8 Car Companies to Watch at the Paris Motor Show 2012

The Paris Motor Show opens later this week at the Paris Expo Centre and it remains one of the most exciting and largest annual motoring events in Europe.
We’ve compiled a list of 8 manufacturers to pay attention to and the cars they are premiering at the show. So without further ado, (in alphabetical order):

Audi

Audi are planning to showcase two new S3 models, including a new design for the A3 Sportback, which will be released with a 5-door model featuring a longer wheelbase and allowing for more legroom that, claim Audi, provides enough space to seat three adults in the back. The 5-door sportback will be available for a £620 extra over the 3-door model.

Audi are also planning a S3 hot-hatch, which will boast a 2.0-litre turbocharged engine producing 296bhp and combined with a 6-speed S-Tronic gearbox will mean the S3 can go from 0 to 62mph in 5.1secs. It will be made available in 2013.

BMW

BMW plan to launch their first model to venture into front-wheel drive. The concept Active Tourer will have four-wheel drive and a brand-new 1.5-litre, 3-cylinder turbocharged engine powering the front wheels and hybrid technology powering the rear. The concept is expected to be the first of a range of front-wheel drive cars beginning with the 1-Series.

Citroën

The DS3 Electrum will be showcased at the Paris Motor Show and will feature two 65kW motors, a 17.5kW lithium ion battery and a 75-mile range. Citroën claim that quick-charge power points will be able to charge the car to 80% of its capacity within 30 minutes.

The DS3 Cabrio is also definitely coming to British shores and features a retractable canvas roof that comes in a range of styles. The roof has three positions and can be retracted at speeds of up to 74mph.

Dacia

James May’s favourite car, the Dacia Sandero, has a new model being showcased at the Paris Moto Show before its British release in January. It will cost drivers less than £7000 and is accompanied by a Stepway version to be launched n the spring. The new Dacia Logan 4-door notchback will also be unveiled but will not be sold in the UK.

Jaguar

The new production-spec F-Type from Jaguar will be premiered this week and will be available with a new supercharged 3-litre V6 engine as well as a developed version of the 5-litre V8 currently available. Both models will come with an 8-speed automatic gearbox.

Mercedes

In partnership with Tesla, Mercedes has developed an All-Electric B-Class car. The model has a range of 200km on its 134bhp engine and lithium ion battery. The car will be able to use plug-in docking stations to charge but will also feature recuperative charging whilst running.

This is just one of many new electric car models developed by Mercedes-Benz, including the prototype electric supercar SLS E-Cell.

Vauxhall

Vauxhall will debut the new Cascada at the show this week. The new convertible, based upon the existing Astra and Insignia model, is expected to be available in dealerships by spring 2013. Longer than an Audi A5 cabriolet, it provides a large amount of space and room but priced beneath its rival at £29,445 and up.

Vauxhall will also showcase their new Adam model, which is available to the public tomorrow (Sept 27).

Volkswagen

We’ve already written piece about how excited we are about the new Mk7 Golf expected to be shown off before the order books are opened on October 18th. The Paris Motor Show will see a full specification and pricing of the model for UK shores.

The car is available in 3 or 5-door versions and will have a selection of four different engines.

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AIRPod - The New Air-Powered Car

Developed in Luxembourg by MDI Enterprises, the AIRPod is the latest eco-friendly car concept to be announced. The idea has merit, running machines from pneumatic power has been tried in locomotives, airplanes and horseless carriages, but none have particularly taken off.

The released stats about the car are fairly impressive. Boasting 125-miles per tank and a 1-5 minute refill, it could easily destroy the slowly-rising numbers of electric cars on the roads. It’s also incredibly affordable, with a $10,000 price tag it would be available to all sorts of families and individuals and with the UK governments stance on eco-friendly vehicles it would be tax-free on the road. Not using petrol would also contribute to making this one of the cheapest vehicles to own and run.

The car includes an electric engine so that drivers can convert air into power as they drive, or alternatively use air pumps from charging stations. Right now, the car can only reach speeds of between 28 and 43 mph, which is a hindrance for anyone expecting to do more than simply drive about town, and the car itself is only a one-seater as of yet, so some design work will have to be done to bring it to market.

It’s currently in a prototype stage and we won’t see it on UK roads for quite some time, hopefully by then the design will have been improved. If there’s one thing that prototype eco-friendly vehicles have in common, it’s that the designs are really quite peculiar.

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Volkswagen’s Golf Mk7 Launched

We mentioned a few months back how excited we were about the launch of the new VW Golf well, after months of anticipation, Volkswagen have finally unveiled their 2013 Golf model and it’s garnered a huge amount of critical acclaim.

The previous incarnations of the Golf have put it ahead as VWs best-selling vehicle and the newest 7th-Generation model looks set to wow the market.

The car itself is 0.5 inches wider and 2.2 inches longer than the previous versions. The wheel’s have been moved further forward and the car lowered by 0.8inches. Even with these body modifications, VW have managed to make the mk7 Golf 220 pounds lighter than the 2012 model. This is due to VWs use of ultrahigh-tensile metals, a redesign of the engine and reworked electrical architecture to remove unnecessary weight from the car’s wiring and gadgetry (6 pounds were shaved from the air-conditioning unit alone) as well as adjustments made to the manufacturing of the car components, for example the seats have been manufactured to be lighter.

The new Golf sports VWs innovative MQB Platform, shared throughout all of the car’s manufactured by the VW Group. This includes Audi, Skoda and Seat and will help make their cars more uniform beneath the aesthetics, leading to a more consistent ride across the models, as well as increasing efficiency in producing or repairing parts for those cars.

All of these tweaks and edits to how VW assemble their cars has resulted in a much lighter car and means that the new Golf will be far more fuel-efficient than previous models. The lower centre of gravity gives the car a sportier and tighter drive too, meaning that cruising through town will be a wonderful pleasure and an improvement on an already great ride.

Not only is it easy on the wallet by saving you fuel, it’s easy on the eye too. With sharper lines, it creates a far more striking image in the publicity shots. It’s only a matter of time until we see these beauties gliding down motorways and showing up the older models.

The inside is easy on the passengers too. With the car being longer and the wheels moving forward, the new Golf will have added room in the passenger footstall, as well as more room around the head and shoulder areas. VW have installed a 5.8inch touchscreen information/entertainment centre in the dashboard, which can be upgraded to an 8inch navigation screen on premier models. The interior itself is gorgeously designed and looks as high-tech as you’d expect from such a reliable manufacturer.

The car itself is expected to be premiered live at the 2012 Paris Motor Show later this month. No price or availability guidelines have been released at this stage.

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