Skoda Superb iV PHEV Review

Pricing

The iV comes in SE Technology (purely for fleets), SE L, Sportline and super-posh L&K trims. For fleets the SE Technology is brilliantly equipped, but if you’re buying for yourself the £36,040 SE L is our pick. It comes with heated leather seats, an 8-inch touchscreen, Matrix LED headlights and LED rear lights with scrolling indicators, keyless entry and blind spot detection. If the SE L is a bit too staid for you then there’s the Sportline but it comes with a £3,375 premium, so you have to fall in love with its sportier appearance. 

No matter which iV you opt for, you will get a five-metre long cable with a three-pin plug connector (Mode 2) for domestic charging. But, in a rare move, Skoda will also throw in a five-metre Mode 3 cable with a Type 2 connector so you can plug into a public charger or into a home wallbox if yours doesn’t already have a cable attached.  

Running costs

Skoda claims the Superb iV will return between 148.7 and 217.3mpg, figures which are, quite frankly, ludicrous. Those numbers are from the more realistic WLTP testing procedure, but as a large part of the test is done at slow speeds with the electric motor purely powering the car, the numbers aren’t realistic. Under normal driving conditions we’d expect around 60mpg and rising to 70mpg with careful driving. Like most plug-in hybrids, you really need to plug it in as often as possible to get the best from it. For CO2, the Superb iV coughs out a pretty staggering 30-42g/km.

Just like the diesel Superbs, the plug-in hybrid iV will mostly appeal to company car drivers. As it offers up to 35 miles of pure electric driving, the iV falls into the 12% Benefit in Kind (BIK) rating, which can potentially save company drivers thousands a year.