USED Skoda Superb Hatchback (08 - )

The Superb is classed as a family sized car, but that sells it short. The Skoda is supremely spacious, well equipped and extremely well put together.

You would expect such a large car to suffer from handling issues, but it's surprisingly nimble and has little body roll when cornering. It's also stable at motorway speeds, and passengers won't be disturbed by wind- or road noise.

Those in the front have decent space, but rear-seat occupants could be forgiven for thinking they're in a limo: the three seats have masses of legroom, as well as loads of head and shoulder room.

The boot is also huge, and folding down the rear seats creates a massive 1670 litres of luggage space.

The 1.9-litre diesel is old and noisy, while the 138bhp 2.0 is rough under acceleration. The 168bhp 2.0-litre is the most refined, but it will push up the purchase price. There's also an efficient 1.9-litre Greenline diesel version.

For petrol cars there's a 123bhp 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine that's not a slow as it sounds. There's also a 1.8 TSI, and four-wheel-drive versions are available with either the 1.8-litre petrol or an automatic-only 3.6-litre V6.

The entry-level S comes with air-con, alloys, four electric windows and an MP3-compatible stereo. The SE gets climate control, parking sensors and a touchscreen stereo with a six-CD multichanger. Range-topping Elegance adds leather seats, sat-nav, electric seats, Bluetooth and automatic wipers.

The Superb's service charges should be reasonable and Skoda dealers have a good reputation for customer service, too.

The 1.4-litre petrol does an average of 41.5 mpg, while the 1.8-litre drops to 39.2mpg, and 34.9mpg for the four-wheel-drive version. The 3.6-litre V6 manages just 28.0mpg.

The 1.9-litre diesel does 49.4mpg, while the 138bhp 2.0-litre manages 47.9mpg and the 168bhp version achieves 48.7mpg. The more efficient Greenline model jumps to 55.4mpg.

Emissions for the 1.9-litre diesels are 150g/km or lower, while the Greenline produces just 136g/km of CO2. The rest of the range is comparable with rivals' emissions – apart from the V6 4x4 model, which pumps out a massive 235g/km of CO2.

Insurance starts at group 6, rising to group 15 for the V6.

To date there are few reported faults for the Superb and owners are generally satisfied with its reliability.

Make sure any vehicle has a full service history. Some Superbs are used as taxis, so be suspicious of cars with high mileage.