The Superb should have the edge both in terms of size and price over its Ford Mondeo rival – it’s 60mm longer than the Ford and expect the top-spec 2.0 TDI Elegance driven here to cost around £19,000, compared to the Mondeo’s £20k-plus.

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The 2.0 TDI will be the most popular model, and though it’s refined enough on the motorway, it feels like the 140PS engine is having to pull around a lot of weight. There’s no major problem, but it certainly doesn’t feel as capable an engine as when it’s fitted in other models across the VW Group. We didn’t have the chance to try the 170PS version, but that could be the better choice if it can be afforded, especially as it falls into the same 22% BIK banding.

The styling is also a little on the bland side. It’s certainly not offensive, but neither is it striking, which is probably a deliberate effort not to polarise opinions of the new drivers Skoda hopes to attract.

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