Skoda Superb Estate Review 2024

While estate cars might have fallen out of favour, that hasn't stopped previous generations of the Superb Estate becoming a hugely popular car for Skoda right across Europe. The new car then has a lot to live up to, so how does it compare? Read our review of the new 2024 Skoda Superb Estate review to find out...

On the outside the Skoda Superb Estate has been sharpened up. It sports an elegant and attractive design that to our eye at least looks more premium than the car it replaces. We also reckon it's better looking than the car it shares a lot of its DNA with, the new VW Passat. These crisper lines also bring other benefits - the streamlined design has resulted in a more aerodynamic profile to aid fuel efficiency. 

Things have also taken a step up in quality inside as well. Not only is there a large 13.3-inch touchscreen infotainment display, but some nicely thought out manual dials positioned in the central console that provide quick access to a range of functions. It makes it much more intuitive, safer and quicker to use than simply having to rely on the central touchscreen to get things done.  

You're not going to be short on space either - both front and rear seat passengers are well catered for when it comes to head and legroom, but perhaps most impressive of all is the 690-litre boot capacity. That's with the rear seats in place - drop them down and you get 1920 litres of space. 

There are four engines to choose from - a mild-hybrid unit the combines a 1.5-litre petrol engine with electrical assistance to bolster the fuel economy, while there's a plug-in hybrid engine coming later this year that offers up to 62 miles of electric-only range.

Other companies might be shunning diesel (you won't find one available on the new Passat for example), but the Skoda Superb Estate has the choice of two - a frugal 150PS 2.0 TDI and a more powerful 193PS 2.0 TDI which comes with four-wheel drive only. 

The Skoda Superb Estate might now start at just over £36,000, but it still represents really good value - it's £2500 cheaper than the entry-level VW Passat, and some £15,000 to £20,000 less than a premium rivals from Audi, BMW or Mercedes.  

The previous Skoda Superb Estate was never short on space, but the new model is larger still. Now 40mm longer at 4902mm, it's also grown by 5mm to 1482mm. It's a little narrower than before - Skoda's shaved 15mm off the width to bring it down to 1849mm. 

Step inside and you're greeted with a generously-sized cabin. Upfront and there's ample head and legroom, while the decision to move the gear selector from the centre console to behind the steering wheel has freed up more space for storage. 

Moving to the rear seating and again, legroom and head are excellent. You'll be able to happily fit two large adults in the back, though trying to squeeze a third in might be a challenge. For kids though and you'll easily be able to get three children sitting across the rear bench, while there are two ISOFIX points. 

Naturally if you're looking at buying a Superb Estate, you want to know what the boots like. It's best summed up in one word - huge. What's impressive is that Skoda's managed to make the boot even larger than the outgoing model, increasing it from 660 litres to a class-leading 690 litres - a size matched by its sister car, the Volkswagen Passat. One thing to remember though is if you've got your heart set on a plug-in hybrid version is that the boot space will shrink to 510 litres to accommodate the batteries needed. 

Skoda hasn't just left you with a cavernous boot, as there are a number of clever storage solutions - you'll find folding bag hooks, four lashing eyelets and a multi-purpose storage pocket under the boot cover. There's also an electrically operated load cover and two cargo elements to stop stuff sliding about.

As we've found with the new Kodiaq as well, there's been a noticeable step up in quality with the latest Superb Estate. It's not quite up there with premium rivals, the fit and finish is very good, especially if you spec the Laurin & Klement cars with Cognac leather seats as they really do look the part. 

It's not all good news as there are a couple of little things that don't quite hit the mark. We love the look of the fluted trim that runs along the dashboard, but it feels a bit too plasticky for our liking, while the Skoda Smart Dials don't quite have the weight to them that you'd expect and again, feel quite plasticky. Those grumbles aside, the Skoda Superb Estate does leave a good overall impression.

All trims for the Superb Estate feature a large 13-inch touchscreen display. It's nice and responsive to use while the brightness is very good, making it easy to see in a range of different lighting. Good job to as it acts as your portal to a lot of the Superb Estate's core controls, including infotainment, navigation and core car settings. We've found it pretty easy to get to grips with and it's relatively intuitive. There's also Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity, while wireless charging is standard. A nice touch is a special cleaning block that's tucked away in the central storage space, meaning you can easily rid your lovely large display of any unwanted fingers marks.

Unlike Volkswagen with the new Passat that shuns pretty much any form of button or dial, Skoda hasn't ditched manual controls all together. Instead there are three dials that have been coined Skoda Smart Dials. These run underneath of the touchscreen and provide access to a range of functions. Each has a built-in 32mm digital colour display, with the outer two dials programmed to control the climate control and heated seats, while the central dial can be customised to adjust up to four settings from a choice of six (stereo volume, fan speed, fan direction, driving modes, map zoom and smart air conditioning).

All models come with a configurable 10-inch Virtual Cockpit digital instrument display, while SE L buyers and above the option of a head-up display as an optional extra, which can project navigation, speed and other driver information. 

As you'd expect, DAB and Bluetooth connectivity is standard, while Laurin & Klement trim cars come with a 725-watt Canton Sound System as standard. This features a 16-channel amp, digital equaliser and twelve speakers. Skoda's also popped a central speaker in the dashboard, while a subwoofer replaces the space-saver wheel. Fancy this but don't want to go the whole hog with the L&K trim? Good news - it's available as an option for both the SE Technology and SE L trims. 

You can expect to pay just over £36,000 for the Superb Estate in entry-level SE Technology trim with a 1.5-litre mild-hybrid petrol engine. If you want the 150PS diesel you'll have to pay an extra £515 and the PHEV is just over £5000 more. 

The mid-range SE L trim starts at £39,530 and the top-of-the-range Laurin & Klement trim starts at £47,040. A big chunk of money, but that's still some £10,000 less than the cheapest Mercedes E-Class Estate. As you'd expect, the Superb Estate is more affordable than the closely related VW Passat, which starts at £38,490 with the same engine, but you'd struggle to see where that extra month goes. 

The 150Ps 1.5-litre mild-hybrid petrol engine can achieve a combined 52.8mpg (according to official WLTP fuel economy tests), and while you can expect that to be lower in real world conditions, that's still pretty frugal. You're going to have to be covering some serious miles to justify the 150PS diesel and its slightly better 56.9mpg. That said, the more powerful 193PS diesel in the 4x4 car with its better torque is a tempting proposition, but official fuel economy drops to 47.5mpg.

If you can charge at home or work and make regular short trips, then the Skoda Superb Estate PHEV might make sense with a claimed 62 miles of electric range. It boosts an official MPG figure of 751mpg, but you've got to take that with a pinch of salt as you'll need to keep the battery charged all the time to get anywhere near that. Once you've run out of charge and the engine has to take over then you're going to be struggling to match the figures of the 1.5-litre petrol engine as it's got to lug a load of dead weight around in the form of those depleted batteries. 

After the first year of tax that current flat rate is 190 per year (or £180 per year for plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid cars). You'll need to watch out how you spec your Superb Estate as anything with a price more than £40,000 will be liable for an extra £390 in premium car tax from the second time the car's taxed. 

For now, the only Superb Estate we've been able to try has been equipped with Skoda's Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC) Pro. It's an optional extra on SE L trim cars and standard on the Laurin & Klement trim, and is an adaptive suspension system that can change its stiffness according to the driving mode you select. In 'Comfort' mode and the Superb Estate handles uneven road surfaces very well to deliver a nice and smooth drive. The steering is relatively light, making it easy to drive round town, but when 'Sport' mode is selected, the suspension will firm up to improve handling, while it will also add a bit more weight to the steering. We'll have to see what the standard car feels like on UK roads alongside a car with DCC Pro to really see what the differences are.

The Skoda Superb Estate's natural habitat is likely to be eating up motorway miles and here it excels, whisking you along in comfort, with wind noise kept to a minimum. 

Around town and the Superb Estate is easy to manoeuvre considering its size, while there's plenty of drive assistance tech to help you out as well. As you'd expect, all trims come with a rear parking camera, while the top-of-the-line Laurin & Klement version comes with a 360-degree camera to provide a top-down view of the car. 

The Skoda Superb Estate will be available with four engines at launch - one mild-hybrid petrol, two diesels and a plug-in hybrid. There's no manual gearbox option, instead you'll find either a six or seven speed DSG automatic gearbox depending on your engine choice. 

The most popular engine is likely to be the 1.5-litre TSI mild-hybrid petrol. Producing 150PS, it features ACT+ active cylinder technology that turns off two cylinders during relaxed cruising to help fuel economy. That said, it doesn't feel particularly quick getting up to speed and has to work quite hard, with a 0-62mph time of 9.3 seconds. 

Of the two diesel options it's the 150PS version that will have the most appeal. This 2.0-litre engine has enough torque not to feel too sluggish, though it's actually no quicker than the mild-hybrid petrol, but should be a comfortable motorway cruiser. 

There is a more powerful 193PS diesel that's four-wheel drive only, with torque increasing from 360Nm to 400Nm and a quicker 0-62mph time of 7.6 seconds. This performance gain though comes at the expense of fuel economy. 

Finally, there's the plug-in hybrid model. This uses a 1.5-litre TSI engine coupled to an electric motor to produce 204PS. With a large 25.7kWh battery it can provide a pure electric only range of up to 62 miles (that's the official WLTP figure). Performance though isn't a huge leap on from the mild-hybrid, taking 8.1 seconds to get to 62mph.

The Superb Estate is still to be tested by Euro NCAP, but it does come with a comprehensive suite of safety features. 

This includes up to 10 airbag and a range of drive assistance tech, including nano radar sensors that will alert you to crossing traffic when trying to move out of a blind exit - it'll even apply the brakes to avoid a collision. 

The inclusion of this tech has also allowed Skoda to improve Side Assist, making it possible to detect approaching vehicles from up to 90 metres behind and warn of dangerous lane changes. 

There's also Exiting Warning to warn of approaching traffic before you open your door, and Swerve Support is on hand to stop car-to-car collisions. 

In the past the Superb Estate has been a popular tow car and we wouldn't be surprised if the latest model continues this theme.

It's no surprise to discover that it's the more powerful of the two diesels that has the highest maximum towing capacity, with a braked towing capacity of up to 2200kg.

This is followed by the 150PS diesel that can tow up to 2000kg, then the PHEV at 1800kg and finally the mild-hybrid at 1600kg. 

For now, the Superb Estate is available on three flavours - SE Technology, SE L and the more luxury orientated Laurin & Klement. 

The entry-level Superb Estate SE Technology sits on 17-inch 'Mintaka' alloy wheels and comes with a pretty long list of standard features. This includes a 13-inch touchscreen, 10.25-inch digital instrument display,  a rear view camera, adaptive cruise control, LED headlights, keyless start/stop and wireless mobile charging. 

Sitting in the middle of the range is the Superb Estate SE L. Here you'll find slightly larger 18-inch alloy wheels (called 'Dofida' if you're interested) and some nice features that builds on the standard kit that comes with the entry-level model. This includes LED matrix beam headlights (including dynamic range control and cornering), artificial leather sports comfort seats and an electronic parcel shelf. 

Sitting at the top of the range is the Skoda Superb Estate Laurin & Klement. It sports 18-inch alloy wheels, this time called 'Belatrix', while keen observers will also notice a few other exterior tweaks, including a dark chrome grille surround and rear diffuser strip. Inside and there's a choice of either black or cognac leather, while there's a Canton sound system. You also get a heated multi-function steering wheel and heated rear seats, while even washer nozzles are heated. The rear view camera gets upgraded to an area view camera, while there's also an updated version of Dynamic Chassis Control (DCC).