Having just this month launched in Ireland the new Karoq SUV, and pointing out how it's a more conventional-looking, more broadly-appealing replacement for the slow-selling old Yeti, Skoda has just shown off pictures of what looks suspiciously like a new Yeti.
This is the Vision X, a concept car that’s all-but identical to production reality, and which will slot in underneath the Karoq and Kodiaq in Skoda’s SUV range. It sure as heck looks a lot like a Yeti, with that upright grille and split lights. It probably won’t be called Yeti, though. Skoda looks set to keep its begins-with-K-ends-with-Q naming system, and the best suggestion we’ve seen so far is the Skoda Knapsaq. Perhaps not…
It'll platform share the MQB-AO chassis with the Seat Arona and the slightly larger Volkswagen T-Roc, and use the same mixture of 1.0 and 1.5 TSI petrol engines, and 1.6 and 2.0-litre TDI diesels, with a plugin hybrid likely to be added to the mix soon after launch. There will also be a pure-electric version too, to compete with Hyundai's all-electric Kona, and to fulfil Skoda's promise that by 2025, one quarter of the cars it sells will be either pure-electric or plugin hybrid.
The interior of the Vision X also previews a new cabin layout and setup for Skoda, with a dominant big-screen infotainment system standing free in the middle of the dash, and a stripped-back, more minimalist design around it.
On the outside, once again, Skoda says that the angular, faceted design is meant to be reminiscent of high-quality Czech crystal glasswork. Should sell well in Waterford, so…
We’ll find out more details about the Vision X, and any Yeti-like names it might be granted, when it’s shown in Geneva at the beginning of March.
