Description
Skoda is bringing back the diesel Superb to India, with a 148bhp engine, but only as a CBU and not until next year, 2027. In this Gone But Not Forgotten episode, we line up the Skoda Superb Gen 2 and Gen 3 to see why the diesel Superb matters so much, and whether Skoda and Volkswagen are too late to bring diesels back to India.
The Superb story starts in 1991, when Volkswagen bought a 31 per cent stake in Skoda. Shanghai Volkswagen built the Gen 1 Superb on a stretched B5 Passat platform, adding 100mm to the wheelbase. It launched in India in 2004 at ₹24 lakh with a V6 petrol, the first five-valve-per-cylinder engine in India, and a V6 diesel. It won Car of the Year and Automotive Technology of the Year, and it was only 15mm shorter than the W211 E-Class. The Gen 2 Superb cost ₹19 lakh and had a 2,761mm wheelbase, a twin-door boot and a 138bhp 2.0 TDI diesel that returned around 24kmpl on the highway. That engine was the EA189 at the centre of the Dieselgate scandal. The Gen 2 V6 4x4 did 0 to 100kmph in early eight seconds, but the mechatronic problems of the petrol DQ200 DSG hurt Skoda’s reputation. The Gen 3 arrived in 2015 on the MQB platform, 75kg lighter with an 80mm longer wheelbase, offered with a 1.8 TSI and a 174bhp 2.0 TDI.
The 2020 BS6 facelift dropped the diesel, leaving only the 187bhp 2.0 TSI in Sportline and L&K (Laurin & Klement) trims, with the Sportline launched at ₹29.99 lakh. The Superb was discontinued in 2023, then returned in 2024 as a 100-unit CBU at ₹54 lakh, almost double the earlier price, and it flopped. The new diesel Superb comes with caveats. It arrives next year as a CBU; Skoda has opened expressions of interest rather than bookings, and it is Skoda Volkswagen’s first diesel in India in six years, in a mild 148bhp tune. The India-EU FTA could help with pricing. Should Skoda bring back the diesel Superb, and is it too late?
0:00 Why are we excited to have the diesel Superb?
0:35 Gen 2 & Gen 3 Skoda Superb
1:35 How the Gen 1 Skoda Superb came to be
3:04 Skoda Superb: The Car of the Year
3:54 Gen 2 Skoda Superb
6:29 The heart of the Dieselgate scandal
6:46 Skoda Superb with a V6
8:10 Gen 3 Skoda Superb
12:17 The ₹54 lakh Skoda Superb facelift
12:47 Skoda Superb is back with a diesel
#evoIndia #skodasuperb #skodaauto #skoda #superbv6 #superbdiesel #skodacars #gonebutnotforgotten #carsofthepast #cars #carhistory #historyofcars #storytellers
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