In a regional marketplace often defined by ostentatious displays of power and luxury, the Czech Republic’s venerable automotive manufacturer Skoda occupies a respected niche: providing European engineering, practicality and a premium feel without the corresponding price tag.
The all-new fourth-generation Skoda Superb, which will land on UAE soil imminently, aims to elevate this tradition, positioning itself as a sophisticated flagship that has a value proposition for the region’s executive and family segments.
The launch is a significant moment for the brand in the Middle East, marking the debut of the roomy Superb Wagon alongside the traditional sedan (admittedly, they were unveiled to the world in 2023, but our market has had to wait for it until now).
To truly appreciate the car, one must first look at the company’s storied lineage.
Skoda Auto traces its roots back more than 130 years to the pioneering days of motoring in 1895, when founding fathers Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement began manufacturing bicycles, eventually transitioning to motorcycles and then automobiles under the motto “Only the best is good enough for our customers”.
The name Superb itself is a direct link to the brand’s past.
It was bestowed upon Skoda’s flagship model in 1934, a car that featured a number of state-of-the-art elements, including a backbone chassis, spring suspension and a power train that rivalled any contemporary vehicle.
This original Superb was geared towards spaciousness and luxury, an approach that was revived when its namesake was relaunched in 2001, providing interior space and comfort in the upper-mid-size segment.
With the launch of the fourth generation, Skoda leveraged its Volkswagen Group heritage to deliver a vehicle that is more advanced and elegant than any before it.
The Superb immediately commands a sharper road presence.
Rolling along in one is a distinctly pleasant experience and (whisper it) the car is not dissimilar in looks and feel to some of your more traditional high-end luxe barges.
Skoda was savvy in its choice of test venue as well – the Superb fitted in nicely around the picturesque environs of the Czech capital Prague, performing solidly in both town and country settings.
Its design language is a refined evolution of the manufacturer’s crystalline aesthetic, featuring dynamic proportions, sleek lines and a meticulously crafted profile.
The exterior gains a broader, more assertive octagonal radiator grille, complemented by slimmer LED Matrix beam headlights that lend a distinctive, modern signature.
Critically for the discerning Gulf buyer, the model has been engineered with significant aerodynamic improvements.
Sculpted details and an overall cleaner design contribute to enhanced efficiency and quieter driving dynamics, making it ideally suited for long stretches of motorway driving between the Emirates, where kilometre crunching is still a thing.
Tidy paint finishes and sophisticated alloy wheel designs complete a look that quietly suggests European quality without needing to shout about it.
Step inside the new Superb and the true extent of its transformation becomes clearer.
The sedan boasts a cavernous 645 litres of luggage space with the rear seats up, while the Superb Wagon raises that figure to 690, expandable to 1,920 litres when the rear seats are folded.
In a market where utility and family comfort are paramount, these figures could be a major selling point.
The cabin architecture focuses on intuitive operation and elevated comfort. Dominating the driver’s interface is the integration of Skoda’s Smart Dials.
These configurable push-buttons blend physical control with digital displays, allowing quick access to functions such as temperature, seat heating and infotainment volume, striking a balance between traditional tactility and modern digitisation.
Premium touches are abundant, reflecting the top-tier trims being offered in the region, including Selection and the range-topping Laurin & Klement.
Highlights include ergonomically designed front seats with partial electrical adjustments and a comforting three-way massage function. The L&K trim further enhances the experience with exclusive design selections and materials.
For the Middle East, Skoda has chosen to streamline the power train offering, focusing on reliability and efficiency for the demanding regional climate.
This configuration balances dynamic acceleration (the car has a maximum speed of 244kph) with decent fuel efficiency, a critical factor for users keen not to spend too much cash on their ride.
The focus is on a refined, effortless driving experience, enhanced by advanced driver-assistance systems and safety features including adaptive cruise control and lane-keeping assist, providing that crucial layer of assurance on high-speed motorways.
With a starting price that positions it squarely against high-spec volume competitors, the new Superb stands its ground in terms of space, material quality and general feature count.
You can see how this would be a compelling choice for families and fleet managers alike.
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now
In times past, motoring excellence might not have been a concept certain people associated with some of Skoda’s models, but that period was decades ago and even then it would seem much of the criticism came from people who hadn’t ever driven one of the company’s products.
A glance at the motoring museum at the company’s headquarters reveals an impressive motoring past. The arrival of both the Skoda Superb sedan and Wagon ensures that Skoda’s flagship is ready to take a significant stride in the Middle East, offering a blend of European heritage, technological innovation and class-defining value.
Proof, if any were needed, that a lot of cars don’t need excessive bling to nudge wheels with the charabancs at the top end of the market.
Scores
Scotland 54-17 Fiji
England 15-16 New Zealand
The Sky Is Pink
Director: Shonali Bose
Cast: Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Farhan Akhtar, Zaira Wasim, Rohit Saraf
Three stars
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
AUSTRALIA SQUAD
Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Billy Stanlake, Mitchell Starc, Ashton Turner, Andrew Tye, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Roll of honour 2019-2020
Dubai Rugby Sevens
Winners: Dubai Hurricanes
Runners up: Bahrain
West Asia Premiership
Winners: Bahrain
Runners up: UAE Premiership
UAE Premiership
Winners: Dubai Exiles
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes
UAE Division One
Winners: Abu Dhabi Saracens
Runners up: Dubai Hurricanes II
UAE Division Two
Winners: Barrelhouse
Runners up: RAK Rugby
LEADERBOARD
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SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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The%20specs
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The biog
Born: High Wycombe, England
Favourite vehicle: One with solid axels
Favourite camping spot: Anywhere I can get to.
Favourite road trip: My first trip to Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan. The desert they have over there is different and the language made it a bit more challenging.
Favourite spot in the UAE: Al Dhafra. It’s unique, natural, inaccessible, unspoilt.
The biog
Name: Salem Alkarbi
Age: 32
Favourite Al Wasl player: Alexandre Oliveira
First started supporting Al Wasl: 7
Biggest rival: Al Nasr
More on Coronavirus in France
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs
A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.
The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.
Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.
Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz
Director: Kushan Nandy
Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bidita Bag, Jatin Goswami
Three stars
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
info-box
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Happy Tenant
Started: January 2019
Co-founders: Joe Moufarrej and Umar Rana
Based: Dubai
Sector: Technology, real-estate
Initial investment: Dh2.5 million
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 4,000
The specs
Engine: Two permanent-magnet synchronous AC motors
Transmission: two-speed
Power: 671hp
Torque: 849Nm
Range: 456km
Price: from Dh437,900
On sale: now
Results
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,000mm, Winners: Mumayaza, Fabrice Veron (jockey), Eric Lemartinel (trainer)
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 2,200m, Winners: Sharkh, Pat Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: The President’s Cup Prep - Conditions (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 2,200m, Winner: Somoud, Richard Mullen, Jean de Roualle
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh90,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Harrab, Ryan Curatolo, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Abu Dhabi Equestrian Gold Cup - Prestige (PA) Dh125,000 (T) 1,600m, Winner: Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Al Ruwais – Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: AF Alwajel, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
8pm: Maiden (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m, Winner: Nibras Passion, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ismail Mohammed
EMIRATES'S%20REVISED%20A350%20DEPLOYMENT%20SCHEDULE
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How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
A Prayer Before Dawn
Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
Starring: Joe Cole, Somluck Kamsing, Panya Yimmumphai
Three stars
The specs: 2018 Nissan Patrol Nismo
Price: base / as tested: Dh382,000
Engine: 5.6-litre V8
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 428hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 560Nm @ 3,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
Skoda Superb Specs
Engine: 2-litre TSI petrol
Power: 190hp
Torque: 320Nm
Price: From Dh147,000
Available: Now