Skoda has previewed on its global website, the facelifted 2014 Superb sedan. The car will make its debut on April 19 during the Shanghai Motor Show and will be launched for the European markets by the end of June. The Superb has got cosmetic changes both on the inside and the outside as well as a new engine.
On the front, the 2014 Superb gets a new front grille, logo and revisions up to the A-Pillar. The new logo and grille made their debut on the 2013 Octavia which made its debut last year. The front bumper has also been changed and now features a honeycomb design. Skoda is for the first time offering bi-xenon headlamps and daytime LEDs with the Superb. On the side, the overall profile remains the same but the Superb has now got a revised design for the alloy wheels.
At the back, Skoda has redesigned the tail lamps to make the C-shaped lights more precise and now even the tail light cluster is a full LED unit. The boot lid as well as the rear bumper has also been redesigned and now looks similar to the design of the Superb’s sibling, the Volkswagen Passat.
Inside, the 2014 Superb gets new upholstery and trim options as well as a range of nine four spoke or three spoke steering wheels. The top of the range Laurin & Klement edition will be offered with a special brown-ivory colour combination. Skoda has also said that for the first time it is offering the option to electronically control the movement of front passenger seat from the back. Optional extras include automatic parking assist, panoramic glass roof with solar cells, touchscreen infotainment system which comes with a 30GB hard disk.
Under the hood, Skoda is expected to continue with the same set of engines. Globally this list includes a 1.4-litre petrol and a 2.0-litre diesel mill in two states of tune; 140PS and 169PS. The former features a four-wheel drive system in the manual variant and the latter with an optional six-speed DSG dual clutch gearbox. Skoda has also added a start/stop brake energy regeneration system which it claims will increase fuel efficiency by 19 per cent. Additional features include a tire pressure monitor, hill assist; adaptive headlights and a driver assist system.
The India spec Skoda Superb is expected to continue with the 1.8-litre petrol mill producing 160PS, 250Nm of torque and a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel mill producing 140PS and 320Nm of torque. power is transmitted to the front wheels via six-speed manual or a seven speed automatic with the former being offered only on two out of the three petrol variants. It is likely that Skoda will offer the start/stop system on the top-end diesel and petrol variants for the Indian market.
We can expect that Skoda will bring the facelifted Superb in India a few months after its April launch about the same time the new Octavia/Laura makes its debut. in the petrol market the Superb competes with cars like the Honda Accord, Hyundai Sonata as well as the Toyota Camary but in the diesel segment it is pretty much unrivalled except for the Volkswagen Passat, which is the same car underneath but with a larger price tag.
