10 Must-See New Vehicles Revealed at the Geneva Motor Show
The European auto business and the continental economy are experiencing simultaneous stirrings despite the dire warnings about Brexit and the fractious politics throughout the region. And much of that bravado is on display at the Geneva Motor Show as it opens to the public this week.
The press preview of the show opened with the news that General Motors is retreating from Europe, after many years of losing money, by selling Opel.
But on the whole the products and announcements at the Geneva show have previewed a future European auto business whose players still believe strongly in ultra-performance and ultra-luxury, and also in plain old performance and luxury—and their consumers do too.
Automotive brands are mixing those traditional concepts with the new industry realities behind electric vehicles and autonomous-driving technologies.
Among the highlights are a new version of the Bentley EXP12 concept that made its debut in Geneva two years ago, an all-electric luxury car that would be able to drive “between London and Paris”—or about 300 miles—on a single charge.
Range Rover introduced the Velar SUV, which shares its aluminum-intensive architecture with Jaguar’s F-Pace and Volvo’s new-generation XC60. With pricing from $50,895 for the base version to $90,295 for the top-of-the-line model, the Velar has a matching watch available for a cool $8,700 from Swiss watchmaker Zenith.
Toyota brought the i-TRIL concept, described as:
Making its world debut at the 2017 Geneva motor show, and featuring Active Lean technology, the new i-TRIL concept represents a viable alternative to A and B segment cars, other EV products, public transport and motorcycles.
Heralding a change in mindset for motorists, the i-TRIL is designed to be more than a mere commodity. Driven by Akio Toyoda’s commitment to bring passion and driving pleasure to all future Toyota vehicles, it embraces the company’s Waku Doki (a Japanese term translating as ‘Beat of the Heart’) philosophy to demonstrate that future EVs can still stimulate the senses and set the pulse racing.
In another quirky concept introduced in Geneva, Volkswagen revealed Sedric (at top), a “transporter prototype” that “is more akin to a mobile living room than a sleek SUV,” as USA Today commented.
Press a button and Cedric pulls up, on its own, and passengers just tell the car where to go. Volkswagen Group’s other revelations were summed up in this video:
Aston Martin unveiled the Valkyrie hypercar, among other innovations.
Hyundai expanded its Ioniq range with a plug-in hybrid version as part of its mobility vision.
Mercedes-AMG debuted a performance hybrid four-door coupe.
Subaru unveiled the first redesign of its hit Crosstrek subcompact SUV since it debuted in 2012.
And Volvo elevated the technology in one of its best-selling vehicles in the US, the XC60 crossover, including software that helps avoid or minimize damage in crashes.
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