Is a heat pump still mandatory for Central Europe?

If you can preheat while plugged in, heat pump is less critical for that commute. It matters more for long winter trips where the cabin heating load continues after the first stop.

I would still pay extra for it if the price gap is small, but I would not reject a clean used car only for that.

Also check whether the car has battery preconditioning for DC charging. People focus on heat pump, but cold rapid-charging without preconditioning can be more annoying than using a few extra kWh for cabin heat.