Can Skoda make a BMW 3 Series Rival?
Exterior – Front
So, if we were to compare the Octavia and the Superb side by side the Superb has a more grown up style to it. The Superb is an experienced smart person in a suit and the Octavia is a young person in a suit. Considering the Skoda Superb is 7 years old it has aged quite well. You get a set of LED Matrix headlights that are connected to a more rectangular grill. Lower down the bumper we get a similar full width air vent just like the Octavia but on the Superb everything just looks more grown up.
Exterior – Side
Moving along to the side we get a top crease and another crease between the wheels just like the Octavia. The only difference here is that the top crease is more curved rather than just a straight crease. This is to make it more luxurious. Talking of luxurious you also get some diamond cut wheels that are more luxurious as well as a chrome side strip lower down.
Exterior – Rear
Moving round to the back as this is where the Superb is starting to look slightly older. Rather than a sporty rear design like the Octavia has the Superb has a more rounded rear end. It does help though having these sporty and edgy taillights as well as a chrome grill. The bumper is again plain like the Octavia, but we do get some more chrome bits. Let’s have a look at the engine options you can get with the Superb.
Car and engine specs and price
So, the Skoda Superb Engine range consists of Petrol, Diesel and Petrol Plug in Hybrid and is probably the only car with 7 engine options. Let’s start with the Petrol versions. So you can have a 1.5 Litre Turbo unit which has 146 bhp and can do up to 45 mpg. You can also get a 2-litre petrol with either 186 bhp or 276 bhp. The more powerful is with 4 wheel drive which makes the car not as efficient as the diesel range. For the diesel range there is a 2 litre Turbo Diesel unit which again has 146 bhp and this can do about 55 mpg which is quite good. There is also another 2-litre diesel unit with 186 bhp but this is less fuel efficient at 40 mpg. If you want slightly more power there is a 196 bhp version either with front wheel drive or 4 wheel drive and this is slightly more efficient at 52 mpg and 47 mpg for the 4 wheel drive version. For the plug-in hybrid version you can have a 1.4 litre turbo unit mated to an electric motor. This gives the car 214 bhp and an all-electric range of 39 miles. The price of the Skoda Superb starts at £30,225.
Interior – Design
So, getting inside the Superb and you can see where the car feels like it is 7 years old. To start with we get this older dashboard setup with an older infotainment system that actually works better than the modern one. We also get the older but physical climate controls that are a lot easier to use. We also get an older styled centre console and switch gear. To be honest though I would much rather have this designed interior as it is easier to live with than the newer Octavia as there are more physical buttons. What we do get from the Octavia though is the steering wheel. Because of that the Superb has the great bits from Skoda to make this interior. Finally, these seats are the previous generation from what the Octavia has but for me I think they have more support and because the Superb is the next class above you have more premium material which lifts the cabin up more than what the alcantara does in the Octavia.
Practicality
So, getting in the back it is a similar story to the Octavia in the back. The Superb gets much more legroom but headroom is still a struggle over 6 foot. The seats are again more supportive in the Superb and you get even more premium material as well as your own climate control unit, rear heated seats and a storage draw. You also get side pockets in the front seats for your phones this time. Let’s check the boot out.
Boot Size
So, if you have not watched the Skoda Octavia review then I would highly recommend watching that first. If you have watched it then you will remember that that has a class leading 600 litres of boot space. I also said that it is rivalling the class above which is this class. So, the Peugeot 508 has 487 litres, and the Volkswagen Arteon has 575 litres. Less than the Octavia. The Superb on the other hand has more. The superb sits at 625 litres of boot space with the seats up. With the seats down you get 1,760 litres. This is truly class leading and you won’t find a boot bigger. The nearest car that comes to this is the £100,000 Mercedes EQS if you go for the same body style.
Summary
So, is this current Skoda Superb worth it. Well if you can live with the interior then I would recommend it as it is a proper family car with its looks and great fuel economy. There is also a Plug in Hybrid version which is great for company car tax.
Exterior 4/5
Interior 4.5/5
Practicality 5/5
Total 14.5/15
Model | Skoda Superb SEL |
Price | From £30,225 |
Engine | 2.0 Litre 4 Cylinder Turbo Petrol, 186 bhp |
Transmission | 7 Speed Dual Clutch Automatic DSG |
On Sale | Now |
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