Skoda India says sayonara to the top-of-the-line Superb V6 4X4 variant

Skoda India has quietly said sayonara to the top-of-the-line variant of its flagship Superb luxury saloon featuring a powerful V6 petrol engine and a 4X4 all wheel drive layout. This decision by Skoda isn’t very surprising considering the very limited demand that the Superb V6 has been having in the Indian market, which dotes on its turbo diesels, especially when it comes to the luxury car pack. With 9 out of 10 luxury cars sold in India consisting of diesel mills under the hood, petrol engined versions have always been a rare breed.

2012 Skoda Superb

More so, when you have a 3.6 Liter, V6 petrol engine that is naturally aspirated and one that outs out 260 Bhp-360 Nm. This engine, not being force fed with a turbo or a supercharger also meant that it was quite a thirsty unit with fuel economy regularly in the 6-8 Kpl territory, a territory that looks very expensive, especially with the stratospheric rise of petrol prices. Even the dual clutch DSG automatic gearbox did little to boost the fuel economy numbers of the V6 petrol engine. Hence, it is quite understandable that folks wanting petrol variants of the Superb have gravitated towards the turbocharged, direct injected 1.8 Liter TSI petrol unit.

So, only the most hard core of petrol enthusiasts, whose numbers are in single digits, preferred the V6 Superb, and this has finally led to Skoda India saying sayonarato the brand’s brand building variant. Yes, that was precisely what the Superb V6 was, right from the word go, a classic brand builder to make a statement about Skoda’s high performance credentials. Now though, Superb buyers have two engines to choose from, both engines very capable units. In petrol guise, the Superb comes with the 1.8 Liter TSI petrol engine outputting 160 Bhp-250 Nm while the turbo diesel engine is the 2 Liter TDI unit delivering 140 Bhp-320 Nm.

2012 Skoda Superb

While the petrol engine comes with a 6 speed manual and a 7 speed DSG automatic gearbox for buyers to choose from, diesel Superb buyers will have to make do with the 6 speed DSG automatic gearbox. Skoda India recently expanded the Superb’s variant range by introducing the cut price Ambition variant of the luxury saloon. The Ambition variant skimps on a few bells and tinkles to arrive at the competitive price tag. The Superb has been a good seller for Skoda India, on the back of classy looks, a Mercedes Benz S-Class rivaling back seat, a loaded set of features and an alluring price tag.