Prague Skoda cannot have done much wrong in the past. The sales figures are still good, the market share is six percent, the Czechs have a firm grip on fifth place among all manufacturers in Germany. And yet the VW subsidiary wants to get out of the comfort zone and is planning a radical cut: Skoda wants to gradually realign the design of its models and sharpen them significantly.
The future line runs under the motto “modern solid” and should be the most extensive reorientation of the design language since the integration into the VW Group more than 30 years ago.
Everything is geared towards meeting the challenges of electromobility. Skoda will invest 5.6 billion euros in the transformation over the next five years, and 700 million euros will flow into digitization. By 2026, the VW subsidiary wants to bring three more purely electric models onto the market. In 2024 there will be the electric Karoq, a year later the successor to the Citigo E and from 2026 a large seven-seater.
The Vision 7S study, which Skoda has now presented, gives us a first glimpse of this and the new design. At just over five meters, the SUV is around 35 centimeters longer than the already stately Skoda Enyaq and should become Skoda’s future flagship.
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“The brand can take it,” says new Skoda boss Klaus Zellner. Above all, he wants Skoda to grow outwards in the future and not cannibalize VW products with its models.
The Vision 7S displays the new self-confidence for everyone to see. The counter-opening doors and the frameless windows are usual finger exercises of a study that we will hardly see again later. But the completely new Skoda lettering. The design team led by Oliver Stefani has completely banned the old logo from the show car. Whether it reappears later in the series is rather questionable.
The lines of the SUV are clearly drawn, rather reduced, flat on the sides and quite modern.
The interior welcomes its passengers with a new space concept.
The lines of the SUV are clearly drawn, rather reduced, flat on the sides and quite modern. This is matched by the completely reinterpreted front section. The radiator grille is closed, black and much flatter than we have seen from Skoda. Significantly widened, it directs the headlights, which are arranged in two rows one above the other, to the sides, with a thin strip of light running above them, designed as daytime running lights.
The new bumper with its seven vertically arranged air intakes, the middle one in bright orange, makes it clear that Skoda wants to aim even more at outdoor activities. Underneath, the Vision 7S carries an implied aluminum underride guard.
Skoda largely reflects this image at the rear, where the rear lights are also vertical, with a narrow strip of light running above them. The contoured bonnet, the large 22-inch wheels and the airy roof – called the Aero Roof Line – show where the design journey is headed. Skoda’s models of the future should clearly gain in profile.
The model can accommodate up to seven passengers.
Inside, too, Skoda dares more in the future. The interior welcomes its passengers with a new space concept. The materials are largely sustainable, which is a must today. Up to seven people can ride in three rows of seats.
In rows one and two, a high center console separates the traveling group, and a baby seat can be mounted on the center rail for the youngest offspring. A giant iPad dominates at the front, with three rather conventional knobs underneath, the steering wheel is oval, and the door panels are interactive.
The study has two modes: driving and relaxing. When driving, everything is optimally aligned. The driver and front passenger each look at their own display. During breaks or when charging, the relax mode invites you to take a little nap. The steering wheel and instrument panel then whirr forward, the seats of the first two rows backward to a more relaxed position. This brings new energy for many kilometers. A vision that sounds cozy.
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