Skoda hybrid on the mark
SKODA SUPERB iV SPORTLINE WAGON
TAKE the Volkswagen Group plugin hybrid; a 1.4litre petrol engine paired with an electric motor and a 13kWh battery. Slot it into the largest Skoda.
For an extra twist, start the test with a full tank of fuel . . . and an utterly depleted drive battery.
So began Drivesouth’s time spent with the Superb iV wagon. Actually, I’m glad it kicked off with no time to add energy before, or during, that first day of driving; a twohour openroad run home from another city.
Everyone hears about the best outcome a car like this can achieve (Skoda says economy of 1.7 litres per 100km); but who talks about the worst? This was a great opportunity to at least get a handle on that one.
So, the trip was an utterly a normal AtoB journey, sticking to posted pace, with the air con operating at a toasty setting, bursts of overtaking, no regenerating into the battery. On arrival, the trip computer was consulted. According to this, consumption was 5.8 litres per 100km.
So, if that’s the worst, what’s the best? Four days later, another open road trip, not a repeat of the first route, but of equal distance and equivalent quality. This time departing with the drive battery at 100%, and using the modes that ensured most frequent involvement, but seeking to maintain the same speed and driving style regime.
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Price as tested: $79,990
Clean Car rebates and charges (additional to price):
Powertrain: 1395cc inline fourcylinder petrol, 160kW/400Nm. Transmission: Six speed dual clutch automatic, frontwheeldrive.
Brakes and stability systems: Front and rear disc brakes, ABS, EBD, ESC, EBA, TCS.
The result? An average of 4.8 litres per 100km.
Obviously nowhere near the optimal standard figure, but I thought it reasonably decent as a ‘‘real world’’ stab. Certainly proof in my mind that it clearly has potential to take the edge off running costs.
Next question: How much does it take off the fun factor?
The most frugal Superb wagon before this one was the diesel, which, while not as thrifty was quite endearing, thanks to lots of low to midrange torque. Buy a 2.0litre petrol Sportline and it has (as the diesel did) allwheeldrive. The iV Sportline isn’t as muscular down low and it’s frontdrive. New world.
It’s sometimes as you would expect: a large car with a small engine that on occasion feels
Safety rating: Wheels and tyres:
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Emissions: Dimensions: exactly like that. Beyond that it’s pretty much Superb 101. Steadfast and solid; not too fast, nothing flash, and the brake pedal feel during regenerative braking is a bit brusque, but overall it feels beautifully engineered. It prefers not to be hustled and there are obvious situations — running with a load, hauling up a hill, hoofing from a standstill to chase that claimed 0100kmh time of 7.7 seconds — when it becomes mechanically taxed and you get to hear about it.
Always keeping the battery in some state of charge is definitely a trick to keeping it in ‘‘the zone’’. This can be done either by plugging in when opportunity presents, or regenning on the move (and if you like, you can shift into a B mode to crank up the regendrag and achieve something closer to EV onepedal driving).
Even so, I’d say the claimed EV range is optimistic. Most likely, in realworld conditions, you’ll manage more like 45km50km on full electric than the 62 claimed. Likely enough for most daily urban commuters, at least outside of Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch, and with overnight plugins, most should make it through the week without ever using the petrol engine.
The charging side of things is a bit of a pain, because the Superb’s battery tech is oldschool. As EV fans know, the ideal is to keep a battery in good state through quick and often daily replenishments. That’s not easily achieved here. The Skoda has a 3.4kW onboard charger, so it doesn’t ‘‘do’’ DC fast charging, only AC. Skoda says it’ll take about seven hours to charge when plugged into a traditional home socket, or three hours on a fast charger, which negates the second option for quick topups.
Visually, you’ll have to pay quite close attention to tell the Skoda Superb iV plugin hybrid apart from its more conventionallypowered brethren. With the charging flap hidden in the radiator grille, there’s really only the badge on the boot to give the game away.
Other than that, it has all the updates that carry through the rest of the range, with new lights, mildly tweaked styling and fresh alloy wheel and colour options.
The Sportline treatment on test looks great externally and gets better inside, with standard digital instruments and an eightinch (20cm) central touchscreen that’s easy to navigate. While it’s not an Audi alternate in its luxuriousness, the cabin nonetheless looks and feels expensive, with exquisite build quality.
Space and seat comfort have always been Superb high points, as has the sheer acreage of rear legroom, and though the need to package the battery, as well as a 50litre fuel tank, means that the boot becomes smaller, the load area still measures out to 510 litres. This expands to 1131 litres with the back seat dropped (with measurement to the windowline). How did they do it? Here’s a clue . . . don’t bother looking for a spare tyre. The iV has a repair kit.
Implementing a battery and electric drive impacts a bit on towing capacity (1600kg for Superb) and more on kerb weight, which increases by 200kg. You can feel the extra weight and heft of the electrical system. The bigger hit is in the ‘‘iV’’ price premium.
The drivetrain is available here in both wagon and fourdoor, and in Style and Sportline trims. Pricing kicks off at $71,990 for the Style sedan and tops with the $79,990 car on test. Each is currently eligible for the $5750 plugin rebate so they effectively range in price from $66,420 to
$74,240. A conventional 140kW/ 320Nm TSI wagon starts at $56,990. The difference pays for a lot of fuel and, even though the PHEV uses it more prudently, it is still wed to pump action.
Skoda has made very clear that PHEV is very much a transition tech, to the point where it has basically stopped developing it in favour of diverting all those bucks into full electrics. It’s probable a future Superb will be an electric car, perhaps quite unlike anything we have now.
As is, the iV wagon does what it does, with flexibility to deliver full electric driving for short, preferably urban, stints and lending benefit for longer distance driving. According to the trip computer, there were days when it was running on electric for at least half the time.