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Motoring A
ROAD TESTS BY MARK SLACK Skoda Superb Estate – superb by name, superb by nature
dmittedly we all have our different views and opinions but if ever there’s a car that’s perfectly named it’s Skoda’s Superb. They are
beloved by taxi drivers for their space, comfort and high mileage reliability. If you think that makes it a somewhat downmarket
choice then think again. Mercedes Benz is liked by taxi drivers across the world and it doesn’t exactly seem to have harmed their reputation. Skoda is also a favourite choice of the emergency services, an arguably more prestigious purchaser, for the same reasons of reliability and comfort, not to mention performance. In its current guise the Superb is offered in both
hatch and estate form, petrol, diesel, mild hybrid, plug- in hybrid and all-wheel-drive are available within four trim trims – SE, SE L, Sportline and Laurin and Klement. Standard fare on the lead-in estate model (£38,135) includes touchscreen, navigation, front and rear parking sensors with rear camera, heated front seats, adaptive cruise control, LED lights, privacy glass, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, heated folding and dimming door mirrors and keyless start/ stop. Being a Superb, and the estate, it has one of the most
commodious load areas ever and is equally generous for the occupants too. The rear seat passengers have enough space to hold a dance! The lead-in petrol 1.5 TSi engine comes with mild
hybrid assistance, there’s a more powerful version of this engine with plug-in hybrid, a 2.0-litre TSi petrol, a couple of 2.0-litre diesel units and some power choices with all-wheel-drive. There is no manual option
now on the Superb, it’s a DSG automatic gearbox on all engines. In entry-level SE form the Superb is anything but entry level where standard equipment is concerned, and there’s the typically Skoda touch of an umbrella hidden in the driver’s door. On the road my £41,580 SE version, with 1.5-litre
petrol plug-in hybrid and 204PS, made relatively short work of the 0 to 62mph sprint in a whisker over eight seconds. Equally impressive economy and emissions of just 33g/km promise low running costs. It smooths out rough roads impressively well and despite its size handles rather tidily too. The interior is a very nice place to be with premium
looking and tactile materials, a solid feel to the build quality and although there’s a touchscreen there are also proper buttons. Hurrah! Comfortable, spacious, well equipped and reasonably priced, there must be something amiss surely? Actually no! It really is a 5-star car.
Kia EV5 Air - a ‘go-to’ electric family SUV T
here’s an increasingly generic design style to SUVs nowadays, especially it seems where EV models are concerned. Like oversize Tonka toys
there’s a brashness to the designs and it’s a look that has found favour with many buyers, smooth and svelte appears to have had its time. Korean car maker Kia has almost become the middle class of EV car makers with generous standard equipment levels, space and comfort allied to, by today’s standards, affordable pricing. Their EV5, think of it like an electric version of the Sportage, is a family sized SUV with prices starting from £39,345 and peaking at
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