NEW Skoda Superb 2025 review
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TechTranscript
00:00This is the new generation Skoda Superb, and I'm here in Germany to test it out before it arrives in Australia in
00:072025. In this review, you're going to find out some stuff you need to know about the interior,
00:10what you can expect in terms of standard safety and technology,
00:14and what the pricing will probably be like, as well as some great alternatives to it.
00:17So if you haven't already, please subscribe and ring the bell to keep up to date with all of my reviews, and
00:21let's take a look at this new Superb, shall we?
00:23In Australia, there's just going to be one version of the Superb offered, the Sportline,
00:32but it will be offered in two body styles. As a liftback sedan,
00:36so it's sort of like a sedan, but it has a hatch at the back, and as a wagon. Now,
00:41this isn't a Sportline wagon that I'm driving here in Germany.
00:44It is a highly specced version of this car with a different engine,
00:48so the engine stuff may be not as relevant for this review, but the drive experience,
00:53there's still plenty to tell you about, and in terms of the interior, well,
00:56it's got some really great features as well.
00:58Now, the standard equipment is still to be confirmed for our market. The existing version of the Superb Sportline starts just under
01:06$70,000 for the sedan, just over $70,000 for the wagon.
01:09I would expect that the pricing won't change dramatically,
01:12but you can probably expect there will be more standard equipment offered across that model lineup.
01:18Things that you will probably get as standard include matrix LED lights, big alloy wheels, a
01:23sporty body kit, sporty interior trim as well, a big sunroof will be optional probably, and you can also expect to see a 13-inch
01:31touchscreen with Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and all the tech features that you would expect on the safety front as well.
01:36And hey, I've got some alternatives that you might want to consider before this car arrives, and there's some good ones out there.
01:43You know, new cars aren't that regular an occurrence anymore. So many things are SUVs or crossovers.
01:49This is just a car with a sedan or wagon style, so if you are looking for that,
01:54well, you might want to go and consider the Honda Accord. I really like the new generation Accord.
01:59Lots of people have said that they think it's too expensive, but I think that it does offer good value for money.
02:04It's got a really nice cabin, some really great features as well, and it's one of my favourite cars to own.
02:11Another alternative to this that you might want to consider, if you can push your budget up a little bit, is the Genesis G80 sedan.
02:18You'll need to push it up quite a bit if you want the most potent version of that car, but it is still a lovely vehicle
02:25with plenty of luxury elements inside and out, and if you are after a luxury car, it could be a pretty good option as well.
02:31And finally, if you're really thinking about your budget, then there might be a better Skoda for you to consider.
02:37The Skoda Octavia is available with a liftback and a wagon. It costs like $25,000 to $15,000 less than this.
02:51There's an RS version of that as well if you want to tick the sporty box too, and I reckon that it could be a really good alternative to this
02:58if you're after a Skoda, you're after a car, and you're after something that maybe doesn't cost $70,000 or so.
03:04Tell me what you think in the comments.
03:08This is a very large vehicle. The Superb has always been the flagship car in the lineup, and this is not a small vehicle to pilot around.
03:18It's about almost 5 metres long, so if you're worried about big vehicles, well, this might not be the ideal car for you.
03:25And if you are after the higher-riding version of this car, well, there's no confirmation of a sportier high-ride model,
03:32but hey, I reckon it'd look pretty good. But there's also the Kodiaq as well, which is very, very good.
03:38Okay, let's look in the boot and see how much space you are dealing with.
03:42Look at that. That is an enormous boot space. I love the fact that it is basically a squared-off space as well.
03:51So you could load things up very high, and they will be basically pretty secure in the back there.
03:57Now, there's some typically clever things in the back of this car in terms of storage.
04:01You've got these sectioned-off areas on the sides, and there's also a little area in here like a cupboard where you can put some stuff.
04:09And yes, you've also got little pop-down shopping bag hooks. There's a 12-volt port.
04:15You've got a cargo cover as well, which is very, very nice.
04:19And yeah, you've got a load-through port if you need it to load items that are a bit longer through into the back seat area.
04:26And yeah, you can fold the seats from here as well.
04:29Obviously, that partition there between the boot and the back seat isn't ideal,
04:33because it means that you might not necessarily be able to get everything in with a smooth motion,
04:39but at least you've got plenty of space.
04:41And under the boot floor, there's also a space-saver spare wheel.
04:46So, in theory, this is going to be an ideal family car in terms of the space, the size, the usability of that boot.
04:54It's bloody brilliant.
04:56The existing Skoda Superb felt still pretty fresh, I reckon.
05:00This one feels way more high-tech and a bit more premium as well.
05:04Just have a look at this new interior design.
05:07You've got this massive 13-inch touchscreen media system up here, which is an absolute cracker of a thing.
05:14It looks good, and it is pretty easy to get your head around as well.
05:17There are some things that might take a little bit of learning, like the menu structure and so forth.
05:23You've got wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as you would expect.
05:27There's a number of different menus here, but the one I'm going to call out is this one here, the smart dials.
05:33So, this allows you to configure the dial displays down below.
05:39So, as you can see, you've got fan speed, and your temperature controls are there as well.
05:43And you can adjust the seat heating and the seat cooling using those buttons on the side.
05:49And this one, you can adjust the fan speed, the direction of where the air is heading, the volume for the stereo, and also your drive mode selection.
06:00So, it is a pretty handy thing, and you'll see those menus pop up on the screen if you're not sure which icon means what drive mode.
06:08But you do get used to those little icons pretty quickly.
06:11And I just want to call out that, yes, you can adjust them.
06:14So, if you don't want your drive modes on there, if you just want it to be a volume dial in the middle, you can make it that if you wish.
06:20But I like to have the fan there, and also the drive modes, and the direction of the air as well.
06:26What it all means is that it is, in theory, a lot simpler to live with that than it is to have to do stuff on a touchscreen.
06:33Look, you can still adjust things on the touchscreen if you want.
06:37So, you can turn on the fan and adjust where the air is going through the screen if you wish.
06:42But I just find that this screen section down here with these much more, let's say, easy to learn controls, just make it a fair bit more manageable on a daily basis.
06:55You do have things like your recirc, air conditioning, and your demisters down there though.
07:00Now, the other elements of this screen, yes, you do have other configurable considerations too.
07:05If you want to know all about your vehicle stuff, you can go into these screens.
07:10You can find out data on your fuel consumption.
07:12You can also go back to this home screen for all your car controls and configure things like your background lighting, the sound, all that sort of stuff is done through there.
07:22And yes, there's also a radio system, and as you would expect, you can go into your Apple CarPlay there.
07:28And there's also your fan controls, as I mentioned.
07:31And, yes, there is sat-nav built in as well.
07:35You can expect sat-nav to be offered as standard too.
07:38There's also this menu screen here.
07:40I don't know what Laura is, but I just keep accidentally hitting that because I think that's maybe where that should be.
07:46But anyway, look, it is a pretty decent screen.
07:50I found it pretty easy to get my head around during my time in this car over the last day or so.
07:55And there's another screen in front of the driver here, this digital driver info screen, which has plenty of information available on it.
08:02You can change the configuration of the dials and the displays, as you would expect.
08:07But there's one thing that I really, really like about it, and hopefully it works when the car is off,
08:12is that you can turn off the lane keeping assistance by hitting this button here.
08:17And, yes, you can also turn off your audible speed warning in there.
08:21So, if you don't like hearing the car beep and bong at you to tell you that you are going over the speed, you can turn that off.
08:27And you can turn off the lane assist in there as well.
08:29So, I love that that is so much simpler than going through the screen to do that, which so many other cars seem to require you to do.
08:36If you don't want to do what they're telling you to do, and I'm that kind of person.
08:40Now, you've also got ambient lighting, this lovely new trim finish along the dashboard, and there's a few different configurations of trim.
08:47This might not necessarily be representative of what we'll get in Australia in the Sportline,
08:51but if it's anything like this, it's going to feel pretty bloody nice, I have to say.
08:56Down here, you've got a single wireless phone charger, some USB-C ports, and a couple of cup holders, a little storage tray there.
09:03That's where your park brake is, and there's a really nifty design for this centre console area.
09:09You can remove this middle bit and take it out, or you can slot it in either side there and it will keep itself in place.
09:16Now, if you're wondering what this is, one of the cleverest inventions known to mankind, it's a screen wiper.
09:22That is bloody brilliant, I reckon, and I think that that will add a bit of ease of use and ease of liveability to this car,
09:29and honestly, it's a pretty liveable thing.
09:32I'm going to jump in the back seat now and show you what the space is like back there.
09:35This is a very large vehicle. Just have a look at how much space there is between my legs and the seat in front in this position.
09:43Look, this is brilliant, I'm 182 centimetres or 6 foot, and this is amazing.
09:47Now look at that, that's nice, a picnic blanket, and that's in your map pocket on the back.
09:53There's also map and device pockets on the other seat.
09:56You've got climate control in the back here as well, a couple of USB-C ports, directional air vents as you would expect,
10:02and this spec also has these retractable blinds which do make it a very nice experience.
10:08Ambient lights in the doors, there's bottle holders there as well, and they're nice and lined so things won't rattle around.
10:13And between the seats, there's a flip-down armrest here as well with a very, very clever little spot to maybe store an iPad or a book if you're reading,
10:23so that's pretty handy I think. You've got cup holders as well, you can fold that out of the way,
10:29and you can expect that the Australian spec versions will have ISOFIX points in the window seats and three top tether points as well.
10:37What a lovely backseat experience this is. It is a really, really nice interior.
10:46You don't really need to pay attention to what's under this particular car's bonnet, it's a 2.0-litre turbo diesel in case you're wondering,
10:51but the version that we get in Australia will be a 2.0-litre turbo petrol with 195 kilowatts of power.
10:58That's a new engine and it does give, well, a slight reduction in terms of power,
11:03but apparently the drivability of that engine is greatly improved.
11:06I haven't had a chance to drive it in Germany just yet because it's not in production yet for this new generation Superb,
11:13and look, the ones that we get in Australia will only be offered with that engine and a dual-clutch automatic transmission
11:19and all-wheel drive as standard as well, so it could be great for someone who knows they're going to go to the snow
11:24or they just want the all-wheel drive traction that this car can offer.
11:28It'll also have pretty decent towing capacity as well, you see the number on your screen,
11:32and hey, if the engine is good in terms of the drive experience, it's just going to add even more wow factor to this car.
11:38Let's go for a drive. I'm going to tell you why I think it's so good.
11:42Is it Superb to drive? Yes, it is. It's a very impressive vehicle.
11:48This new generation model is really well sorted in so many ways.
11:54Partly it comes down to the fact that this car comes with this new dynamic chassis control system
11:59which has a heap of different adjustments to it, so you can basically set your ride comfort up between 15 different parameters
12:07or something like that, so you can make it sporty, you can make it smooth, you can make it any sort of blend of the two
12:13and that means that this has a really amenable drive experience to it.
12:17You can basically tailor it to be how you want it to be in terms of the ride
12:22and also there's adjustability to the steering, the engine and the transmission as well by using the drive mode selector
12:29and look, it isn't maybe necessarily representative of the car that we will get in Australia
12:34because we're getting the Sportline as I said, it has a different engine
12:37but I mean if the drive experience is anything like this, and it will be
12:42it'll be ticking the box for people who are looking for something that isn't an SUV
12:46and has all those inherent traits of something that isn't high riding
12:51and isn't compromised by trying to be sitting up a little bit higher in traffic.
12:56This particular car has a 2.0 litre turbo diesel engine
12:59and like for European markets this is a really good fit for Australia
13:03The diesel market is basically dead for passenger cars like this
13:07but hey, I think that the turbo petrol engine that we will be getting is destined to be a pretty good thing.
13:14It's the same one that's offered in the updated versions of the Golf GTI
13:19so that gives you an idea that it's going to have performance as one of its primary considerations.
13:25Like I said, the ride comfort is basically adjustable to what you want.
13:30I've noticed a couple of times over really sharp edges that it can definitely transmit those bumps into the cabin
13:37make a bit of racket from the suspension as well
13:40but in most situations it really does help you tie corners together
13:46with a really flowing natural motion in terms of the body control
13:50and the way that it behaves in corners.
13:52And the steering is excellent too, it just has this really natural measured responsiveness to it
13:58and it's nice and direct too so it doesn't take too many turns to change direction
14:03when you're going through a corner or something like that.
14:05Now obviously all of this is basically just to give you an idea of what this car is like to drive.
14:11In Australia, obviously our roads are very different
14:15so as I said, if you hit the bell and make sure you keep up to date with all of my content
14:20you'll be able to see my review of the Australian-spec Superb when it arrives.
14:24This new Superb achieved the maximum 5-star Euro NCAP safety rating against 2024 criteria
14:30so it has plenty of the safety technology and equipment that you would expect
14:35in order to keep you and your family safe.
14:37It's got autonomous emergency braking, there's adaptive cruise control with speed sign adjustment
14:42and also traffic jam assist so it can steer, accelerate and brake for you in some situations.
14:47There's also a lane keeping system, as I mentioned, you can turn it off if it annoys you
14:51There's blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, parking sensors all around the car
14:55and a pretty good camera system as well.
14:57And when it comes to airbag coverage, this car has up to 10 airbags available
15:02including dual front, front side, driver's knee, front centre, rear side and full length curtain coverage.
15:08It's an airbag festival!
15:13Did you know that Skoda is the only European brand in Australia to offer a 7-year warranty
15:18Did you know that Skoda is the only European brand in Australia to offer a 7-year unlimited kilometre warranty
15:22and the brand also offers the opportunity to prepay your servicing for 7 years too!
15:27Now, the pricing for that is still to be confirmed for this model
15:30but it'll save you hundreds of bucks compared to if you pay as you go at the Skoda dealership.
15:35One other thing with that prepaid servicing thing, if you decide to buy that prepaid plan
15:40you can sell that to the next owner as part of the deal
15:43so in theory that means better resale value
15:45and if you're worried about resale value
15:47the brand is going to offer a guaranteed future value program for the Skoda Superb when it arrives
15:52you'll be able to check in on their website
15:54and if you decide to finance through Skoda Financial Services
15:57you'll be able to lock in your future value and your weekly repayments
16:01depending on how many K's you do as well.
16:03So it could be a really good option in terms of the ownership prospects
16:06but we'll have to wait and see just how it's priced
16:08and just how much it'll cost you every week.
16:10Could be worth waiting for.
16:15Maybe they should have just called it the Bloody Brilliant
16:17because that's what the Skoda Superb is
16:19an aptly named passenger vehicle with plenty of space
16:23beautiful drivability, heaps of usable features and great tech too.
16:27So, what do you think it should cost when it arrives in Australia?
16:30Let me know in the comments section below
16:32and if you haven't already, please like, subscribe and ring the bell
16:34and then you'll be notified when I drive this car in Australia in 2025.
16:38Thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next one.
16:45Transcribed by https://otter.ai