Road Test: Skoda Superb 3.6 V6 FSI

  • Sep 11, 2009
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When the proverbial walls came down in Europe to form what is now the Union, it proved to be quite a bit of an advantage for the smaller countries forming the alliance

Now, when you cross over to the Czech Republic from any of the countries surrounding it, you just simply drive through what remains of what once was the immigration check and passport control station on the Czech border. All of a sudden, the Czech is not just another European country, it's a part of the EU. Ironically, that same progression seems to have happened in the automotive industry as well. With Skoda's take over by the Volkswagen group, there is little or no difference in their cars and the German giant's products. All that remains is a change in badge that signifies the origins of the Czech vehicle. Unanimous votes would suggest that the formation of the European Union has done a whole lot of good to the region and if you could quantify that to Skoda's success the world over in recent times, I'd say the unanimous voting machinery is running like clockwork!


So now you have Skoda's cars with not only the most up-to-date technology, which is a natural result of the VW adoption, but also much better looking cars as well. All the way down from the Fabia up to the flagship Superb and the soon-to-be-launched Yeti, Skoda's cars are getting more appealing by the day. And they're even doing a good job of keeping customers interested with variants and engine options.

So when Skoda first got the Superb out in India with the 1.8 TSI petrol and the 2 litre diesel engines, we knew there had to be a big bad brawny variant coming up soon. Don't get me wrong here - the 1.8 TSI is an awesome engine with the 7-speed DSG that works so well with the smallish powerplant, the Superb is a decent performing sedan, but to really boast of performance pedigree and technological prowess you need something special under the hood - and that's exactly what the brilliant 3.6 litre V6 FSI petrol mill brings to the table.

Design & Style: Sleeper to the core!

A lot has been said already about the Superb and Skoda's design direction with their newer cars. While the older one looked more like a semicircle on a box with rounded edges, the new Superb is truly a good looking car, though it has some odd proportions. While at first, that may seem like a glitch in the design phase, but truth of the matter is that the Superb's 'stretch' visual stance is a direct result of the form follows function philosophy. Every bit on the Superb is, if it can be described in one word, long. Right from the hood to the glass house to the boot, and with clever lines on the car, the Skoda designers have managed to keep a little bit of a check on the visual mass.

The V6 is no different. In fact, it looks exactly the same as the other Superbs. Take it which ever way you want to, but unless you're eagle eyed and really pay attention you'll never figure out whether a certain Superb driving past you is the one with the 1.8 TSI petrol unit, with the 2 litre diesel unit or now, with the V6 FSI unit! There are absolutely no badges on the car which shout out and tell the world about what's under the hood. To find that out, you'll have to take a quick peek under the rear bumper because that's where the secret comes out shining. On the V6 is this beautiful array of four exhaust end pipes, two on either side which very sedately speak of the engine under that long bonnet. Well, when the car's at a standstill at least! The only other hint that the Superb V6 has that this is one's special is when you're in the driver's seat. The gear selector lever has a rather understated '4 X 4' engraved in the chrome plate it carries - kind of in reassurance that no matter what you throw at it, the Superb will hold its ground.

Interiors: Business, as usual!

The Superb's interiors may not be the most liveliest of the bunch, but yes, it does come with a touch screen multi-function display, which on foreign markets also houses the navigation system. The dash layout is pretty and contemporary with the typical Skoda touch of beige interiors with most welcome dashes and streaks of black. The Superb even has a tinge of wood and metal highlights to complete a rather calm and soothing ambience - something that you truly require to keep your brain in check when you floor that throttle for the very first time.

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Then there's that big gear lever for selecting the drive mode on the automatic gearbox - the one with the '4 X 4' chrome plate on it that we mentioned earlier. It's probably one of the best gear levers I've ever seen on an auto'box - holding it is like fitting the top of rotweiller's head in the palm of your hands and keeping it tame - knowing that the moment you give it the slightest of hints, it will pounce on and attack whatever comes in its path! And then there's that wonderfully crafted steering wheel with the thumb recesses and steering mounted controls like on most German cars, except that the Superb isn't German, it's Czech. Which is where my whole point of the thin line diminishing between Skoda, Audi and VW's products shines through!

Engine and Transmission: All about the number 6!


There's a reason why this road test has been written and why you're reading it. This is probably the most important section in this article, apart from the next one. Yes, this one's about the source of all the power that is good in this world - that sweet V6 engine! Replacing the 1.8 litre unit in the Superb's engine bay is a 3597 cc, direct injection, transversely mounted V6 mill. The engine is naturally aspirated though, which means it makes about 260 PS of power at 6000 revs. 350 Nm of torque kick in at 2500rpm and stay at maximum value all the way till 5000rpm - plastering a huge smile across your face as the car rocks from side to side when you blip the throttle in neutral. The engine is coupled to a 6-speed DSG with Tiptronic manual gear changing. While the engine-'box combination works well, we would have liked to see the 7-speed DSG that does duty in the TSI to be employed here as well - that engine deserves it! Taking all that power down to the tarmac on the Superb V6 is an all-time four wheel drive system that distributes power to all four wheels seeking out immense levels of grip from the Superb's tyres.

Performance & Handling: Hold on to those horses!


0-100 km/h comes up in just under 9 seconds and while you're eyes are busy trying to make sense as the world goes by in a blur and your back is pinned against the nicely supportive seats, your ears will be at peace - savouring the magnum opus that is the sweet sound of the Superb's V6. While some may argue that the sprint time isn't exactly better than any of the other V6 engines in the Superb's segment - all the inertia of the 4x4 system and restrictions in launching at higher rpms with an automatic gearbox tend to take away a bit of the Superb V6's 100 km/h dash time. Also, this car is heavy - at 1750 kg, just under 9 seconds is a respectable time indeed!

The quarter mile came up in 16.39 seconds with the Superb hitting speeds just under 140 km/h and going on to accelerate way past the 200 km/h mark before quite simply put, we ran out of road! But what really gets you liking the Superb V6 are the car's brakes. Feel is extremely positive with huge amounts of feedback that make you believe you're in control of the car the whole time. The Superb V6 will stop dead from 100 km/h in just 2.86 seconds and creep ahead 41 metres in doing so. But the real beauty of the V6 engine is not in the 100 km/h dash nor in the braking. It's in the way the Superb responds when you floor the pedal while overtaking. It simply makes mince-meat out of every other normal car on the road. You won't have to flinch or even think twice before planning that next overtaking move - all you have to do is imagine it and it's already done!

The Superb was always a good handling car and now, even more so. Along with the four wheel drive system comes a set of larger 17-inch diameter wheels which make this car even sweeter to drive. Steering is precise and she'll just rocket away where you're pointing her at. If you want to have a little bit more fun, then there's always the ESP Off switch located beside the gear stalk. Tyres on the Superb are rather low profile, but they don't compromise on ride quality either. Overall, a great suspension setup and well-matched tyres compliment the four wheel drive system beautifully well to make for one of the sweetest handling cars in its segment.

Verdict:


With the added weight of the engine, four-wheel drive system and larger wheels, the Superb V6 weighs in at 1750 kg. Now that does take a bit away from not only the sprint to 100km/h but also from the car's fuel efficiency which stood at just over 7 kmpl on our test runs. Also considering that at Rs 25.25 lakh (Ex-showroom Delhi) the V6 engined Superb costs almost a large hatchback's worth more than the 1.8 TSI Superb, the V6 FSI isn't a car for everyone who can afford to buy it. You've got to be really sure that you want a car that's insanely fast and really fun to drive, and at the same time offers great comfort and unbeatable space as well because you see, the Skoda Superb V6 FSI doesn't need a badge to shout out about its performance pedigree - that stonker of an engine will do it for you!

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