Like a leading brand of washing-up liquid, the Skoda Octavia Estate proves that a little goes a long way. It’s money and petrol that we’re talking about here, though.

The iV model is one of the more expensive Octavias, but it’s still one of the cheaper plug-in hybrids out there, and for many the investment will pay back dividends. Its official 282.5mpg fuel economy shows what’s possible if you do lots of short journeys, while a combination of an official electric range of 41 miles and CO2 emissions of 31g/km allows the Octavia to drop into the exceptionally low 6% benefit-in-kind bracket.

This pares company car tax payments to the bone, yet the car can still dash from 0-62mph in a nippy 7.8sec – a consequence of its innards being related to those of the sporty Volkswagen Golf GTE.

You also get the usual Octavia fringe benefits, including loads of standard equipment (among its highlights, SE Technology trim gives you a digital instrument panel, parking sensors all round and a 10.0in touchscreen infotainment system with sat-nav) and masses of interior space. On top of that, the estate version gives you a boot in which you could build a barn.

We like

> Very low company car tax
> Competitive price
> Lots of standard kit

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