Test drive Skoda Superb vs Volvo S90: alternatives in the upper segment

We compare two attractive offerings outside of three German premium brands.

If you don't want an impressive SUV or a practical station wagon, you can find large models with style, comfort and dynamism even outside the German elite trio. Welcome to the relaxing world of the Skoda Superb and Volvo S90.

Don't let inexplicable fashion trends fool you. You know the anecdote about billions of flies that cannot be fooled by taste preferences ... On the contrary, they can, and how! Because models from the upper mid-range segment are far superior to anything offered for the same and higher money. With your comfort. With his nimble demeanor. With its effectiveness. Here are just a few of the features that distinguish the Skoda Superb and Volvo S90. But flies don't like to land on them.

It seems that both cars were created contrary to market trends, they are bought less and less and not on every corner, which cannot but please people. That is, everyone who does not consider themselves part of the army of flies. We decided to lend a shoulder to these individualists in their anti-position. Or, in other words: we intend to show and highlight the positive aspects of rare but complex middle class models. We can even use the adjective "luxury" because the Volvo representative is just that.

Volvo S90 with a touch of extravagance

If you initially feel the necessary sympathy for the brand, it’s easy to fall in love with the S90. Stylistically, the designers gave it a little extravagance. You have to be pretty insensitive not to get carried away with Volvo's interior. Open-pore wood, precious metallic details, a touchscreen monitor, leather armchairs with a massage function - all the comforts that only a few years ago we could only admire in the luxury class.

Skoda interprets the idea of ​​abundance differently - as an almost limitless space. We praised the rear passenger legroom. In the same way, the barrel continues to surprise us every time (corresponds to a large payload). What's more, the wide-opening sloping back makes loading much easier. It's also easy to manage functions thanks to direct access to them. Not only does it score more points in the evaluation, but it is also a class expression. Because who wants to deal with the complex tasks of control and management on a high-level machine?

Skoda Superb - a spatial giant with carefree dynamics

It would seem that magical lightness is much more appropriate for this society - for example, easy driving, which is somewhat contrary to pure body mass. Because in the case of the Superb, we are still talking about a vehicle that is over 4,8 meters long, but which, nevertheless, quickly and smoothly makes its way through the jungle of narrow roads and, thanks to its ease of operation, gains an advantage in assessing road behavior. Even the longer (10 cm) Volvo, while not far behind the Skoda model, feels - in keeping with its figure and significantly more weight - much more clumsy.

The steering system gives a weaker sense of available traction on the front axle and instead transmits mostly disturbing inputs - with the euphoric throttle, the torque pulls the driving front wheels - because together with its 254 hp. the turbocharged four-cylinder engine also delivers 350 Nm of torque. With their help, the car accelerates vigorously. The S90 gets to work quickly, distributing power harmoniously and splitting it flexibly into an eight-speed torque converter automatic transmission. A well-integrated combination of drives, although the measured acceleration values ​​are not a bargaining chip against potential competitors.

Here Skoda's strengths are 5,4 seconds from standstill to 100 km / h. For something like this, until recently, we needed a sports car and fast shifting skills. Today, however, a powerful two-stage sedan and all its traction advantages are enough for them. Before irate readers reach for their keyboards to bluntly comment on the apparent injustice, we'll point out that the S90 T5 is currently only available in front-wheel drive, while the Superb 2.0 TSI is available in a 280bhp version. total 4×4.

Swedish luxury living room

But back to the 5,4 seconds in question. To achieve them, you just need to give full throttle with enthusiasm; everything else is rounded off by a six-speed dual-clutch transmission. However, at the start of Superb, he had to overcome a certain weakness at the start before storming the horizon with a vengeance. When fully loaded, the transmission shifts quickly and abruptly, but on quieter highway roads it sometimes feels reluctant to select a suitable gear ratio and shifts hesitantly.

In the long run, there are other differences: in the Volvo model, you are more comfortable sitting not only in the front, but also in the rear. There's a higher class feel here than in the Skoda, especially since the four-cylinder engine has better soundproofing and the air conditioning has four zones. This gives the S90 a slight advantage in terms of comfort. Naturally, the luxurious ambience is partly due to the level of equipment - the test car comes with the Inscription package and is thus about 12 euros more expensive than the Superb with Style. However, Volvo's equipment is almost complete and includes a large infotainment system and comfortable electrically adjustable and heated leather seats (to mention just a few of the advantages of luxury cars). For them (and for many others) in Skoda you need to pay extra, although not very expensive.

Superiority in safety

The situation is similar with the armada of driver assistance systems. In Volvo, it is not only traditionally extensive, but partly even standard for the S90. This results in bonus points, although the forward collision warning in particular sometimes gives false alarms. The benefits in the safety section are complemented by shorter braking distances, to the point where the Swedish model more than makes up for the lag in road behavior.

This brings us to a summary of the individual sections. When we enter all the values ​​in the table and do the calculations, the Volvo sedan comes out on top. Indeed, in the safety section, he was able to overtake the Skoda representative and score more points with slightly lower emissions and thus, albeit slightly, but win the quality rating. Excellent direct counter attack thanks to the lower cost. It looks pretty economical, but if you look closely at the Style version, the larger Skoda does offer significantly fewer additional features than the V90 Inscription (and we mentioned those differences above). As a result, he earns full points at the base price, but loses equipment ratings. However, the Volvo representative is more exclusive not only in terms of price list, but also in terms of maintenance costs and insurance classification (in Germany). Thus, as a result, Superb managed to reverse the quality assessment results and win in the final ranking.

Conclusion

At the end of the test day, the more refined Volvo gets a quality rating thanks to better comfort and richer standard equipment. However, Skoda managed to earn so many points in value and body parts that, albeit a small one, it was crowned with a final victory.

Text: Markus Peters

Photo: Ahim Hartmann

Evaluation

1. Skоda Superb 2.0 TSI 4 × 4 Style - 440 points

Finally, Superb wins on costs. In terms of quality, it loses slightly due to lower performance in the security section.

2. Registration Volvo S90 T5 – 435 points

With a large armada of helpers and powerful brakes, the aristocratic S90 wins the quality rating but loses out at its high price tag.

technical details

1. Skoda Superb 2.0 TSI 4 × 4 Style	2. Registration Volvo S90 T5
Working volume	1984 cc cm	1969 cc cm
Power	280 k.s. (206 kW) at 5600 rpm	254 k.s. (187 kW) at 5500 rpm
Maximum torque	350 Nm at 1700 rpm	350 Nm at 1500 rpm
Acceleration 0-100 km / h	5,4 with	7,0 with
Braking distances at a speed of 100 km / h	37,0 m	34,8 m
full speed	250 km / h	230 km / h
Average consumption fuel in the test	9,7 l / 100 km	9,5 l / 100 km
Base Price	42 250 EUR (in Germany)	54 350 EUR (in Germany)

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