Skoda Superb Elegance 1.8 TSI DSG 2009 Review

Skoda Superb Elegance 1.8 TSI DSG

Road Test

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $45,990
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): metallic paint $990; Columbus satnav $2890; park distance control (front) $590.
Crash rating: Five-star (Euro NCAP)
Fuel: 98RON PULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 8.4 Combined, 6.5 Extra Urban
CO2 emissions (g/km): 200
Also consider: Ford Mondeo, Accord VTi, Commodore Berlina, Falcon G6E

About our ratings

Sometimes I dislike our rating system. By virtue of this inexact 'science' I've just damned Skoda's Superb with faint praise... Labelled it as 2.5/5.0 -- in our rating system -- that makes it average for its class.

It is average but arguably, in this case "average" translates to "pretty bloody good..."

The Superb's average in a Large Car sub-class that includes high-spec versions of Commodore, Falcon and Honda's well wrought Accord VTi. All of these cars offer a good blend of performance and equipment, space and reasonably good looks. None are stunners, but they're better than many of the 'invisible' cars on the roads today.

Note too that it's 'average' despite the fact that it gives away a substantial amount -- in terms of engine capacity -- to all of these vehicles. Even the four-cylinder Honda has an engine 33 per cent bigger.

In many ways the Superb is a taste of things to come. But it's here now.

It's a taste of the new brands that Aussies will see in due course. Though our market has around 50 brands on sale now, there will new badges on our roads as sure as night follows day. Some will be from the developing colossus that is China, some may very well be new green, or indeed cut-price, sub-brands of existing entrants.

It's a taste of things to come in terms of its physical dimensions. Though not as wide at the shoulder as our traditional large cars, the Superb offers a stunning amount of legroom. In this respect it echoes Ford's Mondeo -- a purportedly midsized car that shames many large cars in terms of rear passenger legroom.

The Superb absolutely shades the Commodore and Falcon and approaches the room offered by Holden's long-wheelbase range-toppers. You'd be hard pressed to find a car in this price range or external dimensions that offers better accommodation for four. The voluminous luggage space offered, 565 litres, and the amenity of the clever two-mode boot (it opens as a hatch or a conventional boot) is also standout -- and a feature that's sure to be copied.

Most of all -- and in the light of recent local announcements -- it's a taste of things to come in terms of powertrain options. Serendipitously, the day the Australian car industry decided to step into the Noughties we were driving this Skoda. It was therefore a very small step for man to use the Superb as an example of why we think Ford Australia's move to build a four-cylinder Falcon isn't as crazy as it seems at first glimpse.

Powered by Volkswagen Audi Group's latest 118kW/250Nm 1.8-litre direct-injected turbo four, the 1600kg-plus Superb is no rocketship, but it's plenty fast enough -- even four up. Quite simply, it satisfies the needs of 90 per cent of large car users. Not heavy-duty towers or performance aficionados granted, but for Mr or Ms Salary Sacrificer for which the family sedan is also a tool of trade... Well, consider your performance/space versus economy trade-off resolved.

Forgive us if we digress and get just a little excited about the prospects of a 150kW/350Nm four-pot rear-wheel drive XT after driving the Superb.

The Czech brand's flagship doesn't skimp on creature comforts. In top Elegance spec the four-cylinder models do not deliver leather seat facings as standard, but nonetheless there's a goodly list of equipment. As noted in our local launch review of the Superb range, even the base model Ambition gets nine airbags, electronic stability control, dual-zone climate control, heated front seats, front foglamps, a tyre pressure monitoring system, iPod-ready eight-speaker CD stereo system and even an Rolls-Royce Phantom-style hide-away umbrella inside the rear left door.

The Elegance adds two more speakers to the audio system (note: like most Euros, AM radio reception is poor -- in Melbourne at least), adaptive bi-xenon headlights and electric adjustment of the front seats (including driver lumbar). As tested we also got satnav and front park assist. Unless you're an inveterate touch parker, you can leave the latter box unticked and save the bucks -- the Skoda's forward sightlines are just fine...

In the midst of a Melbourne winter, my passengers praised the Elegance's standard rear seat heating, but suggested they'd have traded the hot bots for their own heating (and cooling) controls -- more useful for the other nine months of the year.

We used the Superb purely for commuting -- it was one of those weeks. A quick blast on the freeway four-up delivered enough of a verdict to comment on performance, but not handling. The Superb rides well, steers accurately and is stable and comfortable (even at speeds in line with European limits), but it's not intended to be a sports sedan. Sure, there's an optional sports suspension system (and 18-inch alloys) if you must, but if you are buying a Skoda to carve corners can we suggest that the latest Octavia RS might be a better choice.

After 350km or so of crappy, in-traffic work, the car returned an impressive 10.1L/100km. We write impressive, because in such condition many cars struggle to get below 14L/100km and the local sixes can return closer to 16L/100km. In a more representative duty cycle, it's fair to assume economy in the high 8.0L/100km range will be achievable by Superb owners -- perhaps better.

The 1.8-litre four is a willing engine that's uncannily smooth and quiet on idle and rarely gets raucous, even when pushed. There's no powerband to speak of. We've read other comments that the engine can be slow to build boost and deliver its turbocharged torque but at no time did we experience this.

Indeed, the sole blot on our Superb's copybook was limited to the inconsistent performance of its seven-speed automated manual dual-clutch DSG gearbox. Like most large car buyers we left the DSG box in auto mode and let it sort itself out 99 per cent of the time, yet we were troubled with inconsistency of its operation -- especially when accelerating from rest.

The exit from the Sinclair estate was a case in point. A typical right-hand turn onto a suburban feeder road, some mornings it was executed as smooth as silk; the next there'd be jerking and surging histrionics. And all with yours truly doing his best to be consistent and moderate on the go pedal...

In our experience the latest DSG has improved and to this date we've not experienced the same sort of problems in any of the Golf Vs and 118TSI Octavias we've driven. Something for you, dear reader, to check during your test drive...

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