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Skoda Superb Wagon Review Volkswagen's Skoda continues to push harder in to Australia in a battle to win the hearts and minds of local buyers. Despite producing many great models, it hasn't been an easy job with Skoda yet to hit the sweet spot down under. Nonetheless the Czech based car maker is only getting started and the latest model in its ammunition is the Skoda Superb Wagon. The world got its first glimpse of the Superb Wagon at Frankfurt last year and the model has now made it to Australia with a starting price of $40,990*. From the front, the Superb Wagon keeps the same familiar face as its Superb Sedan brother whilst the rear gains a clean modern look that seems to complement the overall design better than in sedan guise. In daytime the Superb Wagon's chrome grille and touted lines combined with its unique front headlight design portray a sense of masculinity whilst also remaining elegant and modern. Nighttime brings an entirely new dimension to the Superb Wagon thanks to its rear design. Although looking somewhat conservative during the day, each rear taillight comprises of a C-shaped light broken into three sections that shine through when engaged. Creating elegant shapes for front or rear lights is nothing new to the Volkswagen-Audi team, but the night-look for the Superb Wagon gives that extra edge to the Skoda design. The 2010 Skoda Superb Wagon measures 4,838mm long, 1,817mm wide, and 1,462mm high (stretching to 1,510mm with the standard roof rails). You wouldn’t be buying a Superb Wagon if boot space wasn’t an issue and the Superb Wagon delivers an impressive 1,865 litres of capacity with the rear seats folded down or 633 litres with the seats in place (only beaten by the Mercedes-Benz E-Class wagon in its segment). Moving inside the Superb Wagon delivers European-quality luxury at an affordable price. Even with two tall adults sitting comfortably in the front, rear legroom is big enough to easily fit two basketball players and a normal adult for long journeys. The front seats offer great side support and are wrapped in European quality leather.There is soft plastic used throughout the cabin and you’ll be amazed as to the how quiet the cabin is even on rough country roads. There are some “simply clever” design elements to the Skoda as well, for example there is room for an umbrella inside the rear left door. Then there is the luggage restrain system which thanks to the rails in the boot can be adjusted to any location. There is also a removable magnetic battery-powered LED flashlight that can be used at night to change a flat, or just for illumination. Overall it’s easy to note that some considerable thought has gone into the car’s interior design. It’s practical but also user-friendly. To test drive the new Superb Wagon, Volkswagen handed us the keys to drive from Melbourne out through rural Victoria along twisty mountain roads as well as a variety of city and highway sections. First on the test drive schedule was the base model 118TSI Superb Wagon Ambition. If you’re wondering how a 1.8-litre petrol engine can catapult a car as big as the Superb Wagon (which weighs 1583kg – tare mass) from 0-100km/h in just 8.6 seconds and deliver a fuel economy figure of 7.5L/100km? You’re not alone. The figures are nothing short of surprising and goes to show that engine-size really doesn’t matter. Even though the figures might sound good on paper the crucial test is real-world figures. From Melbourne airport directions were followed out towards Bacchus Marsh and then onto Werribee Mansion. The 118TSI feels like it can be a 2.5-litre, but alas it’s a tiny 1.8-litre. Thanks to its turbocharging technology and Volkswagen’s impressive engineering it outputs 118kW of power and 250Nm of torque. The figures are not all that high when you consider how fast it accelerates given its weight. The missing piece of the puzzle is the 7-speed DSG transmission (Direct Shift Gearbox). You can be assured that if this was a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) instead, the Superb would be noticeably slower. Volkswagen’s DSG transmissions have been around for some time (and arguably set the standard for an automatic gearbox industry-wide) but the 7-Speed found in the Superb 118TSI is relatively new and helps the small petrol engine deliver power smoothly and across the rev range. Driving around corners the Superb behaves just like a Passat Wagon. Smooth, planted and with a slight hint of torque steer out of tight corners. Nonetheless it’s always composed and well behaved even across Victoria’s dreadful roads. Controlling the car is Skoda’s multi-function 4-spoke leather steering wheel. This can (and should be) upgraded to an optional $440 3-spoke multi-function steering wheel with paddles for controlling the DSG. If you’re thinking paddles are just a gimmick, think again, they allow instant access to gear changes when the time comes to have some fun in the superb (and for the price, it’s worth it). 118TSI aside, the engine above is the people’s choice. The Superb Wagon 125TDI makes use of a 2.0-litre diesel engine that delivers 125kW and a massive 350Nm of torque. This means a 0-100km/h time of 8.9 seconds whilst using just 6.6L of diesel per 100km. Not bad at all. Real world testing during our drive returned 6.8L/100km. The acceleration to 100km/h is marginally slower than the 118TSI due to an extra 44kg of weight (added by the diesel engine) and its 6-speed DSG. The reason for the DQ-350 6-speed transmission is, as the name suggests, it’s ability to take up to 350Nm of torque. The 7-speed is better suited to less powerful engines. The diesel performs well once its running and delivers most of its torque down low (between 1750-2500rmp) but does seem to lack that instant response you gain from the turbo petrol. Even so, diesel does make more sense given its better fuel economy and higher pulling power. Skoda expects diesel Wagons to take about 70 percent of sales with the remainder to be split largely in the favour of the 118TSI followed by the top-of-the-range Superb Wagon Elegance 4×4 V6 191FSI. The V6 makes use of a 3.6-litre with 191kW and 350Nm of torque coupled to a 6-speed DSG (similar engine to that found in the Passat R36). This variant was not driven during the media launch (check back in the next few weeks once we’ve driven the 4×4). After a three hour drive program out and back into Melbourne, it’s fair to say the Skoda Superb Wagon is yet another great addition to the Skoda range. With the backing of Volkswagen, Skoda is here to stay and potential buyers of European large wagons would be mad to miss out on a test drive. It may be a little quirky and unique, but that’s what Skoda is all about. It has character and in this day and age that’s a rarity! Skoda Superb Wagon Pricing: Superb Wagon Ambition 118TSI $40,990* Superb Wagon Ambition 125TDI $43,990* Superb Wagon Elegance 118TSI $46,990* Superb Wagon Elegance 125TDI $49,990* Superb Wagon Elegance 4×4 V6 191FSI $57,990* Optional Equipment Skoda Superb Wagon Pricing: Metallic/Pearl effect paint $990 Bi-Xenons headlights with AFS (Ambition) $1,990 El. Adjustable driver's seat with memory (Ambition) $1,490 Leather seats in combination leather/artificial leather (Ambition) $2,890 Panoramic roof (Wagon) $2,190 Power tailgate (Wagon) $790 Alarm system (Ambition) $590 Satellite Navigation 'Columbus' with voice control (Ambition) $2,890 Roller blinds for rear side windows (Wagon) $290 Privacy glass (from B pillar) $440 False floor (Wagon) $370 6-disc CD changer (with conjuction with satellite navigation) $790 Sound system – 400W, 10 channel amplifier and 10 speakers (Ambition) $1,490 3-spoke multi-function steering wheel for radio with paddles for DSG $440 Sport suspension with 18" 'Themisto' alloy wheels (Elegance only) $1,990 Sport suspension for Elegance 4×4 $490 MDI – Mobile device interface $290 Decorative insert 'Mirage' – metallic inlays (Elegance) $90 Automatic release of cargo cover (Wagon) $140 Standard Equipment across the enetry model Ambience Superb Wagon nine airbags, dual-zone climate control air conditioning, multi-function trip computer, MP3 capable stereo, cruise control, front foglights with corner function, leather gearshift lever and 4-spoke multi-function steering wheel, Park Assist parallel parking system (including front parking distance control) Moving up to the luxury packed and range-topping Elegance and Elegance 4×4, additional features include Satellite navigation 'Columbus', leather interior in combination leather/artificial leather, Bi-Xenon headlights with AFS (Adaptive FrontLight System), electrically-adjustable driver and passenger seat with driver seat memory function, alarm system 400W, 10 channel amplifier and 10 speakers. Skoda Superb Wagon Specifications (PDF) . Future Audis to support apps? With the iPhone dominating the smart phone segment and with more and more cars having full integration for the device, it’s no surprise that Audi has announced that its future models will able to run downloadable “apps” by the end of the decade. This doesn’t mean you can download Monopoly on your car and play at red lights (although, if an Audi engineer is reading, that would be pretty cool). It also has very little to do with Apple. Instead it means software onboard an Audi can be upgraded and new functions added just as you would with a software update on your phone or computer. There is an interesting concept to this plan though, it means Audi can equip all its vehicles with heated seats even if the option is not ticked (to save costs on production) and then allow owners to “enable” the heated seats by paying for the “heated seat” application. A rather clever idea, but as with jail-broken iPhones, we suspect computer hackers will be able to enable all the features with a few lines of code. Additionally the computer will be able to learn the driver’s behaviour. For example if you always drive from your house to the ocean on Sundays at 10am, it will notice the pattern and automatically turn on the sat nav to your destination when you get in the next Sunday. We have to wonder if it will reprogram a trip to McDonalds towards Subway once you’ve enabled the “healthy food” app? Source: AutoCar . Mitsubishi i-MiEV now on sale to individuals in Hong Kong Mitsubishi has announced that it will begin sales of its first electric-car, the i-MiEV to individuals in Hong Kong. Despite already delivering 30 i-MiEVs to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People’s Republic of China government (HKSAR) and some businesses since December 2009, it is the first time individuals in Hong Kong will have the chance to purchase an i-MiEV. Despite the announcement the Japanese company doesn’t expect to sell more than 50 i-MIEVs this year. Pricing starts at HK$395,000 ($62,000 AUD). Mitsubishi and its Honk Kong importer and distributor Universal Cars Limited (UCL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the HKSAR in February 2009, which saw the government not only conduct practicality tests with a pre-production test i-MiEV model but work alongside electric power companies on EV charging infrastructure. Last year saw Mitsubishi sell 1,400 i-MiEV units mainly to corporations and municipalities. The company opened sales to the Japanese public in April this year. Read our Mitsubishi i-MiEV review. . Germany's CDU Deputy says GM should go it alone with Opel Michael Fuchs, deputy head of Germany's ruling Christian Democrat party believes GM has the financial strength to restructure Opel brand alone without the assistance of European state aid. Fuchs has become frustrated by the ongoing situation in Germany of whether or not to grant state aid to Opel, saying, “The discussion … about financial aid for Opel must be ended once and for all.” His comments come on the back of GM announcing on Monday, 10 months after filing for bankruptcy protection, its first quarterly profit in three years. Revenue rose 40% to 31.5 billion, with GM earning $863 million in the first three months of 2010, compared to its $6 billion loss in 2009, through stringent cost cutting and improving U.S. and Asia vehicle sales. Fuchs sights GM’s improving vehicle sales and a weak euro as an opportunity for GM to go it alone and finance the restructuring of its European division without the need for state aid. Opel CEO, Nick Reilly in a letter to staff remained optimistic he will hear of a decision from governments in Germany, Spain, Poland and Austria on the EUR1.8 billion in state aid in the near future. Parent GM has pledged to provide EUR1.9 billion of the EUR 3.7 billion needed for the restructure and investment in GM Europe, with Germany alone expected to contribute over EUR1 billion in state aid. Source: Dow Jones .