Top 10 best plug-in hybrid executive cars 2022

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2. BMW 330e

BMW’s competitors have followed its lead so many times when seeking success in the UK fleet market over the past few decades. It makes perfect sense, then, that BMW was the first premium brand to offer the market a really convincing plug-in hybrid executive option in the shape of the previous 330e and that it should continue at the sharp end of the field with the current one.

The latest 330e combines a 2.0-litre turbocharged petrol engine with an electric drive motor mounted upstream of the gearbox, making it handle and behave much like any other G20-generation 3 Series. It imposes a relative penalty on boot space compared with its conventionally powered siblings, but it’s unlikely that typical business users will notice the shortage, and cabin space is unharmed.

With up to 288bhp of combined electric and petrol urge, the 330e has a fleet turn of pace and its powertrain feels particularly responsive as well as slick-shifting. The weight of that hybrid powertrain can be detected only slightly, and only really in its occasionally permissive high-speed vertical body control. Most of the time, the 330e just feels like an agile, entertaining, first-rate 3 Series in its sporting driver appeal.

The 330e has a WLTP-certified electric-only range of 37 miles, putting it in the 12% BIK tax bracket for PHEV options for the 2022-23 tax year, but it remains a really compelling proposition on the basis of its sweet compromise of showroom price, performance, dynamism and tax efficiency.

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3. Volvo V90 Recharge T6

Volvo's history of offering its estate cars with a plug-in hybrid powertrain stretches back further than most in the business, but the recent V90 Plug-In T6 is without doubt its most successful attempt at the recipe, and an outstanding all-rounder.

A recent upgrade means the car now has a decently sized, 18.8kWh battery pack, which means that the big Swede claims up to 54 miles on a single charge, helping to make it a much more user-friendly option than its predecessor and dropping it into the 8% BIK bracket. With 345bhp all in, the current version clearly isn't the most powerful PHEV that Volvo has made, either, but it's more than enough for what is essentially an easy-going motorway mile-muncher. Another advantage the V90 T6 holds in the PHEV arena is that you can buy it with four-wheel drive, which isn't true of some rivals from the premium German brands. That said, it's only all-wheel drive in the sense that there's an electric motor powering the rear wheels and an internal combustion driving the fronts, so when you're in EV mode this is a two-wheel-drive machine.

The Skoda Superb iV (below) is less expensive and every bit as spacious inside, but it lacks the Volvo's calling-card rich cabin ambience and its supremely relaxing rolling character. This is how a big Volvo should feel: refined, absorbent, mature and brilliantly versatile for simple use.

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4. Peugeot 508 PSE

Those who like their executive car with a dash of alternative French flavour and plenty of performance appeal will appreciate Peugeot's most recent PHEV option: the 508 Peugeot Sport Engineered. This is a plug-in hybrid with twin drive motors, four driven wheels and 355bhp in all, squeezed into a package that continues to feel more compact than many in the executive market and offers plenty of sporting appeal.

The 508 PSE isn't the cheapest option in our list, nor is it the most tax-efficient (a 14% BIK liability is the best you could hope for of it because of a modest, 26-mile electric range) - but it does combine electrified powertrain technology with performance car dynamism quite successfully where rivals have struggled. Peugeot's steering and damper tuning are both high points, and while the car's 1.6-litre four-cylinder engine lacks the combustive richness of some, the car has plenty of thrust.

Coming in both 'fastback' saloon and estate bodies, the 508 PSE is a welcome breath of fresh air in a pretty stuffy PHEV segment, and it shows that picking an environmentally responsible option needn't mean putting up with boring.

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5. Volvo S60 Recharge T8

The exceptionally handsome Volvo S60 makes an extremely strong case for itself as a slick and stylish plug-in executive express, not least because a recent update has increased its electric range and so significantly reduced running costs.

Thanks to the addition of a larger, 18.8kWh battery, the S60 now has an EV range of up to 56 miles and CO2 emissions of as little as 17g/km, meaning it falls into a relatively lowly 8% BIK banding. Yet it also combines its rear-mounted electric motor with a four-cylinder petrol engine (which is turbocharged and supercharged) to deliver a combined might of 450bhp and a 0-62mph time of just 4.6sec.

But for all its grunt, this is no out-and-out sports saloon, its slightly aloof handling balance and uninspiring engine note sapping your desire to push on. That said, it steers with decent accuracy and clings on well, but ultimately this is a car that prefers the easy life, which is no bad thing if you spend you time plying motorways and crawling through congested city streets. Acceleration is brisk enough in near-silent electric mode, while the ride fells plush and relaxed at a cruise.

There's also a less powerful, 350bhp T6 option, but that's only available in the V60 estate, which is a load-lugger than majors more on style than space. Either way, with its impressive EV range, top notch interior, easy-going driving experience and relatively low running costs, it's great choice for business-savvy drivers.

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6. BMW 545e xDrive

Unlike the 530e, this particular plug-in 5 Series mates BMW’s excellent, creamily smooth 3.0-litre turbocharged straight-six engine with an electric drive motor, resulting in a combined output of 388bhp and 442lb ft. A battery of 12kWh gross capacity enables an electric-only range of up to 34 miles, depending on equipment. Add that to CO2 emissions of 39g/km, and the 545e gets a BIK tax rating 12%. These figures are fairly heavily trumped by its rivals from Mercedes and Volvo.

However, the BMW helps to offset the extra costs with a far richer driving experience. Performance is strong - equal in objective terms, in fact, to that of the legendary E39-generation M5 super-saloon of 1990s - and the transition from electric to petrol power is barely detectable. Acceleration is suitably potent, too. Put your foot down and the 545e will hit big speeds quickly and with very little in the way of discernable effort. Ride comfort remains very good.

But the 545e’s trump card is that it can handle with BMW-typical precision, balance, energy and control - despite the additional weight of its electrified powertrain. The battery might be positioned towards the rear of the car, but the 545e nonetheless feels poised through faster corners, and its all-wheel drive system affords excellent traction. Standard runflat tyres do put a dampener on the car's communicative faculties and prevent it from developing the last word in adhesive grip.

Even so, this car should be a natural choice for PHEV shoppers willing to pay a premium for a genuinely sporting option.

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7. Skoda Superb iV

Skoda may have been busting a gut to change perceptions of its brand of late, but when the opportunity to bring some simple metal-for-the-money value to the plug-in hybrid market presented itself recently, it didn’t blink. It launched the fleet-friendly Superb iV: a car that uses the engine and hybrid drivetrain with which drivers of the Volkswagen Passat GTE have become familiar over the past few years, but it packages them in a bigger family car that's on offer at a lower list price. Simply clever, or just downright simple? Either way, it got our attention.

The Superb iV is surprisingly normal, considering it was Skoda’s first plug-in hybrid. It doesn’t promise a particularly exciting driving experience, nor is it loaded with ritzy on-board technology or clothed in novel styling features in order to advertise its electrified credentials. It drives, ride and handles pretty much like any other Superb – which means it’s fairly softly sprung and comfort-oriented, and it's easy-going rather than alert and energetic in its pedal responses.

The sheer size of any Superb ought to be a selling point for some, and the iV version is no different. Even though the battery eats into boot space a little, there’s still 485 litres available in the hatchback version and more still in the estate. Electric range is WLTP-rated at 35 miles for a 12% BIK tax rating.

If you’re looking for a roomy and cost-effective PHEV option that feels normal rather than novel (read ‘a bit funny’) to drive, look no further.

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8. Mercedes-Benz E300de

Mercedes is the only player in the PHEV segment offering the combination of a diesel engine and electric propulsion. In the E300de, it also allows you to choose a saloon or estate bodystyle, which is another advantage that isn’t as widely available as you might imagine. For those reasons and others, the E300de makes the cut for this chart.

Electric range only just scrapes a WLTP-certified 30 miles, although that will depend on optional specification, so the car may well miss a 12% BIK banding if you opt for bigger wheels or a sportier trim. The fact that it’s easy to add options and turn this into a £50,000-plus prospect will also have an impact on its tax efficiency, of course.

In the real world, our testing suggests that 22-25 miles is as far as the E300de will run without rousing its four-pot diesel engine. And yet considering it has only four cylinders, its performance is impressively swift. Clever power management makes it easy to capture and recycle energy without realising you’re doing it, and the handling is quietly deft and fairly precise for what is, after all, a two-tonne car.

Mercedes’ hybrid battery installation does take up some boot space, but it doesn’t prevent the E300de being a supremely practical car – particularly in estate form – as well as a smart, desirable and real-world-efficient one.

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9. Citroën C5 X

Citroën used to do things differently, its quirky design and oleopneumatic suspension cocking a snook at the 'established' way of doing things. It appears the French brand is trying to capture some of that past magic with the C5 X, which blends head-turning looks with supreme comfort and strong refinement. There's also a plug-in hybrid, which, while not the last word in sophistication and efficiency, does open the defiantly left-field double-chevron machine to business users who might be tired of the usual suspects.

Under the skin, the C5 X uses the familiar Stellantis EMP2 platform, which also underpins various Peugeot and DS models. As a result, it gets the same 222bhp 1.6-litre petrol plug-in hybrid drivetrain, which allows a respectable 31 miles of EV range and emits as little as 30g/km of CO2. Those figures aren't as good as others on this list, so the Citroën only qualifies for a BIK rate of 12%, although slightly lower list prices than the premium opposition help to offset the difference.

This isn't a car to get the heart pumping with excitement. The light and lifeless steering and soft suspension set-up mean keen drivers will feel short-changed when tackling their favourite stretch of black-top when in a hurry. Yet learn to relax and go with the flow and the C5 X is a curiously satisfying machine, its plush ride and decent damping allowing you to cover ground faster than you might think. It's at its best when cruising, when its hushed refinement and that lolloping ride allow you to revel in its suprisingly classy and spacious cabin and arrive at your destination feeling refreshed.