What a Car - UK - (2020-04)

whatcar.com^ April 2020 87

Hatchback tailgate makes

for easy access to the

boot; there’s also an

estate version

WHAT’S IT LIKE?

All of the enginesaregutsyenoughtogive

the Superb a reasonableturnofspeed,while

fuel economy is impressiveforsuchabig,

capacious car. TheSuperbridesandhandles

well, too, if not withquitethepanacheof

some premium rivals.Thatsaid,it’sarefined

motorway cruiser,especiallyinpetrolform.

Inside, the drivingpositionisgood;the

dashboard and majorinstrumentsand

controls are all laidoutinaclearand

logical way, and thequalityofthe

materials used ishigh.

As mentioned,there’s

plenty of interiorspace

front and rear. The

boot is long anddeep

and holds signifi cantly

more than those of the

Superb’s main rivals,

and it’s easily accessed

via a hatchback tailgate.

HOWMUCHWILLIT COST?

It’spossibletopickupaSuperb

foraround£8000,butthis

islikelytobeonewithahigh

mileage.Upthebudgetslightly

tobetween£10,000and£13,000

andyou’llhaveyourpickofgood

2016 or 2017 examples,allwith

anaveragemileageforthe

year,afullservicehistoryand

boughtfromanindependentor

franchiseddealer.Meanwhile,

£13,000to£16,000getsyouan

excellent 2018 Superb,while

around£19,000buysapost-

facelift 2019 model.

The148bhp1.5TSIisthemost

efficientpetrolmodel,with

officialaveragefueleconomy

of43.5mpg,whilethe148bhp

2.0-litredieselpromises55.4mpg.

Roadtaxforallmodelsregistered

before 1 April 2017 willvarydependingonthe

CO 2 emissionstheengineproduces,while

examplesregisteredafterthisdatewillhave

thesameflat-ratefeeof£145peryear.

ServicingplansareavailablefortheSuperb

forareasonableprice,coveringtwoorthree

servicesandpayablebydirectdebit.

WHATSHOULDI LOOKFOR?

TheSuperbisalongandfairly

widecar,socheckthebodywork

carefullyforanydamageandthe

alloywheelsforkerbdamage.

Makesuretherearseatsfoldas

theyshould.SomeSuperbsmade

betweenOctober 2018 andJune

2019 mighthaveanissuewith

theirenginenotprovidingthe

normalamountoftorqueatlow

speeds.Affectedcarscanbesorted

withasimplesoftwareupdate.The

airbagsandseatbelttensioners

onsomemodelsbuiltbetween

May 2016 andNovember 2016

mightnottriggerinacollision,

potentiallycausinginjury.Speak

toadealertofindoutifthesehave

beenreplacedonyourcar.

TheSuperbfinished11thout

of 22 executivecarsinthemost

recentWhatCar?ReliabilitySurvey.Skoda

asabrandfinishedinninthplaceoutof 31

manufacturersinthesamestudy.

WHICHONESHOULDI BUY?

Wefavouredthesmooth,refined1.4TSI 150

petrolinearliercars,anditsreplacement,the

1.5TSI150,isourcurrentpick,thankstoits

blendofdecentperformanceandeconomy.

Asfarastrimgoes,we’dbetemptedtospend

abitmoreforanSETechnologymodel,which

hasthebestmixofequipmentandprice.

Oneoftheroomiest,comest

executive cars you can buy,

and exceptional value

S AY S

Rear seats are  t for a limo, with loungingroomaplenty Mostversionscome with an 8.0in infotainment screen

GOOD

Ultra-spacious interior

Massive boot

Excellent value for money

BAD

Diesel engines can be gruff

Not as much fun to drive

as some posher rivals

2019 Skoda

Octavia 1.5 TSI

150 SE, 9000 miles,

£17,495

2017 Skoda

Octavia 1.6 TDI SE

Technology, 34,000

miles, £12,450

ONES WE FOUND

2016 Skoda Octavia

1.4 TSI 150 SE, 38,000

miles, £9995