What Car? Reveals why they think the Skoda Octavia iV is a great company car.
What Car? Highlights the key benefits of Skoda’s fleet-friendly Octavia iV. Read on to find out why their panel of experts named it a 2021 What Car? Award winner and why they believe it should be on your company car shortlist.
1. Low BIK tax
The Skoda Octavia iV’s innovative plug-in hybrid powertrain blends a 1.4-litre TSI petrol engine with a 13kWh lithium-ion battery to deliver CO2 emissions as low as approximately 30g/km (WLTP tested)[1].
That means incredibly low benefit-in-kind (BIK) rates and road tax costs. With a BIK rate of 7% for 2021/22, you’ll pay from as little as £36pm as an employee in the 20% tax bracket, and £72pm for a 40% tax band employee. Equally, with the Octavia iV in class B for Vehicle Excise Duty (VED), it’s road tax-free for the first 12 months and just £145pa in subsequent years.
2. Cut costs with plug-in hybrid fuel efficiency
The Skoda Octavia iV’s hybrid powertrain also helps improve your fuel efficiency on longer trips. With up to 43 miles of all-electric range, and the typical daily commute being just 23 miles, you can do most journeys exclusively on all-electric power. With home charging rates of around 17p per kWh, that means you can drive locally for as little as 5.2p per mile.
3. Advanced tech with a premium feel
A great company car should boast cosseting comfort and impressive levels of equipment – and the Skoda Octavia iV really delivers on both of those fronts.
All Octavia iV models come with the 10.15 inch Virtual Cockpit cluster as standard plus a head-up display and the intuitive Laura voice control for handsfree access to navigation, music and more.
The high-spec SE L trim comes with even more goodies, such as comfortable heated microsuede seats, as well as Columbus satellite navigation with a crisp 10inch touchscreen display, keyless entry and electric mirrors and more.
4. Skoda Connect
The Skoda Connect smartphone app has added functionality specifically for the Octavia iV’s plug-in hybrid powertrain – with the latest information about charging prices, types & locations. Equally, the remote charging features let you monitor and control your battery level wherever you are, while Remote Air Conditioning lets you pre-cool or pre-warm your car before your journey.
5. Tech that makes driving easier and safer
You’re going to spend a lot of time on the road in your company car, and that’s why Skoda makes advanced driving tech a top priority with a range of standard and optional safety systems. Including Front Assist with Predictive Pedestrian Protection, Adaptive Lane Assist, and Adaptive Cruise Control – keep you safe while on the road, while parking sensors and Blind Spot Detection help you navigate tight and narrow urban car parks more easily.
6. Versatile space that adapts to your day
Using the optional ‘virtual pedal’, a simple waggle of your foot reveals the large 1.01m-wide access to the cavernous boot, making loading and unloading an ease. Remotely folding the rear seats provides up to 1,550 litres of versatile boot space in the Octavia Estate and around 1,405 in the hatchback. Equally, five comfortable seats make outings with friends and family relaxing, while a plethora of clever cubbies make storing smaller items a breeze.
7. It’s all just ‘Simply Clever’
Skoda is renowned for Simply Clever features that make everyday life easier, and there are a wealth of these that help to make the Skoda Octavia iV an even more compelling company car.
They include an umbrella in the door to keep you dry on the way to meetings, an ice scraper in the fuel filler cap for those early frosty morning starts and a ticket holder on the inside of the windscreen.
8. The option of vRS performance
Finally, the fun factor. Encompassing all of the versatility, practicality and comfort of the standard Octavia iV, the Skoda Octavia iV vRS injects an added dose of excitement into your daily drive thanks to a sports chassis with tuned suspension, body-hugging buckets seats and a 1.4-litre turbocharged plug-in hybrid powertrain with 245PS, 400Nm of torque and a 0-62 time of just 7.0 seconds – all while still achieving up to 256.8mpg (WLTP Weighted Combined).
Read the full review from What Car? here.
