Skoda Octavia iV 2020 UK review

Family hatchback gets electrified with plug-in powertrain. We experience it for the first time on UK roads This is the Skoda Octavia company car drivers have been waiting for: the Octavia iV plug-in hybrid, the first time such a drivetrain has been offered in the popular Czech family car that’s made an impressive start to life in its fourth generation. And we’ll get straight to the killer number: the 43-mile electric-only range, which due to the way the tax bands are structured reduces benefit-in-kind down to just 6%. Thus the annual tax bill for this SE L hatchback model tested will be less than half that of the cheapest diesel (£649 versus £1336 for a 20% tax payer at the current year rates).Given the government’s recent ban on petrol and diesel cars from 2030, it’s likely more private buyers will now flock into plug-in hybrids too as a gateway to an electric car. With fair winds like these, it’s no surprise to hear that Skoda expects the new Octavia iV to do very well indeed.Plenty of the new Octavia iV is familiar from other recent plug-in hybrids we’ve tested from the Volkswagen Group, including the Seat Leon eHybrid. Like that Leon, the Octavia mixes a 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine with an electric motor and 13kWh lithium-ion battery pack, driving the front wheels through a six-speed DSG gearbox. You can have it in hatchback or estate bodystyles, and in SE L or SE Technology trims at launch, while a more powerful version of the drivetrain is offered in a vRS iV model we’ve also tested.