Holden Calais vs Skoda Superb

What's the difference?

If Holden had a dollar for every time someone had criticised the new and international flavour of Australia’s formerly home-grown hero, it would surely have more than enough spare cash to blow the dust of that vast South Australian factory and restart local Commodore production immediately.

Hell, there’d probably be enough left over to relaunch the Camira while they were at it. And maybe even knock out a new Gemini or two.

So we’re not going to do that again here. The all-new Commodore, in this case the Calais Tourer, is now here - granted having travelled further than the one it replaces - and so we’ll be playing this review with the straightest of bats.

Because the truth is, if you peel the badging - and thus the swirling emotion - off its elongated rump, then you’ll find this German-built Tourer is, really and truly, a very good thing.

The large passenger car segment, meaning big sedans and wagons, has taken a huge nosedive in terms of sales and available models over the past decade or so.

The Holden Commodore, Chrysler 300, Kia Stinger and even the Volkswagen Passat? All axed locally.

The Toyota Camry remains a strong fleet and private buyer option (hello Uber). But it leans more towards medium than properly large car proportions, as confirmed by industry statistician, VFacts segmentation.

The only vehicle left now before you start considering premium players is the Skoda Superb. It has just launched locally in new, fourth-generation guise.

Sitting alongside the new Kodiaq as a flagship product for the Czech brand, the Superb continues to now only be offered in a single, fully-loaded Sportline trim level. Thankfully, you still get the option of either a liftback or wagon body style.

Skoda has made a wide array of changes to this new-generation Superb, including plenty of new ‘Simply Clever’ touches, but will Australians actually care about this new version of a dying breed?

@carsguide.com.au Simply Clever? The new 2025 Skoda Superb’s ‘Smart Dials’ are a set of three physical dials that are capable of altering the following: Climate control temperature Air direction Fan speed Seat heating, ventilation Drive mode Sat-nav map zoom Volume P.S. these Smart Dials also feature in the new 2025 Skoda Kodiaq SUV#skoda #superb #sedan #wagon #car #carsguide #fyp ♬ original sound - CarsGuide.com.au

Read along to find out.