Living with a Skoda Superb: our final verdict on this diesel family car

We’ve spent the last six months living with a Skoda Superb. It’s a large, diesel-powered, four-wheel drive family hatchback which has proven itself to be an excellent companion on everything from long video shoots to short shopping trips.

As all-rounders go, this is certainly one of the best. Here’s a summary of our time with the Superb, along with our final verdict.

Living with a Skoda Superb: things we liked

The list of stuff to like on this car is a long one, but we’ve narrowed it down to three standout features.

1. It’s extremely spacious

Forget about SUVs, the Skoda Superb is one of the most practical cars you can buy. You get limo levels of rear legroom, and our car is fitted with clever headrests which flip forward to support your head while you have a nap.

The boot has also proved hugely useful on video shoots. With a whopping 645 litres of space on offer it easily swallows up all of our kit, and the handy hammock in the boot makes it easy to stop smaller items from flying around.

2. Diesel isn’t dead

Diesel may be falling out of favour, but the Superb makes a great case for this engine. A full tank will get you close to 700 miles, and we’ve averaged around 40mpg over the last six months.

That’s slightly down on the claimed 48 mpg figure Skoda claims this car will do, but it’s still not bad considering it’s usually loaded to the rafters. We’ve used our Superb as a tracking car on our EV range tests before, and it can follow the electric cars until they run out, then get all the way back to the start point again on one tank.

3. It’s very comfortable

Not only can the Superb cover huge distances, it’s also a hugely comfortable car to do it in, so much so we awarded it the Comfortable Cruiser trophy in the 2025 Carwow Car Of The Year Awards. The seats are supportive and come with a massage function as standard, and they’re lovely to sink into after a long day of filming drag races.

The adaptive cruise control also works very well, you hardly notice it working as you waft down the motorway.

Living with a Skoda Superb: things we didn’t like

No car is perfect though, here are three things which we didn’t like about the Skoda Superb.

1. It’s not a thrilling car

If you’re a keen driver, the Skoda Superb isn’t a car which will set your heart racing. It’s much more adept at being a comfy cruiser than a B-road bruiser, because it does a fantastic job of almost completely disconnecting you from the outside world.

2. Some glitchy tech

We’ve noticed a couple glitches over the past few months, most notably with the reversing camera. Sometimes it can take ages to pop up when you put the car in reverse, and sometimes it doesn’t come up at all. This is annoying, especially as the Superb is so long that you really rely on the camera at times.

3. Overly-cautious safety systems

Another tech foible we’ve noticed in the Superb is actually shared with our Volkswagen ID7, and it’s the automatic emergency braking. Specifically, this happens in both cars when you’re manoeuvring or parking at slow speeds – it detects obstacles which aren’t really there and slams the brakes on. The jolt is so massive that it makes you think you have hit something.

Living with a Skoda Superb: the final verdict

The Skoda Superb will be dearly missed from the Carwow long-term fleet, because it’s been a near-perfect companion over the last six months. It is comfortable, spacious, economical, quick enough and packed with clever features. As long as you’re not expecting a thrill ride, the Superb is the car which can do pretty much everything without fuss.

Third report: Driving the Skoda Superb

Diesel engines are dying. Sales of cars with oil-burners are plummeting month by month, and by 2030 almost all new cars with diesel engines will be banned, with the exception of a few plug-in hybrid Mercedes.

*Prices correct at the time of writing

But is there still a place for this old-school fuel in 2025? Well after 5,000 miles with our long-term Skoda Superb, we certainly think so.

We predominantly use this Carwow Award-winner for long slogs on motorways and major A-roads, and it’s averaging 49.5mpg. That’s not only super impressive for this enormous 1.8-tonne family car, it’s actually almost 2mpg more than Skoda claims.

It also means that the Superb will do close to 700 miles on a single tank, which is really reassuring on long trips. We recently used the Superb as a camera tracking car on an electric car range test where we drove the Tesla Model S until it died. While the Tesla did around 300 miles before conking out, the Superb managed to follow it all the way and then do the entire journey home without a single fill up.

And the Superb was the perfect car to do this journey in as well, because it’s an excellent cruiser. The seats are fabulous, there’s very little wind noise and it glides over bumps. There’s not a lot of fun to be had, but the four-wheel drive system means it remains planted in harsh weather conditions.

With 193hp on tap there’s also plenty of grunt for overtaking, however the gearbox can be frustrating at times. It’s quite laggy when you put your foot down at junctions or to nip past something – we keep it in sport mode a lot of the time to try and get around this.

Small gripes aside though, the Skoda Superb has been an excellent companion on long journeys – it really makes a compelling case for the good old-fashioned diesel engine.

Second report: interior and practicality

Our Skoda Superb has been a fabulous companion on video shoots thanks to its cavernous interior, but not everything is perfect. Here are five things we love about this car’s cabin.

1. The boot is cavernous

And we mean cavernous. At 645 litres the Superb has more luggage space than a Hyundai Tucson, a Peugeot 3008 and it’s even 29 litres bigger than the enormous Kia Sorento. And it’s not just the outright capacity which impresses either – we love the hammock which is fitted to this car because it makes it easy to stop smaller items rolling around, and there are some handy hooks and tie-down points as well.

2. Space to stretch out

That massive boot doesn’t come at the expense of rear passenger space either, because you could use the Superb as a chauffeur car if you wanted to. We’ve spent a lot of time ferrying family and friends around in this car, and everyone who climbs into the rear seats is taken aback by how much legroom there is. Our car even has pop-out pillows for the rear headrest, making it perfect for napping on long journeys.

3. Getting comfortable

The driving position in the Superb is spot on, and we love the comfort seats on long journeys. Our top-spec Laurin and Klement model has heated, ventilated and massaging front chairs as well, which are great for keeping backache at bay when you’re cruising home after a long day of shooting awesome drag races for the Carwow YouTube channel.

4. Keeping things tidy

No one wants loose bits and bobs rolling around and cluttering up your cabin on the move, and thankfully our Skoda Superb has plenty of interior storage spaces to keep things nice and neat. The felt-lined door bins stop things from rattling around, and we especially like the cup holders which have clever grippers in the bottom so you can open a bottle one-handed.

5. A couple of small gripes

The Superb’s cabin is massively spacious and practical and it’s really nicely built on the whole. However, we’re not fans of the fake wood trim in this car – it feels a little bit cheap in an otherwise lovely cabin. The infotainment screen is also a touch laggy, which is why we tend to stick to using Apple CarPlay so we don’t need to use Skoda’s native software.

First report: an introduction to our new hatchback

The Skoda Superb is one of those cars that’s more than the sum of its parts. Even though it’s really the poorer relation to the Volkswagen Passat – sharing its oily bits with the posher Volkswagen – the Superb stands out thanks to its cavernous interior and clever features. Combined with a comfortable ride, great value and even discreet good looks, it’s such a complete package that we named it the best ‘Comfortable Cruiser’ in the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year Awards.

Getting more hands-on time with a Carwow award-winner is always great, and we’ve lucked out here because we’ve got the keys to this Superb for a few months. It’ll spend its time heading up and down the country to video shoots and press events, so the ‘Comfortable Cruiser’ aspect is one we’ll have plenty of time to assess.

And we’re not doing it in a bargain-basement model, either. The Superb we have here is top of the range – it’s the most powerful diesel engine in the top-end Laurin & Klement trim (named after Skoda’s founders).

Under the bonnet sits a 2.0-litre diesel engine with 193hp. Paired up to four-wheel drive and a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, it’s good for 0-62mph in a brisk 7.5s and a top speed of 147mph – good to know in case we take it on any autobahn runs.

Better yet, being a diesel, it’s supposed to do up to 48mpg – but our experience with previous diesel Skodas suggests that we might see even higher than this on a long motorway drive. We’ll monitor economy closely and let you know what we’re achieving in the real world in later reports.

It’s decked out in classy Midnight Black metallic paint with silver wheels – a real funeral spec, but the ‘Cognac’ (brown to you and me) leather interior gives the inside a lift. So too does all the equipment on offer. There are all-round heated seats, Matrix LED headlights, three-zone climate control, two wireless smartphone charging pads, electric seat adjustment and all the safety kit anyone could want.

The Superb’s also packed with ‘Simply Clever’ features, such as a built-in screen cleaner, wings on the rear headrests to allow passengers to sleep, and the classic umbrellas built into the front doors.

There’s certainly a lot to like about this car, and we’ll be testing it very thoroughly over the next few months. Check back on this page to see how we get on, and remember to follow Carwow’s social media channels if you aren’t already, as we’ll be posting about ‘our’ Superb on there too.

Car change? Carwow!

Looking for a new set of wheels? With Carwow you can sell your car quickly and for a fair price – as well as find great offers on your next one. Whether you’re looking to buy a car brand new, are after something used or you want to explore car leasing options, Carwow is your one stop shop for new car deals.

Click here to follow us on WhatsApp, where you can keep up-to-date with all the latest news, reviews, advice guides and videos.