Skoda Superb Sleeper | PH Review

There's under-the-radar performance, then there's a 477hp Superb wagon...

PistonHeads loves a sleeper. There’s something very Clark Kent/Superman about hiding lots of horsepower under a very unassuming body. It is the automotive version of walking softly with a big stick. When we feature Q-cars in Six of the Best, it always gets a great response; fast Volvo wagons remain the most popular Sheds; it’ll be no surprise to learn that the subtler, more modest old BMWs - shout out to my old 335i touring - are typically better received than the flashier ones. Light-under-a-bushel ‘bahnstormers are most definitely our bag.

So no surprise this Skoda Superb 280 went down very, very well when announced earlier in the year. Commissioned to celebrate how popular the unassuming yet fast flagship has been since 2015, Skoda UK took that idea and ran with it much further than the factory ever deemed acceptable (in cahoots with RE Performance, who built the Bonneville car): think big Garrett turbo, better injectors, naughtier map and custom exhaust for 477hp and 486lb ft. Plus some expensive chassis and brake hardware to fully take advantage. While leaving the exterior totally untouched.

It’s a very convincing facade. Normally builds like this will give the game away with aftermarket wheels or a silly exhaust, but this Superb keeps the same 19s as standard (albeit now properly stuffed into the arches thanks to the coilovers) and the standard pipes (the 2.0-litre turbo helped along with racier downpipes). The Laurin & Klement badges remain, as does the chrome trim and the Royal Green paint. Nobody will know. Even the delivery guy who dropped it off was surprised to hear the spec; he thought ‘sleeper’ on the job sheet meant it was going to have a tent on the roof and camping supplies…

It says a lot about what can be achieved with modern turbo engines (and some 99RON) that this 240hp-per-litre Superb can be driven like any other 2.0 TSI. It starts with a more purposeful burble, and those around will hear a bit of menace, but there’s no reluctance, cold running issues or excessive lag. It can dawdle along at a couple of thousand revs feeling a-ok. Better than that, in fact, because of the improvements to the brake and suspension - but we’ll get to that later. Rest assured this is no obstinate, awkward tuner car.

But you’re not here to hear about how it goes slow. This is a Skoda Superb that’s probably as fast as an Audi RS3 - you know, less than 10 seconds to 100mph plus the best part of 180mph - and that’s as exciting to experience as it is to write down. The EA888 remains a pretty linear engine, torque building from 2,500rpm and the shove sustained - rather than ramping up - to the limiter, but the flip side of that undramatic delivery is that it feels fast all the time. There’s no huge lag to overcome, or rev threshold to reach; the speed just builds and builds and builds for as long as you dare. Overtakes become extended for the sake of it, slip roads seem a whole lot shorter, and quick squirts off roundabouts soon get a bit inappropriate. Hot hatches don’t know what to make of it. All in a car that looks like a retirement gift - brilliant.

Perhaps a more rousing soundtrack would be nice, the combination of angry turbo blare and the augmented additions not really raising the pulse, though it’s probably a price worth paying to keep the unaltered aesthetic. The Skoda wouldn’t be the same car with big exhausts. The seven-speed DSG is a more glaring weak spot, some of the shifts thumping through unsettlingly and the initial step off sluggish. It’s a shame the kick down switch remains programmed in and the auto change up retained; if ever there was a car to feel haul at full throttle in a high gear, this is it. The box was never the best bit of the package, and all the extra power has only highlighted that fact.

Still, the sleeper has plenty else to distract you from a less-than-stellar dual-clutch. Every person responsible for making performance cars in the VW universe should have a go in this for an idea of how brakes and suspension should feel. The former in particular are monstrous, the stopping power immense and the feel a world away from a grabby, overly light stock setup. The powers of deceleration are just as shocking as the accelerative ones, and only furthers your incredulity from behind the wheel. It stops like a touring car, and means the point to point pace of the Skoda is phenomenal.

The suspension is very nicely sorted, too, further proof that money is surely better invested in a well-judged coilover solution than 15 adaptive settings. It’s a bit tougher at low speed, though always fantastically absorbent and compliant. The very worst of any imperfection is always smothered, which actually makes for a more relaxing car despite the tighter control because any vagueness or crashiness is eradicated. Strict and well marshalled puts you at ease more than lax and overly easygoing.

Such are the improvements, in fact, that you soon start to wish for a slightly better foundation to have been built from. While nothing else does the Q car vibe like a green Superb, it isn’t hard to imagine what a keener turn in and tauter front end might do with the benefit of a VAQ diff between the wheels as well. Or the torque vectoring rear axle from the Golf R. Ultimately this still feels like a front-biased all-wheel drive application (because it is), and so there’s not really anything more to unlock once the considerable purchase of the sticky Yokohamas has been breached.

Which is to take nothing from the standard 280, of course - given the remit and price, it was always eminently recommendable. Perhaps never more so, in fact, than now, with plentiful secondhand cars around, starting at less than £15k. This sleeper is a fine achievement, too; what it demonstrates, in quite charming fashion, is the scope for improvement that exists in the platform. This’ll still do 30mpg while you’re gapping A35s on the A34, if not more so given an easier time. It doesn’t squeak or rattle or bump or grind; there’s a nadge more noise from the brakes and engine, though nothing untoward given the towering performance of each.

So when you want this to be a Superb estate, it’s more than capable; its sports car humbling performance and ability always remain accessible rather than overbearing. The compromise for a car of such extended abilities really isn’t very much at all - it’s been built to a very high standard. Anybody who’s been tempted to do similar shouldn’t hesitate to contact someone like RE Performance; a faster, sharper, ruder Skoda Superb that looks like any other is even better than we’d hoped.

SPECIFICATION | SKODA SUPERB 2.0 TSI 4X4 DSG

Engine: 1,984cc four-cyl turbo
Transmission: 7-speed automatic, all-wheel drive
Power (hp): 280@4,500-6,200rpm (standard, now 477)
Torque (lb ft): 258@1,500-4,400rpm (standard, now 486)
0-62mph: 5.8 secs (standard, now c. 4.5 seconds)
Top speed: 155mph
Weight (kg): 1,615
MPG: 39.8 (standard)
CO2: 159 (standard)
Price: N/A

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el romeral

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