I went to look at my MK iv 1.5, TSI e-Tec the other day that has now arrived at the dealers, I'm picking it up later this week. The sales assistant is absolutely useless and didn't know any technical details of the car, had no idea how the e-Tec works or where the battery is located. Can any of you guys enlighten me on this please so I know what to look for when I go back?

 

Whilst I'm here how are e-Tec owners getting on with their cars and what sort of MPG are you achieving?

Here is the launch info when e-tec was being introduced, it will answer some of your questions on what it does

 

https://www.skoda.co.uk/news/details/efficient-new-e-tec-models-introduce-mild-hybrid-technology-to-new-octavia-range

 

Doesn't say much that 2.5 years later, salesman hasn't heard of it.  Clearly needs to read up on what he is selling

Didn’t know the 1.5 Tsi was now available as a mild hybrid, thought only the 1.0 Tsi 3 pot was available with this.

The main difference between an e-tec and non- e-tec vehicle are:

- starter generator instead of traditional generator

- additional 48V battery under the front passenger seat. 

 

The starter generator feeds from and into 48V battery and it's used to:

- Start the engine

- Provide a small amount of additional power to supplement internal combustion engine when the car starts to move.

 

The benefit of this setup is that you have a marginal improvement in fuel economy and much better engine start / stop experience.

The latter is actually pretty impressive. You can't feel the engine turning on or off. In normal and eco mode the car does it all the time - when braking for traffic light, coasting down the hill or simply stopping for whatever reason. There is no noise, no vibrations. Feel like magic compared to my previous vehicle with Start/Stop which I had to deactivate as it was extremely irritating. 

 

One additional interesting feature I noticed is enhanced engine/generator braking in my car. When coming to roundabout or traffic light with car before you and lifting the gas pedal, the car starts to very noticeably slow down using a combination of engine and generator. The effect is not as strong as in electric vehicles with recuperation, but I find it quite handy. Should save some brake pads wear and tear. This might require SatNav and adaptive cruise control to work so that the car is aware of it's surroundings. 

 

Finally on the fuel economy. My long term average so far in two months since delivery is 6.7 l/100 km. About 1/3 town and 2/3 highway.

Last weekend I went to a national park. The route there was mainly highway with 90-120 km/h speed mode. Almost fully on ACC. That gave me a very impressive 4.7 l/100 km.