2017 Skoda Superb vs 2022 Volkswagen Arteon

What's the difference?

It's genuinely difficult to fault the Superb in this spec, although the front-wheel drive 162TSI version is on par in practical terms and can be had for almost $12,000 less, albeit with fewer toys.

However, the Superb SportLine wants for almost nothing in terms of specs and appointments, and it differs from the regular 206TSI thanks to its subtle, sporting demeanor.

It's flexible, strong and elegant, and it's as practical as any sports utility vehicle on sale today.

Skoda does well with the Superb in relation to the rest of its line up, but even within its own ranks, a coming challenger in the form of the Kodiaq SUV will make life unnecessarily difficult for this well-priced, well-specced wagon.

If you don't need a high-riding 4x4-esque SUV, and you're not concerned about the badge your car wears – or even if you are – you really need to short-list the Superb for a test drive.

The value, driving dynamics and appearance are on point for a premium play here. If you can forgo the badge snobbery attached to the German big three, then you'll find lots to like about Volkswagen's Arteon.

There's a feeling that the Skoda brand has supplemented the now defunct Saab as the thinking driver's car of choice. In fact, Skoda defies its origins as a discount sub-brand of Volkswagen, with almost every vehicle sold locally optioned up like, as Skoda's product manager Kieran Merrigan told us, "a Christmas tree."

The Superb has a bold, masculine, yet friendly shape that manages to avoid being slab-sided and dull. The blacked out presentation of the SportLine variant is nicely underplayed, while the distinctive alloys give the Superb a real presence.

The Superb wagon is an amazingly versatile car that's easy to live with.

Its front end is not a million miles away from the one that adorns its smaller Octavia sibling, but in its wagon guise, the Superb SportLine is a genuine head-turner.

Inside, the Superb is clearly a high-end VW Group car, but the unique seats and sports trim and interesting Skoda touches - door bins, for example - set it apart.

It's really all about the looks here, and while the Shooting Brake is particularly handsome, the regular Arteon looks premium and polished, too.

VW tells us injecting a bit of sportiness was a key aim here, both inside and outside, and that's particularly true of the R-Line model, which rides on bigger 20-inch alloys, compared to the 19s on the Elegance, with their own bespoke design.

The body styling is more aggressive, too, but both trims get lashings of chrome along the body work, and a sleek, swept-back style that looks more premium than overtly sporty.

In the cabin, though, you can see that this is an important car to VW. The touchpoints are almost all soft to the touch, and it's both understated and tech-saturated at the same time, including the swipe-to-adjust function for the stereo and climate, with new touch-sensitive sections added to the centre console and steering wheel.

It feels, dare we say it, premium. Which is likely exactly what VW was going for...

The Superb wagon is an amazingly versatile car that's easy to live with. Its electric tailgate opens to reveal a cavernous luggage space; there is 660 litres behind the seats, which expands to 1960 litres when the seats are flipped down.

We love the handy seat releases near the rear door, along with shopping bag hooks, cargo cover, load restraint points, nets and a 12-volt socket. The load cover can interfere when larger bags or boxes are stowed, though, and the Skoda also sports an odd pseudo storage hammock that could easily be deleted.

Storage is plentiful, and there are two cupholders up front and another pair in the flip-down rear centre armrest – though the cupholders are frustratingly tiny in their diameter, defying even a regular can of drink.

Another four bottles can be stashed in the front and rear door pockets.

Rear seaters can also control the climate via temperature adjusters if they so desire. The SportLine even has heated rear outside seats, which also have ISOFIX child seat mounts added to them.

Up front is an inductive phone charging slot; simply place a suitable phone flat on the pad, and the car will charge the phone without a cable. Not only that, but the pad can enhance the signal of the phone. It didn't work with every phone we tried, though, and the slot is too small for huge devices like Apple's iPhone 6S.

If you're worried about ride height, don't be; the Superb cleared our steep drive test front and rear with ease.

The multimedia system has an 8.0-inch touchscreen and easy to use satellite navigation as well as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Phones are easy to connect and stay connected, too.

Seating is generous and supportive in all positions, with loads of room throughout the car for five people. Rear legroom is a particular standout, with our lanky teen enjoying limo-like space in the back seat.

The Alcantara fabric isn't perhaps as soft and as luxurious as the leather you'd find in the 206TSI 4x4, but it's grippy and comfortable, and cleans up just as easily as the leather, despite having perforations. Don't ask how we tested that...

And as usual, Skoda adds its cool little touches, with small umbrella ports in both front doors and garbage bins in the door pockets, as well as sun shades on the rear side windows.

Oh, and if you're worried about ride height, don't be; the Superb cleared our steep drive test front and rear with ease.

Interestingly, both body styles share near identical dimensions, with the Arteon stretching 4866mm in length, 1871 in width, and 1442mm in height (or 1447mm for the Shooting Brake).

Those numbers translate to a seriously spacious and practical cabin space, with an acreage of room for backseat riders. Sitting behind my own 175cm driving position, I had heaps of space between my knees and the seat in front, and even with the sloping roofline, plenty of headroom, too.

You'll find two cupholders in a pull-down divider that separates the back seat, and a bottle holder in each the four doors. Backseat riders also get their own air vents with temp controls, as well as USB connections, and phone or tablet pockets on the rear of each front seat.

Up front, the theme of space continues, with storage and cubbies sprinkled throughout the cabin, as well as USB-C connections for your phone or devices.

All that space means a sizeable boot area, too, with the Arteon serving up 563L with the rear seats in place, and 1557L with the back pews folded. The Shooting Brake ups those numbers - thought not any as much as you might think - to 565L and 1632L.

The Arteon carries an unsurprisingly premium price tag in the VW family, but it can still be cheaper than an entry-level equivalent from some of the German premium brands.

Or, in the words of VW, the Arteon "challenges the luxury car makers without becoming one ourselves."

And you do get a lot of stuff. In fact, a panoramic sunroof, and some metallic paints, are the only cost options here.

The range is offered in 140TSI Elegance ($61,740 Liftback, $63,740 Shooting Brake) and 206TSI R-Line trims ($68,740/$70,740), and the former is offered with VW's Virtual Cockpit digital instrument cluster, along with a head-up display and a central 9.2-inch touchscreen that pairs wirelessly with your mobile phone.

Outside, you get 19-inch alloy wheels and full LED headlights and tail-lights. Inside, you'll find ambient interior lighting, multi-zone climate control, keyless entry and push-start ignition, as well as full leather interior trim with heated and ventilated front seats.

Also worth calling our here are the digital buttons on the dash or steering that control everything from the stereo to the climate, and work a bit like a mobile might, you can swipe left or right to control the volume or switch tracks, or change the temperature.

The R-Line model is the sportier-feeling option, and adds 'carbon' leather interior trim with bespoke bucket-style sports seats, 20-inch alloy wheels, and a more aggressive set of R-Line bodywork.

The same (EA888) 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder motor that powers the VW Golf R is the engine of choice for the SportLine, and it makes the same 206kW as its corporate cousin.

Torque is rated at a hefty 350Nm from a low of 1700rpm, and it hurls the SportLine wagon to 100km/h from rest in a claimed 5.8sec.

It's backed by a six-speed dual clutch transmission and runs a Haldex all-wheel drive (AWD) layout that biases traction to the front wheels. The Superb also has a drive mode select switch that modifies the behaviour of the throttle, gearbox and steering. It also runs adaptive dampers.

There are two drivetrains on offer here — the 140TSI with front-wheel drive in the Elegance, or the 206TSI with all-wheel drive in the R-Line.

The former's 2.0-litre turbo-petrol produces 140kW and 320Nm, which is enough for a sprint to 100km/h in around 7.9 seconds.

But the lust-worthy engine tune is definitely the R-Line, in which the 2.0-litre turbo-petrol ups the grunt to 206kW and 400Nm, and drops the sprint time to a brisk 5.5 seconds.

Both pair with VW's seven-speed DSG automatic.

Skoda rates the Superb SportLine at 7.3L/100km on the combined fuel economy cycle, and it needs 95RON fuel as a minimum. Its 70-litre tank should yield 958km of range.

Over 380km of testing, the Superb returned 12.2L/100km according to the dash, which is a surprisingly high figure when compared to the claimed average. The majority of the test was conducted with the car in Sport mode, but this has only a marginal effect on consumption.

Volkswagen says the Arteon Elegance will need 6.2L per hundred kilometres on the combined cycle, and will emit 142g/km of C02. The R-Line needs 7.7L/100km on the same cycle, with emissions pegged at 177g/km.

The Arteon is fitted with a 66-litre tank, and a PPF or petrol particulate filter, which strips some of the nasties out of the vehicle's emissions. But, VW says, it's “very important" that you only fill your Arteon with premium feel (95RON for the Elegance, 98RON for the R-Line) or you risk shortening the life of the PPF.

The Golf-R engined Superb belies its size with mid-range urge that would shame a lot of larger capacity engines. It's not as vocal – it's not an RS model, after all – and it's missing a bit of the oomph that Skoda Australia's hot weather tuning takes out of the European spec engine (about 16kW and 30Nm), but it's still a marvel to think this big car has such a relatively small engine under the bonnet.

Its chassis balance is spot on, too, with the 19-inch wheels and 235/40 R19 tyres still offering a decent ride compliance, as well as sharper handling when the dampers are turned up to Sport.

The Superb shrinks around the driver, behaving for the most part like a smaller, more agile car.

The AWD system, too, is a great addition, providing a more stable, connected feel that ties both ends of the car better than the FWD-only versions. Be warned, though – AWD cars need to have all four tyres replaced at the same time, even if you've only worn the fronts or damaged a single tyre.

Steering feel is good, if a little isolated, but overall, the Superb shrinks around the driver, behaving for the most part like a smaller, more agile car.

Full disclosure: we only spent time behind the wheel off the R-Line variant for this test, but even still, I feel pretty comfortable suggesting that it's the punchy powertrain you want.

Surely the very first hurdle any company hoping to play with the premium-brand big boys must clear is that of easy, effortless momentum? It's difficult to feel like you've made the premium choice when you're engine is straining and striving under acceleration, right?

And on this, the Arteon R-Line shines, with plenty of power underfoot whenever you need it, and a delivery style which means you rarely, if ever, fall into a hole waiting for the power to arrive.

For mine, the suspension might be a touch too firm for those seeking a truly wafting drive experience. For the record, it doesn't bother me — I always prefer to know what's happening underneath the tyres than be entirely removed from the experience — but a result of this sporty-feeling ride is the occasional registering of bigger bumps and road imperfections in the cabin.

The flip side of the firm(ish) ride is the ability for the Arteon - in R-Line guise - to swap personalities when you engage its sportier settings. Suddenly there's a snarl to the exhaust that's absent in its comfortable drive modes, and you're left with a vehicle that tempts you to head for a twisting back road to see what it's about.

But in the interests of science we instead headed for the freeway to put the Arteon's autonomous systems through their paces, with the brand promising Level 2 Autonomy on the highway.

While the technology still isn't perfect — some braking can occur when the vehicle's not entirely sure what's happening ahead of it — it's also pretty impressive, taking care of the steering, accelerating and braking for you, at least until you're reminded its time to put your hands back on the wheel.

It's also bloody big, the Arteon, with more space in the cabin - and especially the backseat - than you might be thinking. If you have kids, they'll be positively lost back there. But if you cart adults on the regular, then you'll hear no complaints.

Essentially, if VW makes it, the Arteon gets it. Think front, side, full-length curtain and driver's knee airbags, as well as VW's complete IQ.Drive safety suite, which includes a Fatigue Detection system, AEB with pedestrian detection, Park Assist, parking sensors, rear traffic assist, lane change assist, adaptive cruise control with lane guidance - which is essentially a level 2 autonomous system for highways - and an around view monitor.

The new model is yet to be crash-tested, but the last model scored a five-star rating in 2017.

Skoda offers a pre-paid 'Service Pack' for the Superb , with a three-year/45,000km plan costing $1299 and a five-year/75,000 plan coming in at $2650.

Service intervals of 15,000km or 12 months are suggested.

The car is covered by a five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty.

The Arteon is covered by VW's five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, and will require servicing every 12 months or 15,000kms. It will also get VW's capped price servicing offer.