|
|
Weekend roadtest : Skoda Superb Estate
publication date: Feb 27, 2010
|
author/source: Robin Roberts
 |
Skoda is confident its new Superb Estate will carry UK sales past the all important 2pc mark after its launch this weekend.
The
Superb was introduced in 2002, updated with the clever twin-tail
hatchback in 2008 and has now been joined by the Estate version which
beats both the Volvo V70 and Ford Mondeo wagon in carrying capacity
with the seats up and down respectively.
Prices are from around £17,700 to
£29,000 and there is a choice of front or four wheel drive with the
famed Haldex all-wheel-drive system.
The pricing and equipment of
the Superb Estate will have strong appeal to fleet buyers who currently
account for 30pc of Skoda UK sales, and it is expected to raise this
percentage and help the company which currently has 1.9pc market share
to break the all-important 2.0pc mark, at which point further gains are
usually rapid.
| 
| Now standing wheel to wheel
with its closest rivals in terms of overall size, the Skoda Estate
includes some neat user-friendly touches such as an adjustable height
opening tailgate with electrical assistance, flexible secure storage
system, foldaway hooks, twin lights over the loadbed as well as
removable magnetic LED, roof rails and keyless entry. A revised
automatic park assist system is available which permits hands-off
parking in much tighter spaces than previously. | The low rear sill
gives access to a loadbed which can be gradually expanded from 633
litres to 1,865 litres, includes a ski-hatch and offset split rear
seats and has an underfloor spare wheel. The most powerful versions
will tow a 2,000KG trailer.
Essentially, the new Superb Estate
follows the powertrain of its hatchback stablemate, so there are three
petrol and three diesel engines from 1.4 to 3.6 litres, five or six
speed manual gearboxes and a six speed DSG semi-automatic transmission,
in S, SE or Elegance trim levels.
| 
| To help kick-start the growth there will be a
financial incentive in the form of direct hire rate of £279 a month for
the Superb Estate 2.0 TDi 140bhp with free service and maintenance over
three years or 45,000 miles.
Skoda anticipates 40pc of UK sales
will be the 2.0 170bhp Elegance with manual transmission and this is
the version I briefly tested. | FIRST IMPRESSIONS
| | | The powertrain is an excellent package
with plenty of performance underfoot, good economy around 46mpg, direct
changes and a refined nature with low noise levels.
Skoda is
probably launching the Superb Estate at precisely the right time with
the sector seeing a rise in overall sales and it delivers a lot of
useful features with a practical nature, led by the height adjustable
tailgate which means it can be set for short or tall users or to meet
garage height restrictions, for instance.
The low, wide, long and
deep loadbed has added practicality with the availability of floor
rails and a bar and tether arrangement to partition. |  | Twin lights in the
raised fifth door illuminate the area and a rechargeable LED can be
lifted out of its holder to use magnetically stuck on the bodywork to
change a wheel, for instance. A nice touch.Designing an estate is
always a challenge for suspension engineers who have to combine
abilities when lightly or heavily laden with road holding and safety. I
did not test the car laden but with two aboard it handled well, road
smoothly and was remarkably quiet, particularly in terms of road noise.
It is a significant addition for Skoda and the market in general. ©Robin Roberts
|
Download the Wheels Within Wales toolbar for your quickest way to keep in touch with everything that's happening on Welsh roads and in showrooms or use our RSS feed for the headlines you will not want to miss
|
|
|
.gif){kind=small}