The Art of Estate Cars: A Skoda Superb Sport Line vs a Volvo V90

In this article, we'll delve into the world of estate cars and compare two top contenders: the Skoda Superb Sport Line and the Volvo V90. Both cars offer a unique blend of pace, space, and performance, making them ideal for those in the market for an affordable and feature-packed vehicle.

First up is the Skoda Superb Sport Line, which boasts impressive performance figures despite its size. With a four-cylinder 2-liter turbo engine producing 272 horsepower and 350 Newton meters of torque, this car is capable of accelerating from 0-62mph in just 5.6 seconds. The Superb Sport Line also features a grippy four-wheel drive system, which enhances traction and stability on the road.

However, its size is undeniable. With a length of 4.8 meters and a curb weight of 1,650 kilograms, this car is a substantial presence on the road. Despite this, Skoda has managed to lower the ride height by just 15 millimeters to counteract the roll, making it more agile and responsive. The Superb Sport Line also features a sweet-shifting gearbox and decent brakes, which are not bad but certainly not exceptional.

On the other hand, we have the Volvo V90, which is a significantly more premium offering. With a 2-liter turbo engine producing slightly less power than its Skoda counterpart, the V90 still manages to accelerate from 0-62mph in an impressive 5 seconds. However, its front-wheel drive layout means it trails the Superb Sport Line in terms of traction and stability.

Despite this, the V90 makes up for its lack of four-wheel drive with its incredibly comfortable ride. The car's suspension is designed to provide a silky-smooth ride, making it perfect for long journeys or everyday driving. The V90 also boasts an impressive range of features, including a luxurious interior, advanced infotainment system, and a host of safety features.

However, the V90's lack of power becomes apparent when compared to its Skoda counterpart. While the Superb Sport Line may not be the most agile car on the road, it certainly has more grunt and can accelerate from 0-62mph with ease. The V90, on the other hand, feels somewhat sluggish in comparison.

Ultimately, both cars have their strengths and weaknesses. If you're looking for a more affordable option with impressive performance figures, the Skoda Superb Sport Line is an excellent choice. However, if you're willing to splurge on a more premium offering with a comfortable ride and advanced features, the Volvo V90 is definitely worth considering.

In our test, we found that the Skoda Superb Sport Line was able to edge out the Volvo V90 by just under 1 second in terms of acceleration. While the V90's lack of power became apparent on the road, its comfort and luxury features make it a compelling choice for those who value these aspects above all else.

So, which car is right for you? If you're looking for an affordable and feature-packed estate car with impressive performance figures, the Skoda Superb Sport Line is an excellent choice. However, if you're willing to splurge on a more premium offering with a comfortable ride and advanced features, the Volvo V90 is definitely worth considering.

Handling and Cornering

When it comes to handling and cornering, both cars have their strengths and weaknesses. The Skoda Superb Sport Line features a grippy four-wheel drive system, which enhances traction and stability on the road. However, this also means that the car can be somewhat understeery in corners, making it difficult to carve through tight turns.

On the other hand, the Volvo V90's front-wheel drive layout makes it more susceptible to understeer. However, its incredibly comfortable ride means that it never feels like a compromise when cornering. The V90's suspension is designed to provide a silky-smooth ride, making it perfect for long journeys or everyday driving.

Despite this, the Skoda Superb Sport Line has a slight edge when it comes to handling and cornering. Its four-wheel drive system gives it more traction and stability on the road, allowing it to accelerate out of corners with ease. However, its size can make it feel somewhat unwieldy in tight spaces.

In our test, we found that the Skoda Superb Sport Line was able to navigate a series of tight corners with ease, thanks to its grippy four-wheel drive system and agile handling. The Volvo V90, on the other hand, trailed behind by a significant margin, due to its lack of traction and stability.

Braking

When it comes to braking, both cars have decent but not exceptional performance figures. The Skoda Superb Sport Line features sweet-shifting brakes that provide adequate stopping power, but they never quite feel like the best in the business.

On the other hand, the Volvo V90's brakes are similarly effective, but they lack a bit of finesse and feel more like a "brake-then-float" system. This means that while they can stop the car quickly enough, they don't always provide the most confident feeling when cornering or braking hard.

Despite this, both cars have decent handling and braking performance for their size and class. However, if you're looking for an estate car with exceptional brakes, you may want to consider other options.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both the Skoda Superb Sport Line and the Volvo V90 are excellent choices for those looking for a comfortable and feature-packed estate car. While the Superb Sport Line has impressive performance figures and agile handling, the V90's comfort and luxury features make it a compelling choice for those who value these aspects above all else.

Ultimately, the choice between these two cars comes down to your priorities. If you're willing to splurge on a more premium offering with advanced features and a comfortable ride, the Volvo V90 is definitely worth considering. However, if you're looking for an affordable option with impressive performance figures, the Skoda Superb Sport Line is an excellent choice.

I hope this review has helped you make up your mind about which car to choose!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: ennow let's have a shootout that moment where we put two sporty numbers of similar price performance and purpose on a track to see which is fastest this time we're testing two estates that combine pace with space and do it without breaking the back this is the Skoda Superb sport line it's the Czech manufactures biggest estate and has a tune four-cylinder 2 liter turbo engine which gets in a 62 in a brisk 5.6 seconds pretty rapido prices start at 36 ground and this mouthful is the Volvo v90 our design plus t5 20 years ago Volvo's t5 estate was the go-to vehicle for motorway cuts with this combination of speed and space I used to love the old original t5 Volvo the engine was great was a 5-cylinder turbo sounded magnificent like the Skoda the Volvo has a 2-liter turbo engine then he gets the 62 almost a second slower and cost 10 grand more I'll begin with the superb now I'm sitting in the most powerful car that Skoda produce I've got two hundred and seventy two dribbles past 350 Newton meters of torque a grippy four-wheel drive system which goes her way to explain its decent naught 62 time maybe this is a pretty big bus there's four point eight five meters long wait sixteen hundred and fifty kilograms which you what I mean that's too bad for for thing as big as this now Scott have lowered the ride only by about fifteen millimeters to try to counteract the roll so let's see what she's like in this little tight bus stop chicane bit of understeer is definitely wrong there for sure it's quite a lot of turbo lag on this car the gearbox is really sweet brakes are shot I mean it's not rocket ship but it's not bad it's got a G meter but you want to him for a g-force meter to show how many G's a car component the corners is usually more at home in high-performance cars or jet fighters anyway let's see if we can get more than a G just over a G it's comfortable its refined its quiet anyway let's see how fast she goes time for a faster start the watch good terney yeah I want to get the back out but he won't let me touristic four-wheel drive understeer there on entry you know what I can't ever imagine thrashing an estate car but it's quite good for nation you need a big wagon you could do a lot worse than this in all honesty it's pretty good actually the Skoda records a time of fifty point one nine seconds let's move on to the Volvo so it's clear I stepped into a much more premium car which it's hardly surprising because there's gonna cost you ten grand more and you know what a paper this is gonna be slower than the Skoda it's 2000s found out she's got 250 osburgh it's bit but it is front-wheel drive and that's the reason why the naught the 62 time isn't as good now we've got an 8-speed gearbox in here similar engine to the Skoda and they said 2-liter four-cylinder turbocharged have you thought this Skoda was big well think again this is a very big car you know best part of 5 metres long and you know that's that's Range Rover territory this is too softly down doesn't recover and settle quickly enough just for fun time for a faster start a watch handling wise you know we've got quite a lot of understeer it's not as directional as a Skoda at the first checkpoint it's tantalizingly close but surprisingly the Volvo is just edging it quite a bit more disconnected from the car near the steering's UBA light suspensions very supple almost a bit too soft actually massively comfortable luxurious refined I like a bit more performance to be honest a little bit more would be fun at the second checkpoint the tide has turned and the Volvo's power deficit means it's lost the lead trailing the Skoda by half seconds it's quite a lot of electronic interference the cars constantly tempted with the brakes in the corner it's a nice place to be but it ain't sporty stop the watch the Volvo records the time of 5105 losing to the Skoda by just under a second so the Volvo hasn't quite retained its faster state DNA from the 90s and if you're in the market for an affordable estate that packs a punch as well as a lot of luggage and passengers the Skoda Superb Sport line should be on your list younow let's have a shootout that moment where we put two sporty numbers of similar price performance and purpose on a track to see which is fastest this time we're testing two estates that combine pace with space and do it without breaking the back this is the Skoda Superb sport line it's the Czech manufactures biggest estate and has a tune four-cylinder 2 liter turbo engine which gets in a 62 in a brisk 5.6 seconds pretty rapido prices start at 36 ground and this mouthful is the Volvo v90 our design plus t5 20 years ago Volvo's t5 estate was the go-to vehicle for motorway cuts with this combination of speed and space I used to love the old original t5 Volvo the engine was great was a 5-cylinder turbo sounded magnificent like the Skoda the Volvo has a 2-liter turbo engine then he gets the 62 almost a second slower and cost 10 grand more I'll begin with the superb now I'm sitting in the most powerful car that Skoda produce I've got two hundred and seventy two dribbles past 350 Newton meters of torque a grippy four-wheel drive system which goes her way to explain its decent naught 62 time maybe this is a pretty big bus there's four point eight five meters long wait sixteen hundred and fifty kilograms which you what I mean that's too bad for for thing as big as this now Scott have lowered the ride only by about fifteen millimeters to try to counteract the roll so let's see what she's like in this little tight bus stop chicane bit of understeer is definitely wrong there for sure it's quite a lot of turbo lag on this car the gearbox is really sweet brakes are shot I mean it's not rocket ship but it's not bad it's got a G meter but you want to him for a g-force meter to show how many G's a car component the corners is usually more at home in high-performance cars or jet fighters anyway let's see if we can get more than a G just over a G it's comfortable its refined its quiet anyway let's see how fast she goes time for a faster start the watch good terney yeah I want to get the back out but he won't let me touristic four-wheel drive understeer there on entry you know what I can't ever imagine thrashing an estate car but it's quite good for nation you need a big wagon you could do a lot worse than this in all honesty it's pretty good actually the Skoda records a time of fifty point one nine seconds let's move on to the Volvo so it's clear I stepped into a much more premium car which it's hardly surprising because there's gonna cost you ten grand more and you know what a paper this is gonna be slower than the Skoda it's 2000s found out she's got 250 osburgh it's bit but it is front-wheel drive and that's the reason why the naught the 62 time isn't as good now we've got an 8-speed gearbox in here similar engine to the Skoda and they said 2-liter four-cylinder turbocharged have you thought this Skoda was big well think again this is a very big car you know best part of 5 metres long and you know that's that's Range Rover territory this is too softly down doesn't recover and settle quickly enough just for fun time for a faster start a watch handling wise you know we've got quite a lot of understeer it's not as directional as a Skoda at the first checkpoint it's tantalizingly close but surprisingly the Volvo is just edging it quite a bit more disconnected from the car near the steering's UBA light suspensions very supple almost a bit too soft actually massively comfortable luxurious refined I like a bit more performance to be honest a little bit more would be fun at the second checkpoint the tide has turned and the Volvo's power deficit means it's lost the lead trailing the Skoda by half seconds it's quite a lot of electronic interference the cars constantly tempted with the brakes in the corner it's a nice place to be but it ain't sporty stop the watch the Volvo records the time of 5105 losing to the Skoda by just under a second so the Volvo hasn't quite retained its faster state DNA from the 90s and if you're in the market for an affordable estate that packs a punch as well as a lot of luggage and passengers the Skoda Superb Sport line should be on your list you\n"