Rear
Moving round to the back and we get a different design to the Volkswagen. We get a similar design to the taillights to the Skoda Scala and Kamiq where the taillights have a unique split to hide the boot opening at night. They also look quite sporty too. we get the new Skoda lettering, and we also get the superb lettering below. The bumper is also plain and minimalistic and there aren’t any exhausts either. Overall, though whilst it is plain it does have a luxury feel to it which I do like. Let’s have a look at what engine and gearbox options you can have with the new Skoda Superb.
Car and engine specs and price
So, for engine options it is quite interesting. As whereas the Volkswagen Passat only had one petrol option, the Superb gets diesel options too. let’s start with the petrol engine first though. This is the 1.5 litre turbo unit with 148 bhp. this is mated to a 7 speed DSG automatic gearbox, and it can do 0-62 in 9.2 seconds and it is of course front wheel drive. MPG is quite good too at 52 because it is a mild hybrid engine. For the diesel range you can get a 2-litre turbo unit with 148 bhp. This is also mated to a 7 speed DSG gearbox, and the 0-62 time is 9.2 seconds just like the petrol. What is different though is that this is more efficient at 55 mpg. I’m not sure it is worth £1,000 extra over the price. Especially when the petrol is more efficient in Co2. The next diesel engine is also a 2-litre turbo unit, but it has 190 bhp. this also has 4-wheel drive which does reduce the MPG down to 48 but the 0-62 time has been reduced to 7.5 seconds which is quite decent. Just like the Passat though there is 2 plugs in hybrid options coming in the future so we will have to wait and see what they are like. They should be released in Q3 of this year. The price of the new Skoda Superb starts at £34,865 for the hatchback and £36,165 for the estate. Let’s have a look at the interior.
Interior – Design
So, getting inside the new Skoda Superb and you are welcomed with a fresh design that is mixed with the new Volkswagen Passat, but it again feels much more premium. to start with we get the same seats and even centre console as the Passat and lower door cards but that is where the similarities end for now. The dashboard has a similar layout yes, but it has more of a 3d effect to it giving this premium feel and this makes the interior of the Passat feel plain and underdeveloped. The side air vents are hidden but having this fake 3d vent that stretches along the dashboard and lower down we have another set of fake air vents to hide the central vents. Below this though we have some trim that is wood on the L&K model. The infotainment system is the same as the Passat, but one main difference is that it doesn’t house the climate control system. Now this is where it gets interesting. Superb has copied Jaguar and Land Rover for part of this idea and have got help from Volkswagen. This is because we get 3 dials. These house the climate control but the outer 2 also house your heated seats just like a Jaguar Land Rover. The central one houses the fan speed but also the volume, navigation zoom and the driving mode just like the multifunctional knob in the new Tiguan. This system is very easy to use, and it still gives a minimalistic interior which being functional. The perfect system in my eyes. The instrument cluster is also easy to read and minimalistic and we also get the standard Skoda steering wheel that looks like it has 3 spokes but is only a 2 spoke which I do like, and I am not a fan of 2 spoke steering wheels. Let’s have a look at the rear seats as they should be good.
Practicality
So, getting into the back of the superb and there is no surprise that it is the same as Passat. The only difference is on the Hatchback, the headroom is not as good because of the sloping roof but the estate is very good. There is more than enough legroom though. You could easily relax in the back. Y also get an arm rest with integrated cup holders. You also get own rear climate control system and rear USB C ports. You also get rear roller blinds as well as cushions that come out to rest your head on which is a very Skoda feature. Let’s have a look and see what the boot space is like.
Boot Size
So, opening the boot electronically you are welcomed with a huge and practical 645 litres of boot space with the seats up. For the estate it sits at 690 litres and this increases to 1,920 litres with the rear seats folded.
Summary
So, what do I think of the new Skoda Superb then and should you go for this over the Volkswagen Passat. Well, if you are going to do a lot of miles then this is the perfect car for you over the Passat but even over a BMW 3 Series or even the Mercedes C Class and Audi A4. If you want a diesel then this is also the car over the Volkswagen and if you want a classier look for a reasonable price, then again this beats the Passat. Really everything is going for this car over the Passat and the only time you should have the Passat is when you want a Volkswagen.
Exterior 5/5
Interior 5/5
Practicality 5/5
Total 15/15
Model | Skoda Superb Estate L&K |
Engine | 1.5 Litre, 148bhp, Front Wheel Drive, 0-62 = 9.2 Seconds |
Trnasmission | Automatic 7 Speed DSG |
Price | £47,040 |
On Sale | Now |
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