Pitched directly against the Hyundai Santa Fe, Kia Sorento and Nissan X-Trail, Skoda’s VisionS is due to launch in Kodiaq production form at this September’s Paris motor show.

This medium-sized 5- or 7-seat SUV will encapsulate Skoda’s takes on plug-in hybrid technology and car interiors in the coming age of autonomous driving.

Powered by the usual Skoda selection of efficient 1.4 and 2.0 petrol, and 1.6 and 2.0 diesels, the Kodiaq features standard front-wheel drive with an option of four-wheel drive.

Skoda says the Kodiaq is "about 80% the same” as the six-seat, twelve-screen concept we briefly tried. Skoda believes that every passenger will want to be involved and connected in an autonomous car journey, so along with tablet-like displays the VisionS gets smartphones in each of the four doors, with headphones and sockets allowing occupants their own personal ‘bubbles’.

The panel ahead of the front-seat passenger won’t make it to the production Kodiaq, but Skoda is promising an exciting ‘Simply Clever’ feature in its place.

The VisionS’s plug-in petrol hybrid system will make its first appearance in the 2019-2020 Superb, followed by a four-wheel-drive Kodiaq version. In the concept car there’s a 154bhp 1.4 TSI petrol engine, six-speed DSG transmission and two electric motors. Total power output is 222bhp.

The VisionS’s space and commanding driving position show why buyers love SUVs. Its pale leather creates a restful ambience.

Handsome, roomy and likely to be keenly priced from around £20,000, with the seven-seater starting at about £23,000, the Kodiaq looks like a surefire hit in the UK. First deliveries will begin here at the end of March next year.