Skoda hints at striking new style with Vision 7S

It’s the Vision 7S concept, still at the sketchbook stage but, says Skoda, a foretaste of what its models of the future are going to look like – and in particular a future seven-seat electric SUV. The surprise for a big family-friendly Skoda wagon is how the designers have given it a big dose of macho off-road appeal.

The drawings show a high-riding SUV with high waistline and narrow glasshouse below a gently sloping roof. The sketch suggests a powerful stance unlike anything Skoda has done before. Equally, the front end’s t-shaped lights and deep bumper section – likely to be the bits that most influence other models in the range – represent a departure for the company.

The most distinctive thing about the front is the row of seven vertical air inlets, the centre one with an orange insert, that are cut into a sturdy looking aluminium skid plate. The 4x4 look is further boosted by the black wheelarch inserts.

Above the seven inlets is a solid black panel, roughly in the shape of a Skoda grille, that presumably houses all the radar sensors and cameras. An actual grille is not needed because this car is designed to be entirely electric. The new lights are set wide apart to emphasise the well-planted look, and promise an entirely new lighting signature for the brand.

The seven-bar theme – doesn’t Jeep have design rights to that? – is repeated at the rear, as is the flash of orange for the centre bar. The rear lights are in a thin vertical stack, again to emphasise ground-hugging width, and there’s another shiny skid plate at the back as well. Skoda says the new look reflects brand values of robustness, functionality and authenticity.

Obviously it’s on unrealistically massive wheels with rubber bands for tyres – that’s what concept designers do – but there is enough going on elsewhere to imagine being carried over into production.

We might not have long to wait to find out; the Vision 7S seven-seat SUV concept is tipped to be unveiled at the end of August. It will be interesting to see how a machine that shouts performance and off-road toughness so loudly goes down with today’s typical Skoda buyer.