Uniquely Skoda and simply clever

The Skoda Superb sits in a very unique position in the new car market. It offers as much interior space as a Holden Commodore or Ford Falcon but with two litre four-cylinder diesel economy and European style and safety features.

At $51,990 the Superb 103kW 2.0 litre turbo-diesel is $10,000 cheaper than the Citroen C5 2.0 litre TDI sedan and $3000 cheaper than the Peugeot 407 2.0 HDI sedan and the Renault Laguna 2.0 dCi wagon. The 103kW Volkswagen Passat is $3490 more expensive than its cousin from the Czech Republic.

These may not be your run-of-the-mill fleet cars but more and more companies are looking outside the square for better running costs and residuals to the normal six-cylinder products from Japanese or Australian manufacturers.

Compare the Superb in price to a mid-range Falcon or Commodore, then factor in the fuel and servicing costs, not to mention residual values and you will find a compelling reason for going European.

The direct injection 2.0 litre turbo-diesel engine in the Superb is mated to a Direct Shift Gearbox (DSG) which utilises twin-robotised clutches to change the six forward gears and also select reverse.

DSG combines the best attributes of a manual gearbox with an automatic and it’s a pretty slick operator in the Superb, making the most of the diesel engines 320Nm of torque available from 1800 rpm. Floor the throttle on a wet road and the Superb’s traction control system will kick in to prevent wheel spin.

On the plus side of the ledger, we managed to average fuel consumption of 6.5L/100km after a weeks running in the Superb.

For a large front-wheel-drive vehicle, the Superb handles um, er, superbly. Naturally it tends to under-steer in cornering, but the ride quality over our New Zealand hot chip sealed roads is very good.

It’s not as firmly suspended nor does it boast the ultra low profile tyres as some other European sedans therefore road noise, vibration and harshness does not intrude into the cabin, which is a very pleasant place to be. The Superb has lap and diagonal belts for five people but for longer journeys, we feel that two across in the rear seat would be more comfortable than three.

Although we liked the gloss piano black finish around the dashboard, stereo and gear selector, the charcoal interior of the Superb feels a little sombre and no doubt will be as hot as Hades in the New Zealand summer.    

The major advantage that the Superb has over all its 2.0 litre European competitors apart from a competitive price is space and utility.   

Skoda has used the Superb to introduce their novel twin-door system which allows an owner to open the cars tailgate such as a sedan or a lift back. With the rear seats in place it offers 565 litres of space and when folded down, 1670 litres.

For an even more versatile fleet car there will be a Superb Combi (wagon) which is currently being developed in Europe.       

Specifications:

Body type                  Five-door liftback            

Drive                        Front-wheel-drive  

Engine Type               Inline four-cylinder turbodiesel              

Engine Capacity          1968cc

Max power                 103kW @ 4000 rpm

Max torque                320Nm @ 1800 rpm

Fuel Consumption        6.8L/100km

C02 emission              177g/km

0 to 100kph               10.2 sec

Front suspension         McPherson Strut

Rear suspension          Independent multilink

Roof Rack                  N/a

ABS Brakes                Yes

Air Bags                    9

ESP                          Yes

Air Conditioning           Climate

Lap/diagonal belts       5

Satellite Navigation      Optional

Electric seats              Optional

Burglar Alarm             Yes  

Panic Button               No

Boot release               Yes

Cargo Cover               No

Boot Capacity             565/1670L

Wheel type                16-inch alloy

Spare Tyre                Full size

Through Life Cost Report

36 Months 75000km

Price                            $51,990.00

WOF                       $90.00

Registration              $673.78

Servicing to 75k:      $2,215.74     

Total Tyre cost:        $3,078.00

Residual (33%)         $17,156.70   

Indicative final figure $40,890.42

The Through Life Cost Model is used for illustrative and indicative purposes only. StratCon Partnership Limited and Adrenalin Publishing Limited accept no responsibility or liability should any costs indicated in the Through Life Cost Model change from those published. All residual values are based on an average of values achieved through Turners Auctions Limited sales for the previous 3 months from issue date.