Skoda Superb – The Cyclists car of choice
I was chatting to a friend one day about cars and he remarked that whenever he sees a Skoda estate on the road he immediately thinks that it must be a cyclist behind the wheel, and much of the time he is right.
Skoda is now the number one choice amongst professional teams when they are choosing their team cars for the season. They are solid, economical and very comfortable whilst also having plenty of poke when you need to get across to your rider in the breakaway ahead of the bunch. But the biggest reason for Professional cycling teams choosing the Skoda Superb is the amount of space inside. There is no estate car that comes near the vastness of the Superb, or the Super B as it is often called.
Sean Kelly and I have been fortunate enough to have Ryan Motor Power in Clonmel who are Irelands Skoda dealer of the year for 2017 supply us with the Skoda Superb Sportline and we both have been very impressed with the car.
Having now covered over 15,000 km in the car we can give a good assessment of what it is like to live with.
Firstly I am 6’3” tall and normally have the drivers seat pushed fully back, almost touching the rear seat of many smaller cars. In the Superb I can actually have the drivers seat set to my position and when I sit in the back my knees are not even touching the back of the sporty bucket seat in front.
One day I drove from Clonmel to Dublin to meet one of our corporate clients, then it was on to Trim to meet a clothing client, then on to Limerick to do a Bike fit before landing in Cork for a clothing fitting evening with a club. I finally arrived back in Clonmel after midnight. Normally my back would have been stiff and sore but as I stepped out of the car, tired and weary, I actually noticed how physically fresh I felt.
Even with the 19″ wheels and sports suspension it is still a very comfortable car on long journeys. This may be partly due to the adjustable driver settings where you can choose form Eco, Normal or Sports set ups.
Sean was also very impressed with the performance of the car and how solid everything felt. With keyless entry and auto start stop and braking, along with a host of other technology it took him a day or two to get used to everything. But once he did, one of his favourite features was the way that the mirrors folded in once you lock the car so it is easy to check that the car is locked as you walk away.
Going to different cycling events I sometimes had to get changed in the car, and once I moved the passenger seat forward it was like being in an actual changing room such was the space. No putting my feet into my kit bag or playing a game of twister whilst trying to pull on a pair of bib shorts. The space is just massive.
The boot too is a vast storage area, and a really clever feature are the two small levers that are within easy reach that automatically pop down the rear seats without you having to do it from the back doors.
I then had no problem putting my size Large Giant TCR with a saddle height of 820mm into the boot without even having to take off a wheel or turn the bars.
With a host of modern technology such as the very handy Apple Car Play with touchscreen display being my favourite, the kids loved the changeable interior mood lighting.
The car that we have is the :
Skoda Superb Sportline Combi 204bhp
If you want to find out more or to hear about the very special offer that Ryan Motor Power are willing to give cyclists on any Skoda purchased you can contact them at www.ryanmotorpowerskoda.ie
Barry
Here are a few pics of the car in action.
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