Škoda Superb 1.8 Ambition: wk 3
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By Paul Pottinger
Part 3 from Carsguide.com.au
Hmmm, my engine seems to have swollen to twice its previous capacity.
Hark - there's also another two cylinders. And, when corners come, an apt measure of torque drive goes from the front to the rear wheels.
Stepping up from our entry level Škoda Superb 1.8 TSI Ambition to the top-of-the-range Elegance 4X4 is to cop not only an appreciable performance upgrade, but a good dose of creature comfort besides.
Driven through a six-speed DSG, the 3.6 direct injection V6 - here tuned at 191kw and 350Nm - is a motive and aural delight, as it is in any of the Volkswagen Group products (including Porsche's Cayenne) in which it's used. With the facility of all-wheel-drive courtesy of the Haldex coupling, this is one surprisingly sprightly limo-sized sedan cum liftback.
The inside story belies the comparatively humble $57K pricetag. The components might be all too obviously derived from the VW parts shop, but the cumulative effect would pass muster in the $84,500 Audi A6 2.7 TDI I chanced also to drive last week.
In every other respect, the Škoda makes the supposedly more auspicious car look more than a little daft for that dough. OK, that's possibly not the fairest comparison - the aging A6 is Audi's least convincing model line (at least the lesser versions) and this is a FWD V6 with a diesel rattle, as opposed to the seductive voice of the all-paw petrol V6 Škoda.
But 30-odd grand is a lot of folding stuff, especially when fuel consumption is the only area in which the Audi isn't utterly embarrassed by the Czech-designed device. For all its far greater size, the Superb steers, rides and certainly handles better than its "prestige" cousin from across the border.
Yet that's also true of the entry-level Superb - and that's all of $40K cheaper than the Audi. Which begs the question: given the elegant sufficiency of the basic Superb's performance and it's even more sophisticated (seven-speed) DSG, is it the best value big imported car in the country. Is it, in fact, all the car you could possibly want? Especially when it too has that fabulous in-built umbrella slot in the doors...