Sko da Superb iV

Skoda offers a superb way to dodge a tax bullet

Andrew Walker

Plug-in hybrids offer customers a half-way house before opting for full electric, and the latest brand to join the gang is Skoda, with the Superb iV.

The iV sits alongside conventional petrol and diesel models in the Superb range and offers most appeal to company car drivers, with a 12% BIK from April 2020. Add in its 148.7mpg fuel economy coupled with emissions of 38g/ km and anyone looking for a large family saloon or estate should really take note. By way of comparison, the 2.0-litre 190hp diesel Superb, which offers similar performance to the iV, comes with a 2020/21 BIK of 32%, making the savings on an iV a no brainer.

The iV features a 1.4-litre petrol four-cylinder turbo engine paired to a 113bhp electric motor and 13kWh battery. The charging port is neatly hidden under the grille at the front of the car. And, as with all PHEVs, to make the most of its range, you’ll need to plug-in regularly to make the most of what it has to offer.

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.

As part of the Volkswagen family, the interior will be familiar both to owners of Skodas as well as those who used to drive a Volkswagen, SEAT or Audi. It’s very logically laid out and has great build quality, peppered with some nice upmarket gadgets such as the touchscreen which operates the SatNav, DAB, SmartLink and Bluetooth functions. The leather steering wheel also includes buttons to control the media and Bluetooth functions as well as allowing the driver to access driving statistics and the SatNav. The lower left-hand stalk controls the cruise control and with my model fitted with adaptive cruise control, this also allowed me to select a safe distance from my vehicle to the car in front – perfect for the motorway.

The Superb offers class-leading interior space, especially in the rear, plus 510 litres in the boot. That’s 150 litres less than in the standard Superb estate, as the underfloor boot storage is now occupied by a charging cable cubby and in front of that, the battery.

My test-drive coincided with a trip to Newcastle to bring home my son – and all his kit – from his university halls. The full 1,800 litres came in handy as we fitted everything in comfortably, while the 330-mile motorway journey 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, set cruise control and set off for the North East. You can also select Sport mode which results in a firmer drive and a little bit more overtaking power.

You’ll notice that the power dial on the digital display flashes around into the tachometer section, which is the only clue that you’re in a hybrid. 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, wherein a combination of lack of diesel torque means the iV takes a while to get going again. This is not a problem in town where the battery and petrol engine work in harmony.

Using our 7kW Rolec home charger meant

that charging the battery to full took us around 90 minutes. This will give you around 20 mile of pure electric driving, enough for a couple of days worth of short, local trips, which are undertaken in near silence. When the battery runs out the petrol engine steps seamlessly in.

The iV is heavier than the traditional combustion Superbs and if you try hard enough you may notice that the car’s handling is slightly hampered by the extra weight.

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 as we have already alluded to, the new company car tax rules make the iV the cheapest model to run.

As with any PHEV, to make one work successfully you will need to plug-in regularly to utilise the electric range. On our petrol-only motorway trip to Newcastle, we averaged 40.3 mpg, about right for a large, fully laden, petrol estate. Around town and using E-mode for shorter travel, that figure climbed to 51.9mpg, which is comparable with what you’d expect from a diesel Superb.

After heaping praise on the Superb iV, are there any negatives? On the motorway, if you need to slow down and then get back up to speed, then the 1.4 engine shows its limitations. The interior, though solidly built and nicely laid out, is a bit generic in that VAG way. That is basically it, though.

Verdict Business customers will love it. The personal tax savings are a sizeable incentive to plump for the iV. To get full advantage, make sure you plug-in regularly – best of all, with a home charger

CC&V RATING: N N N N N