2025 Skoda Superb review
Forget about electric batteries, off-road adventures, two-tonne weights or annoying tech – this simple car plays to the classics.
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Skoda will soon launch a good old-fashioned large car – that’s right – an actual car.
The petrol-powered new-generation Superb will debut in 2025 in a nation obsessed with SUVs and utes. And that’s great news for buyers who just want a practical, premium option that isn’t 2.5 tonnes of high-riding metal.
The new Superb will be sold in liftback guise (a sedan body-style, but with a hatch-like boot lid) and as a station wagon, and while pricing and specs aren’t confirmed yet, you can expect it to be loaded with equipment like 19-inch wheels, Matrix LED headlights that can stop your lights from blinding other road users, a huge new touchscreen media system with sat-nav and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, wireless phone charging, suede-like and fake leather trim, heated and cooled front seats, heated rear window seats, and a vast array of safety technology.
The cabin has seen a massive redesign.
Our test car featured a massive 15-inch media display that will take a little learning, and while there aren’t control dials attached to the screen, Skoda’s new Smart Dials help make interacting with the system a smidge easier. Those are three twisty knobs with small displays integrated into them, and the central one can be customised to your tastes — volume, drive modes, sat nav zoom and more. The others act as your climate control dials, and also control the heating/cooling for the seats.
Our test car also had massaging front chairs, and Skoda also includes a new ‘Simply Clever’ feature — a felt-covered bar that you can wipe the media screen with once your grubby mitts make it look gross.
Second-row space is excellent, with ample room for a six-foot unit to slump in behind their own driving position, and back-seat bandits also get climate control, directional vents, sunblinds on the windows, and cup holders in a flip-down armrest, which also includes a book or tablet holder, and device holsters are available for the setbacks too. Four USB-C charge ports take care of battery demands, and parents note there are outboard ISOFIX points and three top-tethers, too.
At more than 4.9 metres in length, the new Superb is similar in length to a three-row SUV, and it has a massive boot capacity that families will love — the Liftback has 645 litres, while the wagon offers a huge 660 litres behind the rear seats.
Australia is going to get just one powertrain choice for the new model – our cars will be the 195TSI Sportline spec, which is powered by a 2.0-litre turbo-petrol four-cylinder engine producing 195kW and 400Nm, with a dual-clutch (DSG) automatic controlling progress through an on-demand all-wheel drive system.
Sadly the model tested in Germany wasn’t that – instead, it had a 2.0L turbo-diesel, which was also charming in its own way. But while the powertrain wasn’t representative of our spec, it was still evident that this new-gen model has improved and finessed the already impressive drive experience of the last model.
With new, more advanced suspension with 15-stage adjustable dampers that can soften the ride to plush levels or harden the ride up for twisty roads, and being built on the new stiffer MQB Evo architecture, there is no doubt that it is sweeter to drive. The steering has multiple modes, and there’s a drive mode selector that allows you to tailor it to your preferences.
Over hundreds of kilometres of mixed driving – including autobahn blasts, twisty road touring and stop-start traffic – the Superb frankly lived up to its name. The new underpinnings also mean its refinement is better, with less road roar and harshness. I was really impressed to be able to hear the bubbles of my fizzy drink holstered in the door pocket more than the idle of the diesel engine.
For the buyer who wants a plush new petrol car and doesn’t want to spend $100K or more to get a Mercedes, Audi or BMW sedan or wagon, it could be all the actual car you’ll ever need.
Originally published as 2025 Skoda Superb review
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