New Skoda Peaq: A peek inside this new 7-seat family EV
Skoda’s largest EV is set to grab attention with concept-car design
We’ve seen the new Skoda Peaq testing on the road, had a good look at its exterior design through various sketches and even driven it in prototype form, but the Czech brand has just given us our first proper look at the interior of its upcoming all-electric seven-seater.
Skoda has also confirmed the Peaq will be unveiled on 23 June at a world premiere event in France. However, keeping its cabin under wraps until then, the marque has given us several sketches of the Peaq’s interior, which it says is inspired by the ‘Lodge’ concept – something we’ve seen incorporated on plenty of the brand’s cars in recent years.
Compared with the next largest electric car in Skoda’s range, the Enyaq, the Peaq’s cabin design focuses more on “horizontal architecture”, according to Skoda. There’s still a large central touchscreen, but unlike the Enyaq, it’s portrait rather than landscape.
There are plenty of shared design traits inside though, both with the Enyaq and other, newer Skoda EVs. We can see a two-spoke steering wheel and floating centre console, and while the touchscreen dominates the dashboard, there are new physical controls for the climate and volume settings, plus other basic vehicle functions.
How much space will the Skoda Peaq offer?
The manufacturer says the Peaq’s interior “defines a new standard for Skoda with regards to space, usability and chosen materials”. Having the flagship EV feel upmarket inside has been a clear target for the car maker. Sales and marketing boss Martin Jahn said: “The interiors of our cars are more premium. Not in the sense of bringing extremely expensive materials, but bringing materials that are affordable, that are recyclable, but still feel premium.”
Skoda has promised the Peaq will deliver “unparalleled spaciousness”, and to do that the zero-emissions alternative to the best-selling Skoda Kodiaq will be around 4.9 metres long. That means it will be the biggest model in Skoda’s line-up by far, and larger than the Peugeot E-5008, although not quite as colossal as the Ioniq 9 or EV9.
The latest interior pictures show what looks like split-folding middle-row seats, which are likely to slide back and forth to enable easier access to the third row, as with the Kodiaq seven-seater.
How much range will the Skoda Peaq have?
Johannes Neft, board member for technical development at Skoda revealed to Auto Express that the Peaq will use a new and improved version of the Volkswagen Group’s tried-and-test MEB platform that underpins the Skoda Elroq and Enyaq, plus about a dozen other EVs.
He said that until now this particular variation of the MEB architecture has only been used in China, and will be introduced to Europe by the Peaq. As we found out during our prototype drive, the Peaq’s line-up takes the form of two battery and motor combinations. There’s the 60, with 201bhp and a 63kWh battery with a 267-mile range, and the 90, which comes with rear or all-wheel drive, 295bhp and a range of around 379 miles from its 91kWh battery.
The larger battery charges at a faster rate of at least 195kWh, compared with 160kWh from the smaller one, but the capacity difference means they will do a 10-80 per cent charge in 28 and 27 minutes respectively.
What will the new Skoda Peaq’s exterior look like?
Since the Vision 7S was revealed in 2022, we’ve been issued a handful of teaser images, as well as a few pictures of the car undergoing testing – including around the gruelling Nurburgring race track in Germany.
According to Karl Neuhold, head of exterior design at Skoda, the Peaq has “precisely sculpted surfaces and clearly structured details that create a confident, timeless presence, while signature features such as the T-shaped headlights and Tech-Deck Face express Skoda’s identity in a new electric era”.
Compared with the Enyaq and Elroq, the new seven-seater SUV will take Skoda’s bold new ‘Modern Solid’ design language to the next level with an even more minimalist look. This includes the application of a clamshell-style bonnet and much thinner fresh LED headlights that are integrated into the ‘Tech Deck Face’.
There are also plenty of details that appear to have been carried straight over from the Vision 7S concept, including a twin-fin roof spoiler and super-slim tail-lights that extend onto the bootlid. The overall shape is close to the concept’s, too, with a very square front end and almost van-like proportions that capitalise on interior space, thanks to a short bonnet and a minimal rear overhang.
Unsurprisingly, the Vision 7S’s coach doors haven't made it to production, given that we can see the pop-out rear door handles in the usual position. The concept’s unconventional ‘six-plus-one’ seating arrangement has almost certainly been replaced by a more traditional choice of five or seven-seat options, although we have yet to get a look inside the production car.
How much will the Skoda Peaq cost?
Martin Jahn previously told Auto Express the Peaq will also offer big value for money in the electric seven-seat SUV segment. So it’s likely to undercut the Kia EV9 and Hyundai Ioniq 9, which currently start from around £66,000 and £65,000 respectively. Closer rival price-wise could be the Peugeot E-5008 which starts from a little under £40,000, but you can currently save nearly £5,000 on one of those with our Buy A Car service.
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