Newtechfresh | Consumer Electronics Guide: SKODA SUPERB

Miloš Zeman, the Czech Republic’s new president since March 2013, is the first to drive (or more likely, be driven in) the recently refreshed Skoda Superb. The Czech carmaker has offered the president a brand new Superb, which is the most luxurious and powerful car produced in the Czech Republic.

Painted in the Black Magic pearl effect hue, the top-of-the-range limousine has the Laurin & Klement trim, which means it is the best-equipped Superb model. It has a brown leather upholstery, piano black trim, heated and ventilated front seats, among other amenities.

The presidential Skoda Superb is powered by a 3.6-liter V6 FSI gasoline engine developing 260 PS (256 hp) and 350 Nm (258 lb-ft) of torque. The engine is mated to a six-speed DSG double-clutch transmission, with power being transmitted to all four wheels.

Since it’s a presidential car, we assume it is armored, hence the need for the most powerful engine. The standard, unarmored, Superb 3.6 FSI V6 is adequately fast, as it accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 6.4 seconds and reaches a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph).

The Superb, just like all other current Skodamodels, represents very good value for money. You get a car which is almost the same size as an Audi A6, but only costs about as much as a Volkswagen Passat. However, that is only part of the car's appeal, and now with a refresh for the 2014 model-year, the Superb has been sharpened up.

When this generation of Superb came out, it took us a while to get used to the shape of the car, and in particular that of the headlights. The years have passed, and now that they are commonplace on the roads of Europe, people have grown accustomed to them. The facelift brings about a restyled front end, which now features the new "family face" as well as a different rear end. It also gets bi-xenon headlights, with integrated LED daytime running lights.

At the rear end, the liftback/sedan version gets new tail light graphics, as does the estate, or Combi, as they like to call it. The exterior changes are complimented by two new colors (metal grey and moon white).

The vast interior has also been restyled to match the rest of the range, and buyers can choose from a total of nine possible variations, including three- or four-spoke steering wheels. Top-spec cars also get a new brown-ivory leather interior – for that upmarket feel.

The range of engines is carried over from the previous model, but some engines reportedly use 19 percent less fuel. Given as an example is the 1.6-liter TDI (diesel) Greenline, which now uses 4.2 l/100km (67.2 mpg UK). However, the best-selling engine is expected to be the 2.0-liter TDI, which gets a manual transmission for the all-wheel drive model for the first time.

The Superb retains its ability to carry passengers and way too many of their bags – both body versions are still "class leading" in this respect, thanks in part to the long wheelbase, the square-ish overall shape, clever packaging and use of interior volume. It gets ABS and ESP as standard (of course), with active adaptive lights (self-dimming) and hill-hold assist being available as options. A tire pressure monitoring system, as well as a total of nine airbags complete the list of safety kit currently offered.

I say that the only thing that lets the 2014 Superb down is the actual restyling job. It could have been more thorough, especially since even this facelifted version doesn't look as fresh asthe new Octavia.

PHOTO GALLERY