Here at the first of the two Press Days, we have a lot of looking around to do. And it’s the the exotics and the concepts that are necessarily the big attractions. For most of us, it’s the new models of ’ordinary’ brands which draw the biggest numbers.
And we have some seriously important new ones here at this 82nd Geneva show. Come back to this story regularly through the day, as we will add in new pics as we go along.
In small cars we got to see the new one from Opel, the Mokka, Peugeot’s new 208 supermini, SEAT’s diminutive Mii and its close cousin the Skoda Citigo.
Moving up in the all-important for Ireland compact family segment, Audi showed off its new A3, and Kia’s latest Cee’d is aiming at a significant expansion of the gutsy Korean brand’s footprint here. They also have a tidy SW variant already on the stand, suggesting that there will be a tandem arrival of the two versions.
In the crossover game we have a new Peugeot 4008 along with its not-so-distant cousin Citroen C4 Aircross.
Chevrolet is being revived in Ireland, and that brand’s Cruze SW will be of interest in the local family car scene, where both Hyundai and Kia have shown that a smart extended version of their core hatchbacks can score well.
Kia also showed off a hybrid version of the new Optima due in Ireland shortly, and Mercedes-Benz have added a hybrid option to their iconic E-Class.
In the small MPV sector, already a competitive place to be selling cars in the relatively small numbers we do in Ireland, a new Ford B-MAX joins the fray with innovative doors and a thrifty 1.0 petrol engine which is destined for other models. Fiat rolled out a 500L in the same space, looking like the model spent the winter seriously pumping iron.
And there are the exotics too. There were crowds of supercar aficionados and wannabees around the Aston Martin V12 Zagato, the Ferrari 599 GTB, a new Mercedes-Benz SL and a new generation of the Porsche Boxter icon.
So far the prize for the ugliest car at the show has probably been roundly won by Bentley, for the SUV concept that was the main 'attraction' on their stand.
And maybe one of the prestige production cars that gained most interest is the Jaguar XF Brake, a new wagon option in the brand.
