Packing the 206kW turbo four from the Volkswagen Golf R under the bonnet means Skoda’s Superb 206TSI is no slouch. However, the handsomely conservative lines mean you’d never know how quick the big Czech is. Correcting that is the new 2017 Skoda Superb Sportline – a kitted-up 206TSI trim that adds mostly visual performance cues to Skoda’s flagship.
Priced at $51,990 for the Sportline sedan and $53,690 for the Sportline wagon, the new model represents a price rise of just $1,000 over the existing 206TSI. The standard car will be retained with the Sportline to sit alongside it in the Skoda range.
Despite that modest increase, the Sportline adds seventeen new features – making the new trim something of a value buy, if the mods are to your taste.
Outside, the Sportline adopts a number of blacked-out features, including a black grille, black mirrors, a black door trim line and darker, unique 19-inch wheels. The sedan gets a black deck spoiler while the wagon picks up a pair of good-looking black roof rails.
There have been changes inside, too, with the Sportline packing shapely leather-and-Alcantara sports seats, a silver stitched flat-bottomed steering wheel, and red trim highlights. Through the Superb’s eight-inch navigation screen, Skoda have integrated Volksagen’s GTI Performance Monitor, which lets drivers log lap times.
Otherwise, the Superb Sportline retains the characteristics of a standard 206TSI. That means the Volkswagen EA888 two-litre turbo four producing 206kW of power and 350Nm of torque – outputs good enough to launch the Superb to 100km/h in just 5.8 seconds. Skoda claims it’ll do 7.2L/100km on the combined cycle, too.
The Superb comes standard with a few advanced safety features, including adaptive cruise control, forward collision warning and autonomous emergency braking. Blind spot warning, rear cross traffic alert and lane keep assist are available through the optional Tech Pack ($3,400), that also bundles an upgraded 12-speaker Canton stereo, automated parking, a powered tailgate and adaptive dampers.
The Superb Sportline comes with Skoda’s new range-wide five-year unlimited kilometre warranty.