Skoda Superb 1.8 TSI – The Ugly Truth
I remember reading about Skoda’s launching of its first generation Superb in 2001 with some bemusement. Who gives products names like Superb? Isn’t it rather like naming your kid as, say, Awesome? He may turn out to be truly wonderful, but can you imagine the kind of ridicule that you’re inadvertently putting him through when he goes to school, and eventually the world?
After some research, I eventually learned that the Superb name was not the product of some desperate and uncreative brand manager, but rather the revival of an old nameplate that was discontinued sometime before the second World War. There was another car from that era with the name Skoda Popular, by the way.
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| The finer details. |
The Volkswagen Group’s involvement with Skoda dates back to the fall of communism in the early 1990s, but it wasn’t till 2000 that VW assumed full control of the business. The first Superb was one of the early efforts of that new era, carrying over engines and the B5 platform shared by the Volkswagen Passat and Audi A4. In fact, you can even spot Audi’s four rings stamped on its front lower suspension arms.
The current generation Superb was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008, but it was only last year that it arrived in Malaysian shores. Platform-wise, the Superb continues to share underpinnings with the Passat, but it is now unrelated to the A4, whose modular platform is now used exclusively by Audi models. Its appearance is a marked departure from its plain-looking predecessor, but the current look is, well, the less said about it, the better.
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Not exactly the best-recognized status symbol, but rest assured that we endorse it.  |
Internationally, the Superb is offered with a range of VW Group petrol and diesel engines, but the Malaysian market is once again offered with a 1.8-litre turbocharged petrol engine as its sole option. It is the same engine as offered in the current generation Audi A4 1.8T, but turned 90 degrees for transverse mounting.
Quoted figures for the Superb are identical to the A4’s, with a peak output of 158hp that starts at 4,500rpm and continues to surge to 6,200rpm. The engine is paired with the VW Group’s latest 7-speed dry clutch DSG, which sends drive to the front wheels. It is considerable improvement to the predecessor’s 20-valve engine of identical capacity which produced 150hp and 210Nm.
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| The latest and the best from the VW Group – 7-speed DSG. |
As you can see here, despite Skoda’s position as the VW Group’s entry-level brand, the parent company has not been stingy in giving its child access to the latest goodies that Wolfsburg has to offer. Even though the Superb carries its own… err… unique design language, everything in its cabin reeks of Volkswagen-ness. The typeface may be new, but its switchgear will be instantly familiar to anyone who has sat in a Golf or Tiguan recently. Heck, our test car’s cabin even smelled like a Volkswagen’s.
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| Typeface may have been changed, but this is unmistakably VW switchgear. |
The driving sensations also carry that distinct Volkswagen feel. Ride and handling is generally well-sorted out, with the electric-assisted steering wheel just about right in terms of weight, feel and precision. The brake pedal also has that typical over-servoed feel that we’ve come to expect in Volkswagen test cars.
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| Drives as well as any VWs we’ve tested. |
Then there’s the engine – 250Nm of torque may not be a lot for a car weighing in excess of one and a half tonnes, but when that 250Nm is available undiminished from 1,500 to 4,500rpm, it allows this big and ungainly-looking sedan to accelerate with ridiculous ease.
Size-wise, the Superb is smaller than the 5 Series, E-Class, and A6, but it certainly feels a lot larger than that. Body measurements are shorter than the E, 5, and A6 but the sheer volume that Skoda packed inside that shell is nothing short of phenomenal. There are light years of leg and head room for the rear passengers, and the boot is endowed with a cavernous 565 litres of luggage space, expandable to 1,670 litres when the 60:40 split folding rear seats are put into use.
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| Rear passengers are similarly well accommodated. |
Indeed, access to that aforementioned 565 litres of luggage space is a party piece in itself. Skoda calls it ‘Twindoor’ access, a feature that allows the Superb’s rear opening to alternate between a conventional sedan bootlid and a hatchback’s tailgate at the touch of a button. This useful feature allows the Superb to accommodate a wider cargo-carrying brief, but the flipside is a smaller rear windscreen opening – compromising rearward visibility. Reverse camera should indeed have been standard issue with this car.
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| Dual tailgate is the big party piece |
At just over RM206k with insurance, the Superb occupies an interesting position in our market. Its closest stablemates from the VW Group, namely the Audi A4 and VW Passat CC both sit north of RM240k. Against other German manufacturers, paying the same to get the Superb gets you things like the B-Class and 1 Series hatch. Putting things further into perspective, a fully-loaded Lexus CT 200h adds up to just RM5k less than the Superb.
The Superb makes for great value, offering access to the latest of Volkswagen’s engineering at a lower price point. Unfortunately, the brand’s standing in Malaysia means the usual concern of depreciation becomes a very valid one. Maintenance is less of a problem, as servicing of mechanical parts can be handled by any technician that has expertise with the latest products of the VW Group. However, if you can get past these concerns, you shall be rewarded with a gem of a car.
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