1. Mercedes C 300 de hybrid

...Price £43,015 - £50,710

"The Mercedes C 300 de bucks the trend by pairing plug-in hybrid technology with a modern diesel engine, to great effect"

While most manufacturers are moving away from diesel engines, Mercedes has spotted an opportunity. The result is this: the Mercedes C 300 de plug-in hybrid, combining the manufacturer's latest 2.0-litre turbodiesel engine with a sizeable battery pack and electric motor. In theory, this should give drivers the best of both worlds – long-distance cruising ability with impressive fuel economy, and the ability to complete many commutes using electricity alone with the resulting cost savings

• 35-mile EV range
• Long-distance ability
• Solid performance

2. Volvo V60 T8

...The T8 powerplant is smooth almost all of the time, and if you leave the vehicle in hybrid mode - as most owners will - then you can happily maintain 60mph on national speed limit roads with the system flicking between petrol power and the electric motor.

The V60 T8 mixes a turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder petrol motor producing 299bhp and driving the front wheels, with a plug-in electric system that delivers an additional 86bhp to the back axle. The total system output is a hefty 385bhp, with 640Nm of torque - enough, Volvo claims, for a 0-62mph time of less than five seconds.

If you’re after the ultimate in value and running costs, you should look elsewhere in the Volvo V60 line-up. And yet even with a list price of more than £50,000, the T8 Twin Engine manages to mix enough straightline punch with official economy figures that will make it an appealing company car choice for those after a fast estate.

3. KIA Ceed Sportswagon

...The 1.6-litre petrol plug-in hybrid makes a good choice if you have a relatively short commute and have somewhere to charge your car during the day. With its batteries brimmed, Kia claims the Sportswagon's electric motor can drive for around 35 miles before it'll need a helping hand from the petrol engine.

The cars feature brake regeneration technology, which replenishes the battery with the energy usually lost when slowing down. As with the Niro, you can also save energy by choosing the ‘driver only’ ventilation setting, which turns off all the fans apart from the driver’s. Kia has also included an artificial engine noise that activates when you’re in the fully electric driving mode, to make pedestrians aware of the car’s presence.

There are a few design changes over the standard models but you’ll be hard-pressed to notice them unless you’re up close. Both cars get a closed grille (aiding airflow) and a charging port on the left front wing. The Ceed Sportswagon also gets ‘eco plug-in’ badges and the bumpers from the sporty-looking GT-Line model

In Germany, the Kia Ceed Sportswagon starts somewhere at $20,000 (for the one with 100 horsepower). If you want a really, really nice one with a 140 horsepower engine and a lot of gear, be ready to churn out up to $38,000.

4. Ford Mondeo SW

...£26,655 - £32,395

“The Ford Mondeo hybrid is hard to recommend over the diesel equivalent – unless you're a company car driver” ... It's as a company car that the Mondeo hybrid makes the most sense. Its CO2 emissions of 98g/km (103g/km for the Estate) are the lowest in the range and qualify it for a 23-24% Benefit-in-Kind (BiK) ratings

The Ford Mondeo Hybrid Estate offers company car users tempting BiK rates, but there’s really not much else to recommend it. It feels too slow, too coarse and too compromised. If you need the space of an estate and the benefits of a hybrid powertrain, get the new Toyota Corolla Touring Sports instead; not only is it slightly faster, it also has a bigger boot and is more economical in the real world. Above all, it’s cheaper to buy, too.

5. Honda Fit Shuttle

...Honda Fit Shuttle is one of the famous and successful compact station wagon vehicle offered by Japanese automobile company Honda. It is derived from the Honda Fit’s second generation and accessible in Japanese local market. The Honda Fit Shuttle was debut in 2010 and still produced. The Honda Shuttle was also the descendant of Honda Fit first generation station wagon variant which is sold under the name Airwave.

The features Honda Fit Shuttle comes with includes high quality and great finishes central consol, wide screen navigation instrument panel, fine and wide cockpit, wide windscreen for better view, multifunction display and mp3 connection for Bluetooth and cord, power steering wheel, rear camera for reverse and easy and better parking, start and stop system, electric windows, climate control for controlling the inside environment, central locking system as well as easy-fold-down rear seats.

6. BMW 330e Touring

...330e Touring is powered by a 249bhp 2.0-litre, four-cylinder, petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain, whose power can be boosted to 288bhp for short bursts of up to 10 seconds using the 'XtraBoost' function. Output is the same across the saloon and Touring, rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive models.

The rear-wheel-drive 330e Touring accelerates from 0-62mph in 6.1 seconds (a tenth slower than the saloon) and has a maximum speed of 136mph (down from the saloon's 143mph). With four-wheel drive, the corresponding figures for the Touring are 0-62mph in 5.8 seconds and a top speed of 139mph.

7. Audi A6 Avant

...Audi has unveiled a plug-in hybrid (PHEV) version of its Avant station wagon. The A6 Avant TFSI e quattro features an intelligent drive management that enables it to achieve a high electric range and low fuel consumption.

The electric range of the Audi A6 Avant is up to 51 kilometres. This means it’s eligible for a 50 percent company car tax reduction in Germany. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.7 seconds. In electric-only mode, its top speed is 135 km/h.

The car we’ll concentrate on is the S-Line four-cylinder diesel with 201bhp, 12v mild-hybrid on 20-inch wheels, with the optional damper control (you can’t get all-wheel steering on the ’40’ spec cars, which this power output is).

8. Toyota Corolla TS

...Comfy, cheap to run, some neat touches

price to £22,570

The Touring Sports weighs a negligible amount more than the hatchback, and thus doesn’t drive in a tangibly different way. So this remains a car that handles more than neatly enough for purpose, but without ever cajoling you into peeling off to more interesting roads to take the long way home.

It feels set up for comfort, something it’s very good at. It rides softly – even if you push its drive modes into their sportiest setting – and if you aren’t too aggressive with the throttle it’s very quiet and unruffled.

9. Renault Mégane E-TECH Plug-in

...The New Mégane’s E-TECH Plug-in hybrid engine is the result of technologies developed by the Alliance and by Renault Engineering. It benefits directly from the electric vehicle expertise gained over more than ten years by the Groupe Renault and the energy-management experience of the Renault F1 Team. No fewer than 150 patents were filed in the process of creating this innovative solution on the leading models from the Renault range.

Result: the New Mégane E-TECH Plug-in offers a new driving experience with 100% electric starting and a whole new pleasure at the wheel. It boasts an optimum versatility with a range of 50 km at up 135 km/h in the mixed cycle (WLTP) and up to 65 km in the urban cycle (WLTP City). So it’s just as good for those everyday family errands – with zero fuel consumption – as it is for long holiday trips.

10. ŠKODA SUPERB WAGON iV

...£24,140 – £39,000

Smooth, refined saloon adopts Passat GTE’s plug-in hybrid powertrain for economy and performance boosts.

The presence of a 13kWh battery under the rear seats reduces space for the fuel tank, which now only holds 50 litres, but the combination of 30-35 miles of electric-only range and a generous, hybrid-assisted petrol range means the owner can depend on covering more than 550 miles between refills.

There are four trim levels, with prices starting at £31,970 (for the quite decently equipped SE Technology) and extending to £40,240 for the full-house Laurin & Klement. This looks especially good value beside rivals of the same size and quality.

What's it like?

On the road, the Superb iV will appeal to anyone who appreciates refined, roomy and easy-driving cars. The PHEV powertrain presents no new driving difficulties but contributes a new level of plush progress at low speeds.

The car moves off the mark on electricity and the engine chimes in only after you show it, via the accelerator, how much power you need. Drive normally in the selectable EV mode and it will proceed very quietly. This will suit many owners’ drive-to-work applications so well that some will visit a filling station only every month or two. From an ordinary household plug, the car's battery takes about five hours to charge. A wallbox will do it in about half that time.