Skoda Superb: Classiest car of the last 10 years?

jetsonx

Is the new Skoda Superb the classiest mid-priced saloon car of the last 10 years?

I passed it yesterday and had to look twice.

Mercedes shouts old, boring and grey.
BMW shouts arrogant.
Audi shouts "I'm arrogant but could'nt afford a BMW".
Toyota shouts "I'm a civil servant".
But the new Skoda Superb whispers dignified understated class. It would not look out of place in the gravel driveway of a French chateau or parked beside a super-yacht on a Marbella marina. What a class-looking car?

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

colm_mcm

Take the badge out of the equation and don't overlook entire brands because of a lazy stereotype.

You're comparing one particular skoda model. They make a lot of awful looking Shiite too.

The superb is nice, but I think the perceived underdog status appeals to you.
Which is crazy really given how Skoda is just a VW brand .
VW I.e the cleverest marketeers out there.

mickdw

jetsonx wrote: »

Is the new Skoda Superb the classiest mid-priced saloon car of the last 10 years?

I passed it yesterday and had to look twice.

Mercedes shouts old, boring and grey.
BMW shouts arrogant.
Audi shouts "I'm arrogant but could'nt afford a BMW".
Toyota shouts "I'm a civil servant".
But the new Skoda Superb whispers dignified understated class. It would not look out of place in the gravel driveway of a French chateau or parked beside a super-yacht on a Marbella marina. What a class-looking car?

I think your ideas re mercedes audi and bmw are outdated and childish.
Mercedes at the minute have their strongest lineup for many years with very desirable cars in each segment and for all ages.
I don't see Audi as being cheaper than bmw either.
The latest superb looks good in top spec and to be honest it imo seems to be the first skoda that doesn't appear to have been made ugly on purpose to keep it under the vw range.
I'd take a passat instead though at any price point.

Henry Ford III

VW have clever marketeers indeed, but they'd be crying into their Weissbier to see someone suggest that the Skoda variant (a "value" marque within their stable) is being referred to as "classiest" against their "premium" marques - Audi and to a lesser extent VW.

p.s. The older model saloon has a dropped ass and there's question marks about some of the Tdi engines. The estates look better imho.

bmwguy

Funny enough had a drive in one today for work, one of the reps cars. It's the new one and its very nice to look at and sit in, no driving dynamics though and it was the 1.6 which was pretty gutless, perhaps a more powerful engine would improve it but it was very sluggish, really had to work it. Well specced though and nicely put together.

The one it replaced was so out of proportion it looks terrible, just too long at the rear doors. It's an ugly car and that rules it out from being anything near classy.

I remember being in the original when it just came out about 10 years ago and was very impressed at the time but it has aged terribly.

It is what it is, well up there in its segment and its no longer the underdog. I'd have Mazda 6 over it any day in the same price range.

Special Circumstances

bmwguy wrote: »

The one it replaced was so out of proportion it looks terrible, just too long at the rear doors. It's an ugly car and that rules it out from being anything near classy.
.

The estates are way way better in the models with the jarringly disproportionate back doors. All 5 of them that were sold here.

bmwguy

Special Circumstances wrote: »

The estates are way way better in the models with the jarringly disproportionate back doors. All 5 of them that were sold here.

Don't think I ever saw one to be honest, but I have heard that said many times. Us Irish don't really do estates though

blindside88

I had one of the new Superbs for a month while I was waiting on my Mondeo. The Superb is a lovely car, nicest Skoda I've driven and it really does look classy

bigroad

bmwguy wrote: »

Funny enough had a drive in one today for work, one of the reps cars. It's the new one and its very nice to look at and sit in, no driving dynamics though and it was the 1.6 which was pretty gutless, perhaps a more powerful engine would improve it but it was very sluggish, really had to work it. Well specced though and nicely put together.

The one it replaced was so out of proportion it looks terrible, just too long at the rear doors. It's an ugly car and that rules it out from being anything near classy.

I remember being in the original when it just came out about 10 years ago and was very impressed at the time but it has aged terribly.

It is what it is, well up there in its segment and its no longer the underdog. I'd have Mazda 6 over it any day in the same price range.

What diesel Mazda 6 is any good these days,have they got it right at last.

ThisRegard

bmwguy wrote: »

Don't think I ever saw one to be honest, but I have heard that said many times. Us Irish don't really do estates though

I tend see more estates than I do hatch/saloon.

bmwguy

bigroad wrote: »

What diesel Mazda 6 is any good these days,have they got it right at last.

I know a few with them and they are happy with them. I'd get petrol if I was getting one anyway, as with any of these cars, don't understand the obsession with diesel unless mileage warrants it.

Special Circumstances

bmwguy wrote: »

Don't think I ever saw one to be honest, but I have heard that said many times. Us Irish don't really do estates though

I was down baltimore in West cork recently, which would attract a pretty skewed demographic. Estates everywhere. Never saw 2 current model golf estates in the one place ever. You wouldn't see two of them in a dealers I'd say.

Apropos of nothing really I suppose. But the "isn't the superb superb under very specific criteria" debate wasn't really grabbing me like.

Seeing a good few recent model octavia estates around... very tasty actually especially the "monster green" vrs around limerick.

porsche boy

Has the new model got the hatchback/saloon boot thing? It is on the 10/11 model. That has to be the most clever addition to a car I've seen in ages.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

Red Kev

Classiest car of the past 10 years is the Citroen C6. /thread

grogi

Henry Ford III wrote: »

p.s. The older model saloon has a dropped ass and there's question marks about some of the Tdi engines. The estates look better imho.

The Superb Mk2 was a hatchback, not a saloon. A unique one, but still a hatch.

bazz26

The saloon/hatch design of the MkII was dropped in the MkIII because it was too expensive to produce.

AMKC

porsche boy wrote: »

Has the new model got the hatchback/saloon boot thing? It is on the 10/11 model. That has to be the most clever addition to a car I've seen in ages.

No the new one does not have it. It just has a normal boot the mechanism was deemed to complicated and expensive to keep doing I think something like that.

AMKC

Red Kev wrote: »

Classiest car of the past 10 years is the Citroen C6. /thread

Not sure if it was really classy it had too many ordinary Peugeot parts inside like the dash parts of it were basically the same as what was in a 407 but it was definitely unique.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

TrailerBob

A friend has a 09 Superb with the 1.8 turbo petrol and DSG 7 speed auto.. it's well able to move, and smooth as silk. What bugs me about it is the steering wheel oddly..



My vote goes to the Audi A7... every time one passes me on the motorway I say to myself "I'd buy one of these if I had the moneys".. and I'm no VAG fanboi

quadrifoglio verde

AMKC wrote: »

Not sure if it was really classy it had too many ordinary Peugeot parts inside like the dash parts of it were basically the same as what was in a 407 but it was definitely unique.

And the Skoda with its vag parts bin is? C6 wins hands down

Special Circumstances

Audi A7 is how you do a proper classy liftback/fastback saloon. And yeah, I'm no fanboi either. In comparison, the BMW 5GT is like some exec left their child loose with crayons and actually decided to build what they drew.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

mikeecho

Can we have a Poll ?

corkgsxr

I think they look like a oversized barge to be honest. Never thought classy

aidanki

delete this post sorry should be new thread

Redderneck

Superb interior doesn't match exterior which in latest gen, is worthy of the name. It's a specific let-down, but for me the steering wheel would annoy the hell out of me every time I sat behind it. Tonka Toy clunky, looks about a decade behind the times, for the most intimate and tactile of driver interfaces. It looks like the designers either ran out of budget and afterthought it, or had a specific brief: devalue the interior please. Presume the latter.

Saw a white Octavia RS Combi in Limerick yesterday; 15 reg, on black alloys.

If I were 20 years younger I could have pole vaulted home.

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

grogi

Special Circumstances wrote: »

Audi A7 is how you do a proper classy liftback/fastback saloon. And yeah, I'm no fanboi either. In comparison, the BMW 5GT is like some exec left their child loose with crayons and actually decided to build what they drew.

Agreed on 5-er GT.

But have you seen 4-er GC (F36) or 6-er GC (F06)? IMHO miles ahead in design department of anything else...

Special Circumstances

grogi wrote: »

Agreed on 5-er GT.

But have you seen 4-er GC (F36) or 6-er GC (F06)? IMHO miles ahead in design department of anything else...

I see you've played knifey spoony before... I counter with the X6.

Mc Love

No mention of the Ford Mondeo.....for Shame!!

whippet

I've put up 250k kms on my 2011 superb estate 1.6tdi and I would disagree with the OP about it being the classiest car of the last 10 years.

But what it is; is a comfortable, affordable workhorse.

I've taken it to the south of france a couple of times, spent 10 hour days in it and it has yet to let me down. Outside of the usual consumables the only expense has been a replacement water pump after a very slight leak at about 180k. Not a even a bulb has had to be replaced.

I don't look at it as something I look forward to driving; but with the mileage I am doing I need something I can rely on, something that will do it as cheaply as possible and is comfortable to sit in. All the toys inside (auto parking, sat-nav, DVD, memory heated seats, Bluetooth) were more or less standard and in 2011 were just mega bucks to select as options from other cars I looked at around the time (Passat, V70, Insigina etc)

Fingers crossed i'll get another 200k odd out of it before I decide to look at something else as the daily driver

Oafley Jones

quadrifoglio verde wrote: »

And the Skoda with its vag parts bin is? C6 wins hands down

Well Skoda was the value range for VAG, so you don't really get to knock it for using common parts. I really like the C6 but they were clearly trying to push it a bit upmarket and in that context cheapo materials from the 407 were undermining what they were up to. It wasn't as bad as the way Lexus used to use Toyota switchgear but it just wasn't a great idea.

As for the lack of superb estates, well we've one and there's three other superb estates parked in our car park in work. I see them everywhere. Maybe it's a cork thing (and I was mindful of this on the way to work this morning) but there's an awful lot estates on the road around here.

I actually think it's a decent looking car as estate, certainly not good looking or beautiful but it's grand in that old merc/Volvo estate type utilitarianess. It's rotten as a hatch, the proportions are all wrong in it. New car is really nice, much prefer it the Passat - which I think is one of the dullest cars on the road. There's no value in it now though. The equivalent of ours is now over 55 grand new. Balls to that.

Special Circumstances

Oafley Jones wrote: »

I actually think it's a decent looking car as estate, certainly not good looking or beautiful but it's grand in that old merc/Volvo estate type utilitarianess. It's rotten as a hatch, the proportions are all wrong in it. New car is really nice, much prefer it the Passat - which I think is one of the dullest cars on the road. There's no value in it now though. The equivalent of ours is now over 55 grand new. Balls to that.

+1 on each of these statements!

I think the skoda boys will be brought in for a serious sit down before the next model - they are making the VW equivalents look extremely dull and bland. Yeah, the VW range will always be understated, but skodas job was to do an uglified cheaper version of that understatement, Seat were supposed to cars with a bit of styling that didn't challenge the core brand at all

grogi

Special Circumstances wrote: »

+1 on each of these statements!

I think the skoda boys will be brought in for a serious sit down before the next model - they are making the VW equivalents look extremely dull and bland. Yeah, the VW range will always be understated, but skodas job was to do an uglified cheaper version of that understatement, Seat were supposed to cars with a bit of styling that didn't challenge the core brand at all

It happened once before - exactly the case with SuperB B5.

They were not allowed to release an estate, although it was already very advanced in design. It would push Passat into oblivion on the German market.

ba_barabus

I'd think an Alfa 159 is the classiest looking regular car in the past 10 years.

The new Superb does look well but I don't bend my head around to see one. After 10 years I still do that with a 159

OldMrBrennan83

This post has been deleted.

dixiefly

jetsonx wrote: »

Is the new Skoda Superb the classiest mid-priced saloon car of the last 10 years?

I passed it yesterday and had to look twice.

Mercedes shouts old, boring and grey.
BMW shouts arrogant.
Audi shouts "I'm arrogant but could'nt afford a BMW".
Toyota shouts "I'm a civil servant".
But the new Skoda Superb whispers dignified understated class. It would not look out of place in the gravel driveway of a French chateau or parked beside a super-yacht on a Marbella marina. What a class-looking car?

You are having a laugh, right? On a wind up?

I aint a BMW driver but it doesnt shout arrogant to me. Regarding the Audi statement you made me chuckle alright. The Toyota comment is plain daft in my experience.

In my opinion the one car that can ooze class in he category & you didnt mention it - the Honda Accord.

And my last question, have you driven a Superb? In my opinion not as nice to drive as it is to look at and drivability has to be key for anyone doing decent mileage.

josip

Patww79 wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

Have a 2.0TDi (blue).
It's sharp enough in a straight line, but don't be fooled that it comes close to what (I imagine) the vRS is like.
Anything other than straight and it's like trying to drive a French sofa towing a trailer of agitated walruses.
They've downgraded the Mk II IRS (which I thought more than adequate on the twisties) to a torsion beam in the MK III.
I think the vRS retains the IRS and probably is set up better to use the power.

GustavoFring

josip wrote: »

Have a 2.0TDi (blue).
It's sharp enough in a straight line, but don't be fooled that it comes close to what (I imagine) the vRS is like.
Anything other than straight and it's like trying to drive a French sofa towing a trailer of agitated walruses.
They've downgraded the Mk II IRS (which I thought more than adequate on the twisties) to a torsion beam in the MK III.
I think the vRS retains the IRS and probably is set up better to use the power.

I think his point is the diesels should be badged differently to the petrol counterparts.

Eric Cartman

New superb is lovely. Would make a brilliant taxi or rep's car, and hopefully knocks the likes of the avensis out of favour with family car buyers. However..

Unless fully spec'd it isn't playing in the same league as the bmw/merc/audi club. It might tempt price conscious 3 series buyers who want to feel like executives , but it is not an executive car. With engines topping out at a 2 litre diesel here, and 2 litre petrol in the UK, and finance deals that mean anyone on the average industrial can have one , you won't see anybody new or old money springing over.

That said, an L&K 3.5 V6 DSG 4x4 (last gen) , fully loaded , I would happily buy if the price was right.

millington

jetsonx wrote: »

BMW shouts arrogant.
Audi shouts "I'm arrogant but could'nt afford a BMW".

Audi & BMW are more or less the same price so how could this be any way relevant?

Comparing totally different classes of cars to be honest! New Superb is brilliant and I'd buy it over any of it's competitors, but no way would I pass an A6, 5 series, E Class or XF for one.

kona

jetsonx wrote: »

Is the new Skoda Superb the classiest mid-priced saloon car of the last 10 years?

I passed it yesterday and had to look twice.

Mercedes shouts old, boring and grey.
BMW shouts arrogant.
Audi shouts "I'm arrogant but could'nt afford a BMW".
Toyota shouts "I'm a civil servant".
But the new Skoda Superb whispers dignified understated class. It would not look out of place in the gravel driveway of a French chateau or parked beside a super-yacht on a Marbella marina. What a class-looking car?

Skoda shouts I'm boring and can't afford a vw.

Special Circumstances

kona wrote: »

Skoda shouts I'm boring and can't afford a vw.

I't take this any day over your average equivalent VW tbh!
Lovely one in Limerick.

kona

Special Circumstances wrote: »

I't take this any day over your average equivalent VW tbh!
Lovely one in Limerick.

Being honest here, I had to laugh at the op.
Especially the warped descriptions of the different owners.

Skoda , vw and Toyota all have a purpose for sure.
But classy or driving machines they are not ( perhaps for a few models which are rare enough).

To go bashing other run of the mill cars for being common or not classy with a example of a Skoda superb is quite astonishing.


I'm actually astounded somebody could even start a thread on it.

For the price these cars are new I'd go out and buy a proper machine second hand.

ba_barabus

kona wrote: »

For the price these cars are new I'd go out and buy a proper machine second hand.

kona

ba_barabus wrote: »

Diesel laaaad? Must be some pull out of her. Chaaaape tax. Real head turner.

ba_barabus

kona wrote: »

Diesel laaaad? Must be some pull out of her. Chaaaape tax. Real head turner.

Proper Machine lad. Just run it on red daysul

ofcork

Id say the mercedes CLS both generations are the standouts for me.