August part 2

Easy on the fuel
Moments like that do take their toll on economy, but not as badly as you might think: the Superb rarely dipped below 40mpg, and averaged out at 41.4mpg, which wasnt bad for a limousine.

We had the car serviced at 14,000 miles at Aldershots Garland Motors (01252 311818), and although its service arm didnt exactly offer a cutting-edge experience, the team was polite, attentive and did the work on time. It would have been nice if theyd found the time to wash it, but the low 164.01 bill meant that I couldnt complain too much.

The only real maintenance surprise came during the service when Garland spotted that both front tyres needed replacing. A couple of days later, they replaced them for 329.

Unfortunately, the car was back with them just weeks later for recall work on some leaky foglamp seals; the work was done in a matter of minutes.

As for gripes, I had only two. When my new iPhone arrived, I hoped to finally take advantage of the cars Bluetooth technology, but sadly it wouldnt pair up with the car. I scouted the forums, spoke to Garland and eventually turned to Skoda. Current Superbs are not iPhone-compatible, but 2011-model-year cars will be.

The second issue was with the cars combined bootlid/hatch. The hatch was great for larger items, but I found myself using it less than I expected, because opening it is fiddly. There are two catches on the bootlid, and to activate the hatch you must first hold the right-hand catch until the high-level brake light stops flashing and then use the left catch to open it. Every time you close the hatch, it defaults back to the boot setting. I wish that one catch activated the boot and the other opened the hatch.

Nonetheless, there is an overwhelming logic to the Superb, from the intuitive switchgear and sat-nav, to the sheer space it offers. Even if it does look a bit expensive next to family car rivals, the fact is that the Superb gives you the luxury of a limousine at a fraction of the price, and for most people thats why its just grand.

A reader writes
Reader Martin Hunt got in touch with Andrew to say he had a similar problem with his iPhone - and found a solution

Martin writes: I have a Skoda Superb 3.6 V6 on order and have been facing the same problem of Skoda not supporting the iPhone. Having done lots of research on the internet and Skoda Owners Forums, there is lots of conflicting advice and solutions, however I have found one which works.

It is a simple 350 fix.

A company called Fiscon - also known as Richter Sport Ltd (based in Milton Keynes) - manufacture a unit which plugs into the back of the car's headunit and hides in the dashboard and means you get full iPhone control through the car's in-built microphone/speakers/buttons/dot matrix display etc. It's called the "VW/Skoda Basic + Bluetooth integration kit".

You can call them on 0845 370 3228 for more information.