Car of the Year Awards 2026: Estate Car of the Year

Long before the SUV explosion, estates were the go-to cars for families who prioritised comfort and interior room, but whose lifestyles required greater practicality than the usual saloon could offer. Today, barely more than a handful of estate cars remain. However, many of those that do are well worth considering if you like the idea of standing out from the crowd and aren’t bothered about having an elevated driving position. 

This goes double for the Skoda Superb Estate; there can be few families whose needs it wouldn’t satisfy. At 4.9 metres long, it’s a big car (Skoda’s largest SUV, the Kodiaq, is 10cm shorter), but none of that length is wasted; the Superb is absolutely immense inside. 

There’s enough head and leg room front and rear to ensure that a family of four six-footers can travel together in comfort. In fact, those in the back are positively indulged, because they get a fold-down centre armrest with a couple of cupholders and a portrait-orientated smartphone holder for watching media on the move. 

Our family wouldn’t need to travel light, either. In fact, the mild hybrid Superb Estate’s 690-litre boot eclipses those of a good many family SUVs and most other estates, including the bigger, more expensive BMW 5 Series Touring and Mercedes E-Class Estate. Only the Volkswagen Passat Estate is a match for the Superb Estate’s carrying capacity; that’s hardly a surprise, given that they’re closely related. 

Opting for the plug-in hybrid (PHEV) Superb Estate shrinks the boot to 510 litres, with the big battery below the boot floor being to blame. Still, the rival Mercedes E-Class Estate can muster only 460 litres, and all the volume lost from the Superb Estate is under the floor; the main bay remains a very big and helpfully square shape. 

But unless the low, 6% company car tax band of the PHEV is important to you, we’d eschew that version in favour of the mild hybrid. For such a practical beast of burden, a Superb thus powered is far from sluggish; 0-62mph takes 9.2sec, and there’s more than enough oomph to take the uncertainty out of joining fast-flowing motorways. It’s a smooth, reasonably quiet engine, too, and with gentle electrical assistance helping with the heavy lifting, creditable fuel economy of 52.2mpg is officially possible. 

Yes, the Passat is a bit quieter, and it’s true that the BMW 3 Series Touring is a much more entertaining country-road companion. But the Superb is anything but uncouth, particularly on the long motorway trips that are its stock in trade, and it’s a tidy handler. In fact, you’ll be taking bends with confidence, such are its poise and reserves of grip. 

Bear in mind, too, that the Superb Estate undercuts the equivalent Passat on price, and it’s an awful lot cheaper than the 3 Series Touring. That leaves you with more money in the bank for, you know, family stuff. 

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