Not sure if anyone is aware of this but I got to play with a very highly specced Elegance Hatch on Saturday and one of the options was the Panoramic sunroof. It looks very cool when open (following the roof line and sitting well back over the rear of the roof.

 

BUT... from inside the cabin you only get the advantage of the a standard sized sunroof as the rear half of the glass panel is covered over internally by the interior roof structure!  Im guessing the reason is that the roof has to have a brace running across for torsional rigidity but it seems to promise much externally (and massive glass panel) but seems very compromised once in the car!

 

Im hoping the estate is different and along the lines of my Yeti's unit ie getting the light advantage of two full glass panels inside the cabin. I came away thinking it was a pointless option for the hatchback or is it just me?

 

 

That was pretty obvious from all the official photos and yes, the estate gets a full panoramic sunroof. There's plenty of videos available on the internet as usual.

 

I'd definitely pick it on the estate.

That was pretty obvious from all the official photos and yes, the estate gets a full panoramic sunroof. There's plenty of videos available on the internet as usual.

 

I'd definitely pick it on the estate.

But surely from external photos it looks as though it has a large panoramic opening roof on the hatch? But once inside you find out that they've blocked half the glass panel with the interior roof structure and trim - just seemed like an after though to me. You may as well opt for a standard size sunroof on the hatch as thats what you get when in the car. :(

From the brochure and website I thought it was always the case that the hatch only had a single glass panel sunroof and the estate had the twin.
That's why there's a £200 price difference.

From the brochure and website I thought it was always the case that the hatch only had a single glass panel sunroof and the estate had the twin.

That's why there's a £200 price difference.

Im not explaining this very clearly....

 

 I guess what Im trying to say is that from outside I'd figured that you'd at least get the advantage of natural light in the cabin from two glass panels - one at the front, that opens, and the rear fixed one. But instead, you get inside the cabin and look up and all you see is a standard size sunroof - internally, the rear glass panel is entirely covered and the sides of the front opening panel are covered by the roofing felt (and bracing underneath id guess). Just seems pointless to have a fixed glass panel at the rear and internally its covered up - it may as well be metal roof skin there instead of a defunct glass panel.

Can you make some pictures from inside and from the from of the car? I cannot understand very clearly from the pics...

Well, that's because the wording from Skoda is misleading. The hatch has a standard sunroof, that any hatch in this price range has, despite the fact that the car's roof seems to be made almost completely out of glass. Which is what gave Skoda the power to say "panoramic" and as you can see it has already started to confuse potential customers.

 

Only the estate's sunroof is a true panoramic one, with one half being mobile and the other fixed in place.

Stupidly I didnt get one from inside...  (got far too carried away with Spotify, Bluetooth streaming and the Canton audio system...) but if you look at the second photo I posted above, you can see the fixed glass panel within the roof structure, beneath the opened front section of glass. My guess would have been that from inside you cabin, especially when sitting in the rear, you'd benefit from light coming in through that fixed glass panel. This isnt how it is though. From inside, you cant see out of the fixed panel of glass as you have the interior brace and inner roof in the way. So outside, it looks like a big glass roof but in effect, its not. Effectively, once the huge glass panel is back, you only benefit from an opening thats the same size as a standard sized sunroof. 

 

So both the estate and hatch have two big glass panels. The front opens on both, the rear is fixed on both BUT due to the design of the hatch internally, you dont benefit from the rear glass panel and the front one only gives a very small opening.

Ahhh got it now...anyway for me this was not an option because the sunglases support goes when having this option.