2015 Geneva Motor Show: Skoda Superb first official pics

THE SECOND generation Skoda Superb to be sold in Australia has been unveiled in the Czech Republic ahead of its position as the show star for Skoda’s 2015 Geneva Motor Show stand.

The largest Skoda on sale, the new Superb is the biggest model to use Volkswagen Group’s flexible MQB architecture, which has proven a dynamic benchmark as the backbone of the current VW Golf, Audi A3 and Skoda Octavia. Visually, it apes the bold, edgy (and bright green) Vision C Concept that was shown at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show and has dropped its two-stage bootlid for a proper hatchback.

Skoda has confirmed that the Superb will sit on an 80mm longer wheelbase than before, which means it’s a whopping 2841mm. That’s 155mm longer than Octavia, 221mm more than Golf and compares to Holden Commodore’s 2914mm – it’s that big. At the same time, front overhang is 61mm shorter than before, a plus for handling.

Those dimensions provide an expanse of rear passenger space, with 157mm rear legroom, while it will also be more accommodation up front. There’s a boot so large you’ll have to apply for citizenship – it’s 625 litres. That gives the Superb a larger cargo area than Commodore, Toyota Camry and Mazda 6.

The Australian engine line-up is yet to be confirmed, with European markets given a choice of five engines, but it’s expected that the Oz market will continue with the 125kW diesel and 118 TSI powerplants currently offered in the Superb range. As with other MQB cars, a significant weight saving is expected and therefore measureable improvement in the Superb’s already admirable fuel economy, officially 5.5L/100km for the diesel.

Four out of five of the engines offered in Europe are offered with a Haldex all-wheel drive system, yet Skoda Australia has not confirmed whether the local line-up will include all-wheel drive, despite its availability on the current car. The wagon – which offers a Ford Kuga-style foot-waving auto opening system – is also yet to be confirmed for Down Under.

Dynamic chassis control will be offered for the first time on a Superb, while the XDS+ electronic differential lock is standard on all European models.

Safety gear? There’s loads of it. Euro models have Automatic Emergency Braking, as well as radar cruise control, blind spot indicators and seven airbags. It would be surprising of the Superb didn’t receive a five-star Euro NCAP rating.

The 2015 Skoda Superb is expected to start from around $29,000 when it arrives in Australia by the end of the year.