Skoda Superb 2016 review

It's crystal clear that Skoda's new Superb is far more attractive than the awkward-looking model it will replace next year.

Full-scale production of the big sedan from Central Europe begins in just days in Skoda's Czech Republic homeland. But its Australian launch is scheduled for next April.

When it finally arrives, the new Superb will be more expensive, by about $10,000 - but it looks as if it's worth more than its predicted sub-$45,000 starting price.

The new Superb adopts the same sharp-edged style as the smaller Octavia, which accounted for almost half the brand's 3853 Australian sales in 2014. Skoda's new style is inspired by the angles and facets of the famed crystal glassware from Bohemia, the region surrounding the Czech capital, Prague. The look is simple, not shouty.

"It's challenging to do a very minimalistic car," senior exterior designer Dalibor Pantucek says. "There's a thin line between boring and clean."

Skoda, though, has walked the tightrope with skill. As Pantucek puts it, the brand's days of "grey mouse" design are being left behind.

The Superb is a relentlessly useful car, full of surprising features.

Skoda has a reputation for practicality, something it doesn't want to forsake. The Superb is a relentlessly useful car, full of surprising features. Here are a few examples: Velcro-tabbed foldable plastic barriers to hold luggage in place, a boot light that doubles as a removable torch, folding umbrellas concealed in tubes behind the trims of both front doors (the current Superb has only one umbrella, in the passenger-side rear door).

Inside, the Superb is supremely spacious. It has grown compared to the current model and the new Skoda's key dimensions show it's only a little smaller than a Commodore.

Roomy in every direction, the comfortable rear seat has a huge 625L cargo compartment behind it - that's substantially larger that the Holden's boot. As the Skoda has a liftback, it's also an easier space to use.

From the well-shaped and supportive front seats, the driver and passenger face a neatly designed, high-quality dashboard.

Wholly owned by the VW Group, Skoda draws heavily on technology developed by the German giant. The Superb shares genes with many VWs but is most closely related to the latest European Passat, which is not yet on sale in Australia.

This means VW's newest safety and driver assistance systems can be installed in the new Superb. With Skoda Australia planning to increase the entry price to the Superb line, our cars should have all but the most expensive items as standard equipment.

The new Superb will definitely step up a division in performance. Skoda Australia will drop its low-power four-cylinder turbo petrol and turbo diesel engines.

In their place will be three 2.0-litre fours: 140kW turbo diesel, 162kW turbo petrol (expected to be the most popular choice in Australia) and 206kW turbo petrol, all teamed with a six-speed double-clutch automatic. The latter petrol engine will power all four wheels.

Partly because the new Superb is lighter than the smaller current model, its engines felt punchy on the motorways and backroads of Italy on the international press launch.

All the test cars were fitted with optional variable shock absorbers that in Normal mode allowed the big Skoda to wallow over bumps and lean through bends.

The standard suspension, according to Skoda, brings some firmness and discipline. This may be what's needed to make the Superb as pleasant to drive as it is to look at.