Kingsley

Well, Nick, I had people complaining because I dared suggest that the new Jaguars haven't got enough wood veneer inside. if it's good enough for real luxury cars like Rollers and Bentleys, what's the objection? It seems a new fashion just to have leather and fake metal or if lucky real aluminium. Personally I absolutely loathe the pointless and vulgar silvery plastic **** trims that cars seem to abound in these days. What's the problem with wood? It has history and gives balance to a high tech environment

In fact the wood trim on the dashboard and door cappings AND a wooden steering wheel are available on the Chinese version of this car, and they look marvellous, well befitting the excellent but otherwise rather bland interior.

I go along with what you are saying, JJ, but looked at in a historical context, jaguars were once, rather like big Rovers, Humbers, Armstrong Siddelys, Lagondas, Alvises, the cars for middle class accountants, bankers, doctors, the settled professions. They were a cut above the plebean, they gave a sense of luxury just below that of a Rolls or a Bentley, but the 'Jag' had that extra edge, notably the big Marks 7 to 10, and of course the bank robber/ copper special, the Mk2. All of these Jags and ever since, until now, with this XE, had one thing in common. They had a very luxurious, slightly racy, interior, with tons of luscious timber and rich leather. I'd live to get my bum inside an XJ!. This is why the XE is, in my opinion, with 'optional wood' ( not mentioned anywhere that I have seen, must try to get a brochure) is devastatingly below any expectation I or any old geezer like me would have of a Jaguar. It's also worth pointing out that the traditional Jaguar was regarded as a relatively inexpensive luxury car. Nowadays JLR are trying to take the marque upmarket to compete with Astons and maybe even Bentleys, and in the XJ they have made a great job of it, but this only underlines the sadness of the XEs austere interior. I do not even compare to BMWs, cars where you have a bloody lever to hold then lean back to change seat back pitch!! At least in the 3. Primitivo! Let us remember that in the 1930s the Superb was also a big comfortable economical luxury car, quite a svelte beast. I love the way Josef Kaban has tied his new design into the historical storyline. The car is very coherent in its design themes, inside as well as out, the brilliant concept of one gifted man (for the same reason I love Herr Piech's single or even bloody minded Phaeton). So this is why I regard the new Superb as a better car than the XE , although it cannot of course be drectly compared to the brilliant XJ Jaguar. Because it is a lovely celebration of traditional Skodaness, and the XE is a very pale imitation of a 'Jag'!!!

I have an initial impression that the Superb is in fact priced below the Passat. Interestingly the Superb can be had with a 280 horsepower engine but the maximum power offered in the Passat is 220 hp petrol or 240 diesel! Just had a young friend here looking at 2013 Passats with top specs and the 3.6litre engine and 4x4 as offered in the current Superb, having done about 5000 miles, at half new price! Crazy, partially because of the hike in the Swiss Franc exchange against the Euro, and partially because of the new model (which I don't like as much). There are outrageous bargains to be had online right now.

Perhaps i was exaggerating, a gut reaction shared by another old guy with a gut sitting next to me! There was not enough space, the dash was ugly. I stand by the simple fact that any Jag should feel luxurious and this does not. It compares badly with the poor old X type in the interior. Of course the XJ is another class of car, it's one of the few for which I can have any respect after our Phaeton, one of the few I would ever want to own. The XF is nice too, but the XE is simply a downer, a major disappointment, not a real Jaguar at all. Compare the Mk 2 for reference size wise in the range. THAT is a Jag, not this plain Jane. That is why it reminds me of one of those extraordinary Chinese imitations, because the sad interior, with not even nice shapes, is the sort of abortion they might hack. It will not sell. Pay a bit more and get an XF.

My phone pics are useless. The stand was crawling, but I would say yes to your question. The interior quality seemed to me at least as good as the Passat. Very convincing, very neat, businesslike and pleasingly 'technical' , which I believe is part of the thrust of the car. I can see why Mr Vahland wants us all to think that it is not 'aimed' at be Passat, because he could be in big trouble with parent VW if we really compare it to the boring Passat. Oh dear, the Superb is a much nicer car...

I was in Geneva today, in that overcrowded hothouse. Deeply impressed with the Superb, which appeared in L&K and 'Style' versions, all 4x4s. None of them had rear window wipers. Our touring car is a VW Phaeton, which of course, is not a hatchback, however, given the exquisitely aerodynamic design of this Superb, quite similar in that respect to our Phaeton, it would seem unnecessary. At any speed I am amazed how rain and dirt just fly over the back window, so I do not think this will be a problem on the Superb. I was greatly impressed with the quality of its interior in general and particularly the leather on the seats. I could not tell if the door cards were also leather but the overall softness of surfaces and the coordination of the trims were very pleasing. I found it overall a much nicer car to sit in than the rather disappointing lacklustre new Passat. It also looks much more handsome. Oh dear. The other shock there was the horrid Jaguar XE, which looks on the outside like a Chinese knockoff of an XF and has not a sliver of wood veneer inside. Surely we expect to be cushioned in luxury inside a Jag? An unassuming Skoda Superb knocks spots off this sad disaster. Overall this must be easily the best Skoda ever, and certainly one of the nicest cars being produced by VAG at the moment. A triumph of well coordinated design.

Today I into the throbbing overheated jungle of the Geneva Motor Show. I always get a headache there. It opens at 10 and I was there by 10.30. It was already getting crowded, on a Monday morning! Much of the interest revolved around the big Skoda stand, right next door to Bentley on one side and VW on the other, so this Hall number 2 was seething with activity. One of my biggest surprises was that, next to the Superb, the Car of the Year VW Passat seemed lacklustre and boring. Frankly, VW seem to me to have lost the plot since the beautifully classic shapes and robust and handsome, even noble interiors of the B5 Passat of 15 years ago. In contrast, the new Superb in many details, not all subtle, carries many of the genes of Superbs past in the history of this noble marque. I noticed with a smile the retro 1930 style numbers on the big dials. The cars on show were, it must be admitted, all either L&K or 'Style' models, all with leather or leather and alcantara interiors, electric drivers seats, great looking alloys, etc.but it only goes to show that this handsome dynamic design can carry a luxurious finish very well. In contrast, the front of a Passat reminds me of a clenched fist in motion, and the interiors are fussy and uncoordinated in comparison. I was surprised how well the now 'classic' dash, like a bigger version of that in the Octavia, works so well and looks, again, formal and classic, something we clearly appreciate in Skodas. Everything blends well together, all the dash surfaces are soft and the door cards, looking perhaps too simplistic in photographs, are soft and as attractive in the geometry of their design as those in a Rolls Royce Phantom. While the actual level of sheer luxury is restrained (as, no doubt, the parent company demands so as not to compete too dramatically with fellow VW models) the outcome, in design and comfort terms, is wholly enjoyable and overall hugely convincing for the flagship car of the range. It makes you feel that the once maligned Eastern European company has returned to its heyday of making solid reliable and, yes, luxurious middle class cars. Mr Josef Kaban is to congratulated heartily, because in this beautiful car we see the coordinated vision of a true artist coming to fruition. I love this car.

Here in Switzerland, popping between villages, running the 50 minutes down the motorway into Geneva once or twice a week, nipping down to the local shops, we are averaging 43.6 mpg. Wonderful car!

I agree that the Tiguan dashboard is really unattractive in comparison to the Yeti. Especially if we add some of those pretty chrome rings around the Climatronic knobs from Superskoda, for instance. Or some adhesive wood trims from 'Wow trim'. Am I the only one who has ennobled a Yeti dash wiv a bit a wood, guv? It actually looks really nice if still not quite an exact match with the Boreal wood. Bearing in mind we are left hand drive, of course, but I do believe right hand drive trims are also available. Whether or not people think wood dashes to be fuddy duddy, i find them to offer great additional decorative value in a Gobi Sand leather interior. The basic Yeti interior is solid and well made and merits a bit of extra decoration. I would have loved a wooden steering wheel as well! And the car has anyway much more character than the Tiguan.

Richard, your leather seats are gorgeous, especially with the stitching and padding. I understand that most people wear denim these days, a bit like the cultural revolution in China? My own preference as a time traveller from the 50's is for summer wool or light cotton, especially having visited the factories in Sri Lanka that make denims for rich and poor alike. They are all made in the same place and just the labels differ. When did denim become so a la mode actually? So I perfectly understand why folks might not want light seating material. Just sad to me that so many lovely cars seem ruined by coal scuttle interiors. I don't agree about the dashboard, though. It's lovely in beige and brown, doesn't look blocky to me a bit. I like the fake wood in ours, too, can't stand matt silver plastic and in some cars the piano black wood offered looks just like black plastic to me as well. It's nice to have a bit of decoration inside a car, especially our robust but slightly austere Yeti interiors. Some of you will be horrified to know I am also adding an extra fake wood kit to enliven the Gobi Sand! Silly old sod they might say! Must say we have totally adopted our Miss Yeti, what a lovely little car!

RIchard, where did you go to recover your seats in nappa, and can we see a picture please? Personally, we love our Gobi sand leather seats and find the colour fully appropriate to the jeep like function of the car. We cannot stand coal scuttle black interiors, 'cloth' is generally horrible and synthetic and a nightmare to keep clean. I am amazed how people seem to think there is any comfort in black interiors, considering how much time we spend inside our cars, and why beige or gobi sand is regarded as the choice of older people is a mystery to me. It's just lighter and more cheerful. Time enough for black interiors when we are in a box, folks! So far our leather seats are very robust and comfortable, although we have only covered about 3000 kms. Obviously not like the (sunny beige) leather armchairs in the VW, which are nicer than anything we have in the house!

Designed to provoke awe, compete with bimmers and mercs rather than Vauxhalls! Very handsome! http://auto.blog.rs/blog/auto/top-secret/2013/11/17/skoda-fabia-iii-superb-iii-snowman-suv-i-sherpa-suv

Here in Switzerland, a litre of oil in a bag in the boot of our new 2 litre TDI 170 BHP 4x4 Elegance delivered two days ago.

Just got our new Yeti 2 litre TDI Elegance, built on the 19th august. Very happy and delighted with it, what an amazing car! I am pleased to say it has got the traditional green badges. The new ones look so ordinary. i don't want a car with badges like some Opel or Vauxhall, depending where you live. The chrome on black is rubbish, and means there has to be an extra name panel to say 'Skoda' on the back of cars, because the name is no longer a part of the badge. And the laurel leaves referred to the fine rallying history of this old old marque, which deserves much greater respect than most people seem to understand as the the oldest marque in the whole Volkswagen Audi Group. We are so happy to be driving our third Skoda. Cars that fit like a glove from new, so easy to drive and so comfortable. The green badge and that colour association has been so successful I do wonder why the bosses thought it a good idea to change to such an ordinary boring common looking design. Oh dear.