I'm interested in a 'newish' mk4 1.5 SEL but unsure which type to go for.

Most of our driving is short local trips which would favour the PHEV and give me a bit more 'fun' performance but worried that plugging in would become a 'chore' then there is the weight penalty when we do go on long journeys.

There seems to be very minimal difference in power and economy on paper between the MHEV and plain petrol but would love to know owners experiences. Does the e-tec provide noticably more 'pep' or fuel savings?

Thanks for any insights.

A while back (18 months maybe?) there was a lot of discussion about the economy of the PHEV and other variants.

IIRC someone was getting in the order of 80+mpg from their PHEV, I’m getting about 57 from my 1.5tsi manual. Driving style, journey mileage, motor vs rural vs urban, and traffic all play a part. I reckoned if I bought a PHEV it would take over ten years to recoup the additional upfront cost. I don’t do many short trips, most mileage is made up of journeys anything from 50 to 400 motorway miles.

 

For about four months I drove a 1.0e-Tec which returned similar mpg to my own car. Performance was adequate, though could feel it when heavily loaded. A 1.5e-Tec would be better. 

 

Hope that helps a bit…

When I researched it, the performance once the batteries were drained in hybrids looked pathetic - and it didn't take long to drain them.  If you plan on keeping the car then there is also the cost of replacement batteries when they wear out (there is a limited number of charge/discharge cycles in them).  I think battery cars are not the way to go for the carbon conscious, I am looking towards the synthetic fuels being developed and am keeping to the ICE.

The m (mild) hev only saves bit of energy during braking which is more useful to run electrical auxiliaries than power the car.

 

The plug in version is expensive, has long lead times (the backlog is so bad, been taken off sale for months).  But if you plug it in then for local journeys will use negligible petrol.   Really you need to consider if you are going to pay for charging socket, do you have solar panels, what electricity tariff are you on.  At its cheapest (just a wall socket) about £800, if you go whole hog with solar and battery units to run your house at night and use cheap off peak electricity, will be nearer £15,000 although would save about £100 a month in electricity (roughly a tankful of petrol a month)

 

Neither version will save much fuel on long motorway journeys at constant speed over tsi

 

The Mhev might save £5-10 of fuel a month over tsi for mainly local journeys and occasional longer journeys. So if keeping car 7 years not worth paying more than £500 extra for it. Otherwise spending more than your fuel savings

 

To be perfectly honest, if you want car for mainly local journeys, are worried about cost of fuel, I have to question if Octavia is good choice, or if something smaller and cheaper would suit you better.

 

Well I’m a big up for PHEV. If it’s mostly short trips around time then it’s fantastic. We’ve all got to think about adding a car charger if you can. Adds value to your house so why not green up. Octopus Agile tariff is awesome when it’s windy, you look forward to storms giving you free electricity for a few days driving. Free. 
Plus when you go away there is no range anxiety and a swift car. The battery collects energy braking and downhill to continue to give you that oomph acceleration that you expect from electrics. 
2000 miles around northern Spain in July on motorways and mountains with 2 bikes on the back and a/c on most of the time with occasional charges only still gave 53mph. 
So I wouldn’t change. I love it now the software is sorted. Looking forward to storm B so much. Hope you can find the iV somewhere , mine was cheap on Cazoo ex-lease with loads of extras and most people are wary of change so there were no other takers

Thanks guys, very useful info.

If I can get a good deal on a 2 year old PHEV I may pull the trigger on it. Shame cars with a panoramic roof, memory seats and reversing camera are like unicorns!

I have the PHEV. For short commutes (circa 20-25miles round trip) it's a no-brainer if you can charge at home or office. 

 

I've taken it on long trips around Scotland and it's fine when not charged. 

If your trips are short and you can charge at home or at your daily destination point, PHEV is a no-brainer. Myself I drive on average about 20km per day and my savings on fuel are insane because I charge at night when prices are low. Driving only electric averages me about 3 eur per 100 km, while on petrol I'd spend 10 or above. On long distances consumption is still good despite higher weight of the car, last trip mine was around 6 liters again.

 

But, if you have nowhere to charge it, don't go for it.