Skoda Superb Elegance V6 2009 Review

Road Test

Price Guide (recommended price before statutory and delivery charges): $56,990
Options fitted to test car (not included in above price): Metallic paint ($990), Front Park Distance Control ($590), Satellite navigation ($2980)
Crash rating: Five-star (Euro NCAP)
Fuel: 95 RON ULP
Claimed fuel economy (L/100km): 10.2
CO2 emissions (g/km): 243
Also consider: Honda Accord V6 Luxury, Nissan Maxima 350Ti, Toyota Aurion Presara

Overall rating: 3.5/5.0
Engine/Drivetrain/Chassis: 3.5/5.0
Price, Packaging and Practicality: 3.0/5.0
Safety: 4.0/5.0
Behind the wheel: 3.5/5.0
X-factor: 4.0/5.0

About our ratings

Skoda has dodged the Luxury Car Tax bullet for its large-car flagship, the Superb Elegance V6. Priced at $56,990, the top-whack Superb is a true rarity -- a European car that can comfortably seat four adults and is well equipped in spite of being priced at 'non-luxury' levels.

And it's not just about added equipment either. The Superb V6 is inherently well conceived as a design and an engineering exercise. It doesn't merely offer a load of features to provide a 'quality' alternative to similarly-sized Japanese rivals (see our competitor list, above). While the Skoda is significantly more expensive than those rivals, it's also at an advantage in boasting five-star crash safety, all-wheel drive and a DSG transmission -- plus unapproachable rear-seat legroom.

It's well built and exudes presence, although one thing other than market position it shares with at least a couple of its Japanese-manufactured competitors is styling that divides opinion. But if you can overcome any aesthetic objections, the Superb is a car that really delivers the goods.

During the week we spent in the V6's company, there was but one minor squeak behind the instrument panel that coloured our otherwise positive impression of the car's fit and finish. Apart from that, we can report that the Superb's build quality was very good. Doors opened and closed securely; they were a tad heavy, but solid.

Inside, the Superb was well finished, with woven cloth on the A pillars and the headlining, complementing the mock-walnut veneer on the dash and door cappings.

The driving position offered a clear view of the instruments ahead. There was a smattering of chrome trim on the bezels of the major instruments and on the audio/HVAC controls in the centre console, plus the DSG transmission selector plinth.

Comfortable seating provided plenty of support laterally and under the thighs. The front seats were well shaped to hold the occupant in place properly, catering to all physiques, but without being contoured too aggressively.

Remote controls on the leather-bound four-spoke steering wheel were easy to use. The wheel itself was an appropriate size and the column was adjustable through a useful length of 'reach', but was just a bit low at its highest rake setting, in the opinion of this reviewer.

Optional satellite navigation was fitted to the test car and impressed for the way it would provide alternative routes from which the driver could choose one to reach the desired destination. The system was simple enough to use, although the touch-screen interface was slower to respond and required a firm push to select the item required.

Most people, exposed to the Superb for the first time, would point to the car's packaging as its outstanding virtue. It's not a wide car, but in every other internal dimension, it feels like it matches or betters the segment benchmarks.

Headroom and legroom in the rear are exceptionally good, particularly given the car's wheelbase. The Superb won't sit three abreast comfortably in the rear, but as this reviewer has already said for the car's international launch, it's a machine that the two adults/two kids-type family will never outgrow.

That length carries over into the boot, although the luggage capacity didn't appear as voluminous as in an Audi A6 driven the week before, but the Skoda's was subjectively deeper, more angular and still usefully large.

Opening just the bootlid section of the Twin-Door tailgate leaves a relatively small aperture. Were the opening procedure totally fuss free (see below) you might use the full tailgate more often.

Indeed, opening the tailgate as a hatch, rather than a bootlid, isn't entirely straightforward and takes some familiarisation. First, the user has to grip the release on the right-hand side under the rear garnish, sending a signal to the tailgate to open as a tailgate, not just the bootlid. Then, once the centre high-mount stop light has flashed briefly, signifying that the tailgate in full is ready to open, you grip the release located in the centre of the tailgate as if you were opening just the boot.

It's only two steps (instead of one), but just takes a bit longer. Users will forgive it if it seems inelegant, since it's an otherwise practical solution to enjoying the easy-loading volume of a wagon or hatch and retaining sedan-like presence, ambience and driveability.

On the debit side of the ledger, the tailgate doesn't come with a wiper for the rear glass, which would be tolerable in a sedan, but is not acceptable in a hatch.

We wonder though whether the complexity of the two-stage tailgate has contributed to the Superb's large C pillars, which hindered the field of vision to the ¾ rear when backing. If you're not comfortable using your mirrors to reverse, carparks may pose a minor challenge in the Superb. At least the car comes standard with reverse parking sensors and this test vehicle was also fitted with the optional front parking sensors.

The Skoda also compensates by providing a pretty tight turning circle for a car with a wheelbase not much shorter than its principal competitors.

Away from tight parking spaces, the Superb really redeemed itself. Fuel consumption from the 3.6-litre V6 engine averaged 10.9L/100km for the week -- not too bad, considering the engine's displacement and the way its impressive exhaust note and mid-range urge tempted the driver to use it.

The V6 was also willing to rev easily to its redline, although it wasn't imperative to run the engine that hard to extract strong performance. There was abundant torque and power from roughly 3000rpm up to around 5000.

At the point where the tacho needle was hitting the redline, the six-speed DSG box would shift up a gear (even when the transmission was being used in sequential manual mode). But then there was also a heavier spring-loaded stage for the accelerator pedal nearer the floor. Once into this zone, it's all kick-down first and never mind what you may be doing with your hands.

Frankly, we approve of that. There are times when you just want that power -- without the delay of reaching for the shift lever. And it almost didn't matter what gear the Superb was in, since the DSG box seemed to make the right choice for any situation, although the self-shifting transmission was occasionally less than smooth. This inconsistency was also a trait exhibited by the 1.8 TSI-engined Superb we recently tested.

Off the straight and narrow, the Superb's well-weighted steering was particularly good for a car of this type -- almost a luxury-grade vehicle. The car would adopt a stance very close to neutral on the way into a corner and the only time that we experienced any sort of understeer at all was running a bit hot into a tight uphill right-hander, under brakes. At that point, the Superb would push forward a little bit, but not to any large degree. It's a car that musters great levels of grip (roadholding), as you would expect from its all-wheel drive underpinnings.

Even more impressive was the Superb's ride, which was comfortable by European standards and came without any sort of compromise, where handling was concerned.

Overall, the Superb was very quiet also. At open road speeds, there was a very slight rumbling from the Continental 225/40 R18 tyres, but that was more prevalent on coarse bitumen. For the most part, the Superb was outstandingly quiet.

Headlights were set a bit low and contributed to momentary ‘blindness’ when dipped after an oncoming car had passed.

‘Our’ Superb came with adaptive headlights and conventional cornering lights, which operated with the turning of the steering wheel or actuation of the indicators. They also worked when the car was being reversed, which seemed rather pointless, when the driver is more likely looking to the rear when reversing.

Our niggles aside, the Superb is an extraordinary car. It's a testament to the big Czech's impressive combination of driveability and practicality that it's one car you'd buy in spite of its styling, rather than because of it.

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