Test: Skoda Superb Combi 2.0 TSI

You think it's great, when the wife with strong bent legs and vertical backrest next to you stuck, because the reboard baby seat and stand is mounted on the right rear? And that half of the holiday luggage had to stay at home, because prams and diapers block the trunk?

Then please click on Next, looking for best mid-range premium station wagon. Of course you can with a brand new BMW 3 Series Touring, an Audi A4 Avant or one Mercedes C-Class Make an impression on the neighbor. Because a Ford Mondeo or a VW Passat just looks too much like field service. You have to explain a lot. Justify oneself.

Driving Skoda Superb Combi

The combination motor car

Curtain up for the Skoda Superb Combi. You have to explain a lot here too. Mostly, however, the car itself, and it is possible to try out the astonished garden fence acquaintances to see whether an echo can be produced in the huge interior in the large Skoda.

While the Passat simply cannot get rid of its representative image despite constant upgrading, the Skoda Superb Combi never had it. Even the last generation (and the first Combi, as always written with C in Skoda) caused a sensation, but a stiff chassis and the narrow interior still smelled too much of a compact class basis.

Break the shackles of the middle class

So I do not consider it exaggerated to use in the current generation of Skoda Superb the hackneyed vocabulary of the quantum leap. Soft foamed plastics, even at the level of the driver's knee, tailor-made workmanship and the lavish space in all directions make the Superb break the shackles of the middle class.

Comfortable satisfaction

As a test car, a Superb style flatters our senses, admittedly with almost all crosses in the option list. The passengers take, typical Superb front a bit too high, on comfortable leather / Alcantara seats. The beige interior emphasizes the width of the interior again, but sooner or later in terms of color theory will be outvoted by fresh jeans or not very clean hands. But do not worry, the interior of the Style model is also available in black - which also harmonises better with most exterior colors. Also, the configuration of the test car with the combination of beige interior and gray paint is not quite successful.

Other components, on the other hand, ensure a comfortable satisfaction. A must-have for the Superb purchase should be the excellent adaptive DCC chassis. The surcharge is 910 euros (standard for the L&K version).

The “Mode” button on the center console can be used to set the chassis tuning, the steering feel and the speed of reaction of the engine and transmission via four different levels (Normal, Comfort, Sport and Eco). In addition, there is the option of putting all the modules together individually.

In the Comfort position, the big Skoda smoothes the road in front of the car in no time at all, gently weighing over bumps, but without the car swinging lazily. The test with a slightly seasick passenger has passed the Comfort mode anyway.

The Eco program is really interesting for longer journeys. The engine is only imperceptibly put on a short leash, but as soon as you take your foot off the accelerator, the electronics separate it from the DSG, so that you “sail” with the least possible friction losses.

The same 200 kilometer highway stretch in Eco and Comfort mode, brought only a marginal increase in fuel consumption by 0,2 liters (according to on-board computer), but the famous small cattle also makes crap.

Without a motor car is not mobile, so we turn once to the drive of the car. For the test drive the Superb Combi was ready as 2.0 TSI with 220 PS.

EA888 is under the hood with the winged arrow. This is the VW Group engine with 2,0 liter capacity, which is installed in a nearly unmanageable number of performance levels in different models: in the VW Golf GTI and R, for example, as well as in the Seat Leon Cupra. The Skoda Octavia has as RS the three times above the front axle. And so does the Superb.

Remarkably inconspicuous

With 220 PS and front-wheel drive he marks the second highest performance level of the large Skoda, there is also a 280 PS strong four-wheel drive version. The less heavily charged two-liter Skoda drives only the front axle.

And he can do that very well. From the start, the unit will notice that it does not stand out. The smooth running engine plays, backed by sufficient insulation material in the front end, skilfully hide. The Superb is a travel car. Also with the petrol engine. Or just with it?

The long wheelbase comes in rapid highway driving in addition to the DCC to bear, the Skoda is full and safe on the road. In contrast to the two predecessors and the straight-line is top. With the intuitively operated steering column lever, the cruise control system with adaptive distance assistant is set and nothing stands in the way of a trip lasting several hours.

The watchful car assists in keeping the lane. With gentle counter-steering impulses, the system brings you back on track when you drive over the lateral limits of presumed carelessness. As soon as you turn on the turn signal, the lane departure warning system stops. Nevertheless, when support is activated, the steering feel unfortunately - even on country roads - often angular and unreal. This leads too quickly to deactivation via the on-board computer. Too bad and the security not helpful.

Otherwise, the Skoda Superb will take care of the time and the class. The sensors of the otherwise dispensable Parklenkassistenten even warn against cross traffic when Ausparken. The optional rearview camera even comes with its own washing nozzle in the new model year.

Before I lose myself in trifles, let's try to judge the Skoda Superb in its entirety again. And that is not so easy. Because despite its jagged and edgy design, he is nowhere. He can do everything a big station wagon needs. The other way around: What does not fit into the 660-liter trunk when packing for vacation, is certainly too much anyway. If you do not find enough space in the more than opulent rear, you should take off your stilts before getting in.

In contrast to its predecessor, which is still somewhat pragmatic, the current Superb conveys a value and a quality of equipment that sets it apart from the mid-range station wagons mentioned and quite a smarter alternative to the expensive station wagon versions of the Audi A6, BMW 5 Series and Mercedes E Class. Because it reconciles affordable mid-range prices with a large number of top-class talents, it is a combination vehicle in the best sense of the word.

Epilogue:

Who complains that the Skoda Superb is offered only with four-cylinder engines and a maximum of two liters of displacement, thinks rightly transfigured to strong inline six-cylinder and other cream pieces. However, one should look around on the company car parking lots and rest stops of our republic: A6 2.0 TDI Ultra, BMW 520d, E220d - all good four-cylinder. And diesel. Was there something? Yes! Anyone who wants to know how the more interesting for the majority of the mileage-eating customers Superb Diesel version drives can here Driving report of 2.0 TDI with 190 PS and four-wheel drive ...

Specifications Skoda Superb Combi 2.0 TSI

Text and photo: All photos: Bernd Conrad