The better Passat? All-new Skoda Superb Estate driving REVIEW 2024

Today we're driving the all-new Škoda Superb for you. The question is, how good is it? How does it relate to the Volkswagen Passat, a brother or sister model that is built in the very same plant together? And is it a premium ride that can even catch up to Audi, BMW, Mercedes? We'll find out for you in 4K, full screen, full length. Let's go! It's Thomas and Autogefühl. And here, the front grille leads over directly to the headlamps. LED or optional matrix LED. This is also a nice daytime running

light in this Czech craftsmanship, crystalline design. I think a beautiful sport design in the front also with these deep accentuations in the hood. Ice Tea Yellow or in Germany they call it Ice Tea Beige is the color. They went for beige because they say people might be scared by a yellow color. I think it's a nice fresh color. That's for sure. If it's Ice Tea or not. Whatever. Usually, a Superb is often bought in like grey, black and so on. So, why not something different? Wheels from 16 to 19

inch. These here are 18 inch wheels. So, maybe a good compromise in between. And comfort is indeed the scheme of the all-new Škoda Superb. Why is that? Optionally, you can get the adaptive suspension. They call it here DCC Plus at Škoda. DCC Pro at Volkswagen with the Passat. It now employs a two valve system promising more comfort and sportiness at the very same time. We'll see very soon if that's true. The length, 4 meters 90 or 193 inches, more or less the same. A little bit increase in whee

lbase if we compare the predecessor. This being here the Kombi or the Estate. There's also a sedan or hatch available, depending on how you want to name it. Fastback, there's a big discussion about that if you take the form or how the hatch is opening. Well, in most cases then here, you have a real hatch that can open. Also, of course, here for the Kombi, nice clean design for the tail lamps. And they now also have a bolder styling here, for example, with the big Škoda lettering right here. And

of course, especially the Kombi, and the Superb in general, is about the loading volume. 690 liters here. That's amazing. And you can see our luggage almost looks lost in here. A meter or 40 inches in width, and it's even... Almost 1.10 meters in length or 43 inches. Good measures. And you can see this cover here, this electric cover, is going automatically back. So when I close the hatch, like here, then you can see the cover is coming towards us. That's a nice feature. It's connected. So you g

et the optional electric hatch and then automatically also get this cover. And if we are really quick now and I open it again, then you can see it goes back here once again. Then you can also fold the seats. Easy solution left and right and you have very good loading possibility then here. You also have a semi electric towing hook I would say. Here you activate it from the inside then it goes out like this. Pull it up. That's it. Press it again and you can push it in. Here we, by the way, have s

ome extra features. There's this iPad holder here. And maybe you've seen that one. This is a blanket holder, actually. It's a clever idea, isn't it? So that's at the back part of the seat. Of course, we can fold everything up here again. Or not. So let's close it properly. And yeah, this one. Okay, close this one first. There we go. And then this one. So, and then the thing is, of course, with the Škoda Superb, you have a lot of legroom. Even though as I'm driving as a tall person, so much legro

om left. It's even a little bit more than before. And headroom, this one here with the panoramic roof. So with 1.89, 6'2", some space left. Without the panoramic roof, it would be more. Actually, the only thing I dislike with the panoramic roof, I've seen it with the Passat as well, I think the cover here is a little bit too loose. You know, see, it's like, I don't know, like a sail. Also nice manual shade here in the rear. That's nice. And structured materials, also soft touch in the rear. Ever

ything you see, feel, microfiber here as well. It's really a superb build quality. Oh, I really love this feature here, these horns, the bull horns. But they are against falling asleep or help you falling asleep. So we put them down like this. And you know this typical situation where you have like... And then you wake up and you're like, oh, my neck is killing me. So here that way, like this, like that. Yeah, it's great for the kids in the back, for example, but of course also for adults. Yeah,

I love that feature. Key fob, high-gloss black, nothing special. Then door closing sound. Sounds quite decent, nothing special, nothing bad. And of course, really cool here, inside of the doors, the Škoda umbrellas. So you can have some kind of Rolls-Royce feeling. Sometimes against rain or today maybe against the sun. Yeah, but you see, when it's windy... Yeah. That about the quality of this small umbrella... Yeah. Maybe shall we continue with the interior? But I think it's still a good idea,

but just so that you know, it should be used in rain while it's not that windy. And look at that, inside of the doors, in the lower pockets, here felt covering on the inside. Even BMW doesn't have that anymore in the 5 Series. And this is here the rear door, and even that has felt covering on the inside. Inside of the doors looks cool here with microfiber. This is here, the base is Selection. And then this is the Lounge interior, so a mid-trim level. Base would be fabric seats. These here are th

e mid-trim level seats with microfiber. And they look amazing, right? And this gray microfiber here. And also feels really nice. They also have this perforation and so on, contrast stitching. And this cockpit layout here is also super interesting. Here with more microfiber. So this mid-trim is definitely the way to go. It even looks more premium than the highest trim. This resembles the outside grill a little bit. And then another decor element right here in this wood atmosphere, I would say, bu

t it's not real wood. Then you have here manual closing also of the vents and still manual control. For example, climate unit. You can press it, then it becomes the seat heating. And also in the middle part here, for example, change the driving modes physically. Click it. Fan speed, click it one more time, where the vents are coming from, volume. You can actually individualize it also in the infotainment, what function it's supposed to be. You either get a 10-inch screen, smaller one, or this on

e here, optional, 13-inch. So, you can actually get a 10-inch screen, smaller one, or this one here, optional, 13-inch. About 1,000 euros extra or 1,500 euros extra if you have it together with the head-up display. Left side always digital instruments. And the steering wheel here has this zero spoke design in the lower part that kind of looks a little bit weird. But I love that we still also have a physical interface. Switch gear is now here at the steering wheel for drive, reverse, and back. An

d the build quality, once again, is really good. And the whole atmosphere, I feel, is actually better than the Passat, indeed. More high quality and also the physical interface, I prefer that. Yeah, just the screen of the Passat is, you know, here is 10 or 13 and the Passat is 13 or 15. So the Passat has a bigger screen. You can slide this middle console here open like this. Adaptive cup holders in the front. You have inductive charging for your phone, also cooled. Two USB-C chargers and really

nice, this microfiber covering here for this middle console, split opening and then you can put these things out and you know, this like the screen wiper microfiber thing and more space underneath. I really like the seating comfort in the front. Also gives you enough shoulder support. You can also adjust the head restraint. And you can also adjust the seat very well here. For example, put it a little bit longer in the front. And this... Let's say interesting mix between here electric for the bac

k part and here for lumbar support. At the same time, manual height control and also manual forward and backward. We know VW, Škoda, Cupra, Seat, Audi have had problems a lot with infotainment software issues and so on. Now they cleaned it up and also easier to use. This is here for example the DCC selection. So when you go individual, configure. Then you can set your individual mode, go from Comfort to Sport, how stiff the suspension is. That's actually quite cool. My favorite setting, all the

way to Comfort, but steering to Sport. And here to the assistance systems, here you can also easily deactivate the speed warning in the EU. And you don't have to click here. It's also okay when you click here on the inside. That's good. And Apple CarPlay integration like this all the way over the screen. So actually now a decent job. In the top part that's interesting, this USB-C charger for a dash cam. So it's good positioning. And then you can have these... sliders I don't like these sliders s

o much, but the panoramic roof is actually quite cool because it's super, super large. First of all, you have this shade for really hot days. And of course, you can also completely open it. Then you can have somewhat a Škoda Superb convertible with this one here. Let me see. That's the maximum opening here. Engines. The base will be a 1.5 liter turbo petrol engine mild hybrid, the one we can see right here. This will also build the base for the plug-in hybrid version now with the electric range

of realistic 80 kilometers plus, 50 miles and so on, 20 kilowatt hours battery net. Then there will be a bigger petrol engine, a 2 liter TSI, also with all-wheel drive in the higher spec. So it's front plus rear-end demand and the classic 2 liter TDI, the turbo diesel. The bigger horsepower version also with all-wheel drive available. Welcome to Thomas' Driving Lounge with the all-new Škoda Superb. And we're starting here with the 1.5 liter petrol engine, turbo petrol. And this is used either si

ngularly or also as base for the plug-in hybrid version. So this has then dual use, so to speak. This beeping function is the... It's like speed warning when I also exceed it by one kilometer an hour. It already beeps. That's new EU law. It doesn't have to do anything with the Škoda. It's just new regulation. You can turn them off. In some vehicles, it's hard to turn them off. In some, it's easier actually. And interesting with this engine is it is mild hybrid and also slid-on-demand. And it als

o shows you actually in the instruments on the left side. So at the moment, I'm going uphill. So speed doesn't show, but as soon as we're going down a little again, or maybe even a minute straight, then we have actually situations here. For example, I go off throttle, it says 'Coasting'. So then the RPMs drop, the engine is more or less shut down, there's no fuel being used, and the car is just coasting, meaning not using any fuel. And this, of course, is an efficient thing to do. It's also poss

ible because of this mild hybrid system. So you can also recuperate, regenerate some energy, but it's a very, very tiny battery. It's just used as some kind of buffer. What is special also with the new Škoda Superb is the new suspension. At Volkswagen with the Passat, they call it DCC Pro. Here they call it DCC Plus. And it also adapts according to the driving mode. My favorite setting is actually... All the way set to comfort, but then steering a little bit too sport, so then you have a little

bit more steering feedback. And the suspension is really doing a great job, I have to say. Here we have 18-inch wheels mounted. Also helps if you don't go for the biggest wheels. When you have set all the way to comfort, it still rules in a certain spectrum, this suspension here, adaptive suspension. And it really gives you a very elaborated ride that you can think about. Hey, you know, maybe I don't have to go for a more expensive car just to get a better suspension. And this gives you a very s

mooth ride overall. Also, we've been talking about this topic. Normal car or SUV, here I can once again say when you sit a little bit lower in the vehicle, it also applies less G-forces, for example when going left and right also on the passenger. And to me, these normal cars are in a way, especially long term, more comfortable on your body than the SUVs which are built a little bit higher are more comfortable when getting in and out and just sitting stationary. But as soon as you start driving,

then I feel the non-SUV cars are more comfortable and that also counts here for the Škoda Superb. Together with these really comfortable seats, microfiber covering here, I can really recommend this middle trim which feels more high class than the high trim model of the Škoda Superb. One question is also, is this engine here singularly enough? And I have to say, since we had these slight uphill areas, when it goes uphill, it feels a little bit sluggish. So when you have the plug-in hybrid drivet

rain, you still have some electric energy left. Then it's actually fine, I feel. But here, singularly, going uphill, you feel maybe it's not enough power. Then maybe the 2.0-liter TSI would be better, the plug-in hybrid, or the 2.0-liter diesel, which is still a very important engine for this very vehicle here. We'll also take it on the motorway now and see about the acceleration and see how it performs there. Overall, the first driving impression is really this smoothness of the ride. You know

this DCC, Dynamic Chassis Control, the adaptive suspension, it now employs a two-valve technology and you also feel it while driving because it's just more comfortable. Yet again, that's the special thing, it does not lose sportiness. So although it's comfortable, you can set it all the way to comfort, it's still sporty in the ride and you can also change the driving mode in the lower part here when you have select that for driving was easy to select it. I love that in comparison to the Passat w

here everything is basically in the screen. Now I switch it to the sport mode, then we also have some kind of, let's say, preloading. As for the gears, everything is turned out higher. Suspension is set to a sporty note and let's see now. We accelerate on the motorway from 50 kilometers an hour. Let's go! That's 100, one more overtake on the right. Sketchy situation here in traffic. But you see... If you really push it, due to the turbo, it is enough power somewhat, but you really have to push i

t though. So, yeah, sometimes it's complicated to get on the motorway when no one lets you in actually. There we go. Portuguese traffic, welcome to that. Yeah, but in a way, I also like driving in Portugal because, yeah, in a way, it's more mixed up than in Germany, I would say. But then some people are also more, let's say, relaxed, and in Germany it's maybe more strict. So it's always a pro and con. Now the motorway is also very important for this vehicle. It's so much used as a fleet vehicle,

business use, salesmen and so on, long motorway journeys. And here we can go some 100 kilometers an hour, 60 miles an hour, even a little bit more, 120, 70 miles an hour, and it's very silent. So they worked on the noise insulation, very low noise level overall, so you can imagine very long motorway journeys. Even if I have set here the DCC to sport, oh, no, it says two-cylinder mode, by the way, two-cylinder on demand, when I'm... At the moment I'm going downhill, so I'm not coasting actually,

so the engine is not shut off, but it is in a two-cylinder mode, so it's also then saving some fuel. So, yeah, that's the third camera. So, and well, the DCC here also at higher speeds, doing a phenomenal job. This really feels like a very sophisticated vehicle now. So, is it a premium ride? Definitely it is. This feels like a very premium ride. If we compare the different driving modes once again by the way, so here in the normal mode everything is set like in the middle, then we can also go t

o comfort mode, very soft suspension, and the individual mode I've set to the most comfortable suspension at the moment. But even when I switch to sport mode, yes, you hear that, you know, there's directly a gear shift down. But the thing is that because it is adaptive and always rules in a certain spectrum, yes, you feel here now like the small bumps in the Sport mode are a little bit stiffer then, and then in the Comfort mode it's really evened out even better. But however, is it already a new

Macan there? New Macan Electric, oh, it is, it is. That must be, oh, it's a prototype vehicle still. Interesting. New Macan Electric, oh, one, two, three. Prototype vehicle ride, interesting. Yeah, of course we will also drive the all-new Electric Macan for you very soon. Stay tuned for that and check out the static review if you haven't seen it so far. Yeah, but I'm really happy with the all-new Škoda Superb here on the motorway. It was the same with the Passat. You might ask yourself, is it a

huge difference to the Volkswagen Passat? Honestly, no. I think it's good that we have here the physical dials that can also easily change the temperature and so on while driving. I'm not sure why it would do that. So here look at that. It goes back from the GPS and then... That's you know, I don't think it's in any use. Let's see if I have the car internal GPS. Then you can see It is just the overlay, then it makes sense. Then it's okay actually to have that interface there and not only down t

here because it's placed relatively low. But when I'm in the CarPlay GPS, this playing together of the systems should have been better. So this makes up, I mean, everyone will use Google Maps and Apple Maps and so on. Then when it always disappears when you use the climate unit, come on, Škoda, really? This needs to be fixed by software definitely. But all the hardware. It's just fantastic. For here as it stands here, you know, like this, around 50,000 euros in price, it's hardly anything at tha

t price that gives you this kind of smooth, sophisticated, premium drive. And especially for the motorway, that's awesome. And this very engine here is okay when you keep it also like steady like this on the motorway. But when you use the strong acceleration a lot, then you might want to have something more powerful. But like this, when you're once at speed, then it's also fine to have this one and go with the lower entry price or so. So that's actually fine. At the end of the review, we will al

so keep you updated with our today's test consumption. Now once again to the Sport mode, we switch to the 2.0 TDI, also with 150 horsepower. Acceleration. Let's go! Oh, that's 100. So, yeah. I mean, it's... 9.3 seconds, official figure, both for the 1.5 MHEV turbo petrol engine with 150 horsepower, we've just driven, and also here for the 2.0 TDI with 150 horsepower. So the acceleration figure is kind of the same. I would say the petrol engine starts a little bit more from the get-go and the TDI

has this torque advantage than when you're already at speed, also more on the motorway and so on. But if you want more punch, then you would need the 2-liter TSI, the plug-in, or then here from the diesel, the higher horsepower spec, you could go for this one here. Advantage here for the diesel is that it has, you know, like 5 MPG plus for you or minus one liter on 100 kilometers. So you have about six liters on 100 kilometers, 40 MPG US, 47 MPG UK, something like that. Other than that, of cour

se, in the city, yeah, as for the noise, it doesn't make too much of a difference. Maybe when you're driving really, really slow, but soon then the tire noise and so on around you picks up. So the difference is more in how you approach the throttle pedal. The petrol is a little bit more applying power now. The diesel takes a while, but then the torque sets in, then it pushes. So that's like the difference in the characteristic. Yeah, but it's more, I would say, a philosophy thing. And if it's wo

rth, if you're really running high mileage every day, then the diesel could make sense. You know, really good, nice way here to test it, also in the agile driving performance. In the Sport mode, the DCC is once again set to a sporty note. Good control also from the steering wheel, so it's a nice direct input. So it is also fun in the sporty driving characteristics. I still feel it's set on the comfortable note from the suspension but that's also a good choice you know I really like the decision

they've taken here. So, you're also going to go from left and right. You're feeling good control of the vehicle. You don't feel too much that it's actually kind of long. As for assistance systems, we can select or deselect them here at the steering wheel with the press of the right thumb. So that's a good thing to have that you can easily activate or deactivate them. And the cruise control is set here with the left stalk column. We can also go back to the normal mode. So on the left stalk column

here, and then you have the adaptive cruise control. And all the assistance systems are also done by Škoda. So if you ask yourself, is the Superb more a Passat now or is the Passat more a Superb now? Definitely, the Passat is more Superb now because the lead in the whole building process is being handled by Škoda. Fuel economy for the 1.5 TSI for today, around 7 liters on 100 kilometers, so 34 MPG US, 41 MPG UK. You can gain 5 MPG or consume 1 liter less, for example, with the 2 liter TDI as an

example. So, yeah, and of course the plug-in hybrid can be very efficient if you recharge it frequently or also, you know, have it as a electric helper next to the combustion engine. Pricing, very interesting. It starts around 40,000 euros, taking a German reference price. When you spec it a little bit, you can easily reach some 50,000 euros. And that's then really in the hand of a very well-specced vehicle already, even not the highest trim and so on. So as it stands right here, indeed around

50,000 euros and it's of course not inexpensive or cheap at all. However, if you now compare it to a more premium competition and what we've seen here, like felt covering at the inside of the doors, front and the rear, electric tailgate here, also with the electric slider on the inside and also the cockpit and so on. Really great in the build quality. I love that. And then you have to say, together with this very comfortable ride, I think this is still a very good price-performance offering. Or

what do you think? And also tune in to the competitor, the VW Passat, or maybe then even a 5 Series Touring.