Unbelievable! Someone has had the same thoughts as a couple of others here on Briskoda.net.

Below you'll find an article cut from the 'On the road' section of AtlasF1, the leading F1 magazine on the net. As Atlas is a subscription-based site (and not all of you will be subscribers) I have copied and pasted the whole article for you to enjoy...

Here goes:

Find Out Why this Skoda is Superb

Do you remember the Pepsi Challenge? It was a clever TV advert from the Eighties featuring members of the public being invited to taste-test Pepsi and one other leading cola drink (oh, the intrigue of it all).

The giggling volunteer wore a blindfold and as the beaming host revealed that they had chosen Pepsi over the rival, the happily assuaged volunteer would pledge to drink only Pepsi for ever more.

It is time that Skoda ceased wasting its money on the current 'It's a Skoda. Honest' ad campaign. The TV ad featuring the faffing assembly-line worker and his implausible reluctance to fit a Skoda badge to the bonnet of the car he is building should be pulled immediately. In its place, a new campaign called The Skoda Challenge would better fit this model.

It would work like this. All badges on a Skoda Superb would be removed and members of the public would then be filmed enjoying driving it. When asked what they thought the car was and how much it would cost, they would undoubtedly say a BMW or an Audi, cars which would set you back an easy 20,000 pounds. The host would smile knowingly to camera before informing the volunteer that it actually costs the same money as a Mondeo or a Citroen. And then would come the killer moment, the sting in the tail, as the car was revealed to be a Skoda. 'The Skoda Superb: it's the car you make it.' Cue thought-provoking violin music.

Skoda itself must feel the public still needs educating but it's a shame, because in (almost) every way this Skoda is superb. Which is not, incidentally, how it acquired its name. In the Thirties, when the Czech Republic was still Czechoslovakia and the name Skoda was rather more than the punchline in a dodgy joke, the Superb was a range-topping six-cylinder limousine that ensured Skoda was taken seriously by its customers. Can history repeat itself?

A Handsome Car

If common sense or plain good taste were the defining factors, then Skoda would be home and dry but unfortunately, image is the essential ingredient of modern life (apparently).

It

Dutch

Thats a great review of the Superb!...its a pity its locked away on a subscription based website , instead of , say , Auto Express! Im sure a lot of the car buying public dont know the Superb exists , as IMHO its a cracking car for a family , big , reliable , well built and bloody cheap! Surely they should be flying out of the showroom door!

It looks like the motoring press are waking up, even if Skoda's advertising agency isn't.

Here's a quote from David Finlay's road test of a Superb V6 TDI on the CarKeys website:-

"Unlike sister company Seat, Skoda tends to follow the VW Group party line when it comes to styling, and I wish the Superb wasn't quite so obviously related to the Passat and A4. Apart from the extra wheelbase, it's only the trademark baroque radiator grille which distinguishes the Superb from these cars, so it tends to fade into the traffic. I think it deserves better - and while we're on the subject I think Skoda as a whole deserves much better than the apologetic, look-we're-not-as-bad-as-you-think advertising campaign it's been saddled with. "

You can see the full report at http://www.carkeys.co.uk/roadtest/RT000239.htm

I fear that the Superb will go the same way as the VW Santana or Talbot Tagora.

Oh, I just remembered this and it's too funny to hold back from you all - at the Amsterdam AutoRAI car exhibition the Superb's superior rear legroom was very effectively demonstrated by letting a whirlwind of children play catch me if you can around the back of the car, with the rear doors open.

To my amazement their game quickly amounted to running across the car at great speed from one side to the other and back! :shock:

There was no pause in their motions on entry, and they were equally fast on exit. They generally just blasted through! :lol:

With the kids the Superb was the second-most popular car on the show - it was only beaten (and soundly at that) by Volvo's latest SUV, the XC90. I've heard and read that it drives like a pig, but the kids loved it - it was like a driving playground! And you should've heard their pleas: "Dad, dad, can we have this one? Please, please, please!" :P

I had a loan of a 1.9TDi Comfort (red i, 100BHP I think) the other day while mine was in for a service, I must say I was well impressed. It was really comfortable, quite quick, very quiet and I thought it handled really well for such a big car.

I think I'd be right in saying if it was a comfort PD it must have been the 130, the 100 is only available as a classic.

I'm getting a 130 comfort demonstrator for a week on Wednesday. I'm interested in seeing peoples reactions to it especially my colleagues. Is a Skoda acceptable for a sales rep!

For me it's a bit of a no brainer, I'm 6'3'' with children so I need the space. I currently drive a new model Vectra and no one can fit in the back behind me. So choice comes down to Passat S PD 100 (bigger than the Vectra but still limited in the back) or Superb Comfort PD 130... compare the specs...no choice really.

I sed to work closely with a software rep who drove a rather nice Volvo (S40?) in a rather tasteful blow. It went like the wind.

He reasoned that a BMW was too showy for a rep, and a Merc too austentacious. His claim was that the Volvo looked prudent, and gave a far better image.

On that basis, which is a reasoned one, I would say that the Passat and the Superb both fit the bill. As you are the one driving it then I would say, whatever you feel most comfortable in (I'm 6ft5 so can speak with authority). The Superb is bound to have more bells and whistles for the money though...

dan123,

1.9TDi Comfort 100BHP is available in Ireland, see www.Skoda.ie

I stand corrected

Actually I stand uncorrected, I've just checked the Irish site and the PD 100 is only available with classic trim.

I think I'm going mad. If you visit the Irish site and click on the Superb link on the home page the summary of technical specifications says no 100 PD for the comfort spec, however if you go into the superb info via the showroom link I can see you are correct......just ignore me

Its bad when the website doesn't even have the correct info. I don't know the difference between them so I asked the dealer at the time. The only thing I found wrong with it was that the dash looked slightly dull/plain as it was just black although I seen different ones in the brochure which look a lot better, I supposed it depends on your taste.

Overall I was very impressed with the car.

Have had the Superb demonstrator for two days now(comfort pd130). It is simply superb(!). Rear legroom is incredible. The pulling power low in the rev range (from about 1700) has to be felt to be believed. Finish is 1st class, easily as good as the Passat. Don't believe any one who says 'oh yes it looks like a vw but its not built to the same quality'. To be honest I find it hard to believe VAG are allowing this car to be built, surely the secret will soon get out. I read an article a few months back with the top dog at VAG where he explained how each brand in the group was to develop a stronger image(eg SEAT-sporting, Skoda-value etc) in the same article he said the Superb was a mistake and wont be allowed to happen again, essentially it's too good to be a Skoda. He doesn't want people like me(an ex-Passat driver) looking over at Skoda and switching loyalties. Anyone buying a Passat while this car is available needs their head feeling. My order will be placed next week, adding only a nice upgrade to 17" wheels. Get yours while it's still available!

It'll be a shame if they axe it. It just needs time. People who have dipped their feet in the water with smaller models and been pleased will trade up over time. I am considering one myself in a year or as its the nearest thing available to a late 80s Merc E class... Must be getting old but it does look good... Don't like the fake wood though...

I think the superb is a fantastic looking car and as for that v6 TDI WOW!!!!!!!! When I picked up my Octy vRS the manager took to the bank in a v6 TDI I was really impressed with it!!!! Skoda need to certainly market it more as it is a fantastic car!!!!

More from the AutoBild article: the Superb will remain in the Skoda line-up until 2009 at least...

More importantly, the improved Superb will be a revised version of the current one, so will keep the longitudinal engine (so "real" quattro for the future?) while the new VW Passat will get a transversely mounted engine.

The Superb really is a great car. Imagine a 3 year old moderate milage 2.5 v6 TDI model, Audi quality, ride ,reliability and performance for the price of a crappy large Renault or Citroen. I can almost hear Quentin Wilson telling us to rush out and buy one!

Only most sales are of the pd130 lump equiped ....

Well, I dont think Ill be buying one now, and Iv'e only ever seen a Police Superb on the road, never another in my entire life, but u see a passat all the time.

There are a few Superbs around our way and a friend who is a HR director has a 130 TDi Comfort. Reckons it is brilliant and has saved him a fortune as his company car allowance goes way past the figure required for said Superb (last car was a high spec Espace)

The leg room is excellent for this price.

James

Quiet a few round our way, although they are mostly used as Taxi's.

Sales should be helped following the recently announced price cuts across the whole range. See news section.

Read this thread with interest. I am exaclty the sort of buyer they are after - I am moving from a Passat to a Superb, for exactly the reasons described above - i.e. basic Passat, or extremely well equipped Superb. It is a no brainer.

Cannot understand why there are so few of them about though. Drove 125 miles yesterday (down the M6) and didn't see one. Saw hundreds of Passats though!

I certainly hope they do continue to build the car until 2009, as I wouldn't mind another after the lease for the one I'm about to get expires in 2007!

On one of the replies earlier, it mentioned the Superb is wider than the Passat. Is that right? I knew it was longer (obviously!), but not wider too.

No its not wider, but think its slightly higher with a different roof line to accomodate the larger rear doors.

On the opposite note, Mrs Kentish went shopping yesterday, and parked next to a........dark metallic blue Superb :eek: .

Excuse me, but mine is supposed to be the only one in the area

Cannot understand why there are so few of them about though. Drove 125 miles yesterday (down the M6) and didn't see one. Saw hundreds of Passats though!

I'd imagine it's mostly because the Passat is bought for financial reasons by fleet lease companies - the depreciation is less steep than the Superb, and running costs (to a fleet) probably aren't that different.

Also, most middle-management seem to be total badge snobs...

I think the Superb will show better-than-expected residuals over time though, much like the Octavia and Fabia have...

Rob.