Volkswagen vetoed a Superb estate outright, worried it would steal sales from its own Passat Variant and the Audi A4 Avant.
Lead trim: 2.0 AZM (115 hp) · up to 190 hp
Škoda Superb B53U · 2001–2008
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Nobody in Burbles has spotted a Škoda Superb B5 yet. See one on the street, point the app at it, and the first card is yours — with your @handle permanently credited on this page.
FactVolkswagen vetoed a Superb estate outright, worried it would steal sales from its own Passat Variant and the Audi A4 Avant.
Škoda showed the Montreux concept at the 2001 Geneva Motor Show and released the production Superb the same year, built at Kvasiny from October 2001 (designer Thomas Ingenlath). It was based on the 1999 Shanghai-Volkswagen Passat B5 long-wheelbase car (10 cm longer than the standard Passat B5) on the VW Group B5 (PL45+) platform, with longitudinally mounted engines shared with the wider Volkswagen Group. The base "Classic" had a 1.9 TDI (101 PS) or a 2.0 petrol (116 PS); the "Comfort" and "Elegance" added a 1.8 T, a 2.8 V6 or a 2.5 V6 TDI, and a 140 PS 2.0 TDI PD (BSS) with a wet particulate filter was unique to the Superb. In the UK, on sale from May 2002, the top variant cost only £1,000 more than the cheapest Jaguar X-Type. A minor facelift in August 2006 brought a new grille, headlights and C-shaped tail lights, and the "Laurin & Klement" replaced the "Elegance" as the top model. An estate was considered but never built because Volkswagen feared it would eat into Passat Variant and Audi A4 Avant sales. Shanghai-Volkswagen sold it in China as the Passat Lingyu from 2005.
Collectors Spotted in the Škoda Superb Lineage
No member has published a public street spot of the Škoda Superb yet — the First · Worldwide stamp is wide open.
Trims & Figures
8 published trims in the catalogue. A blank is a figure not recorded, not zero.
| Trim | Years | Engine | Power | Torque | 0–60 | Drive | Gearbox | MSRP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.8 T AWT turbo (150 hp) | 2001–2008 | 1.8 L Inline-4 | 150 hp | 155 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.9 TDI PD AVB (99 hp) | 2001–2008 | 1.9 L Inline-4 | 99 hp | 184 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.9 TDI PD AWX (128 hp) | 2001–2008 | 1.9 L Inline-4 | 128 hp | 215 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 1.9 TDI PD BPZ (114 hp) | 2001–2008 | 1.9 L Inline-4 | 114 hp | 210 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 2.0 AZM (115 hp) | 2001–2008 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | 115 hp | 127 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 2.0 TDI PD BSS (138 hp) | 2001–2008 | 2.0 L Inline-4 | 138 hp | 236 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 2.5 V6 TDI AYM / BDG (161 hp) | 2001–2008 | 2.5 L V6 | 161 hp | 258 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
| 2.8 V6 ACK / APR (190 hp) | 2001–2008 | 2.8 L V6 | 190 hp | 207 lb-ft | — | FWD | — | — |
Owning one
We don’t estimate running costs for a car like this. What it costs depends on its condition, its specialist and how it is driven, and an average would mislead.
Owners’ builds
Nobody has claimed one yet.
Photographs
This Superb drops the manual gearbox entirely and shares its body panels with the Volkswagen Passat B9 underneath a different face.
With the 2.0 TSI 4x4, the third Superb briefly became the fastest production Škoda ever built, hitting 100 km/h in 5.5 seconds.
The second Superb's boot lid is a hidden hatchback: pull one handle and the rear glass lifts too, Škoda's TwinDoor trick nobody else copied.
Volkswagen vetoed a Superb estate outright, worried it would steal sales from its own Passat Variant and the Audi A4 Avant.
Rivals
Same body, same money, other badges — tap any card to flip.
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