‘Be Prepared’ is the motto of the Scouts and it also pertains to the many practical attributes of the ŠKODA Superb Scout. From the umbrella stowed in the passenger side door, just like a Rolls-Royce, to the boot big enough to swallow all the gear for a Scout’s jamboree, this is one very resourceful wagon.
I really liked the eye catching exterior design of the Scout and when you open the front doors the word ‘ŠKODA’ illuminates on the ground in the dark. The interior feel reminded me of a Volvo, with many small thoughtful design features that added up to a very pleasant driving experience. Things like the clear plastic parking ticket holder on the driver’s side of the windscreen or the storage cubby on the right hand side of the steering wheel that is cloth-lined to prevent rattles and has two card slot holders in it for your fuel card or parking station ticket. But one of my favourite things was the start/stop button located where you would put the key into the steering column on the right hand side.
The list of interior features continues on with a cooled glove box that contains a CD/DVD player and two SD card slots and a second cooled cubby under the arm rest. The height of the arm rest can be adjusted and it has one USB port underneath it and there is a slot large enough to store a tablet-sized device on its side here too. Another great feature is a removable ‘garbage bin’ that clips into the cloth-lined front door cubby, the bin has a lid and you can secure a small plastic bag underneath it for your rubbish. The seats have a combination of stylish Alcantara with black leather appointed upholstery and are very comfortable. Both front seats are heated, have power adjustment and multiple memory positions.
The driver gets five different dash designs to choose from and the leather steering wheel is also heated and I liked the feel of the wheel in my hands. The controls for setting the cruise control speed are located on a stalk behind the steering wheel and only the adaptive cruise distance controls are on the front of the steering wheel. The feature that I miss on the steering wheel is controls to pick up/hang up phone calls, to do this you need to reach over and touch the central screen.
The voice control on the Scout worked well for making calls, but was not the smoothest to use for setting a destination on the sat nav. The face on the button to activate the voice control is nondescript looking, not like some car manufacturers who use a masculine face to designate this feature.
The central infotainment screen has gesture control, which is good if you can work out how to use it because the screen does get bad finger marks on it when you touch it. The Scout has Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and Mirror Link and at the front of the centre console there is wireless charging for compatible devices, one USB port and one 12V outlet. Your other media sources include Jukebox, CD/DVD, SD card, USB, Bluetooth, AM/FM radio and DAB; all of which can be enjoyed on the impressive 12 speaker, 610W Canton sound system. There are also 10 ambient light colours to choose from, something my children always look for in a new vehicle.
There are a lot of features to keep the rear seat passengers happy as well, to start with for adults there is ample head and leg room and the outer seats are heated. For children there are two ISOFIX/three rear tether child seat restraint points and parents with young children will also appreciate the manual blinds on the windows. Rear passengers get digital temperature control for their rear climate and this can be adjusted or locked from the front screen as well. The central rear vents have manual on/off controls and underneath these is a pull-out storage cubby that contains one 12V outlet.
The central seat folds down as an arm rest with two drink holders at the front and a clip to store a pen. At the back of the front passenger seat headrest in my Scout there was an expandable holder for a smartphone or tablet. Parents will also appreciate the cloth lined door cubbies that would prevent drink bottles from rattling in there.
This is important because the cabin of the Superb Scout is quiet and the ride is very comfortable, but not too soft. There is a small amount of turbo lag from the 4-cylinder, 2.0 litre petrol engine, but once this has been overcome there is plenty of up and go provided by the 200kW of power and 350Nm of torque that will propel this wagon from 0-100km/h in 5.7 seconds. The engine is paired with a 7-speed DSG gearbox and the Scout is all-wheel drive and the official combined fuel consumption is 7.1L/100km and for my week with the Scout I used 10.0L/100km.
There are six drive modes to choose from in the Scout, including Eco, Comfort, Normal, Sport, Individual and Off-road. Under Individual mode you can adjust the dynamic chassis control, steering, drive, adaptive cruise control, dynamic cornering lights and the air conditioning. In off-road mode the Scout adapts torque distribution and on the central screen a compass, altimeter and wheel angle are displayed.
Perhaps the highlight of the Scout though is its boot! It features gesture open and close or can be opened and closed from the key fob or the button at the back of the boot. There is a button in the cabin to open the boot, but this doesn’t close the boot. The boot is huge and would easily accommodate the weekly shop and a pram plus there are numerous nets and hooks to keep everything secure and a temporary spare tyre under the boot floor. Should you need more space the rear seats have a 60/40 split fold mechanism operated either from the boot or a latch on the shoulder of the seats. The central seat can also be folded down independently to stow longer items while the outer seats are still in use.
The ŠKODA Superb Scout comes with Front Assist with Emergency City Braking, Blind Spot Detection, basic Lane Keep Assist, Rear Traffic Alert and Adaptive Cruise Control and ANCAP gave these Safety Assist features an overall score of 76%. One feature I didn’t like about the cruise control is once you set the speed and wanted to increase or decrease it, the system goes to the nearest speed in ?0km/h and then only adjusts the speed in increments of 10km/h.
The standard rear view camera has 360o sensors and the Scout brakes automatically if an object is detected while you are reversing. You also get nine airbags for front, front side, rear side, curtain and driver’s knee protection. All variants in the ŠKODA Superb range have a 5-star (2015) ANCAP safety rating with an Adult Protection rating of 32.7 out of 38 (86%) and a Child Occupant protection rating of 42.2 out of 49 (86%).
All new ŠKODAs come with a 5 year/unlimited kilometre warranty and a one-year complimentary roadside assistance membership, from the warranty start date. The roadside assistance will remain complimentary if your vehicle is returned to an authorised ŠKODA Dealer for scheduled maintenance, as per the ŠKODA Service Schedule milestones and is in a roadworthy condition. The service interval for the ŠKODA Superb is 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first and using the ŠKODA website I calculated the first five services would cost $2,655.
The ŠKODA Superb Scout is one car that lives up to its name and it left me with a lasting positive impression, not just because of all the features mentioned above. The price was the final flourish; it starts at $59,490 plus on-road costs and as tested with optional metallic paint ($700) my Scout was $60,260 plus on-roads. Visit your preferred ŠKODA dealer to test out a Superb Scout for yourself.
| Pros | Cons |
| The 610W Canton Sound System | No phone controls on the steering wheel |
| The many thoughtful interior features | Speed adjustment on the cruise control |
| The boot | Expensive service costs |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.