Does this Skoda Mountiaq provide any clues to Volkswagen'sfuture leisure bakkie?

Students at Volkswagen's Czech subsidiary, Skoda, have given us a good idea of what a future compact German cab-and-half bakkie could look like.

A group of 35 Skoda apprentices spent 2 000 hours to build this Mountiaq bakkie, which is based on VW’s MQB platform. That means it is, in some way, similar tothe VW Tiguan, which is also built on the German automotive giant’s MQB platform.

The Skoda Mountiaq measures 5 metresbumper-to-bumper, is a touch more the 2 metres wide and stands just over 1.7 metres tall. Those dimensions mean it's notably shorter than an Amarok, but wider. Despite its smaller overall size, the Mountiaq is not light, posting a kerb weight of 2 450kg – a lot heavier than any production Amarok double-cab.

Although the Mountiaq is configured as a cab-and-half bakkie, space behind its seats is taken up by a monumental sound system. The Mountiaq has 320-watt speakers and a 2 000-watt sub-woofer, boosted by a 2 000-watt amplifier unit. And there’s a fridge in the cabin, too.

Skoda allowed the apprentices to add all manner of regulation off-road kit to the Mountiaq. As such it features a snorkel, roof-mounted LEDs, heavy-duty off-road bumper (which houses a recovery winch) and a very clever load bin.

One of the technical challenges presented to the Skoda apprentices was to fashion a functional tailgate. They succeeded in this and also fabricated 3 hidden stowage compartments into the load bin floor. This is something which would work a treat in a security-conscious bakkie market such as South Africa.

Powering the Mountiaq bakkie is VW’s renowned 2-litre TSI engine, good for 140kW. Rolling on 17-inch alloy rims, shod with high-volume off-road tyres, the Mountiaq should potentially be quite capable in testing terrain. It certainly has sufficient ground clearance to go most places any adventurous owner would desire, with a suspension lift that gifts it 290mm of ground clearance.

Some food for thought…

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