Skoda Superb Estate review

It’s often said space is a luxury and it’s certainly something we’re used to paying big money for. A larger home? Expensive. Extra leg room on a plane? Expensive. There are exceptions though – including the Skoda Superb Estate.

We'd be exaggerating only slightly if we used words like gigantic, ginormous or gargantuan to describe the Superb Estate, yet it remains a competitively priced car. Better still, the latest, fourth-generation version has even more capacity for people and luggage than its predecessor.

Its vastness makes the model a less-expensive alternative to similarly spacious premium-brand cars including the BMW 5 Series Touring and Mercedes E-Class Estate.

Rivals also include the closely related VW Passat Estate plus the stylish Peugeot 508 SW and the frugal Toyota Corolla Touring Sports.

So is the 2024 Skoda Superb Estate the best estate car you can buy or would you be better off with another model? Read on to find out...

The Skoda Superb Estate is available with a choice of three petrol engines, two diesels and as a plug-in hybrid (PHEV), but all versions get a DSG automatic gearbox as standard.

If you’re a private buyer, the entry-level 148bhp 1.5-litre petrol (badged 1.5 TSI 150) is a good option. It features mild-hybrid technology to boost performance and fuel economy, so while you have to work it harder than the diesels when climbing hills, it still has all the oomph you need unless you’re planning on using your Superb Estate as a tow car.

In addition, the 1.5 TSI 150 has a smooth power delivery and is reasonably quiet most of the time, whereas the equivalent diesel (the 2.0 TDI 150) accelerates in surges and is generally quite a bit noisier. It sounds especially gruff around town.

What if you want to drive your Superb Estate like an electric car? Well, for that you’ll need the plug-in hybrid (PHEV), called the 1.5 TSI iV, which has 201bhp. It can officially go up to 62 miles using its battery and motor before the petrol engine kicks in. For a PHEV estate car with a longer electric range, you'll need a Mercedes C300e Estate or Mercedes E300e Estate.

The big dynamic downside of a PHEV Superb Estate is that due to regenerative braking its brake pedal isn’t as precise as those of petrol and diesel models, meaning you have to concentrate quite hard to slow the car smoothly.

Cars on the standard passive suspension are not as plush as you might expect, with raised ironwork and potholes causing quite a thud as you pass over them. However, the optional Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) Pro system (available from SE L trim up) lets you stiffen or soften the Superb’s ride at the twist of a dial.

In its softest setting the suspension generally does a good job of minimising the impact of bumps in the road surface. And while there’s a fair bit of body lean in bends – even in Sport mode – there’s tighter vertical control over undulating surfaces. As a result, with DCC Pro, the Superb Estate is a much more cosseting long-distance cruiser than the Peugeot 508 SW.

You actually hear bumps more than feel them in the Superb, with its rear suspension clonking over potholes and sunken drain covers. On the other hand, wind noise is kept to an absolute minimum all the way up to motorway speeds.

Manoeuvring this big car in town is surprisingly easy, thanks to steering that’s light but accurate. And although it’s nowhere near as agile or entertaining as smaller, sportier estates – such as the BMW 3 Series Touring – you can still place the Superb Estate with confidence at higher speeds.

"It’s a tidy, reassuring handler, and none of the engines feel short on power. I covered a lot of miles in the entry-level 1.5-litre petrol-powered car, and I reckon it's all most people will ever want or need." – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

All versions of the Skoda Superb Estate have lots of steering wheel and seat adjustment to help you find a good driving position. Meanwhile, an extendable seat base and four-way adjustable lumbar support should help you stay comfortable on long journeys.

Visibility is pretty good all-round, thanks to large windows with reasonably slim pillars. And no matter which trim you go for, you get front and rear parking sensors, and a rear-view camera.

The 13in infotainment touchscreen with built-in sat-nav is positioned high on the dashboard so you don’t have to take your eyes far from the road to operate it. Plus, its icons are large and clear, and the voice control system (called Laura) doesn’t require you to remember specific commands.

As a bonus, while many brands seem determined to consign physical dashboard controls to history, the Superb has three rotary dials beneath its touchscreen.

The outer two let you adjust the climate control and heated seat temperature with the minimum of distraction, while the central one can be used to quickly change the fan speed and stereo volume or select a different driving mode.

It’s just a pity those dials have a fair amount of play in them, which makes them feel rather cheap. And while the interior looks stylish, the perception of quality is further undermined by the creaky nature of some of the dashboard trim. Ultimately, the VW Passat feels a touch plusher and better screwed together. 

No matter which version you go for, instrumentation is displayed on a highly configurable digital driver's display. A head-up display that projects your speed and other key information on to the windscreen is available as an option.

"The Superb's physical dials are a reminder that sometimes the old ways are best. I find them so much easier to operate them on the move than it would be to mess around with the touchscreen" – Will Nightingale, Reviews Editor

Boot space has always been one of the top reasons to buy a Skoda Superb Estate  and the latest car has more than ever, at 690 litres in non-PHEV versions. That's 30 litres more than the third-generation model and the same as you get in the closely related VW Passat.

The Peugeot 508 SW makes do with 530 litres of space and the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports has 596 litres. Meanwhile, the 2024 BMW 5 Series Touring and the Mercedes E-Class Estate offer 570 litres and 615 litres respectively.

Just bear in mind that the Superb’s boot capacity falls to 510 litres if you go for the PHEV model. And while the boots of the equivalent Passat and E-Class also shrink, the 508 and 5 Series hybrids offer just as much luggage space as their petrol and diesel counterparts.

If you do need more space, the rear seats of the Superb Estate can be folded down in a 60/40 configuration, via release handles in the boot. Plus, a central ski hatch allows you to carry long, narrow items while still using the two outer rear seats.

The boot features handy storage cubbies either side of its entrance. And although there’s a step up from the boot floor to the folded seats in most versions, a height-adjustable floor that removes this is available as an option.

A downside with the 508 SW and Corolla Touring Sports is that rear passenger space is quite cramped, but that's not a problem in the Superb Estate. On the contrary, it offers more than enough rear leg and head room for six-footers.

A central rear passenger isn't quite as well catered for because their seat is mounted higher than the outer two, cutting head room a little, and there's a hump in the floor in front of them.

More positively, when the central rear seat isn’t occupied, you can fold down an extendable armrest that incorporates two cupholders and a holder for a phone or tablet for when you want to watch videos on the go.

In-car storage is impressive, aided by Skoda’s decision to move the gear selector from the centre console to the steering column to free up space.

"With vast space on offer, you'd have to be transporting something or someone truly colossal for it to not fit inside the Superb. I didn't come close to filling it up." – Dan Jones, Reviewer

Value has always been key to the appeal of the Skoda Superb Estate, and that remains the case with the 2024 car, which undercuts the closely related VW Passat by a couple of thousand pounds.

True, the Superb Estate is more expensive than the Toyota Corolla Touring Sports – a car that also drinks less fuel than any petrol Superb. However, the 2.0 TDI 150 diesel version of the previous Superb is the most efficient estate we've ever put through our Real MPG test and its successor is likely to be even more frugal.

Likewise, if you're a company car driver rather than a private buyer, there's a Superb Estate to suit, with the long electric range of the 1.5 TSI iV plug-in hybrid giving it a low BIK tax rating. Just bear in mind that fully electric cars such as the Peugeot e-308 SW will be even cheaper to run.

The only rivals with longer zero-emissions ranges are the Mercedes C300e Estate and Mercedes E300e Estate. But while those Mercedes PHEVs have a maximum charging speed of 11kW, the Superb Estate can accept up to 50kW, which means you can get a 10-80% top-up much quicker – in just 25 minutes.

The latest Superb Estate is too new for us to have any reliability data, but the previous-generation car was significantly more dependable in petrol form than diesel. As for the Skoda brand, it finished a respectable 16th out of 32 manufacturers in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey – ahead of Peugeot and Volkswagen, but behind Toyota.

It’s also worth noting that the warranty on the Corolla Touring Sports can last for up to 10 years or 100,000 miles if you continue to get your car serviced at a Toyota dealer. Skoda’s warranty expires after three years or 60,000 miles.

The latest Superb is yet to be crash-tested by the independent experts at Euro NCAP but it’s available with up to 10 airbags (eight come as standard) and driver assistance tech that’s designed to prevent you from pulling out or reversing into the path of oncoming traffic.

In addition, an Exit Warning system can alert the driver to traffic approaching from behind before they open their door, and there’s a new Swerve Support system that automatically increases the steering angle when it detects that the driver’s steering response is insufficient to avoid a collision.

No matter which version of the Superb Estate you go for, the list of standard luxuries includes keyless start, heated and massaging front seats, and a wireless phone-charging dock with in-built cooling to stop your mobile overheating.

"Because life with a Superb ought to be relatively easy, I find it odd that the length of the car's warranty is merely average." – Claire Evans, Consumer Editor

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