Skoda Superb hybrid: pricing and specs for iV plug-in hybrid revealed

The Skoda Superb iV plug-in hybrid is priced from £31,970 in the UK and is now open for ordering, with hatchback and estate versions on offer. Four trim levels are available: the entry-level SE Technology, plus SE L, SportLine Plus and Laurin & Klement variants costing £31,915, £34,755, £38,490 and £38,960 in hatchback form respectively.

All benefit from Skoda’s latest MIB3 infotainment system, featuring a built-in SIM card offering wireless connectivity to Apple CarPlay. It also provides real-time traffic information, rerouting the sat nav to avoid congestion as it develops.

Meanwhile, SportLine Plus and Laurin & Klement cars receive the 10.25-inch, Virtual Cockpit instrument display as standard. The Skoda Superb iV PHEV is also available in larger estate form, costing £1,280 more than the equivalent hatchback versions.

CO2 emissions of 35 and 38g/km have been confirmed for the two bodystyles, with a Benefit-in-Kind company-car tax rating of 16% across the range.

The Superb iV entered production at the firm's plant in Kvasiny in the Czech Republic in September 2019. The Czech manufacturer has spent €12 million (around £10.6 million) upgrading the facility to produce electrified vehicles: it has the capacity to build 60 Superb iVs per day, alongside the internal-combustion-engined versions of the car.

The plug-in hybrid model was announced earlier in 2019 as part of a mid-life facelift for the Superb; it's the first time the big saloon has been offered with an electrified powertrain. It uses the same technology as the latest Volkswagen Passat GTE: a 1.4-litre turbocharged petrol engine plus a gearbox-mounted electric motor. Together they generate 215bhp, with power for the motor coming from a 13kWh battery.

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Skoda says charging will take three-and-a-half hours from a 3.6kW wallbox, with three-pin and Type 2 cables included as standard. An exact fuel-economy figure hasn't been confirmed yet, but Skoda says the Superb iV will be able to travel up to 578 miles on a tank of fuel and fully charged battery.

The Superb has welcomed a series of visual updates, with new LED matrix headlights, a refreshed front grille, a new front bumper design, revised rear lights and strip of chrome trim along the bootlid. Modern digital gauges and infotainment screens can be found inside.

Alongside the PHEV setup, the line-up will encompass three petrol and three diesel engines, with the former offering outputs between 148 and 268bhp and the latter between 118 and 188bhp. As is customary with Volkswagen Group cars, six-speed manual and seven-speed DSG automatic gearboxes will be offered.