Less taxing drive

85kW electric motor, the difference being that the combination in the vRS produces 242bhp and in the iV a ‘mere’ 201bhp. There’s another difference between the two cars and it’s a crucial one – the EV range of the iV is 43 miles (against the vRS’s

38 miles) and this puts the car into the 6% BIK tax bracket. In plain pound notes, the tax bill for our Octavia estate will be less than half that for the cheapest diesel model sold to a 20% tax payer.

One of the reasons that the vRS iV is disappointing to drive is that the 13kWh lithium ion battery pack weighs 200kg. The same pack of cells is fitted to this car but since this model isn’t intended to be a sporty one it’s less of an issue. Shame that it also steals 150 litres of space from the luggage area, but the car is spacious enough to cope.

Skoda gives you a choice of three driving modes – Eco, Normal and Sport. Eco takes away a lot of power and Sport gives you so much that you’re spinning the front wheels out of junctions and using up battery power needlessly. Stick with Normal mode and the Octavia iV will slip seamlessly between petrol and electric power. Forget about achieving 40 miles on the battery at this time of year but you might get near 30 if you’re careful.

The Octavia’s interior is a huge step forward over the previous generation model, both in quality and the technology.

Have a look in Volkswagen’s new electric ID.3 and you’ll see more design flair but also materials that aren’t up to the standard of those fitted in this Octavia. It’s a comfortable car that will gobble up long distances and still carry your family with all its luggage.

Like all PHEVs, its appeal is more towards company car users for the aforementioned tax reasons.

If you’re a private buyer the car makes no sense at all if you haven’t got the facility to home charge. If you don’t have a home charge point, the official maximum fuel consumption figure of 256.8mpg will be pure fantasy.

One thing is for sure though, this model will be a huge seller.