The large SUV segment is currently alien territory for Skoda. The Czech stable’s existing Yeti is a reliable, specious and good value family favourite but is undoubtedly more compact in scale and geared rather more squarely towards the quirkier idiosyncrasies of the crossover market.
However, with parent company Volkswagen set to release its third generation Touareg large off-roader late next year, it’s perhaps unsurprising to see Skoda preparing the ground for a big 4×4 project of its own.
Still at the most embryonic stages of design, our first look at the new Skoda Kodiaq concept is limited to a couple of solitary sketches. Without revealing a great deal in the way of styling cues, the drawings do hint at something rather more robust and muscular than can be found in Skoda’s current line-up. The large SUV concept glimpsed here has a highly sunken shoulder line for example as well as an especially chiselled rear section with LED lights reflecting Skoda’s typical C-shape design. Further forward, the geometric front grille appears to be rather wider than usual and is flanked by a pair of squinting, raked headlights.
Though Skoda haven’t dropped any interior renderings in our inbox, we’re reliably informed that the Kodiaq is not only envisaged as a standard five-seater but also as having the option of two extra seats in the third row, in much the same vein as the Audi Q7. Besides the more practical details, little light has been shed on interior design. From the scraps we have to go on, we can reveal that the Kodiaq’s instrument panel features a three-dimensional design, split into two equal sections between the driver and passenger. The same visual approach is apparently carried over to the door trims, with various glassy elements scattered liberally throughout the rest of the cabin.
We’ll be attempting to sniff out more info on the cryptic new Skoda SUV concept before it gets its first public airing later this year, most likely at the 2016 Frankfurt Motor Show in September.
