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The ŠKODA SUPERB Estate has extended its remarkable winning streak by taking home the What Car? Best Estate award for the seventh year in the row. The Czech estate has been named as the best in class since 2015, with its combination of practicality, comfort and value for money proving unbeatable. Not to be outshone by the seven-time winner, the new ENYAQ iV, SCALA, OCTAVIA, KAMIQ and SUPERB hatch were all named as Best Buy winners by the What Car? judging panel.
Commenting on the SUPERB’s winning run, What Car? Editor Steve Huntingford, said: “When it comes to carrying capacity, the SUPERB Estate turns it up to 11… carry-on suitcases, that is. In other words, it has enough space for anything you might wish to carry, and then some. In addition, few rivals even get close to the passenger space it offers, while the interior is smartly finished, the ride comfortable and the pricing very attractive.”
ŠKODA’s acclaimed ENYAQ iV – the brand’s first purpose-built electric car – added to its growing list of industry accolades by being named Best Buy in the Electric SUV category. The judging panel praised the ENYAQ iV for its all-round ability and practicality with Steve Huntingford adding: “When you look at everything that you get with the ENYAQ iV, it frankly looks like a bargain compared with any of its similar-sized rivals. Yet despite that keen pricing, it comes very well equipped and its interior feels expensive. There’s plenty of space for five adults to travel in comfort, too. And even the cheapest, 60 version has a long enough range to banish range anxiety.”
Value was the deciding factor for two further ŠKODA awards with the SCALA named Best Family Car for Value for the second year in a row and the SUPERB declared the Best Executive Car for value. Explaining the judges’ decision to put ŠKODA at the top of their lists, Steve Huntingford said: “The SCALA is very temptingly priced, the 1.0-litre petrol engine in our favourite version offers low running costs, and our recommended SE trim gets lots of standard kit. Factor in a comfortable ride and tidy handling, and this is a family car that’s big on value and doesn’t feel remotely like one that has skimped on substance.” Adding for the SUPERB: “The SUPERB has long been a What Car? favourite, because it punches well above its weight when it comes to space and comfort, and delivers a knockout blow in terms of value for money.”
Rounding off ŠKODA’s haul of accolades, the OCTAVIA and KAMIQ were both recognised for their outstanding practicality – the former being named Best Family Car for Practicality and the latter named Best Small SUV for Practicality. “All passengers are well catered for in the ŠKODA OCTAVIA, while the boot is simply cavernous. It comfortably betters those of direct rivals, and shames a number of much larger models. And that’s before you even consider the estate version.” said Steve Huntingford. Commenting on the KAMIQ, he added: “You get so much space in the KAMIQ that no other small SUV comes close to offering as much rear leg room, and even the tallest passengers can fit in without slouching. The boot is immense, too, and the KAMIQ’s carrying capacity doesn’t end there, because the interior is packed with useful storage cubbies. Overall, then, the KAMIQ is exactly what many buyers are looking for: a smallish car with small car costs and small car convenience, but the practicality of something much larger.”