Skoda Superb iV

Superb way to dodge tax bullet

Andrew Walker

The Skoda Superb iV hybrid sits alongside conventional petrol and diesel models in the range and offers most appeal to company car drivers, with a 12% BIK from April 2020. Add in 148.7mpg fuel economy and emissions of 38g/km and anyone looking for a large family saloon or estate should really take note.

In comparison, the 2.0-litre 190hp diesel Superb, with similar performance, has a 20/21 BIK of 32%: the savings are a no-brainer.

The iV features a 1.4-litre petrol four-cylinder turbo engine paired to a 113bhp electric motor and 13kWh battery. As with all PHEVs, make the most of its range by plugging-in regularly.

We were testing the Superb SE L 1.4TSI 218PS fitted with the six-speed DSG gearbox. It’s well equipped, with 18” Zenith alloys, full matrix LED headlights with AFS and LED daytime running lights, Adaptive Cruise Control, Bluetooth, Amundsen SatNav with 8” colour touchscreen and integrated WiFi, wireless SmartLink for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto plus front and rear USBs.

The interior will be familiar both to owners of Skodas as well as others in the VAG family. It’s very logically laid out with great build quality, peppered with nice upmarket gadgets such as the touchscreen which operates the SatNav,

DAB, SmartLink and Bluetooth functions.

There’s also class-leading interior space, especially in the rear, plus 510 litres in the boot. My test drive over 330 miles of motorways allowed me to check out the Superb as a motorway companion. It didn’t disappoint.

From start, the Superb defaults to E-mode and for my shortish drive to the motorway I utilised the battery. Once up and running, though, I switched to Hybrid mode and set cruise control. You can also select Sport mode which results in a firmer drive and a little bit more overtaking power.

On the motorway, the seemingly too small 1.4 TSI petrol engine does an excellent job, as long as you don’t have to slow down, where it takes a while to get going again. This is not a problem in town where the battery and petrol engine work in harmony.

Charging the battery to full took around 90 minutes using a 7kW Rolec home charger. This will give you around 20 mile of pure electric driving. When the battery runs out the petrol engine steps seamlessly in.

Prices start from £33,250, with our SE L coming in at £36,035. The 187bhp 2.0 TSI DSG petrol SE L costs £32,305 which is £4,000 less, but company car tax rules make the iV the cheapest model to run. CC&V RATING: N N N N N