Review of the new Skoda Vision 7S concept

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We’ve long loved Skodas for its family-friendly usability, and we have little doubt that the Vision 7S will encapsulate everything great about cars like the Kodiaq – in an all-electric, take-it-all body. inspired by iV. Please provide us with the appropriate seven seats for the production vehicle.

There are few secrets at Skoda. New or updated versions of Octavia, Kodiaq and Wonderful all have been confirmed and the company has publicly committed to rolling out three Electric Car to 2026; a small car, a side carEnyaq Compact SUVand a production version of this: the Vision 7S.

Designed to preview the brand’s zero-emissions seven-seat flagship, the Vision 7S will be Skoda’s family-friendly SUVs into new territory. The concept was first revealed in August but now we’ve had a chance to drive it and talk to the people responsible for its birth.

As always, an opportunity like this isn’t all that important in terms of driving impressions; the car, despite its looks, is incapable of running more than 20mph – and it absolutely cannot get wet. Thankfully, the October weather wasn’t particularly favorable for us, allowing us a few laps around an empty car park in Peterborough.

The electronic power steering is jerky and the brakes are almost wooden. The one-off dashboards and interior trim also creaked when we hit the runway – totally unlike the quiet and refined Enyaq iV we said currently has a six-month waiting list.

On the surface, there are certainly similarities between the Vision 7S and Skoda’s existing SUV lineup, but in the metal, the former feels much fresher. Dare we say no, there is a wind Range Rover into the tail of the concept car, especially when the lights are off.

The overwhelming feeling, both when driving and sitting inside the Vision 7S, is one of space. Beneath the fancy bodywork is the familiar MEB platform that underpins everything from the aforementioned Enyaq – the manufacturer’s only current production EV – to Volkswagen ID.4 and Cupra was born. But the 7S is bigger; It measures 5,016mm long, with a wheelbase of 3,075mm. It could be the last Volkswagen Delegation to sit on this architecture.

Good visibility – there’s a bunch of glass on all four sides, only the high contour and chunky headrests limit your view out of this line of sight Tesla Model Y-rivalling family SUV car. That length makes the rear screen feel a bit too long, but the plethora of cameras will certainly help when parking or maneuvering a production vehicle.

The 7S’s panel is dominated by a huge 14.6-inch portrait touchscreen, which though with the flick of a switch it can rotate 90 degrees – perfect for watching movies or surfing the web while you wait. car charger. Below the home screen there’s a row of physical climate controls and other shortcut buttons. Thanks to the tall center console and ergonomic armrests, they are perfectly within reach.

That center screen is something of a party, but unlikely to be in production – as Skoda Senior User Interface Designer Daniel Hajek tells us: “It’s a public feature. high tech. If you want something reliable, maybe not. But we wanted to keep the layout vertical and ergonomic.”

That’s less of a consequence when you consider that the Vision 7S – as well as future production cars – will charge at up to 200kW, even without the fancy 800-volt technology found in Kia EV6 or Hyundai Ioniq 5.

This, in line with the Vision 7S’ projected 370-mile range, spacious cabin and user-focused layout, will make this Skoda SUV’s most practical EV to date. Usability has always been Skoda’s strong point, and features like the magnets on the back of the seats for phones and tablets, plus the removable backpack, show that the maker isn’t ready to make a trade-off. style entirely in materials.

Skoda is calling its concept a seven-seater when, in fact, it’s more of a 6+1, with the middle seat in the second row just like a rear-facing child seat. In short, it’s nonsense, and one that lead designer Franck Le Gall eventually agrees on: “It’s not for production, it’s just for concept. It will be a normal three-row SUV. There are also suicide doors – it’s just for the story.”

With the production-ready 7S still a few years away, it’s impossible to lower the price or exact specs at this point. But using the Kodiaq and Enyaq iV as a guide, there’s a good chance the car you see here will eventually turn into Skoda’s largest and most expensive model to date. The starting figure is likely to be around £50,000, with top-spec variants topping out even more.

Q&A with Franck Le Gall, Principal Designer of Skoda Vision 7S

Q: What does the Vision 7S mean for the Skoda brand?

One:”Skoda is a family brand. We put the child seat in the middle of the car and then put the family around it – this is the safest place. The guys are driving this bike during the week to go to work, at the weekend they like to use their bike to do activities like cycling. We call this ‘contemporary explorer’. “

Q: How would you put the three new Skoda electric vehicles together? Any defining features?

One:”Outside [of Vision 7S] is an expression of our ‘Modern Solid’ design language. T-shaped face and lights; this is what we’re going to put into production. We will keep it as a special signature for Skoda. But we don’t want the same design on every car. We will develop a strategy – the small car will be different from the bigger car.”

Q: Sustainability is an important thing for Vision 7S. Will we see this in production?

ONE: “We’re really pushing to get this product into production. These sustainable materials, we’re really looking at these fabrics and elements. “

Now read ours the list of the best electric SUVs…