Skoda Superb set for 2024 return
Fourth-generation executive car to retain combustion power, have evolved design
The Skoda Superb is on track to be heavily updated for a fourth generation, returning in 2024 to take the fight to the Peugeot 508 with a choice of ICE and hybrid powertrains in a practical estate body.
Skoda recently detailed a bold electrification plan under which it will introduce a new flagship electric SUV, an electric city car and an electric alternative to the Karoq crossover by 2026. However, it will maintain — and refresh - its ICE product offering in the run-up to the 2030 ban, when it estimates that such cars will still account for 30% of sales.
A new-generation Superb with predominantly ICE propulsion will play a core role in maintaining that share. In 2021, the Superb accounted for more than 66,000 of Skoda’s 878,000 global sales.
Given that the current Superb shares the bulk of its underpinnings with the Volkswagen Passat, alongside which it is built in Emden, Germany, it’s expected that the same will be true of the next-generation car.
This means the new Superb will be based on the latest version of the Volkswagen Group’s ICE-car platform, MQB Evo, so it will be able to offer a broadly comparable powertrain set-up to the current Superb.
We therefore expect to see a choice of front- and four-wheel-drive configurations and a mix of pure-ICE and electrified powertrains, in line with Skoda’s ploy to cater to buyers at the lower end of the market while strengthening its showing in the premium executive segment.
The Superb is currently available with a choice of 1.5-litre and 2.0-litre turbo-petrol engines, 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre diesel engines and a plug-in hybrid that pairsa 1.4-litre turbo petrol engine with an electric motor and a 13kWh battery for 215bhp and an EV range of 25-30 miles.
It remains to be seen which of these will be carried over or replaced for the next generation, but maintaining this variety would enable the next Superb to straddle a wide price bracket, as does the current car.
The entry-level 1.5 TSI is priced just under £30,000, while the range-topping Laurin& Klement variant with the 1.4TSI iV powertrain nudges the price tag up past £45,000.
Prototypes spied testing indicate Skoda has pursued evolution over revolution for the next-generationSuperb’s design language.
The silhouette is all but indistinguishable from the current car’s, but visible beneath the camouflage are grille, lighting and trim details that bring the Superb into line with newer and recently refreshed Skoda models like the Scala, Kodiaq and Octavia.
Given that the currentSuperb was facelifted three years ago, the new car is expected to be revealed next year ahead of a launch in 2024.