Skoda is launching its most luxurious and sophisticated saloon in the Indian market later this year. In this exclusive first drive, we found out that the Superb really does live up to its name.

A year ago if Skoda mentioned that they would bring a luxury car to rival Mercedes in India, this little-known company would have been laughed back home to the Czech Republic (in case you didn't know is where Skodas are made). At one point, it looked like Skoda's India programme would never take off as the company dithered and changed its strategy over five long years amidst growing skepticism. All that is history now.

The fantastic response to the Octavia since it was launched in November last year (with sales of over 300 cars a month through just three dealers) has proved the Cassandras wrong.

The Octavia is becoming an increasingly common sight on the road and is making life difficult for established names like Opel, Mitsubishi and Hyundai. Not only is there a rush to the showroom but for a showroom. Suddenly, everyone wants to become a Skoda dealer! All this has encouraged Skoda in India to take the fight even more upmarket. And with its all-new, but immodestly named, Superb luxury saloon, it has the weapon to do just that.

Skoda plans to launch the Superb in India this Diwali as an import and to meet this deadline, the company will begin next month the process of 'homologation' or type approval certification that all new cars are required to undergo before they can go on sale in India.

The Superb is the most luxurious and sophisticated model the Czech car maker has ever built. The story goes that it was the Czech Republic president, Milos Zeman who urged Skoda to look at building a car above the Octavia. Having suffered the indignity of using a German-produced car for official duties, he asked Skoda if it was possible to produce a stretched Octavia. The answer was no. But a stretched Volkswagen Passat would be no problem.

Like all Skodas, the Superb is based on an existing VW platform - in this case a stretched version of the Passat that until now has only been offered in the Chinese market. Adding an extra 95mm to the Passat's wheelbase doesn't sound too dramatic but the effect is astonishing: the Superb looks enormous.

As a result, the Superb is a sub-class bigger than the current D-segment cars in India and a notch below the Merc E-class. The aim is to straddle two segments in the same way the Octavia has successfully managed to slot itself in between the upper mid-size (C) and luxury (D) segments.

Skoda's designers haven't done a convincing job of differentiating the Superb from the older and more established Passat, from which it draws heavily. The looks are unquestionably similar and in India, where anything German carries a premium, is all the better for it. The Skoda family face is evident only in the front where the new Czech saloon receives a chromed grille, different bonnet and distinctive trapezoidal-shaped headlamps.

Like the Passat, the Superb's understated looks may not be distinctive enough for Indian tastes. Going by the response to the Sonata's flashy looks, the Superb's styling may not appeal to a large chunk of luxury car buyers. Yet, the Superb conveys a sense of robustness, its large size and wheelbase accentuated by the extremely large rear doors.