I keep looking for a small Skoda Hybrid, like a Fabia but they have rejigged a Scala model (Scala reminds me of a failed electrical store)

Does anyone have any positive news? 

It's unlikely that Skoda will ever market a Fabia-size hybrid of any sort.

 

This recent "Autocar" article 

 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/2025-volkswagen-id-2-will-be-even-better-concept

 

said that VW planned to have an inexpensive Polo-size EV (called the ID2all) on sale in 2026, and I'd expect Skoda to subsequently market a version of that.

Edited 4 January, 20251 yr by DerekU

Is a Seat Leon hybrid too big? 

 

As to a smaller Skoda BEV that is the Epiq.

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/522294-skoda-epiq-elroq

 

 

 

 

Edited 4 January, 20251 yr by Ootohere

The simple answer is no plans for small hybrid.

 

VW Group are moving to electric cars, Cupra Raval, then later in year VW ID2 (basically same car in different specs).  Skoda is getting different version called Epiq (probably in 2026)

 

If you want small hybrid, perhaps look at Suzuki or Toyota

 

If you want a small electric car, then in addition to above list, there is (available during 2025) Alfa Romeo Junior, Citroen e-C3, Hyundai Inster, Fiat Grande Panda, Ford Puma gen-E,  Jeep Avenger, Leapmotor T-03,  Renault 5, Renault 4, etc

This recent CAR Magazine article may be of interest

 

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/hybrid/best-small-hybrid-cars/

 

Before my Fabia Mk4 DSG I owned a 2021 Hyundai i20 for about a year. This had a 6-speed manual transmission and a similar-size turbocharged motor to my Fabia's, but was classed as a MHEV (Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle).

 

MHEVs have a small 48V lithium battery that can supplement the motor's output when accelerating and (in the Hyundai's case) allowed the motor to stop in certain circumstances while the car was in motion. The i20's 48V battery could not power the car and (at least in the UK) the system's advertised fuel saving gains were illusory. The i20's mild-hybrid system was complex and not problem-free, and has been dropped for 2025 i20 cars marketed in the UK. 

 

So, if considering buying a small MHEV, think twice...

3 hours ago, DerekU said:

This recent CAR Magazine article may be of interest

 

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/hybrid/best-small-hybrid-cars/

 

Before my Fabia Mk4 DSG I owned a 2021 Hyundai i20 for about a year. This had a 6-speed manual transmission and a similar-size turbocharged motor to my Fabia's, but was classed as a MHEV (Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle).

 

MHEVs have a small 48V lithium battery that can supplement the motor's output when accelerating and (in the Hyundai's case) allowed the motor to stop in certain circumstances while the car was in motion. The i20's 48V battery could not power the car and (at least in the UK) the system's advertised fuel saving gains were illusory. The i20's mild-hybrid system was complex and not problem-free, and has been dropped for 2025 i20 cars marketed in the UK. 

 

So, if considering buying a small MHEV, think twice...

 

I've read the same about the i20. Several reviews were not very positive about the hybrid part,  and also that it has been removed from the newest model. 

 

I'm curious, were you not satisfied with the car? What made you change to a Fabia?

Edited 9 January, 20251 yr by szilvita

For a smaller petrol hybrid that can give quite amazing economy and a spirited drive it is worth taking out a Renault Clio.

Or there is the Renault Capture.

 

@lol-lol can tell you all about driving the Clio and good or bad points.

Honda jazz seems pretty popular when i read online and also often mentioned as a competitor to the fabia.  Jazz has mild hybrid as far as I know, but how well it works.... do not know..... 

4 hours ago, Ootohere said:

For a smaller petrol hybrid that can give quite amazing economy and a spirited drive it is worth taking out a Renault Clio.

Or there is the Renault Capture.

 

@lol-lol can tell you all about driving the Clio and good or bad points.

 

We have both Clio models, ie 0.9/1 litre TCE and the full hybrid which has about 90 horsepower lecky motor and a similar powered 1.6 naturally aspirated petrol engine. Both do about 54 mpg in winter and over 60 mpg in summer.

 

Excellent handling, prefer the handling to my Scenic or Zoe.

 

Super safe too. One daughter got hit in a mark 4 Clio by a 32 tonne truck, pinball off central reservation and then hit by 7 series Beemer. Car totally written off but the protective shell worked very well and she insisted she got another Clio. We did but the 0.9 litre tce rather than the slowish 1.2 non turbo. Other daughter has a fabia.  Of course Dacia use same chassis and similar form shape in the Sandero and I would have one of those too.

 

4 hours ago, szilvita said:

 

I've read the same about the i20. Several reviews were not very positive about the hybrid part,  and also that it has been removed from the newest model. 

 

I'm curious, were you not satisfied with the car? What made you change to a Fabia?

 

The i20 was 12-months old when I obtained it, had covered only 700 miles and was an impulse buy - I had planned to purchase a brand-new Hyundai i20N, but that  model was in very short supply in the UK at that time with unknown delivery dates.

 

The plastic and fabric materials used in the i20's interior were decidedly not 'classy' and, despite jacking up the rear of the driver's seat-rails by 25mm, I still didn't care for the driving position, nor the seat itself., nor the 'feel' of the steering. As the car's 48V battery was housed in the spare-wheel well, there was no room there for even a space-saver wheel. I bought a secondhand full-size wheel/tyre, but that would not fit in the boot and I used to carry it upright behind  the passenger seat. I just didn't get much pleasure driving the i20, but what convinced me to get rid of it was my wife breaking her hip and it becoming obvious that, after the hip-replacement operation, she would have great difficulty getting in and out of the i20 that had no seat-height adjustment of the passenger seat.

 

I chose a Fabia because a) we had owned a Skoda Roomster since 2009 and been pleased with it, b) there is a Skoda dealership 10 miles from where I live, c) they had a new silver Fabia SE L DSG in their showroom and d) the seating is much more comfortable and adjustable than the i20's and the interior much less cheap-looking. I'd found driving the i20 irritating on rural roads as its 6-speed transmission was essentially a five-speed set of lower ratios with an 'overdrive' top gear. The Fabia is the first car I've actually owned with an automatic transmission and (at age-80) I'm now happy to let the DSG 'box do the gear selection for me.

 

There was nothing intrinsically wrong with the i20 and, having traded it in for the Fabia, it sold to a new owner within a fortnight.

29 minutes ago, DerekU said:

 

The i20 was 12-months old when I obtained it, had covered only 700 miles and was an impulse buy - I had planned to purchase a brand-new Hyundai i20N, but that  model was in very short supply in the UK at that time with unknown delivery dates.

 

The plastic and fabric materials used in the i20's interior were decidedly not 'classy' and, despite jacking up the rear of the driver's seat-rails by 25mm, I still didn't care for the driving position, nor the seat itself., nor the 'feel' of the steering. As the car's 48V battery was housed in the spare-wheel well, there was no room there for even a space-saver wheel. I bought a secondhand full-size wheel/tyre, but that would not fit in the boot and I used to carry it upright behind  the passenger seat. I just didn't get much pleasure driving the i20, but what convinced me to get rid of it was my wife breaking her hip and it becoming obvious that, after the hip-replacement operation, she would have great difficulty getting in and out of the i20 that had no seat-height adjustment of the passenger seat.

 

I chose a Fabia because a) we had owned a Skoda Roomster since 2009 and been pleased with it, b) there is a Skoda dealership 10 miles from where I live, c) they had a new silver Fabia SE L DSG in their showroom and d) the seating is much more comfortable and adjustable than the i20's and the interior much less cheap-looking. I'd found driving the i20 irritating on rural roads as its 6-speed transmission was essentially a five-speed set of lower ratios with an 'overdrive' top gear. The Fabia is the first car I've actually owned with an automatic transmission and (at age-80) I'm now happy to let the DSG 'box do the gear selection for me.

 

There was nothing intrinsically wrong with the i20 and, having traded it in for the Fabia, it sold to a new owner within a fortnight.

Thank you! As mentioned in another thread I considered the i20. It caught my attention because of quite good reviews and the exterior facelift. But the interior...... Put me off. I'm not very fussy regarding plastic parts etc. (I've lived with plastic fantastic for ten years) but the Fabia won by far when I got a look inside. At first exterior sight I found it kind of boring and "classic car looking" and i almost ditched it on that, but all things considered I fell for it anyways. Glad I gave it a an extra chance and investigation. 🤓

Funnily enough we bought the Fabia because it isn't a mild - hybrid! Reason being that we wanted something relatively simple as we intend keeping for quite a few years and probably beyond the warranty.

 

My Volvo XC40 is a MH and whilst it is very nice to drive, goes well for what it is and pretty good on fuel, both of which being helped by it being MH, it is very complicated and I have real concerns about keeping it beyond the warranty as I think the cost of repairs could be very high. Trouble is many new cars are already MH or are moving that way.

 

I agree about the interior of the i20. My son test drove one and we found the interior very poor/bland. He bought a Mazda 2 in the end which has a very nice, quality interior for a small car and goes well enough with its 1.5 non-turbo engine.

 

I do wonder if manufacturers are doing the right thing in their continuing race towards EVs? We did consider one briefly before the stall in sales as it would suit our usage as we do low miles and mainly shorter journeys and could charge at home but the figures just don't stack up for us. The higher initial price compared with comparable ICE car, increasing cost of insurance and the biggie, the poor residuals value. These are fine for business users who are the main buyers but not private buyers in the main.

On 09/01/2025 at 08:27, SurreyJohn said:

 

 

If you want small hybrid, perhaps look at Suzuki or Toyota

 

 

Yup, this is where I ended up. Suzuki Swace which is a Toyota Corolla Touring Sport hybrid in drag. A version of the Mazda 2 also runs with the fabulous Toyota true hybrid. I'd either have no hybrid at all - traditional petrol/12v(not 48v!) only -  or Toyota sourced hybrid gubbins.

 

Edited 15 January, 20251 yr by bigjohn

Regarding MHEV (Mild Hybrid Electric Vehicle) cars, this article may be of interest.

 

https://motorway.co.uk/sell-my-car/guides/what-are-the-disadvantages-of-a-mild-hybrid-car#hybrid

 

When Hyundai began to market the MHEV i20 model in the UK in 2021, it soon became apparent that the car needed to be driven very regularly for a substantial distance to ensure that the full potential of its mild-hybrid system could be exploited by owners. When the system refused to cooperate (in particular the 'sailing' (coasting) feature failing to work) Hyundai dealership's had a policy of just replacing the car's (tiny) starter-battery, hoping this would effect a cure.  One i20 owner, who had bought the car specifically for its fuel economy/environmental claims, after a starter-battery change followed by replacement of more major parts having made no difference, lost heart, rejected the car and bought a Renault. For the 2025 Model Year Hyundai tweaked the i20's cosmetic specification (even uglier wheels!) ,chucked some extra dashboard tech in, dropped the MHEV system, but kept the price unchanged. About the only tangible advantage of the MHEV approach (IMHO) is that it can have a manual transmission, whereas - to the best of my knowledge - 'proper' hybrid cars are all automatic.

 

Like VAGCF, I chose a Fabia because it was not a MHEV.

Many including journalist missed this one.

I wanted a Ignis AWD Auto and mild hybrid would have been fine, but it only came AWD and m-hev as a manual. 

Interesting that you can get a manual MHEV, does it have an extra clutch or other mechanism to enable coasting?

 

Have to say that the MHEV system with DCT (DSG) works well in the Volvo having had the 2.0 petrol with TC previously. Same engine but with the help of the electric when accelerating it goes well and fuel consumption for a pretty big SUV is good. I can easily get into the 40s average and twice on long runs I got an average of 52mpg helped by the coasting function which frequently kicks in.

 

It's all very clever the way it all works together but as I said it is very complicated and increases the chance of something going wrong and being expensive.

Copied from a 2024 Autocar review of the Hyundai i20

 

...The gearbox’s ‘intelligence’ stems from the electronic clutch: the pedal has no physical connection to the clutch mechanism. Instead, a sensor sends signals to an actuator which does the work. The benefit being that the car can declutch and switch off the engine while coasting, without any input from the driver...

 

The complete review is here.

 

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-review/hyundai/i20

 

I can't say I noticed any difference in 'feel' compared to a conventional hydraulically-operated clutch and - as the idea of coasting with the motor stopped dis not appeal to me (and coasting only happened if the car was in ECO mode, which I never chose to use) - I don't know whether coasting actually worked on my i20.

 

(i20 owners referred to the coasting feature as "sailing". As this word did not appear in the i20 Owner's Manual, I asked why they used it, and was told that - when an i20 was coasting - a little yacht symbol displayed on the instrument-cluster.)

Edited 17 January, 20251 yr by DerekU

Thanks Derek.

 

Earlier XC40s had TC boxes and some could coast in Eco mode. With the MHEV with DCT (DSG) box you have no choice (and you can't turn the stop/start off either) and I was very critical of the coasting function as it would activate at inappropriate times and sometimes give a feeling of running away and if you wanted the engine to restart you had to touch the throttle! Over time though and OTA software updates it has been tweaked and is much better including often but not always, restarting when you are braking.

 

Whilst there are examples of small MHEVs being mentioned the big problem is finding room for the extra equipment needed e.g. starter/generator and the 48volt battery. Also the extra weight in a small car may mean there is not such a significant increase in mpg and handling/ride maybe affected.

Edited 18 January, 20251 yr by VAGCF

On 15/01/2025 at 22:19, bigjohn said:

 

Yup, this is where I ended up. Suzuki Swace which is a Toyota Corolla Touring Sport hybrid in drag. A version of the Mazda 2 also runs with the fabulous Toyota true hybrid. I'd either have no hybrid at all - traditional petrol/12v(not 48v!) only -  or Toyota sourced hybrid gubbins.

 

I nearly bought a Suzuki Swift hybrid but it was not as big as the Fabia.

2 hours ago, gumdrop said:

I nearly bought a Suzuki Swift hybrid but it was not as big as the Fabia.

 

The Swift is indeed a smaller car and only a mild hybrid - not Toyota  gubbins. The Swift Sport is a load of fun though - no longer available new.

Edited 9 February, 20251 yr by bigjohn

It seems that the VW Group is in serious financial difficulties and facing an uncertain future. At the time of dieselgate they said that they would be moving to electric vehicles. The ID3 or Golf replacement looked brilliant before launch but has since shown up VW weakness in electronics and software. The Fabia 4 mc we have is a real pain when it comes to the electronics. A hybrid vehicle has to be the most challenging vehicle to get right so I'd stear well clear of any Skoda using the technology.

We tried some hybrids before choosing the Fabia. The Honda Jazz was the one I'd have liked but in moving to an exclusively hybrid line up the Jazz lost some important features. The most annoying for us was the lack of adjustment for the front passenger seat. According to the sales-person the battery below the front passenger seat meant that its adjustment was much more limited than for the driver's seat. It lacked comfort. A spare wheel would also have been a problem.

Per todays (13 March) annual financial presentation, seems the Fabia, Kamiq and Scala will stay in production until about 2029-2030. There might be a mild hybrid version coming.

The earlier plans to replace them with small electric cars have been delayed until end of decade. European demand and EV build capacity are reasons.

Seat-Cupra also had Financial presentation (1-2 hours later) and seems the Ibiza and Arona will continue for about another 5 years too for same reason.