Skoda’s Vision 7S Concept Puts Your Baby In A Weird Place

New images of the Skoda Vision 7S EV SUV concept show the new direction and identity of the Czech brand. The car is full of quirky, futuristic features – most notably, Skoda puts a baby seat on top of a long spine that runs through the centre of the car… With three rows of two seats for the adults, the brand calls the layout ‘six-plus-one’.

We’re pretty sure the designer doesn’t have kids; we doubt many people would appreciate a baby up on a pedestal screaming right in the middle of everyone. Babies also tend to grow up, so the seat won’t be useful for all that long.

It’s very unlikely that the interior layout will make it to production, with a traditional third seat in the second row like a standard seven-seater the most probable alternative. The concept’s interior has plenty of other features we’d love to see stay, though, such as integrated backpacks in the seat backs, lots of magnets dotted around the cabin to hold smartphones or water bottles, and a very uniquely shaped steering wheel that looks much more attractive than Tesla’s Yoke.

The Vision 7S is part of Skoda’s plan to launch three more EVs by 2026, joining its current sole electric car, the Enyaq. The Vision 7S is much larger than the Enyaq and is a lot more striking to look at, forming the basis of Skoda’s new design language.

Skoda’s current circular ‘winged arrow’ logo is nowhere to be seen on the Vision 7S – in fact, it’s been replaced by simple lettering spelling out the word ‘Skoda’. Despite its electric credentials, the current Enyaq was designed with features like a front grille, probably to make it look more appealing to those used to the design of traditional ICE cars – the Vision 7S does away with a grille completely, replacing it with a simple smooth black plastic trapezoidal element known as the ‘tech deck’ used to conceal important sensors and the like.

The Vision 7S also flaunts its electric status with an inverted power dome on the bonnet. While a power dome is usually a bump in the bonnet to accommodate a bigger engine and therefore more power, the 7S’s inverted design is intended to show off its lack of one.

The back of the 7S very much gives off Range Rover vibes with slimline rear lights that frame the boot handsomely. On the sides of the car, two pairs of doorhandles sitting close to each other suggest rear suicide doors – we don’t know how likely that is to make it to production, but let’s hope it does.

The concept’s 89kWh battery is capable of around 370 miles of electric range and makes use of the existing platform used on most of the Volkswagen Group’s electric models from the Skoda Enyaq to the Cupra Born. It’s likely that whatever production model the Vision 7S concept spawns will be one of the last to use this tech, with VW Group’s new SSP EV components due to come into use by the second half of this decade.