Top Gear's all-wheel drive Skoda Superb review

That Skoda Superb review am I reading here?

It's a Skoda Superb with all-wheel drive.

Great! Um...why?

Because Skoda sells a lot of AWD cars, what with the Octavia, Scout and Yeti all offering it. People in the cold climbs of Scandinavia, Central Europe and so on like a Skoda with traction. Good tow-cars. Safe and steady. You know, for thrifty business types and subtle gangsters who like skiing holidays. And caravans.

Though couldn't a caravanner save a fortune on money and misery and just live in the car?

In the estate, carting along the biggest boot in production today, absolutely. And don't worry, a 4x4 model was in the plan all along, so adding the necessary spinny bits hasn't drained the Superb's ocean of legroom. It's still as big as an S-class, for A-class money.

What sort of four-wheel drive system are we talking here?

It’s the familiar Haldex set-up, which makes the car mostly front-wheel drive to save on friction and fuel, but at the closure of an electrically-controlled hydraulic clutch, transfers up to half of the engine’s available output to the rear wheels. In the basic 1.4-litre Superb, that’s notta lotta power. But most folk in the UK will go for a diesel, offering either 148bhp or 187bhp. The DSG automatic gearbox comes as standard.

Is it any more fun to drive? A bit less bargey, and more agile, perhaps?

In a damning word, no, but if you try and get the most out of a Superb by flinging it around like a dodgem, you're sort of missing the point. There's a bigger picture to consider.

Go on...

A Superb lends itself to long journeys. Whether you're a businessperson trudging up motorways for high-pressure seminars or loaded to the gunwales with family and paraphernalia off on the summer holiday, the big, unassuming Superb likes to soak up distance. It's never that interesting, but it does the job unpretentiously.

On these long journeys, conditions may change, in the weather and on the road. Your concentration may wane. Having all-wheel drive is a nice cushion of extra security to occasionally lean on. You might specify it and never notice it in years on trundling around. But in a car that's much more of a polite, unassuming butler than a life-zesting statement, that fits just fine.

It’s not a replacement for a big luxury saloon – the engine is a tad too vocal for that, the interior sorely lacking in the same laser-cut style that’s been lavished on the bodywork. But it’s a very easy car to mooch around in, because there’s very little in the way of sporting pretensions. This isn’t a sports saloon, it’s a comfy barge with peerless ergonomics and an overwhelmingly refreshing lack of pretentious marketing rubbish. And you still get umbrellas in the doors.

How much will it dent my wallet?

£1500 – that’s the premium for having four-wheel drive, by the way, the Superb isn’t that philanthropic. So the one that everyone will by, the 2.0 TDI Estate with 148bhp and SE L trim, will set you back £27,820. A lot of car for the money, even if it’s not a fantastically interesting one.