Superb by name and nature

Seán Creedon finds the Skoda Superb Combi Greenline is as strong on practical utility as it is in passenger and driver comfort.

If you give a car a name like ‘Superb’, then you have to ensure that it lives up to its billing. But Skoda has done just that. The Superb Combi is a massive station wagon that boasts one of the most ample boot spaces in its category. And now, the Czech manufacturer’s Greenline version will give you even more kilometres for your euro.

I have never won the lottery, or anything like it. However, I’m often told that I’m a lucky chap, and fate decreed that I was test-driving the Combi at a time when I had to dispose of the remnants of an old built-in wardrobe.

With the Combi’s regular boot volume of 633 litres expanding almost three-fold to a massive 1,865 litres with the back seat folded down, I had no problem transporting the long glass doors of the wardrobe unit to the recycling centre. Like me, my wife is no lover of two-door cars, and now I know why she likes to see me arriving home on a Monday with a large vehicle.

The Combi is a very long, classy looking motor, whose sleek, elongated appearance is enhanced by two silver roof rails. In the cabin, cream seats and a walnut trim on the dash make the surroundings very pleasing on the eye. There might be a problem in keeping the seats clean if you are transporting children with muddy shoes. But there is ample legroom, especially in the back seat, and passengers won’t find their knees coming up to the chest.

Some of the standard equipment on the Elegance version I was test-driving included cruise control, park assist and stop-start technology. Stop-start’s selling point is that it saves on fuel, and that’s where the Greenline model really makes its mark.

Greenline employs advanced technology to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. And indeed, the fuel gauge is the slowest moving item on the dash. The same dash incorporates the standard controls from parent company Volkswagen, which means they are well laid out and simple to use. There are also slave controls on the steering wheel.

On the road, this is a most comfortable motor to drive and travel in, and you won’t need many pit-stops for refuelling. And if you are transporting items other than old wardrobes, there is a useful bar that can be used to configure the boot space into a variety of sizes of shapes.