Price as tested: €37,090
+ All the usual Superb talents, plus the extra traction of 4WD
– Steep price for a Skoda, ride still too fidgety
= As Superb as its name but price tag stretches the boundaries of the brand
OK, before we get to the specificities of the Skoda Superb 4x4, let’s get a few things straight about four wheel drive. First off, four wheel drive does not equal more grip. That’s a common fallacy. Grip is a function of the tyres, so a Superb 4x4 on the same tyres as a front-drive Superb will have identical levels of outright grip. Slightly less, in fact, given the extra weight and therefore inertia of the four wheel drive system.
What four wheel drive gives you is extra traction, and the ability to put more of the power of the engine through to the tarmac more of the time. That’s both a blessing and a curse. A blessing because, if the dreaded snow and ice returns as so many are predicting it will, the driver of a Superb 4x4 may well be able to get moving and keep moving more easily than someone driving a two wheel drive car. The downside is that, when it comes to braking and steering, 4WD is no actual use. In fact, in the snow, a front-drive Superb fitted winter tyres would probably be just as, if not more, capable than a four-wheel-drive version on conventional rubber.
So, all that taken into account, is the Superb 4x4 actually any good? Oh yes, it certainly is.
For all the above admonition, there is something very personally enabling about having four wheel drive, especially on an otherwise conventional saloon car. To any of us who grew up in the era of the Audi Quattro, when Welshman Dai Llewellyn would regularly come over to the Circuit of Ireland and show all the local 2WD boys a clean pair of mudflaps, there is an aura of high performance and mystical ability about four wheel drive.
Couple that to the smooth grunty-ness of the VW group’s 170bhp, 320Nm 2.0 TDI engine and the sheer brilliance of the six speed semi-auto DSG gearbox and you have a powertrain of rare ability and competence.
First, the engine. From a position a few years ago when VW’s 1.9 TDI diesels represented a nadir of refinement and quietness, the latest generation of 2.0 common rail TDIs are paragons of silence. Pretty good in other areas too. Skoda claims 6.2-litres per 100km and 162g/km of Co2 are pretty decent figures, especially given the 1,645kg kerb weight and the extra friction and drag of the all-wheel-drive.
That drive system is a Haldex clutch-based setup, that can shunt power from one end to the other, and have the torque going to each wheel further fine tuned by the ESP system. So it’s clever, and it must be said that the Superb felt very sure-footed and free from dynamic vices during our test. OK, so it was mild and mostly dry, so any sense of extra security from the four wheel drive was probably mostly psychosomatic but there’s no doubt that come the cold snap (or even just the more common wet snap) that the Superb 4x4 will feel more stable and capable than a front-drive version.
In pure handling terms, there’s little here to get the enthusiast excited. The Superb is not about apex-clipping and dabs of oppo. And thank heavens for that. Instead, you get nicely weighted, accurate steering, a benignly understeer-led handling balance, well quashed amounts of body roll and an annoying sensation of jiggle and patter from the suspension on less than perfect surfaces.
Why is this? it’s the only let down to be found in the Superb, any Superb and it makes no sense. Volkswagen’s engineers can make the smaller, lighter Golf ride like a luxury limo, yet the Superb, with its massive wheelbase and extra bulk, jitters. Why?
To be fair, that’s our only criticism. For the rest of the time, the Superb lives metronomically up to its name. The cabin is tastefully appointed, brilliantly finished and, aside from an adjustable driver’s seat that won’t go low enough for my taste, it’s very, very comfy. Unusually in almost any class of car, it’s actually the back seats that are the pound ones. With acres of legroom, heating for buttocks and a good view out, there’ll be no complaints from even the stroppiest of rear seat denizens.
The monstrous 595-litre boot under that split saloon/hatch tailgate means that the Superb is pretty close to being a perfect family car, with room to spare even when carrying buggies and lots of bags. It does eat into fuel tank space though, and with only 50-litres in the tank, you’ll be refueling the Superb more than you expect, even with its decent economy figures.
So, we come to the final reckoning. Is the four wheel drive worth it? In terms of engineering purity, yes. It’s the most efficient and practical way to get the power down and it gives the Superb more than a little all-weather and all-surface agility. But, it must be remembered that a good set of winter tyres will, in most situations, replicate the four wheel drive’s ability and then there’s the niggling issue of price. At €37k (€39k with the extras on our test car) the price of having four wheel drive might just be too high. The Superb really is a Superb car, but nudging up to forty grand might just be stretching the abilities of the Skoda brand too far, its recent fashionability and success notwithstanding.
Plump for two wheel drive and you can knock €4k off that bill for the same (generous) Ambition spec, and that four big ones will buy you a lot of winter tyres.
Then again, it is getting chillier out there as I write these words...
Facts & Figures
Skoda Superb TDI 140 DSG 4x4 Ambition
Price as tested: €37,090
Range price: €23,695 to €39,635
Capacity: 1,968cc
Power: 140bhp
Torque: 320Nm
Top speed: 204kmh
0-100kmh: 10.7sec
Economy: 6.2l-100km (45.5mpg)
CO2 emissions: 162g/km
VRT Band: D. €447 road tax
Euro NCAP rating: 5-star; 90% adult, 81% child, 50% pedestrian, 71% safety assist.
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