New Skoda Peaq seven-seater revealed in sketches ahead of 23 June launch
Skoda’s ‘Modern Solid’ design language takes a big step forward with its largest EV yet
We’ve already driven the new Skoda Peaq in prototype form, but the Czech brand has just given us a clearer look at its upcoming all-electric seven-seater without the disguise. The sketches showcase what the brand calls the Peaq’s “clean lines, balanced proportions and distinctive elements”.
Skoda has also confirmed the Peaq will be unveiled on 23 June at a world premiere event in France.
According to Karl Neuhold, Head of Exterior Design at Skoda, the Peaq has “precisely sculpted surfaces and clearly structured details 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.”
The name Peaq was chosen to reflect the innovations that will feature on the flagship model and its position at the top of the range. It also marks a new generation of electric vehicles for Skoda, ditching the E-led names so far seen on the Enyaq and Elroq, as well as the newly unveiled Epiq crossover.
Entering a new segment for Skoda, the Peaq will embody everything its maker is known for, taken to a new level, with a focus on space, practicality and comfort, and, of course, it’ll be packed with Simply Clever features designed to make life easier – as well as set this car apart from its rivals.
Skoda’s sales and marketing boss 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.
How much range will the Skoda Peaq have?
Johannes Neft, board member for technical development at Skoda also revealed to Auto Express 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 to 160kWh from the smaller one, but the capacity difference means they will do 10-80 per cent charge in almost the same time – 28 and 27 minutes respectively.
How much space will the Skoda Peaq offer?
However, offering impressive value for money doesn’t mean the Peaq will feel cheap in any way, especially the interior. As Jahn pointed out, in recent years Skoda has worked to make “the interior of our cars 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 bigger than the E-5008, although not quite as colossal as the Ioniq 9 or EV9.
What will the new Skoda Peaq 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.
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 minimal 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.
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