P
DISCOVER LONDON DISCOVER TOP TOWCAR DISCOVER NORFOLK BROADS
ER
Another remarkable feature is its twin changing degrees of assistance were
tail door one minute a saloon bootlid, sometimes noticed – possibly influenced
to
CITY CENTRE
uring
the next a hatchback tailgate, instigated by the numerous stability and safety Technical
with a squeeze of a second tailgate systems which can intervene in the L ,5 otr
button and confirmed with a double steering (and braking) system. cc, in-line -cyl, PD
flash of the high-level stoplamp. That’s Along with the steering, foot controls turbodiesel. Transverse
smart – and appreciated by occupants on and gear shift have a nicely-balanced bhp kW rpm
ER R NCE
cold days when the boot can be accessed quality, all seemingly operating with a 3 5lb ft Nm rpm ro
without the cabin freezing. Luggage matched weight and smoothness which -speed manual, FWD
space is more akin to an estate car’s. makes the car feel very integrated and Diesel3. al litre
At the other end, the driver has a nice offers a satisfying driving experience. O 55km
time, too. With the generous legroom
A TOURING HOLIDAY CAN TAKE YOU TO SOME
3. mp
solo.mp towin E IN
SUPERB BY NAME, SUPERB come memoriseable electric seat P LLING PERFORMANCE k
WONDERFULLY SCENIC LOCATIONS IN BRITAIN AND adjustments and reachtilt steering – Nice to find squareish door-mirror
ABROAD, BUT DON’T THINK CARAVAN TOURING MEANS
BY NATURE L
5 5 miles solo35 miles towin
though the wheel only manages a near cowlings offering secure towing-mirror DON OLL E PLORES AN AREA BETTER KNOWNk 5 k
STAYING OUT OF OUR BIG CITIES. DON JOLLY HAS SOME
TESTS ’S CARAVAN
vertical angle when it’s too low, attachment, though fixing straps might
obscuring the instruments. Seats are obscure the integral indicator repeaters. k
FOR BOATING THAN TOURING ON LAND
CAPITAL SUGGESTIONS FOR A TRIP TO LONDON CLUB TOWCAR OF
well shaped, comfortable, supportive Just one fly in the ointment no obvious 3 k
and, in our Elegance model, finished in attachment point for a caravan’s N 5k of laden trailer weiht
THE YEAR nice soft, fine-grained leather. breakaway cable .
. k
Beneath chrome-edged hooded cowls While the Skoda stepped off the mark Detachable towbar 35 electricskit 5 for cars with towbar
the analogue gauges’ party trick at start- neatly in normal towing, a quicker preparation inc VAT, plus fittin
up is to illuminate the needles as they getaway (and during less grippy in steel with 555R tyre
sweep once around their dials, settle at hillstarts) could set front tyres scrabbling Group E
rest then the figures light up. Seemingly to the accompaniment of traction
pointless, but visually impressive. control, the resulting ‘axle tramp’ being
5, . TSI S to ,
3. V Eleance H
OW O
T
W
Between this double act is a well- an undignified way to get moving. Get
presented information display. the drivetrain hooked up, though, and
Switchgear is conventionally laid out you could see 60mph in around 16.5
VERDICT
and kept simple, with each section of seconds. Engine noise was quite CABIN COMFORT a79
the facia encircled with a discreet noticeable during these antics, but DRIVING DYNAMICS
chrome embellisher. Depending on your reduced considerably once the outfit PULLING PERFORMANCE
viewpoint, the chrome trims may either gained momentum. OVERALL T
appear fussy or provide a touch of Sixth gear was usable above about 012345678910 W
traditional class. The ‘Elegance’ end of 50mph, though all but gentle inclines
Superb’s equipment repertoire provides were a struggle up to that speed. With Rowing boats on Rollesby Broad
britainonview/ McCormick-McAdam many goodies including touch-screen 5-10mph added, top gear became more overhang; and ride tended to be quite Norfolk Broads
navigation, dual-zone climate control, practical when 1750rpm at 60mph joggly, but caravan pitching was kept britainonview/ Rod Edwards
fold-flat door mirrors with auto- raised the revs towards the torque band. well in check.
H
OW TO describe London? One of the most remarkable Square – no longer separated from the into dark and dingy Clink Street and, if dubbed ‘the Cheesegrater’, going up dimming (but a manually-dipped A 30-50mph time of 7.1sec again
Dynamic, thriving, animated, transformations has been to the Thames’ National Gallery by a road full of buses and you’re not careful, the Clink Prison opposite Lloyds, which will reach 737ft INFORMATION SITES interior mirror), premium Bluetooth showed the pulling power to good effect, VERDICT
exciting, energetic, vital, South Bank. Once this was a no-go area, a taxis – and Covent Garden, great for shops, Museum, where Bankside lowlife was when completed. phone preparation and tyre-pressure but if revs dropped much below the Does Superb live up to its name? Almost.
vivacious; even if you’re not a great fan of murky industrial zone of wharves, cafés and street theatre and music. once incarcerated. Then walk a few yards What’s so fascinating about the City is The Caravan Club runs two sites in south London, at Abbey Wood monitor, among numerous other items. magic 1800rpm in too high a gear, trying But even if it falls slightly short, it could
cities, it is very difficult to ignore this great warehouses and power stations. The only Continuing along the South Bank, there and dream of freedom aboard the replica that amid all these modern buildings you and Crystal Palace. The first is a 35-minute train ride from the centre to slog it out was just too painful. hardly be called a Skoda ‘Very Nice’. So,
capital of ours. Dr Samuel Johnson, the jewel was the Royal Festival Hall, built after are plenty more chances to eat, drink and be of the Golden Hinde, the vessel that took can still find pockets of London past. of the capital, while Crystal Palace has a direct bus connection to DRIVING DNAMICS Stability in all circumstances never Superb it’ll have to be... a73
a79 18th-century essayist, never could – he was the war to celebrate a new Queen and a new merry and, unbelievably, there are even one Francis Drake on his world voyage of Behind Lloyds is the delightful Victorian Piccadilly Circus. Full details can be found on the Club’s website, Despite the Superb being the longest gave any concerns, the Superb in good
always full of praise for London and so, too, beginning. Now, though, you can walk the or two sandy beaches to sit on when the sun discovery. Leadenhall Market, while hidden away in
www.caravanclub.co.uk in its class, it feels pleasingly agile to control of the outfit. Steering felt quite
is his namesake, Boris, as he settles into his South Bank from Westminster Bridge to is high and the tide is sufficiently low. Past Just around the corner, crammed little alleyways are numerous traditional drive, possibly partly due to its light, possibly due to the caravan i Information
skoda.co.uk
mayoral throne at City Hall, that sparkling Tower Bridge and beyond, and there is no Blackfriars Bridge, the hulking former between railway and river, is Southwark pubs that have changed little in the last wheelbase being somewhat shorter levering on the Superb’s long rear
glassy globe of an office beside the Thames. shortage of distractions en route. Bankside power station is home to the Tate Cathedral, built as the medieval priory hundred years. Then there are all those and partly owing to firm suspension.
ABOVE: Evening London’s ever-changing skyline displays Close to the old County Hall, where the Modern with its vast collection of church, St Mary Overie, and a cathedral small Wren churches, created by the The latter is a mixed blessing, as along
view towards Big
Ben and the Houses some outstanding modern architecture and city’s business was once conducted and 20th-century art and occasional for only little more than a century. architect of St Paul’s, their spires now with assured handling and flat
22
of Parliament from the present forest of cranes is a sure sign of a which now houses the London Aquarium contemporary installations. From its Beneath nearby railway arches, the stalls dwarfed by city monoliths. cornering comes a choppy ride on poor W
hat
can
my
car
tow
?
the London Eye on thriving city, as further buildings spring (popular with the kids), and Dalí Universe, rooftop café there’s a superb view of St of Borough Market make an interesting If you find all that too claustrophobic, roads. While the 18in alloy wheels
the South Bank of forth. As well as all the modernity a display of the Spanish surrealist artist’s Paul’s Cathedral, directly linked to the diversion if you would like fresh produce London has some of the world’s finest parks certainly look the part, their low-
the river Thames O HT profile tyres amplify the coarseness of
RIGHT: The surrounding him – the Swiss Re building, lesser-known works, is the popular London gallery via the modern sweep of the and delicacies to take back to your – Hyde Park, St James’s Park and Green
entrance to Covent otherwise known as the Gherkin, is one Eye – the slowly revolving giant wheel pedestrian Millennium Bridge. caravan. Park, providing some of the better known broken surfaces and I fear for their, and
Garden Apple such impressive city sight – the mayor will which carries passenger ‘pods’ almost 450ft A few yards along the riverside, you can At London Bridge, close to which the lungs of the capital. Nearer to the Caravan the wheels’, wellbeing whenever they
Market see, as he looks out of his office window, above the Thames for fantastic vistas across step back once more into the past at giant ‘Shard of Glass’ building will go up Club’s two south London sites is drop into a pothole (well, you can’t
some of London’s best-known tourist London. Shakespeare’s Globe theatre. Like the over the next few years, you can cross the Greenwich Park, with its famous T miss ’em all!). Less severe undulations
attractions, such as the medieval Tower of A little farther along the river, the Royal 16th-century original, the main part of this Thames to take a closer look at the capital’s observatory, wonderful views along the W are ridden well.
London and the iconic Tower Bridge. Here, Festival Hall and its later neighbours, which replica theatre, where members of the powerhouse, the City, and all its remarkable Thames and the treasures of the National be
ra Credit to the Superb, though, for
too, HMS Belfast, permanently berthed in include the National Theatre, the National audience with cheaper tickets stand, is architecture. See the intricacies of Maritime Museum. Not far away is the O2 elL
i
its suppression of ‘tram lining’ from
the Pool of London, is a hark back to the Film Theatre and the Hayward Gallery, open to the elements but there are also structures like the ‘inside-out’ Lloyds Arena, the former Millennium aw O those low-profiles, its steering masking/P
past, to a time when Europe was at war and stand at the end of the rebuilt twin thatched galleries with seating surrounding Building, more than 20 years old now and Dome, now re-invented as a successful iew T CABIN COMFORT the worst effects rather better than
German bombers were trying to rip the suspension footbridges running either side the main auditorium. You can watch a play the work of Richard Rogers, who also 20,000-seat stadium for major concerts. W many similarly-tyred cars. Electro-
heart out of the capital city. If ever a of the Hungerford railway bridge. These or join a tour of the theatre. designed the Pompidou Centre in Paris. Like so much of what London has to offer, mechanical variable power steering felt
phoenix rose from the ashes, London is it. provide access to attractions like Trafalgar Farther on, the Thames Path disappears He is also responsible for a new building, it’s just capital! a73 br
ita
ino
nv
a bit light around the straight ahead and
32 DISCOVER TOURING
discovertouring.co.uk DISCOVER TOURING 33 DISCOVER TOURING
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discovertouring.co.uk DISCOVER TOURING
32 CAPITAL IDEAS! 40 SUPERB CAR TEST 56 NORFOLK BROADS
52 CHOOSE THE RIGHT LOCATION
A ‘Certificated Location’ is a small, rural
site for no more than five caravans or motor
caravans. Here you can really get away
from it al!
54 PARIS FOR THE WEEKEND
Another capital idea, just a short hop
across the Channel
42
56 BROADLY SPEAKING
We’re talking Norfolk Broads here. You
don’t have to tour the area by boat
60 OFF-ROAD EXPERIENCE
You don’t need a 4x4 to tow a caravan...
but if you’ve got one, you might as well
make the most of it
63 TV ON TOUR
Worried you’ll miss your favourite telly
38
programme? No need! We dish up some
advice for tourers
65 USEFUL CONTACTS
Now we’ve whetted your appetite, here’s
where you can go to get extra help and
information. PLUS your chance to win one
of 500 books in our great free draw
66 AND FINALLY...
Understanding the jargon you may
come across
54
18
discovertouring.co.uk DISCOVER TOURING 5
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