Tag Archives: vehicles

NEW CARS

Škoda Epiq: The Czech Brand’s €26,000 Electric Gatecrasher That Thinks Small, Acts Big

At a world premiere in Zurich, Škoda Auto pulled the wraps off the all-new Škoda Epiq—a compact electric SUV that looks engineered with a ruler, a spreadsheet, and a very clear mission: make EV ownership feel normal, spacious, and (crucially) affordable.

Priced from around €26,000, the Epiq isn’t trying to be a halo car. It’s trying to be the car. And in true Škoda fashion, it leans hard into practicality while quietly packing some of the brand’s most advanced tech yet.

Modern Solid, Meet Real-World Logic

The Epiq is the first production expression of Škoda’s “Modern Solid” design language, and it shows. The front end is clean and tightly resolved, dominated by T-shaped LED signatures framing a glossy black “Tech-Deck Face” panel. It’s minimalist without feeling sterile, more “engineered object” than styling exercise.

At 4,171 mm long, it sits squarely in the compact SUV class, but its stance suggests something more substantial. A high shoulder line, wide track visuals, and short overhangs give it that planted, slightly chunky confidence Škoda buyers tend to prefer.

Aerodynamics, meanwhile, have clearly been taken seriously. A drag coefficient of 0.275 is achieved through active cooling flaps, wheel deflectors, underbody shielding, and carefully sculpted airflow channels—proof that efficiency is now as much a design constraint as aesthetics.

MEB+ and Front-Wheel Drive: A Škoda First

Under the skin, the Epiq debuts Volkswagen Group’s updated MEB+ architecture for compact EVs, and notably becomes Škoda’s first front-wheel-drive electric model.

That shift matters. It allows tighter packaging, reduced mass, and more interior space where it counts. The result is a car that prioritizes cabin volume over mechanical complexity—very Škoda, just electrified.

Battery options range from a 38.5 kWh LFP unit to a 55 kWh NMC pack, supporting outputs from 85 kW to 155 kW. The top Epiq 55 version delivers up to 440 km of range and DC fast charging from 10–80% in about 24 minutes.

Performance isn’t headline-grabbing, but it’s not supposed to be. Even the most powerful variant tops out at 160 km/h, reinforcing its role as an efficiency-first everyday SUV rather than a backroad bruiser.

Space: The Real Party Trick

If there’s one area where the Epiq punches above its weight, it’s packaging.

Despite its compact footprint, it offers a 475-liter boot—one of the largest in its class—plus a 25-liter frunk and over 28 liters of additional cabin storage. Door bins, hooks, compartments, and clever cubbies are everywhere, continuing Škoda’s long-standing obsession with “Simply Clever” solutions.

Rear passenger space also benefits from the long wheelbase (2,601 mm), giving the Epiq proportions that feel more MPV-adjacent than traditional crossover.

Inside: Recycled, Reconfigured, Refined

The interior is where Škoda’s EV pivot becomes most obvious. Materials are fully animal-free, with upholstery made entirely from recycled polyester fibres. Across trims, the cabin mixes minimalist surfaces with textured fabrics and subtle ambient lighting.

Different design themes—Studio, Loft, and Suite—range from functional black-and-grey simplicity to more upscale suede-like finishes with layered patterns. Even higher-spec versions lean into warmth rather than luxury excess.

There’s also a clear push toward sustainability beyond marketing buzzwords: more than 34 kg of recycled materials are used per vehicle, including interior plastics and practical accessories like scrapers and cable storage gear.

Tech and Assistance: Small Car, Big Systems

The Epiq is equipped with a 13-inch Android-based infotainment system featuring Google Maps, Spotify, and YouTube integration, alongside Škoda’s connected services via the MyŠkoda app.

Driver assistance is surprisingly comprehensive for the segment. Travel Assist 3.0 brings adaptive lane centering, traffic light response, and advanced parking functions including remote operation. Safety tech includes Side Assist, Front Assist, fatigue monitoring via camera, and up to seven airbags.

Optional upgrades push further into semi-automated territory with intelligent park assist and enhanced camera systems.

Škoda’s Most Important EV Yet?

The Epiq isn’t chasing headlines with outrageous acceleration figures or concept-car theatrics. Instead, it’s doing something arguably more important in today’s EV landscape: making the electric crossover feel like a rational default choice.

Compact outside. Big inside. Efficient, connected, and priced to actually matter.

If Škoda executes it as promised, the Epiq won’t just expand the brand’s EV lineup—it could become the model that normalizes it.

Source: Škoda

NEW CARS

Kia K4 Sportswagon

The compact wagon may be an endangered species in Europe, but Kia clearly didn’t get the memo. Enter the new Kia K4 Sportswagon, a long-roof replacement for the aging Ceed Sportswagon that arrives with sharper styling, electrified powertrains, and the sort of practical sensibility that still makes station wagons the default choice for families who’d rather not drive another crossover.

Unveiled earlier this year and now officially appearing on price lists across Europe, the K4 Sportswagon is Kia doubling down on the shrinking but still fiercely contested C-segment wagon market. Its target list reads like a greatest-hits compilation of sensible European family haulers: the Škoda Octavia Combi, Seat Leon Sportstourer, and Peugeot 308 SW all sit squarely in the K4’s crosshairs.

At first glance, the formula sounds familiar. Front-wheel drive? Check. Turbocharged four-cylinder alternatives? Naturally. A mild-hybrid setup aimed at squeezing every last kilometer out of a tank of fuel? Of course. But Kia’s trick here is making the practical choice feel just a little less boring.

The entry-level engine is a 1.0-liter turbocharged three-cylinder paired with a 48-volt mild-hybrid system, producing 115 horsepower and 148 pound-feet of torque. Buyers can choose between a six-speed manual or a seven-speed dual-clutch automatic, a rarity in a market increasingly allergic to clutch pedals. For drivers wanting a bit more punch, Kia also offers a 150-hp 1.6-liter T-GDI, available exclusively with the seven-speed DCT automatic and priced roughly €1300 above the base model.

No one’s going to confuse the K4 Sportswagon with a hot hatch, but the numbers suggest a car engineered with European commuting reality in mind rather than Nürburgring lap times. Kia claims combined WLTP fuel consumption of just 5.7 liters per 100 kilometers, while CO2 emissions land at 129 g/km. More importantly for buyers navigating increasingly restrictive urban regulations, the mild-hybrid setup earns the K4 an ECO label in several EU markets, unlocking tax breaks and traffic-zone privileges that are becoming almost as valuable as horsepower.

Kia will offer the wagon in Drive and Tech trims, though even the base configuration appears designed to avoid the stripped-out fleet-car vibe that once defined compact estates. That matters, because buyers in this segment expect utility without sacrificing comfort—or technology.

Perhaps the most compelling part of the K4 Sportswagon story is the pricing. In Germany, the wagon starts at €29,990, only €1000 more than an equivalent hatchback. In exchange, buyers get the added cargo space, increased practicality, and the subtle satisfaction of driving something more distinctive than the endless parade of compact SUVs clogging European streets.

And that may be the K4 Sportswagon’s greatest strength. While much of the industry continues chasing taller, heavier crossovers, Kia is still willing to build a proper wagon for people who prioritize efficiency, space, and road manners over faux-off-road styling. In 2026, that almost feels rebellious.

Source: KIA

Restomod

This Twin-Turbo Porsche 964 Restomod Packs Supercar Punch

Few names in the Porsche restomod universe carry the mythic weight of Singer Vehicle Design. But from a discreet workshop in Friedrichshafen, Germany, another outfit is building a compelling argument that the air-cooled 911 aftermarket has room for more than one king.

Meet the PR964, a carbon-bodied, twin-turbocharged reinterpretation of the Porsche 964 from Pogea Racing and its boutique heritage division, Pogea.classics. And while Singer leans heavily into California-cool nostalgia, the Germans approach the same formula with the precision—and occasional excess—of a high-end engineering exercise.

At its core, the PR964 starts life as a Porsche 911 Carrera 4 from the 964 generation, though “starts life” might be generous considering how little of the original car survives untouched. Pogea strips the donor chassis to its final bolt before rebuilding it with reinforced structure, modern corrosion protection, and a level of finish likely superior to what rolled out of Stuttgart in the early 1990s.

Then comes the transformation.

The redesigned body panels are handcrafted entirely from carbon fiber, giving the 964 a sharper, more muscular stance without turning it into caricature. The widened rear decklid borrows visual cues from the original 930 Turbo and even the legendary Porsche 959, creating a silhouette that feels familiar until you notice how tightly everything has been modernized.

Underneath that retro-futuristic skin sits a trio of powertrain options, all derived from Porsche’s air-cooled 3.6-liter M64 flat-six. Purists can choose a naturally aspirated version with improved throttle response and a thoroughly refreshed internals package. But restraint clearly wasn’t the primary goal here.

Step up to the single-turbo setup and output jumps from the original 250 horsepower to roughly 400 hp. And for buyers who think subtlety is overrated, Pogea offers a 4.0-liter twin-turbo configuration producing more than 500 horsepower and over 600 Nm of torque, all routed to all four wheels through a manual gearbox.

In other words, this thing likely accelerates with the kind of violence the original 964 engineers never intended.

The hardware supporting those numbers is equally serious. Every PR964 receives adjustable KW Clubsport suspension, revised stabilizers, and a massive carbon-ceramic brake package featuring 400-mm front discs paired with aluminum-titanium calipers. The original 964 already felt compact and communicative by modern standards; with less weight and substantially more power, the Pogea creation sounds like it operates somewhere between vintage sports car and barely civilized race machine.

Inside, Pogea avoids the temptation to over-style the cabin. Leather, Alcantara, and exposed carbon fiber dominate the interior, while deeply bolstered Recaro seats and a classic Momo Prototipo steering wheel deliver the expected restomod visual cues. There’s even a subwoofer mounted behind the seats—a reminder that despite the obsessive engineering, this is still intended to be driven, loudly and often.

Like Singer, Pogea.classics insists no two builds are identical. Buyers can personalize nearly every surface, material, and finish, including the multilayer matte-gray paint developed with Glasurit. That level of customization—and the labor-intensive process behind it—means pricing lands firmly in the territory occupied by exotic supercars and limited-production hypercars.

Which is precisely the point.

The PR964 isn’t merely a restored Porsche. It’s a statement aimed directly at the established hierarchy of the restomod world: proof that Germany has no intention of letting California monopolize the art of reinventing the air-cooled 911.

Source: Pogea.classics