Skoda Felicia Fun Pickup Had A Clever Feature That Was Sadly Forgotten

The Skoda Felicia moniker can be traced back to the original 2-door convertible made from 1959 to 1964, but since it had a front-engine and rear-wheel drive layout, there were limitations to what the company could do with it.

That changed when they introduced the new Felicia in 1994, which was based on a VW Group platform shared with the Caddy. The supermini was the brand’s answer to the Renault Clio and Ford Fiesta, and was offered in different body styles, including a pickup.

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The successor of the original Pickup that stayed in production between 1991 and 1995, a derivate of the Felicia’s predecessor, the Favorit, came as a two seater and could be turned into a four-seater in no time. How was that possible? With the rear cabin partition wall that incorporated an electric window, as it could be folded down. A lever mechanism then allowed two additional seats to be installed, and those using them had an open-top view of the sky above.

With the extra seats in place, the depth of the loading area decreased from 1,370 to 850 mm (53.9-33.5 in), although there was still enough room for cargo. The Felicia Fun was 4,245 mm (167.1 in) long, 1,680 mm (66.1 in) wide and 1,465 mm (57.7 in) tall, and maintained the 2,450 mm (96.5 in) long wheelbase of the old Pickup model. Compared to the regular Felicias, the ground clearance was increased by 60 mm (2.4 in), and it also featured a roll bar and roof rack.

Unveiled at the 1995 Geneva Motor Show, the Felicia Fun remained in production until August 2000, and a total of 4,016 units rolled off the assembly line at the Vrchlabi plant, in the Czech Republic. It was offered with two petrol engines, the 68 PS (67 HP / 50 kW) 1.3-liter and 75 PS (74 HP / 55 kW) 1.6-liter units, and a 1.9-liter diesel, rated at 64 PS (63 HP / 47 kW). Skoda marketed it from 304,900 Czech crowns (equal to $12,120 at today’s exchange rates) for the base 1.3 MPI LX. The mid-range 1.6 MPI was 40,000 crowns ($1,590) more expensive, and the diesel added a 50,000-crown ($1,990) premium to the entry-level model.