► Skoda Vision iV concept
► Uses MEB architecture
► Taste of first electric Skoda
The Volkswagen Group’s inexorable shift to electrification will touch its Czech brand at the 2019 Geneva motor show with this – the Skoda Vision iV concept car.
It’s a thinly veiled look ahead to the first production e-Skoda due early next decade and it’s a tallboy coupe-crossover model. Think of it as a more affordable Jaguar i-Pace or Mercedes EQ C and you’re not far off the mark.It’s billed as a ‘four-door crossover coupe’, similar to VW’s ID Crozz.
It is still unmistakably a Skoda, with the brand’s design cues like the grille and C-shaped rear lights present and correct. The study will also have another classic concept car design motif: comedy-sized 22-inch wheels that look suitably chunky on what remains a modestly sized 4.6m long body.Skoda points to the door mirrors, which have been replaced by cameras.
It wouldn’t be a big leap to suggest that the production car may use similar viewing technology to the Audi e-Tron SUV. What we’re witnessing here is the VW Group scale up its breakthrough technologies on its brands across the board.
Skoda Vision iV: specs please!
Total power output from electric motors front and aft is 225kW, equivalent to 302bhp – so this will be a pacy, sporting e-SUV. With both axles powered, it’s all-wheel drive with all the additional traction and torque vectoring possibilities this brings.The Vision iV is based on the familiar group MEB electric car architecture, which might explain why much of the technology echoes what you’ll see on EVs from Volkswagen, Audi and Seat.
Skoda has confirmed a maximum range of 500km (310 miles) on the latest WLTP combined cycle, pointing to a real-world range easily in excess of 200 miles.
Sounds like this new generation of electric cars is going to quash most motorists’ range anxiety, alright…
How long does it take to charge the electric Skoda?
If rapid charging is available, Skoda says a quick 80% top-up from nearly empty will be possible in half an hour. Not quite splash-and-dash petrol fill-up speed, but not that far off if you factor in a coffee-and-pee break too.And if you prefer your performance specs to be fast and furious rather than silent and emissions-based, be thankful that the first electric Skoda is shaping up to be pretty quick: 0-62mph takes just 5.9 seconds and top speed is pegged to 112mph (the better to protect battery life).
After the Superb PHEV goes on sale later in 2019, next year will mark the start of Skoda’s range of production EVs. The brand also promises to have revealed 10 electric models by 2022. This is just the tip of the iceberg…
Tech galore
The Skoda Vision iV is dripping with the latest group hardware, so you’ll find niceties such as gesture control on the infotainment, intelligent matrix LED headlamps and more on this electric car pilot. It also showcases the group’s newest autonomous driving gear, with Level 3 capability for some hands-off driving in carefully monitored conditions. There are no door handles and the interior is upholstered in eco-friendly Ultrasuede; those seats swivel around to turn the concept into a mobile picnic suite/conference centre (delete as applicable; unlikely to make the production car).We’ll find out more when the car makes its 2019 Geneva show debut, where it will sit alongside the new Kamiq crossover.
We’ll find out more when the car makes its 2019 Geneva show debut, where it will sit alongside the new Kamiq crossover.
Further electric car reading
The best electric cars and EVs
How much does it cost to charge an electric car?
Our guide to the best plug-ins and hybrid cars