By Many interesting things happened in the past several years in the automotive industry. One of them is the constant popularity growth of pickup trucks. These vehicles, which are predominately popular in North America and Australia, are also becoming popular in Europe. Latest reports suggest that more than 170.000 trucks will be sold in this year. As one of Europe’s leading carmaker, Skoda wants its piece of cake. The market is already full of trucks and new models like Renault Alaskan and Fiat Fullback came recently.
Also, there are well-known machines like Toyota Hilux, Isuzu D-Max, Mitsubishi L200 and others that established their position on the market many years ago. Therefore, Skoda will try with something different, if we can rely on the latest reports, Allegedly, the Czech manufacturer is about to offer something more refined, something that probably won’t be that capable, but which will deliver excellent, car-like on-road driving characteristics.
Skoda Pickup Truck Concept Platform
If we can rely on the latest reports, the new pickup truck will come in a form of concept first. Therefore, we believe that the Skoda Pickup Truck Concept will have a premiere on some of the major car shows, this or next year. The company keeps everything as secret, so we can only speculate at the moment. The first thing that comes to mind about the new model is the architecture. As we already mentioned, this segment is already pretty crowded, so Skoda will probably try something not so typical.
Of course, we are aiming at a unibody platform. Instead of traditional body-on-frame construction, the Skoda Pickup Truck Concept will be more like a modern crossover. It won’t be the first time to see such a design approach. The Honda Ridgeline rides in such way for years and it competes very successfully on the market. Therefore, we can presume that the new truck will ride on the company’s familiar MQB platform and share most of its characteristics with the Skoda Kodiaq mid-size crossover.
Skoda Pickup Truck Design
In terms of base design characteristics, we have no doubt that the Skoda Pickup Truck Concept will look like a typical pickup truck. Considering its platform and aimed range of buyers, it definitely won’t be available in a single-row configuration. It will rather come in a double or even crew cab layout. In terms of the styling, we expect to see a front face that looks pretty much as on the new Kodiaq. The new crossover is characterized by a very attractive look, based on the brand’s latest design language, full of sharp lines. Therefore, we have no doubt the new Skoda Pickup Truck Concept will look very attractive as well.
Skoda Pickup Truck Concept Interior
When it comes to the interior design, we are pretty sure that the Skoda Pickup Truck Concept will mimic the cabin layout of its crossover sibling. We count on the same interior design, which is characterized by quality materials, lots of soft-touch surfaces and pretty attractive lines. The dashboard should be pretty much identical, which in practice means plenty of elegancies, as the Kodiaq comes with a pretty conservative but also stylish layout. Of course, this includes latest tech features as well, including an integrated large touchscreen that dominates the center console. Front row should come with the same seats, which are characterized by good support and high overall level of comfort. On the other side, the second row could be a little bit tighter, though still more than comfortable enough.
Skoda Pickup Truck Engines
It is hard to predict the exact engine that will find its place under the hood of Skoda Pickup Truck, but we have no doubt that the potential production version will come with a whole palette of VW’s familiar engines. Of course, TDI units are first that come to mind.
We presume that the new pickup will come with two most powerful versions of a familiar 2.0-liter four-cylinder turbodiesel engine, with either 148 or 188 horsepower. Also, we expect to see a couple of gasoline engines in the offer.
One of them should be a 2.0-liter unit with around 180 horsepower. There is a big chance to see some performance version in the offer, so don’t be surprised if you see even a version with six cylinders under the hood. In any case, count on a fast dual-clutch automatic transmission in all versions.
Skoda Pickup Truck Concept Production
As we already mentioned, the new model is expected to come as the Skoda Pickup Truck Concept first. Therefore, we expect it will be presented at some of the major car shows in this, or in the next year. Once the concept version gets unveiled, we believe won’t have to wait for too long to see a serial production model. At this point, we won’t estimate more precise launch date, either the price.
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