Skoda Superb Review – King’s new ride

Skoda is a premium car brand in India and the company has been offering the Superb for its King customers. The Superb had grown old and felt old in front of the competition. But now, Skoda has the new-generation Superb that will break the monotony and add new freshness. We lay our hands on this new Superb and find out if it has the aspects to gain more customers.

Design:

The first-generation of the Superb for India had a very gangster like look. It made its presence felt. Then the gangster went on a diet and wore a suit. The new design then was sleek and elegant. Skoda has now dressed the new Superb in an Armani tuxedo. It is the most dabber looking saloon in its segment at the moment. The front grille with the vertical chrome slats and even gets a chrome surround. The daytime running LEDs and indicator lamps are enclosed in the same housing. The fog lamp’s design too is well chiselled. The hood has prominent strakes and the centre forms a slender nose. Another very attractive styling are the intricately detailed headlights, which celebrate the renowned Bohemian glass cutting skills. The bi-xenon headlamps are engraved with a decorative cut to make it look appealing.

The side profile of the new Superb looks a lot more aggressive than before as it has lesser glass area especially at the rear. The glass tapers giving more space for metal and looks like a haunch. Then 17-inch tyres fill the wheel well. The rear again bears some resemblance to the previous-generation Superb, but the tail lamps are elongated horizontally. This makes it look a lot more appealing.

Interiors:

The Skoda Superb gets completely new interiors. The fit and finish is inch-perfect just like any German car. The black and beige dual tone interiors gives a sense of space, especially the beige seats make the interior feel more airy. After the exciting exterior design, the interiors do feel a bit dull. The Superb has a new twin dial instrument binnacle. The dials have a mix of black and silver colour and in-between is the driver information system. The leader wrapped steering wheel gets the fine leather stitching. The three spoke steering wheel has audio, telephone and driver information controls. The centre console has a touchscreen infotainment system. The Lauren &Klement variant comes with a 12-speaker Canton music system, MirrorLink connectivity with Android Auto and Apple CarPlay. Then there is a three zone climate control as well on offer.

The front seats are large and extremely comfortable. There is good thigh and lumbar support for the front seats. The front seats have 12-way electrical adjustment and adjustable lumbar support too. There are ventilated seats for the front seats. The rear seats are extremely spacious. Whoosh of wows will flush out even more the biggest critics when they sit at the back. There are two thrones at the back with a centre armrest. The L&K comes with a boss button, which the rear passenger can even adjust the front seat as the requirement is. To our dismay there is ventilated seats at the rear. The boot of Mi Lord’s Superb has a whooping space of 625 litres, and the rear seats fold 60:40.

In terms of storage one can keep one litre bottles with ease in all the four door pockets, then there is a cooled glovebox and armrest, cupholders and space to keep your smartphone and even tablet. There is even an armrest for the rear passengers with two cupholders also. There is space to put umbrellas too in the door pocket so that the Almighty doesn’t get wet in the rain.

Engine and Transmission:

The Skoda Superb comes with a 1.8-litre turbo petrol engine that churns 178bhp of power and 320Nm of torque for six-speed manual and 250Nm for seven-speed DSG. The second option is 2.0-litre that churns 175bhp of power and 350Nm of peak torque. This comes only with a six-speed DSG.

The NVH levels are fairly low as there is a lot of insulation inside. The power of this engine is good and there is sufficient power in these engines to drive in city or even on the highway. Overtaking is a breeze. The L&K variants come with paddle shift that make it easy to change gears. The automatics have sport and tip tronic modes too. Then another driving mode to set your steering wheel, throttle response and transmission in Eco, Dynamic, comfort modes with the last being individual, where the driver can decide and change aspects as per requirement.

Driving Dynamics:

The ride of the new Superb is pliant. One of the best ride qualities in this segment. The previous Superb was stiff but this one has the perfect ride quality. The handling too is agile. Despite the length, it doesn’t feel very large and does well around bends. The Superb even has sufficient grunt with the more powerful engine options. The steering wheel is lively and it weighs up nicely too. What else we liked on the Superb is the ground clearance. Despite the long wheelbase, it didn’t touch even once on badly designed speed bumps.

Skoda Superb Verdict:

Skoda is offering the ideal product for their King. The Superb looks stunning, is spacious and one of the most feature loaded vehicles in its segment. This makes it a great option to consider and one of the value for money products in this segment. Skoda has the premium brand value and then the space, features and power vis-a-vis price. The time has come to pamper yourself.