Skoda Superb vs Toyota Camry and Mazda 6

Giant road test – Skoda Superb 1.8 TSI DSG Elegance vs. Toyota Camry 2.5 Prestige and all new Mazda 6 2.5 Supreme 2015. What do men want? The list of the basic desires of a strong half of humanity has long been known to be money, wine, weapons and women. And of course cars! Now, only the naive believe that cars are for the modern man – it is nothing more than a means of transportation. The choice is now huge and has become very important to understand that you can buy and fully meet the needs of your car for the same amount. It all depends on priorities! We have gathered sedans including Mazda 6 2015, Toyota Camry 2014, as well as the transformer 2014 Skoda Superb not for the sake of competition. We just want to know what exactly do men want?

Amongst other test participants, the Skoda is noticeably smaller. The Skoda is blamed for a disproportionate silhouette and very heavy stern, on the other hand, praised for the back seat space and a large trunk. Well, for the Mazda it seems superfluous. The relative closeness of the compartment denies it the possibility to be nominated for the personal role, while behind the wheel of a Toyota and precisely the Skoda, there is more room for the driver. But only the salon Mazda gives a feeling of the cockpit: a higher transmission tunnel, a little unfolded left front panel, and a lower roof. All the main controls are grouped around the driver. No doubt he’s in charge here!

If you dream of sleeping with a Japanese top model, then buy a Mazda 6. But have it in mind that a fleeting passion can turn into a serious relationship.

Barely hitting the steering of the Mazda 6, I already know the principle of the climate control system, a set of multimedia features and a way to display traffic information, and because of the crossover CX-5, and the new Mazda 3 front panel is composed of the same technical blocks. But why does the decorative socket at the base of gearshift move at the slightest push, and a plastic box that separates the front passengers, reeling as if the manufacturers forgot to tighten a couple of screws? And the roof is still too low – I can feel my head against the sunroof.

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The interior of the new “Six” is strict and cozy. Alas, the quality of the interior could be better. But despite this, Mazda brings joy to touch, which is part of its best convenience access. But against the opponents, the compartment doesn’t have enough space.

No such problems In Toyota. The doorway is wider and higher than in the Mazda, and the front seats are installed higher. Hard plastic disguised as soft. Plus, clumsy imitation of wood veneer. In addition, some buttons in the Toyota came from the eighties and the old Japanese tradition without illumination. And now, it seems that the Corolla is hidden under its representative which is the Camry.

Plastic wood, wooden plastic … If advertising is the engine of trade, then deception is its control unit! From inside the Toyota, you cannot help feeling that you are in the room of a three-star hotel instead of five stars. The flat seat of the Camry is covered with slippery cellophane cream color leather. But why does it seem easier to breathe in the Toyota?!

However, the Toyota doesn’t give such skepticism to the rear seat passengers. After all they have in addition to the basic values​​, there is also a nice bonus. The control unit in the center armrest allows you to control the atmosphere in your part of the compartment, tuning music and adjusting the back seat is equipped with a motorized sofa. Neither the Skoda nor Mazda gives such attention to the rear passengers. How accurate can the trunk of a Japanese car be? The Mazda6 illustrates this. Yes, its carriage capacity is misplaced by the Toyota (438 liters vs. 506 liters), but out on the decking it is clearly not economical.

The interior of the Skoda was calibrated both in style and quality. In the back seat of the Skoda there is plenty of space for even such a giant as Shaquille O’Neal. It is a pity that the magnificent view of the front seats turned out not too comfortable.

Well, the most elaborate car in our trio is the Skoda Superb! It does not matter whether you have a look in the trunk, if there are hooks for bags and a set of nets for securing cargo, or if to sit in the compartment is the highest level of quality! Needless to talk about the quality of interior materials and parts fixed with precision? In addition, the Superb is more opportunity for people of different height and build. The adjustment ranges of the front seats and steering column is more than the Japanese sedans.

Neatly trimmed trunk of the Mazda is able to accommodate 438 liters. Rear seat backrest folds is located inside the battery compartment. Slightly narrower aperture adjustment.

Hardly 506 liters of trunk in the Toyota compensate the catchy form of wretchedness and interior finishes. The luggage compartment of the Superb beats its competitors to a range of 565 to 1670 liters.

Due to the quantity of space in the rear compartment, changing seats to the Skoda from the Toyota makes you wonder if its a limo! In the Mazda, we have the same difficulty with small doorways. But the comfort of the Toyota compartment is just so noticeable. So, after the static exercises we found the clear leader to be the Skoda Superb, as a car without serious drawbacks. But will Skoda perform in dynamic disciplines? Against its inferior competitors in capacity and power?

The competitors have the 152-horsepower turbo Skoda ahead of them from a standing start and when accelerating with medium speed. With the updated controlling program of seven gears with a dry clutch pack, almost got rid of the old problems. In addition, VW engineers assure that reliability problems are solved.

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Driving the Superb for three days, I was sure that such outstanding dynamics of the Skoda provide high ranking engine of 2.0 liter with 200 HP impact. Frankly, I myself could hardly return the car to the park. Maybe, something is not clear? No, that’s right. Long live the turbo! And believe me, the claimed 8.4 seconds for the first hundred will not tell you the whole truth about the dynamics of the machine. And what is a fair drive for acceleration! Feeling of direct communication with the car is broken only at the start from a place where electronics, preserving pair of dry clutches, restricts the flow of newton meters. By the way, with the new software critics, DSG began to work much better. The jerks when driven in traffic jams almost disappeared….

Toyota also can whisk sport mode. However, and without it, the Camry excels. Large sedan easily gaining momentum and almost with imperceptible touches, change under acceleration. However, deceleration switches are not as smooth, especially at the output of the slow corners and under sudden acceleration. But unlike the Skoda, drive on the Toyota is better, although the accuracy of the drive accelerator is only slightly worse than in the Superb.

The sky active engine of the Mazda thrives under full throttle when extended energy is stored up in the capacitors. However, there’s this temperament that every leisure driver wants when driving on the pedals of this car. Six-speed automatic, but sometimes that is what prevents it from accurately following the revolution of the engine.

Mazda is again lagging! Though a more powerful engine made it faster but will not alter the character as a whole. Even as it came in touch with the two liter version, we continue to blame the lack of traction at low and medium speeds. Though it does not cause much inconvenience on the highway.

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Mazda is quick to slow down and switch to lower speeds. But poor traction causes the transmission to fuss: box jumps up and down. It is necessary to push the accelerator of Mazda more than half way, and the feeling is absolute. Acceleration force of 250, no less! Such a radical change in temperaments, surprises and fascinates at the same time!

In the case of the Camry, there’s a puzzle with all the unknowns. Body lurches harder, begin to slip earlier, and feedback on the steering wheel is less. But at the same time, with the sheer speed and pleasure, Toyota almost equals its competitors.

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At the butt joints little bumps occur on pavement – itching and light vibration. But it’s still a very comfortable car. Yes, only with Toyota among the trio will you feel more reminiscent of crossover on the move: prominent roll in corners, lateral loads below, and reaction is not as sharp. Though the occasional worry with the steering is almost gone. The current machine reprogrammed software provides electric power driver ample feedback.

In moderate severity, the Mazda’s steering willingly performs at the driver’s commands. Most driveable of all three!

But the wheel of Mazda is still better! According to the unfiltered flow of information that is sent in turning the front wheels, the steering wheel of Mazda conceals even the verified transparency of the Skoda’s power steering. However, the trunk is only slightly bigger than that of the Skoda. And even more comfortable suspension. Mazda deals with irregularities averagely but not better than the Toyota, and with frequent vibration in contact areas, shallow wells but not annoying at all. But the bridge spans with prominent compression joints and irregularities with sharp painful bursts are transmitted into the cabin through enough energy-intensive shock. Mazda and Skoda are the same in this regard. However, in our Mazda were 19-inch wheels, compared to 16 inches in Superb.

The winner of this test is the Skoda Superb, known as the dark horse of the European car market. For an executive car that has too much sport in it, and a driver oriented car with an overabundance of free space. And then it is appropriate to ask yourself: “Who are you, Skoda Superb?” But from a mathematical point of view, the Superb is spotless! After all, it has virtually no flaws. Perhaps it is even the best car in its class.