maddog, I can understand you reasoning. I'm not sure I would buy a Superb because of the styling, (personal preference) and due to being a stretched Octavia it has long overhangs and not so long wheelbase, but as long as it drives as you want it to, then I think is a good choice.
It will be reliable, comfortable has plenty of toys is big and will hold it's value better than any other VAG brand.
I think you might call that sensible and practical...err..sort of what the Skoda brand is meant to be all about..
I have to say i'm not here to try and convince anyone to buy a Skoda , the fact is if i had better dealers around here i would probably keep my W210 an extra couple of years but i dont expect for a minute to convince anyone on a MB "fanboy" site that a Skoda is as good a spec yet 1/2 the price and offers an interesting alternative
A lot of the criticsm on the Skoda brand is outdated and ill informed. Its a case of sitting in an ivory tower and a few people need to take a step back i feel , i had the same when i bought my W210 , the W124 crowd would harp on about how much better their cars were and whilst they had a point there were in the most part running around in bangers and some W210's are bangers today , sure there are good ones just like some very good W124's but they are in the same crux as the W124's were back in 2001
Everybody's situation is different and a badge is really important for some , i consider myself a petrolhead first and foremost , i can drive any car and take some enjoyment from it and i really dont care what people think , i dont need to flatter my ego , i drive a Skyline FFS , most people think i'm a chav!!!
I buy my cars cash , i dont finance them at all and certainly wouldnt pcp them as i change my cars ideally every 5 years , perhaps longer depending on personal circumstances
As for the Superb, I have to agree on the styling but then i dont see any of the more mundane MB being pretty cars i'm not keen on most modern cars , i really wasnt really that keen on the E class when i bought it , it looked bug'eyed to me and it kinda grew on me over time, hoping the Superb will do the same
The Superb only has a longer front overhang , rear is shorter than my E class , wheelbase is sorter than my E class and overall length is shorter than my E Class (1mm!!)
And yes i'm sure the legroom and boot size is better in the Superb than even an S class , thats important as i have a 9 yr old who is already over
5ft and i'm 6'1" myself
As for the old FWD/RWD argument i am firmly in the rwd camp for drivers cars , big luxo barges like the E Class, S Class etc arent drivers cars so i really dont think it makes any difference , these cars are unwieldy and supertanker like on the road.
The handling on the Superb isnt as predictable as the E class though , the car tips into corners very differently but traction is better and body roll is a lot less
This car isnt there to give me my jollys I have a fun RWD car that IS a drivers car and is good on both the track and road.
Traction in the recent poor weather was not an issue at all in the Superb , wheras it took my 5 minutes to get my E class out of the dealers parking space and it wasnt easy on the road and getting back on my drive that the Skoda had done without fuss needed a dramatic run up in my Merc
I have to say the performance difference (ojmnbetween the 170hp (and heavier) Skoda compared to the 197hp E 320 cdi isnt much , top speed is about 10mph different but i'm not had a car flat out for about 15 years , not going to start now but then the extra torque the e class has makes it
feel faster
i'm hoping i wont miss the performance too much but i know my E class makes good power , i find out how much today hopefully
