Thursday 1st June 2017

Skoda Superb Estate 280 Sportline: PH Fleet

13.9-second quarter-miles with the roof box on? Proper PH wagon!

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With the first few months of our time with the Superb having now passed, it is fair to say that the honeymoon period is well and truly over. Has the Skoda become just another boring old load-lugger though? Absolutely not. In fact, it's not often that we find a car so well suited to nearly every task we can chuck at it!

Skoda looking sharp in the sunshine

5,936 miles in and the Skoda is performing its mule duties incredibly well. As you may have seen if you're a regular attendee, it's been our dedicated Sunday Service Mobile, carrying all of our kit around the country with superb - pardon the pun - comfort and speed. Sacrifices have been necessary to achieve this, however. We began with a slightly OCD arrangement, perfectly packing all of our kit into plastic crates; best laid plans and all that though, and we were soon faced with far too much equipment for the system to work. The end result being the addition of a Thule roof box and the already capacious Skoda being reduced to a two-seater as well. It's worth mentioning however that even with all of our things tightly packed into the roof box and load space, the Superb barely feels any slower.

While we're on the topic of speed, at our recent Santa Pod Sunday Service we thought it would seem rather rude not to test the Superb's straight line capabilities on the strip. We were delighted to suss out the launch control function while in the queue waiting to race and, after a couple of dodgy starts, our roof box wielding Skoda managed a pretty respectable quarter mile time of 13.9 seconds. It even gave a Nissan GT-R a run for its money off the line, right up to around 25mph when the Nissan surged past and romped to victory...

Speed Matters, and the Skoda's got it

Straight lines are easy though, and fully loaded the handling does suffer a little. With a kerbweight of 1,540kg, it's not the lightest car to start with and its point and squirt nature is tempered by the wince-inducing sound of the contents shifting from one side to the other. The "Bugger, what have I broken?" face is becoming a more regular sight in the driver's seat. That said, it is still extremely capable - the grip seems endless, and with 280hp it has enough power in reserve to fend off all but the hottest of hot hatches.

The Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) is certainly an option box worth ticking too. On longer jaunts Comfort mode, with the Automatic Cruise Control engaged, delivers near unrivalled levels of comfort and relaxation for a car in this class. Switch from Comfort to Sport though, and the Superb is transformed from floaty to firm and plush to purposeful, resulting in a platform which feels properly stable and enjoyable when unladen. Back on Sunday Service duty, our roof box has caused a little more wind noise but, other than that, it's very quiet and refined, meaning you can enjoy the wonderful Canton sound system. Another one for the options list with a lovely low end, really punchy bass and no loss of composure when cranked up. Although prepare to experience some concerned looks if you test this with similar music taste to mine...

Delivering all we need and more at the moment

One final thing I should mention is the fuel consumption; it wasn't great out of the box with an average of 27mpg but, like most cars, the engine has settled in and we're now seeing around 32mpg fully laden with a roof box. Which I don't think is bad at all for an all-wheel drive, performance estate. The Skoda is still loved by everyone who drives it and, to be honest, I can't see that changing as long as it just does everything so well. If you fancy a proper nose around it, it will be at all our upcoming Sunday Services looking pretty as usual!

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FACT SHEET
Car: Skoda Superb 280 Estate
On fleet since: February 2017
Mileage: 5,936
List price new: £35,300 (As tested £40,255 comprising £600 for Canton sound system, £435 for Crew protection assist and rear side airbags, £750 for Dynamic Chassis control, £350 for front and rear parking sensors, £250 for heated front seats, £765 for integrated towbar, £45 for Isofix on front passenger seat, £150 for LED light package rear, £350 for rear-view parking camera, £90 for rear backrest releases from boot, £100 for temporary space saver spare wheel, £150 for variable boot floor, £600 for virtual pedal, £20 for waste bin in door panel and £300 for wireless phone charging with Bluetooth)
Last month at a glance: Fitting in well, but standing out for quite a bit too

Previous reports:
The big Skoda has a big job to do!

Images: Ben Lowden

[Tri_Doc]

I'm really curious about this machine and love the breadth of skills. When making time can it offer 9/10ths the fun of a Golf R estate? If it can, I might buy one, as it covers so many bases for a family man.