斯柯达下一代明锐要到2020年才会发布，但最新谍照让我们提前看到了这款车的早期路面测试情况。为了保密，车厂对这辆车进行了重度伪装，只能看到有限的一些变化。从照片看，这辆车并非全新设计的新车，而是以现行版本为基础进行了一些改款。车头格栅在车鼻的位置看起来要低一些，它的大灯以上部分只是略微抬高了一点点。格栅上的曲线部分或许表明其开口比现行版更大。乘客一侧的伪装似乎是为了遮盖某种类型的传感器。车尾能看到红色的尾灯组，这部分的设计并没有什么改变。下一代明锐将采用大众最新版的MQB平台，同样采用该平台的下一代高尔夫将利用更多轻量化材质以降低车重。如果新一代明锐的车身尺寸进一步增加，设计人员也将降低新车重量。新车动力总成目前还很神秘。整体来看，大众已经不再提供柴油引擎，新一代A1Sportback就不再搭载涡轮柴油引擎。不过，现行版明锐可提供广泛的柴油引擎选择。为降低油耗很可能会采用大众集团的混动系统，或许是插电混动系统。
2020 Skoda Octavia Test Mule Spied On The Road
The next-generation Skoda Octavia reportedly doesn't arrive until 2020, but new spy shots provide a very early look at a test mule on the road. The company keeps the model under very heavy camouflage that significantly limits a look at the changes that the designers have in mind.
Rather than being the all-new vehicle, this appears to be an existing example of the Octavia with a few tweaks. Up front, the grille appears to sit lower on the nose because the top of it only rises slightly above the lower section of the headlights. A curving section about the grille might indicate that the opening is actually larger than it appears here, though. A section of tape on the passenger side likely conceals a sensor of some kind.
The camouflaged rear seems to be a red herring. There are no major differences between what Skoda is covering here and the design of the existing vehicle.
The next-generation Octavia would ride on the latest version of Volkswagen Group's MQB platform. If it's similar to changes for the next-gen VW Golf, then increased use of lightweight materials would help shed pounds off the new model. The Skoda could even shed pounds if the designers decide to make the next-gen model slightly larger than the current one.
Powertrain details are a mystery for the new Octavia. In general, Volkswagen Group is moving away from diesel engines. For example, there isn't a turbodiesel available at launch for the new A1 Sportback. However, the existing Octavia is available with a wide range of oil burners. For better fuel economy, Skoda could look to come of VW Group's hybrid powerplants. A plug-in hybrid is possible, too.