Skoda has issued a new teaser image for its upcoming SUV, which is expected to take the Kodiak name when it goes on sale early in 2017.
The teaser image of a garage door is accompanied by the promise that "something big" is behind it, lending credence to the rumours that the SUV isn't too far away from production. A concept previewing the new model is expected to take centre stage for the brand during the Geneva motor show in March.
Read our Skoda Yeti review here
Recent spy pictures have shown the SUV testing wearing modifed bodywork from the smaller Yeti, but our rendering shows how the SUV could look in production form. Spied at the Nürburgring, the test mule is longer and wider than the Yeti and the suspension is higher.
No official name for the SUV has been revealed, but German media reports that the Kodiak name has been chosen. Previously it was thought the new model could be dubbed Snowman, with Skoda having trademarked that name in 2013, but Skoda insiders have recently confirmed that name has not been adopted.
The SUV will feature cabin space that is on a par with that of the Superb, while its design will include a clamshell bonnet, slim rectangular headlights, LED daytime running lights and a horizontal crease below the window line.
The new model is built on the largest version of the Volkswagen Group's MQB platform and is set to be a derivative of VW’s own CrossBlue SUV, which is due to be launched later this year.
The Skoda SUV will be a class up from the VW Tiguan, and insiders suggest it will measure around 4.6m in length. It will be offered with five-seat or seven-seat configurations and with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive. Diesel-electric hybrid technology will also be offered.
Its four-cylinder engine range will be borrowed from the latest Superb. A 1.6-litre turbodiesel will be the base unit and no engine will be greater than 2.0 litres in capacity.
The new model is understood to be positioned as a more refined rival to the Kia Sorento and Hyundai Santa Fe. Skoda technical chief Frank Welsch previously described the new SUV as “the right concept for Skoda; it works perfectly with our brand values”.
Skoda design boss Josef Kaban said: “Larger Skodas like this will employ bolder, more provocative styling - slightly different from the mainstream.”
The Czech brand is known to have an entire SUV family planned, with a coupé version of the SUV being the first to arrive after the main model. A more sporty five-door version, which will sit on the same wheelbase but will come with shorter overhangs, is also planned. That car will also feature a more rakish roofline and less rear space. The range will also be joined in 2018 by the new Yeti, which will feature a more conservative look to fit in with the new SUVs.
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Ugly seems to be the new black!
However, it might be a size thing. To succeed as a small SUV you need to be brutally ugly!
Larger SUVs tend towards the simple but clumsy look "Only a mother could love" which is where this Skoda will probably lie?
More importantly, this is a long overdue addition to the Skoda line up, I wish them well.
Only one use for this design..
With a wooden box slid in the back and a convoy of stretch Jags following at 10mph to the Crematorium.
Not a fan of SUV but
Agree, but...
I agree that it's pretty good looking and it's a shame that Skoda didn't launch it as a big brother to the Yeti a few years ago. Unfortunately, their new sharp edged design language would suggest that the real model, when it appears, will look quite different to this test mule (and probably not in a good way).