Skoda Superb Review & Prices

The Skoda Superb is a large family car that stands out from a dwindling crowd. Ford, Vauxhall, Mazda and even Volkswagen to some extent have stopped offering big, traditional family cars like this, preferring instead to concentrate on profitable SUVs.

Don't let that put you off the Superb, though, because this is a car that lives up to its name extremely well. Open the rear doors or the boot and you might even think it's better named the Skoda Tardis - if Doctor Who was in the market for a car, this would definitely be on the shortlist.

Sticking to a tried-and-tested bodystyle - as well as a set of mechanicals borrowed from the now estate-only Volkswagen Passat - means that the Superb offers a tremendous amount of car for the money. Compared to the likes of the Peugeot 508, Volkswagen Arteon, or models from premium manufacturers such as the BMW 3 Series, the Superb is bigger, more spacious and much cheaper.

To put it into perspective - the Superb has more rear legroom than any other car made by the Volkswagen Group (VW, Skoda, SEAT, Audi) with the exception of the £95,000 Audi A8 L. Building on that, the Superb’s boot is the biggest amongst its alternatives, with a colossal 625 litres on offer. Nothing even comes close - though if you do want more room, there's the even more cavernous Skoda Superb Estate.

It’s rather impressive on the quality front, too: inside it’s extremely close to a Passat when it comes to look and feel. Close enough, in fact, that most people wouldn’t really notice the difference. If we’re being picky, the lower half of the Superb’s cabin does have more scratchy plastics, but everything inside is impressively well screwed together and materials within realistic touching distance all feel high-end. It’s a far cry from Skoda’s old budget-brand image.

Each Superb comes with an 8.0-inch infotainment system with DAB radio and Bluetooth as standard, although you can upgrade to a 9.2-inch version. Both look great with their glass front when switched off, but also display pin-sharp graphics once on and are nicely responsive to prods, pinches and zooms. Both systems also feature wireless Apple CarPlay and wired Android Auto support.

Although there are more powerful petrol options, the entry-level 1.5 with 150hp never leaves you wanting when accelerating and is always extremely smooth and quiet. It’s a great choice if you do most of your driving in town, but there’s also a fantastic plug-in hybrid model to consider if you fancy something you can cruise around in at low speeds using just electrical power. With low CO2 emissions it makes a great-value company car.

Diesel is likely to remain a popular option, too. The sweet spot of the 2.0-litre offerings is the 150hp variant, with its great get-up-and-go yet still-impressive fuel economy and sensible pricing making it the best all-rounder in the range.

The Superb is a big car but it’s easy to drive in town. It has light, precise steering and good visibility for breezing tight manoeuvres. It’s not quite perfect though, with bumps being annoyingly easy to hear in the cabin.

Head on to the motorway and the Superb comes into its own, though. Its soft suspension and comfy seats make it great for covering long distances and its cabin stays rather quiet whichever engine you go for. Take it onto tighter roads though and the trade-off for comfort is obvious. It’s by no means terrible, but it’s far from outright fun, leaning through corners quite noticeably and failing to offer much in the way of driver engagement. If you’re looking for something a little more involving, the Peugeot 508 or far pricier BMW 3 Series are worth a look.

You might have noticed, then, that’s there’s very little bad to say about the Skoda Superb. Aside from some rather minor comfort issues, it’s a hugely impressive all-rounder – one that you should seriously consider.

Before you buy, make sure you see how much Carwow can save you on our Skoda Superb deals pages, or if you're after a used car, check out used Skoda Superbs or other used Skodas from our network of trusted dealers. And when the time comes to change your car, you can sell your old one on Carwow too.

The Skoda Superb hatch offers strong value in what is admittedly a shrinking area of the market, seeing as the Volkswagen Passat is now only available as an estate and the Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Insignia Grand Sport have been discontinued.

It stacks up well to the remaining alternatives, coming in far below the posher Volkswagen Arteon or much more cramped Peugeot 508. We’d opt for the mid-range SE L trim and stick with the impressive 150hp base petrol engine for the best value.

The Skoda Superb is a big car, yet even the base engine feels responsive and peppy. It’s comfortable, too, but most alternatives are more fun to drive

In town

It may be big, but the Superb handles town driving well thanks to the light steering, great visibility and decent turning circle. Front and rear parking sensors are standard, while a rear-view camera and parking assistant are optional on all but the top L&K trim. While overall comfort is commendable, sharp bumps can unsettle the ride, especially on models fitted with the larger 18- and 19-inch wheels.

On the motorway

The Superb truly lives up to its name on the motorway, where its relaxed driving manners, refined cabin and soft suspension waft you along serenely. Travel Assist is optional on all but the base SE, and includes adaptive cruise control to maintain distance to the car in front (which also works in traffic jams), a lane-keeping assistant, and automatic parking. Some of these features can be optioned individually as well.

The base 150hp petrol and diesel engines are perfectly capable of maintaining motorway speeds, while the 200hp diesel option delivers great fuel economy and won’t feel phased even with a full complement of passengers and luggage on board.

On a twisty road

Ok, so the Superb isn’t exactly um... superb at everything, and while it feels perfectly stable around a twisty country road at lower speeds, this clearly isn’t a sports car. It grips well and won’t lean too much through bends, but even if you pick the powerful 280hp 2.0-litre petrol with its quick-shifting DSG automatic gearbox and grippy all-wheel drive, the handling tends to feel a bit imprecise.

A Peugeot 508 will put a bigger smile on your face, but you’ll need to stretch to a BMW 3 Series if handling dynamics are that important to you.

Adaptive suspension is available as an option on higher trims, but we wouldn’t bother with the extra expense when this is clearly not the Superb’s forte.

You won’t find a more spacious cabin or boot anywhere else, but a few nice-to-haves do cost extra

This is the sort of car you choose if your family members resemble an NBA squad – there’s just so much space inside the Superb. The front seats offer plenty of adjustment with electric seats and even a massage function available on all but SE trim cars.

Skoda has ensured that every nook and cranny can be used as a storage space; from the huge air-conditioned box between the front-centre armrest, to the drawers built into the front seat bases and massive door bins, you won’t need to leave a thing behind. A shelf which offers optional wireless charging is provided for your mobile ahead of the gear lever, and even the glovebox is spacious enough to be useful. There’s a newer USB-C port in the centre console and a USB port in the armrest.

Space in the back seats

The oodles of space up front don’t mean a cramped back seat, either. Three adults will be able to get comfortable in the rear row, with plenty of headroom and more leg room than most limousines. It's no wonder Superbs are popular with taxi firms and minicabbers.

There’s a pair of generous door bins and cupholders in the centre rear seatback as well as a pair of USB charging ports. ISOFIX anchors are provided in the outer two seats, and the doors open wide, so you won’t have much trouble fitting a baby seat in there.

Boot space

The Skoda Superb’s boot will swallow 625 litres of luggage – well above any of its alternatives. The Peugeot 508 has just 487 litres of space, the VW Arteon 563 litres. Even SUV competitors like the VW Tiguan can only offer 520 litres. The plug-in hybrid Superb has a slightly smaller 485 litres on offer thanks to the batteries slotting under the boot floor, which is still competitive in this class.

The rear hatch opens wide to reveal a flat load space with a number of hooks, straps and cubbies to help you secure your luggage. There’s a bit of a load lip, which means you’ll need to lift rather than slide heavy luggage out the back. If you need more space, lowering the rear seats you get a truly massive 1,760 litres of load space.

The hybrid offers a slightly smaller 1,610 litres but even that’s more than some mid-sized SUVs, and if you somehow need even more load space, the Skoda Superb Estate will pack in 1,950 litres of luggage with the rear seats down. It also offers an adjustable boot floor and retractable load covers where the Superb hatch makes do without them.

The Skoda Superb comes uncomfortably close to matching the pricier Volkswagen Passat’s interior, although there are still a few scratchy plastics if you look hard enough around the cabin

The Skoda Superb is pitched as a more affordable offering to the Volkswagen Passat, yet its interior would hardly suggest any cost cutting. The Superb's last update only brought the two closer in terms of look and feel, making the Skoda an even better value proposition. A few minor trim pieces don’t quite match up to the pricier Passat, but you probably won't notice.

All the controls and switchgear feel solid to the touch, with even the base SE trim's cloth seats looking like they will stand up well to the rigours of daily use for years to come. Leather is standard on the SE L and L&K trims, with the Sportline Plus model getting quilted Alcantara and a sportier steering wheel. LED interior ambience packages with 10 colours are available on higher trims and a sunroof and heated seats are optionable as well. Just be aware that ticking too many extras will soon have you encroaching on pricing levels occupied by sporty luxury saloons with Audi and BMW badges on their bonnets.

The entry-level Superb gets an 8.0-inch infotainment touchscreen, which includes DAB radio, WiFi tethering and Bluetooth as standard. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now also part of the package. The SE Technology trim adds sat nav to the mix, although you can already use your phone’s built-in apps instead. Sportline Plus and L&K trims offer a slightly larger 9.2-inch system but no extra functionality.

You can access commonly-used functions through a row of buttons either side of the smaller unit, although 9.2-inch systems get a single row of buttons. Voice control is standard but not particularly reliable, so we’d just stick to the shortcut keys and touchscreen. Both units are quick to respond to commands and intuitive to use.

Skoda’s digital Virtual Cockpit is now standard on all trims, and brings a more modern, upmarket feel to the cabin. The readout is bright and clear and can be customised to show your preferred info. Neither the Volkswagen Passat Estate nor the Mazda 6 offer a digital driver display in their base trims.

The Skoda Superb is offered in a range of engine and drivetrain options, including petrol, diesel and a plug-in hybrid, as well as manual and automatic gearboxes and two- and four-wheel drive.

The base 150hp 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol is punchy, quiet and capable in town and on the motorway. Fitted with the six-speed manual transmission, it will return up to 47mpg in mixed driving and emits 136 g/km of CO2. It will get from 0-62mph in 9.1 seconds, which is plenty quick enough for most drivers.

The 190hp and 280hp 2.0-litre turbocharged petrols are obviously quite a lot quicker, but they average 40.3mpg and 33.2mpg respectively and will cost more to run and insure. That said, the 280hp version comes standard with all-wheel-drive and will dash to 62mph in a very quick 5.3 seconds, making it rather tempting if speed is your thing.

The diesel offerings start with the 150hp 2.0-litre turbodiesel, it delivers a stellar 59.3mpg and 125g/km of CO2 with the manual gearbox, or slightly less efficient when equipped with the seven-speed DSG auto, and it’s just as quick as the 150hp petrol. It’s the pick of the bunch for regular motorway trips, and while the more powerful 200hp diesel has better overtaking power, the fuel economy figures drop to 50.4mpg. It can be had with all-wheel drive though, so would be the better choice if you need the extra grip levels.

The real advantage with the diesels is their overall range. If you do regular long journeys, you'll be able to get more than 800 miles from a full tank of fuel, which makes it very convenient for those with big motorway commutes.

The final engine option is a plug-in hybrid that makes a lot of sense if you frequently do short trips around town and have a handy place to charge the battery. It combines a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an electric motor to produce 218hp, which gets it from 0-62mph in just 7.7 seconds (the same as the 190hp petrol) – and if you make the most of the 44 miles of all-electric range, it has an official figure of 224.4mpg.

On longer drives that figure will drop, and with a discharged battery you'll see around 40mpg on a long run. That's still good, but a diesel is a better option if you do lots of motorway trips. It’s worth noting that the automatic gearbox can feel a bit jerky when switching between the electric and petrol modes and the plug-in also only available on the top SportLine Plus and L&K trims, which pushes up its pricing.

The Skoda Superb received a full five-star Euro NCAP rating back in 2015 when it was launched. It received an 86% rating for both adult and child occupant safety, and while the testing regime has got a lot tougher, the Superb has also been given a lot more passive and active safety equipment in the intervening years.

As standard you get front and rear parking sensors, cruise control, hill start assist, driver fatigue sensor and keyless stop/start. Optional features include Park Assist, rearview camera, adaptive cruise control, lane assist and blind-spot detection.

The Superb has been in production for a number of years now, and it shares a number of common components with other VW Group cars which has helped it in the reliability stakes. Owner surveys have placed it among the more reliable cars among alternatives, and while there have been a handful of recalls, none have been of a particularly serious nature.

The Skoda Superb comes with a rather standard three-year/60,000-mile warranty, which can be extended by up to two more years and a maximum of 100,000-miles for an extra fee. The plug-in hybrid also has an eight-year/100,00o-mile warranty on its battery pack.

There are a selection of fixed and flexible service plans to choose from, too.