Test Drive: Skoda Superb 1.8TSI

Superb in name and superb by nature

The Skoda brand enjoyed one of the best revivals in the last decade or so, thanks, in no small part to its new German parents, Volkswagen which took control of the Czech carmaker in the early 1990s and turned it from a joke into a serious contender for quality motoring

Malaysians are not yet exposed to the Skoda brand and they will need some time to get to grips with what Skoda means and represents but when they do, the brand will start picking up fans the way Audi is doing right now.

Underpinning every Skoda is the mighty engineering resources of the Volkswagen-Audi Group and VAG is known for producing some of the best engineered vehicles in the mass and premium segment.

This is the second-generation Superb, the flagship model for Skoda and this time we see that they have gone for maximum space and refinement. The car is big, the long wheelbase allows all passengers to be Shaquille O’Neal without being cramped in the Superb.

Given the size and 1.8-litre TSI engine, we were quite skeptical that the combination could be anything other than struggling, if not outright asthmatic.

Within a kilometer of driving, the engine proved us wrong by being energetic, refined and willing to lug around nearly two tonnes of Eastern European metal at a pace that would make smaller cars with bigger engine blush with embarrassment.

With the Superb engine size clearly does not matter, a light dab on the throttle and the combination of supercharger and turbocharger is summoned to bulk up the displacement through force-feeding.

The engine cranks out 158 healthy horses and they can twist 250Nm of torque from as low as 1,500rpm, giving the Superb genuine big-car performance and refinement.

Throughout our week with the Superb, the most impressive characteristic of the car is its low level of Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH). The engine size and hand-me down platform were our biggest concern and we thought that it would contribute to making the car feel cheap.

We were wrong.

Obviously the Superb cannot match whatever that Audi can dish out with the current A4 and may not be able to stay in the same league as the all-new Volkwagen Passat but Skoda has taken the platform and made it into a believable executive transport. At a pinch it may even work as a limousine.

The suspension set-up is particularly noteworthy for its ability to soak up imperfections and isolating the cabin from surface irregularities and excessive vibrations.

What is also impressive is the way the softly-sprung Superb still manage to avoid being wallowy at high speeds, giving it an impressively Teutonic driving manners.

Clearly the car has a lot of potential, the Malaysian specifications is quite impressive, with leather seats, touch-screen central display, dual-zone climate control, active headlamps  and 7-speed DSG gearbox.

It is also quite packed with electronic driver aids and they include the usual roster of anti-lock brakes and stability control that is joined by Hill-Hold Control which is a nice feature on the DSG tansmission that can slip backwards on slopes.

Another interesting feature of the car is the Twindoor rear opening that can be opened wide like a hatchback or a bootlid.

Skoda must have put quite a lot of engineering effort into this feature because it does not rattle or make any noise despite being a rather complicated mechanism with two hinge-points.

Being part of the VAG empire means having to abide to certain standards and rummaging through the vast corporate parts bin for common components and the result is a car that is well built using high-grade components.

The delicate detailing that is found on VW and Audi has successfully migrated to Skoda and this helps to give owners confidence in their new purchase.

The sight and touch of familiar VAG stalks, buttons, sliders, knobs and switches gives the car generally a solid feel.

Let’s put it like this, the Superb 1.8TSI is almost as good as a Volkswagen Passat.

Actually the real competitor for the Superb is the Passat and that is coming soon to Malaysia and according to VW Malaysia, the price of the Passat will hover around the RM186,000 mark and that makes it cheaper than the Superb which is priced at RM188,000.

Although the Superb is a long-wheelbase vehicle and more spacious than the Passat, there is no arguing with the VW badge.