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CAP Blog > CAP Blog > Martin's Blog
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Mar
4
Written by:
Martin Ward
Thursday, March 04, 2010
Geneva Motor Show report
The Geneva Motor Show, which is always held at the beginning of March every year, is quickly becoming the show to introduce new models to the public and this year there seems to have been more world premieres than ever before. Geneva though is still a bit ‘old-school’ when it comes to glamour and putting on a show for the audience. There was hardly a stand where the girls were not present, all dressed up and mostly looking stunning, but this is a car show, not a fashion show. However, the halls are fairly small so the venue is easy and quick to get around in; you are never more than ten minutes walk away from any exhibitor’s display, unlike some shows where you can walk and walk and walk all day.
Here are some of the highlights of the show, featuring all the new models that made their debut appearance:
 ALFA ROMEO GIULIETTA – Replaces the 147 that has been on the market for 9 years. The Giulietta is a five door hatchback car that measures 4,350mm in length and will go on sale in late spring.
 ASTON MARTIN CYGNET – This new baby Aston is based on the Toyota IQ but has a distinctive Aston Martin front and rear exterior design. Specialist Aston Martin materials have been used throughout the interior and this gives the car a nice finishing touch. The Cygnet is expected to be priced at around £50,000.
 AUDI A1 – The A1 is the new baby in the Audi family and will be launched mid-year as a three door, with the five door and cabriolet due to follow next year. It is 3,950mm in length and has a width of 1,740mm. CO2 figures are expected to start at 99g/km on the diesel and 119g/km on the petrol. Audi are bound to succeed with this small premium hatchback.
 BMW 5 SERIES – Is completely new and improvements have been made throughout when compared to the current car. The exterior design is just so much better; it has crisper, cleaner lines that make the car look great from every angle.
 FORD FOCUS – This all new five door (pictured) and estate is a true global car and will be built in Germany, USA and China. First deliveries in the UK are due in late 2010 to early 2011.
 FORD C-MAX/GRAND C-MAX – Due later this year, the 5 seat C-Max (pictured) and 7 seat Grand C-Max with sliding rear doors will be offered with a 3 cylinder petrol turbo engine, amongst the other established Ford engines.
 KIA SPORTAGE – This all new Sportage will be offered with 2WD or 4WD. It will be a good alternative to some other SUV’s and will also attract customers from C sector hatchback models, as it will be priced competitively. The much improved build quality was very evident. Sales start later this year.
 LEXUS – Displayed their new entrant into the C-premium sector that will compete with BMW 1 Series and Audi A3. The all new CT 200h will only be available with LHD (Lexus Hybrid Drive), which is a 1.8 litre petrol engine with electric motors, coupled to a CVT automatic gearbox. This five door hatch looked to be very good in terms of quality and the exterior styling does make it stand out in a crowd. Prices are expected to be similar to its two main rivals.
 Lexus also showed the LFA sports coupe that will cost in excess of £300,000. Yes, that was three hundred thousand pounds. However, Lexus say that demand will outstrip its limited production.
 MAZDA5 – This 7 seat people carrier is due later this year and like the current car, it has rear sliding doors. This new model is an improvement on the current car, but Mazda are hoping that this new car will be a more recognised MPV and will not be overlooked, as the previous model seemed to be.
 MERCEDES-BENZ SLS – This very stylish, iconic sports car with its ‘Gull-Wing’ doors is bound to turn heads wherever it goes. Mercedes has been brave with its design, but it is sure to pay off. It will be an expensive toy and will no doubt be bought by the rich and famous who want Mercedes-Benz quality and a car that oozes sheer brilliance.
 MINI COUNTRYMAN – It was very difficult to get near the cars at the show, as it seemed to be a very popular stand. The new 5 door, 5 seat, Golf-sized hatch will be available with 2WD or the new ALL4 4WD. The Countryman will go on sale later this year and will be built at the Magna plant in Graz, Austria.
 MITSUBISHI ASX – Has a length of 4,295mm and a height of 1,615mm, so it will compete with Nissan Qashqai and some other popular C-sector hatchback models. It will be available with 2WD or 4WD and will have start/stop technology on the diesel engines. The all new ASX will be available mid-2010.
 NISSAN – Had two world premieres: the Juke (pictured left), which was shown to the press last month, and the all new Micra (pictured below). One is very bold with a great design and the other is not quite as stylish and a bit of a disappointment.
 However, these two new cars will appeal to two quite different audiences. Both cars go on sale later this year.
 PEUGEOT – Describe this concept car as the ‘5-by-Peugeot’ and is likely to be the next 407 replacement. If this design is kept or remains very similar, then Peugeot may be able to attack the D-sector with a very capable and handsome car that could change the fortunes of Peugeot overnight in this market.
 RENAULT – Showed two new ‘niche’ cars at this year’s show, the first being the all new Megane coupe cabriolet. It has a metal folding roof and it seems that the designers still haven’t managed to get the proportions of the boot lid to flow with the rest of the car, as it still has a large rear end. However, the interior quality looks to have improved.
 The second was the Wind, which is a two seater, open sports car that is based on the Twingo. It is 3.830mm in length and does look cute. The hard top goes up and down in 12 seconds and it will be available with 1.2 litre turbo and 1.6 litre turbo petrol engines.
 SEAT – Showed the Ibiza ST for the first time. With its extra carrying capacity, this attractive estate car will be bought by those who require a bit more versatility and practicality.
 Seat also showed a concept car that they say will be representative of how the next generation Leon will look.
 TOYOTA –Showed the facelift Auris, which has received some extensive changes to the interior and exterior. They also announced the Auris HSD (Hybrid Synergy Drive), which is powered by a 1.8 litre petrol engine along with an electric motor; it is a similar system to the one used in the Prius. Toyota say that the HSD will have a CO2 emissions figure that is less than 99g/km.
 VAUXHALL MERIVA – This all new car is 23cm longer than the current car and has gone from being the Corsa SUV to the Astra SUV. It has rearward opening rear doors, which makes it very easy to get in and out of. Prices are very competitive, it looks to be good value and the quality is good throughout. The Meriva alsooffers a good choice of economical engines.
 VOLKSWAGEN TOUAREG – VW call it the new Touareg, and they are probably right as it has received a major make-over. The front end is completely new and has received the VW nose job, similar to that of the new Golf and Polo. The interior has improved dramatically, with the quality of materials used being evidently much better.
 The new Polo GTi was a bit of a shock, as it looked brilliant. The wheels it had fitted were perfect and the whole car looked every bit a GTi. It deserves to wear the badge.
 VOLVO – The long awaited, all new S60 was on display and will be a contender in the D-sector premium market, competing with Audi A4 and BMW 3 Series.
Test vehicle – Land Rover Defender 110 hard top
 It has been a long time since I drove a car that attracted headlamp flashes from other similar vehicles. The last time was when the new Mini was introduced in 2001. The novelty factor and the uniqueness of this new car made every owner want to wave and flash at one another, but today this practice has disappeared as there are so many on the road. There are so many in fact, that you would need to have your headlights on permanently; otherwise the headlamp flasher switch would wear out in no time, despite its excellent build quality. The Land Rover owners seemed very proud to wave and flash their headlights despite the 110 still being relatively new. This didn’t seem to matter, as owners of older models welcomed me into their gang, smiling and flashing.
If you ask yourself a number of questions about the Land Rover the answers are always the same. Is it comfortable? No. Is it quiet? No. Is it easy to drive? No. Is it green? No. Is it economical? No. Could you happily take it on a long journey? No. All these negative answers and still it sells in the thousands every year around the world and has done for over 60 years.
The Land Rover has not changed that much in terms of use since it was introduced in the 1950’s. It has changed its styling over the years, the engines have also improved with updated technology, but fundamentally the Land Rover of today is basically the same as it ever was, a good solid workhorse. You don’t have to wait long after switching on the TV before you see a Land Rover, whether it is the news, a documentary or a lifestyle or nature programme; they are everywhere. Out of all the Land Rover models built in the last 60 years, most of them are still running and still working for a living.
 The vehicle we tested was the Defender 110 hard top, the farmer’s favourite. It had two seats in the front and plenty of room in the back for the pigs and sheep. The front seats are positioned very close to the doors, so all the time your elbow and shoulder space is constantly restricted. It would be an improvement if the seats could be moved inwards slightly to allow just a little more room, but this proves impossible as the huge gearbox sits in between the seats. The seats are not at all refined and you tend to sit on them as opposed to sit in them. The control layout is basic, but everything is where you would expect to find it and the steering wheel is large, but not cumbersome. The lever to change the gearbox ratio is just to the right of the gear stick but during the time we had the 110, I didn’t have to select the low-crawler gearbox. It was unfortunate that this vehicle arrived just after all the snow had fallen earlier in the year; there was only a light covering whilst we had the Defender, so we couldn’t test its true capabilities. However, we were assured by Land Rover that during the bad weather, it went almost anywhere without any effort.
 The Defender is powered by a 2.4 litre, 4 cylinder diesel engine that produces 122hp. It has a permanent 4WD system, coupled to a six speed manual gearbox. The CO2 emissions figure is a massive 295g/km, but Land Rover do offer an offset programme which costs £130, so the owner can feel a bit better and feel as though they are doing their bit for the environment. The official combined fuel consumption figure is 25.5 MPG.
This go anywhere, rugged 4x4 is the ultimate in off-roading vehicles. Yes, there are plenty of others that are available, with the Toyota Land Cruiser being an alternative, popular choice but the iconic Land Rover will probably still look the same and be just as capable when it celebrates its 100th birthday.
The cost of the 110 hard top is £18,555 plus VAT, with an on the road price of £22,195.
First impressions – Kia Sportage – Kia European HQ, Frankfurt
 We went over to Kia’s head office in Frankfurt to see the all new Sportage. This is the third generation Sportage, with the first one being introduced in 1996. The second generation ran from 2004 till 2009 and this new one goes on sale later this year. There have been over 238,000 sold in Europe since its launch in 1996.
 The new Sportage measures 4,440mm in length compared to the current one at 4,350mm, and the Sportage’s main competitors are: Nissan Qashqai (4,315mm in length), Honda CR-V (4,530mm in length) and Toyota Rav4 (4,395mm in length). However, other rivals to the new Sportage must include the Ford Kuga, Volkswagen Tiguan and the latest contender, the Hyundai ix35. Since the Sportage will be offered with both 2WD and 4WD, there’s also the possibility that some C sector hatchback drivers who want a car that is similar in size and similar in price, could be drawn into this good looking, more practical and sporty SUV.
 The styling of the new Sportage is very pleasing on the eye and is very European in design. The interior has to be the best so far from Kia; every time a new model is launched, the plastics and materials used are always better than its predecessor. The switches and haptics in the Sportage are almost up to German premium car quality and I guess it won’t be too long before they are as good. Kia say that during the design and engineering process, they have been focusing more on on-road capabilities and comfort and handling rather than off-road.
The engines offered throughout the range will include: a 2.0 litre diesel 136ps, a 1.7 litre diesel 115ps, a 1.6 litre petrol 140ps and a 2.0 litre MPI petrol 163ps. Prices and specification will be announced nearer to the on sale date.
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