Stationary at some traffic lights on the outskirts of Northampton, the truck driver wound down his window and gesticulated in an apparently friendly manner for me to do the same. “Speak English?” he asked, clearly having seen the German plates on the Skoda Superb I was driving. “Good. That is the ugliest car I’ve ever seen.” With that the lights turned green and he pulled away, considerately dumping diesel fumes through my open window.

And while my tormentor had clearly had a very sheltered upbringing, having obviously never seen a Fiat Multipla or a SsangYong Rodius, he may have had a point. In an era when even family holdalls, from the new Vauxhall Insignia to the Citroën C5, have become stylish, the Superb looks like a car designed by three different committees, one each for the front, centre and rear sections — and each charged on pain of death not to talk to the others.

The greater pity is that the old Superb it replaces was, for all its failings, one of the most graceful-looking cars on the road.

But equally it would be a mistake to ignore this one simply on the grounds of its, er, challenging looks; beneath them lies one of the most appealing large saloons on the market.

Just for starters, if space is what you crave you’ll find nothing else in the class that even approaches it. As you’d expect, there’s all the room you could possibly use in the front, and in the back the amount available more closely rivals that of the Rolls-Royce Phantom than the class average. Like the Phantom and unlike any other car, the Superb also incorporates an umbrella mounted in the near-side rear door. And before you naturally conclude that Skoda has simply nicked a good idea from Rolls, the umbrella was a feature of the old Superb that went on sale in 2001, two years before the Phantom.

One unique attribute is the novel feature of choosing whether the boot opens as a saloon or a hatchback. You see, while other manufacturers force you to choose between four and five-door models, the new Superb combines the best of both worlds. There will be an estate version too, though sadly not until 2010.

But if the roominess of the Superb is not unexpected — it is, after all, a discipline at which its predecessor also excelled — the fact that it’s decent to drive is a surprise. While the old Superb offered all the dynamic appeal of Fred Flintstone’s company car, this one steers fluently, grips well and has a delightfully firm but never harsh ride quality.

As for engines, diesel is the only sensible option and for just £900 you can trade up from a 2 litre motor with 140bhp to another with 170bhp. This is a bigger bargain than it looks: for while the lower-powered engine is ancient and, these days, almost unacceptably noisy, the high-powered version is brand new, silent at a steady cruise and even manages to use a little less fuel and produces less CO2 than its elderly relative. It is also faster — the difference between pleasantly urgent, and frustratingly inadequate.

This, then, is a car that knows its customer well. It’s not glamorous, but it does the job to an exceptionally high standard; higher I would suggest than the more expensive Volkswagen Passat from which it is (in part) derived. The cabin is not cool, like that of the new Vauxhall Insignia, nor clever like a Citroën C5. It’s actually rather old-fashioned in its detailing and very strait-laced, but it all works beautifully. It makes motorway hours pass faster, and I found myself striding towards it in anticipation of the drive ahead, whereas with most rivals I’d probably struggle to raise more than a plod.

Whether customers can be persuaded to spend nearly 20 grand on a diesel-powered Skoda is another issue. The old Superb sold slowly and depreciated quite heavily in the UK, and it’s hard to think of reasons why the same should not happen. The car is greatly improved, but that may count for little against its unfortunate appearance and modest heritage. People may no longer tell Skoda jokes, but that does not mean the memories of all those ghastly tin boxes churned out of an Eastern Bloc Czechoslovakia have been entirely exorcised.

So I would avoid spending my own money on a new Superb, yet I’d say the same about every one of its mainstream opponents. However, if given the choice of one as a company car, in the class I’d probably choose only a Ford Mondeo over it. And yes I’d live with the looks and occasional wounding comments from passing lorry drivers.

Skoda Superb SE 2.0 TDI CR

ENGINE 1968cc, four cylinders

POWER 170bhp @ 4200rpm

TORQUE 258 lb ft @ 1750rpm

TRANSMISSION Six-speed manual

FUEL/CO2 48.7mpg / 153g/km

ACCELERATION 0-62mph: 8.8sec

TOP SPEED 137mph

PRICE £19,930

TAX BAND D (£145 for a year)

VERDICT Bar the looks, a fine car

RELEASE DATE On sale now

Also worth considering

Ford Mondeo 2.2 TDCi Titanium X £24,595

For Fun, good performance, comfy

Against High-power diesel engine available in only top-spec models

VW Passat 2.0 Sport TDI CR £21,460

For Image, good-looking, great blend of performance and economy

Against Getting old, dull handling, rear room merely adequate