Motor Shows
Motor Shows

2018 Geneva motor show: Hits and misses

Winners and losers from a massive Swiss show


What a week. This might be the biggest Geneva motor show the world has seen in some time. That's not to say last year wasn't impressive, with the McLaren 720S, the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the new Audi RS5 and the reborn Alpine A110 standing out as obvious heroes.

This year's show, however, has given us an incredible return to form for Toyota, thanks to the unveiled Supra (as a racing concept) and a remarkably aggressive new Corolla hatch. Toyota, old mate, where have you been all these years? (Yes, yes, the 86, sure.)

Other big unveilings this week included the Range Rover SV Coupe, new Lagonda concept, the compact Lexus UX, Skoda's Vision X concept, the Porsche Mission E Cross Turismo... the list goes on.

Which offerings impressed and upset the CarAdvice crew most? Catch our thoughts on the hits and misses of the 2018 Geneva motor show below.


Alborz Fallah, in Geneva

Best Production Car: Ferrari 488 Pista

Just wow. I mean, wow. Way to fix the ugly bits of the 488 and somehow turn this into one the most amazing looking supercars I’ve seen. Now if you could only buy one...

Best Concept: Toyota Supra

Yes, bite me. Toyota could get rid of the silly livery and show us an interior we would die for, but this tease is kind of like throwing a starving man a few pieces of bread at a time.

Toyota does the extended teaser launch campaign better than anyone out there, and I for one am delighted they’ve at least confirmed the fifth-generation Supra is coming with this concept.

Biggest Miss: McLaren Senna GTR

I just don’t know what has happened here. I get it’s meant for maximum track attack but in person the car looks absolutely ridiculous. You may as well just buy an open-wheeler race car. Most of the 75 of these Senna GTRs will likely spend the majority of their time locked in a garage. What a waste.


Mike Costello, in Geneva

Best Production Car: Volvo V60

I used to own a 240, which means I have strange tastes. But seriously, this is an exercise in Scandinavian design brilliance.

Moreover, with SUVs now the norm, low-slung wagons will have to become style statements to be relevant. Tick.

Best Concept: Toyota Supra

Curt, you're wrong! (See Curt's entry further down... - Ed)

Toyota is a heavyweight brand, and the fact it's taken an eternity on this car tells me one thing: it's being honed to perfection.

Biggest Miss: Range Rover SV Coupe

The 1970 version was mould-breaking in a good way. The 2018 version isn't.

In person and on a screen, it's a monstrosity. Even in the gauche surrounds of ultra-rich Geneva, it's an outlier.


Paul Maric, in Geneva

Best Production Car: Rimac Concept_Two and the Jaguar I-Pace

This doesn't require much explanation. Anybody with an interest in cars will get the sweats at the thought of hitting 100km/h in less than two seconds.

Rimac is a story about a guy who has created a big business – and it's best-known product doesn't make the company most of its money. It's truly awesome stuff.

A special mention needs to go to Jaguar for the I-Pace. Having driven the car as well as seen it in person, it really takes the brand to the next level. It's an engineering powerhouse and designed by a bloke that has truly enjoyed penning every inch of the car with his team.

Best Concept: Lagonda Vision Concept

It may look a bit strange... but it's a new car from a company that is kicking some serious goals at the moment.

Aston is committing to develop the drivetrains for their all-electric range in-house and if their tie-up with Daimler is anything to go by, these should be truly fun to drive.

Biggest Miss: Mitsubishi

I've said this once before already, but what is this brand doing? The stand they had at the motor show was huge, but the only remotely interesting thing on the stand was the Eclipse Cross... which barely sets the pulse racing.

I mean, is Mitsubishi actually working on anything at the moment?


Mike Stevens, in Melbourne

Best Production Car: Toyota Auris (Corolla)

Hot damn. Look, I don't think it's a flawless design, but I'm more than a little impressed by its overall look and its tough proportions.

Even with Akio Toyoda's promise of more emotion in Toyota's new cars, and even with the new Camry looking fairly damn sporty, I really wasn't expecting the company to turn out such a mean-looking little commuter. Kudos to you, Toyota.

Well! Let the kudos continue. But first, I've gotta say: all of you going on about it looking boring are straight-up bananas. Have you looked at the Mk4 Supra in a while? It may be beloved - and I say that as a former owner - but it was never a paragon of edgy or sharp design.

Nope, that was a very understated and subtle car with clear European cues, and that's just what this new one is (once you peel off all the racing bits). Handily, it's also far less bulbous and boat-like in its proportions, so it's gonna be a hell of a lot more nimble.

As for the Lagonda... I hate agreeing with Paul on anything, but I think it's incredible. Unlike him, though, I also think it's stunning to look at. It's doubtless the sci-fi nerd in me, but I reckon that big wedge design looks the business in a very cool and futuristic way. You watch it become the norm in about 30 years!

Really wanted to like this one. I love a wagon, and I'm even a little partial to the jacked-up ones. Outback, A6 Allroad, V90 Cross Country, etc. But this... good lord. Over-the-top cladding, ugly wheels (in both design and colour), those dorky little LEDs in the bonnet.

Still, it's redeemable. Get some regular wheels on it, have another go at the cladding (or just get rid of the cladding and lower it to Panamera Sport Turismo spec), ditch those little bonnet lights... and you'd have a very handsome companion to the regular Mission E.


Curt Dupriez, in Sydney

Best Production Car: Toyota Auris (Corolla)

Though the RUF SCR retro-911 homage makes me utterly weak at the knees, kudos goes to Toyota for its compelling new 12th-gen Auris/Corolla.

With the small hatchback segment perpetually raising its game globally, on styling alone - gawky rear overhang notwithstanding - this is a fitting response from the Japanese giant.

Best Concept: Polestar 1

As the fattest shed of hot air on the motor show calendar, it can be tough to pick a genuine concept car cherry in Geneva.

But I'm quite smitten by the look of this first complete 'product' out of the Polestar box, even if I'm inclined to hang a 'Wait And See' sign above the whole 450kW, performance, plug-in hybrid, subscription-based, Chinese-only premise.

Biggest Miss: Toyota Supra

So much choice. Where to start? Inevitable stage-five autonomy fantasy (VW I.D. Vizzion)? Check. Some backyard 2000hp electric hypercar lunacy (Rimac C Two)? Yep. Another farcical Viziv "for production" concept from Subaru? Tick. How about the Nothing-To-Do-With-Senna McLaren GTR or styled-by-Hot Wheels Porsche E Cross Turismo Something? Yawn.

But, surely, Toyota finally (allegedly) outing (supposedly) Supra as some be-winged, wide-bodied, war-liveried racecar must surely be the topping on the ho-hum cake. Wake me once the long tease is over...


James Wong, in Melbourne

Best Production Car: Hyundai Kona EV and Toyota Corolla

I couldn't pick a clear winner out of these two because they're both potential game changers in their respective segments. The Hyundai Kona EV looks arguably better than the standard version while having a far nicer interior and a Tesla-rivalling electric range of up to 490km in 64kWh guise.

If Hyundai is able to bring it here for under $50k they could be onto a winner that changes the way people view electric cars in Australia.

The new Corolla, is the first time I've been genuinely excited about Toyota's small car in like, ever. It looks edgy without looking ugly (take note Lexus) and if it's anything like the new Camry should have a much nicer cabin and be filled with technology. Couple that with a more dynamic TNGA platform and new powertrains, it should be a very good thing indeed.

Best Concept: Skoda Vision X concept

While the gas-petrol-electric powertrain is hard to get my head around, the Vision X is a funky little SUV that will no doubt look similar in production form when Skoda finally brings its T-Roc/Q2 twin to market. I really like the overall design and absolutely love the 'FlexGreen' paint. Given Skoda's 'simply clever' mantra, I'd expect the production version to also be far more practical than say a CX-3 or Kona.

Lexus... WHY U DO DIS. They had such an opportunity to make it so good – Toyota managed with the C-HR, why did Lexus have to go and uglify it with the UX?

I'll concede that the interior looks rather nice, but still, you have to look at the thing, and it ain't pretty. It'll sell regardless, but it's a right shame in a segment that has the Q2, E-Pace and XC40.

Porsche – You know when two hot people get together and have ugly kids? That's what the Mission E Cross Turismo is. It looks like a mix of Mission E, Panamera Sport Turismo and Macan – all attractive in isolation, but their offspring not so much. How disappointing, especially when Audi showed off that sexy e-tron SUV prototype the same week.


Scott Collie, in Melbourne

Best Production Car: Jaguar I-Pace

It's the first real Tesla rival to come from Europe: sorry, the BMW i3 is a cool, irrelevant science experiment. The price seems right, it looks fantastic and the performance – although not Ludicrous Mode-matching – is suitably impressive.

The Mercedes EQ SUV and Audi E-Tron have their work cut out.

Best Concept: BMW M8 Gran Coupe

We're still waiting for the production two-door 8 Series, but the Gran Coupe is a nice consolation prize nonetheless. BMW has nailed the looks, with an elegant profile and menacing stance – and that show-car shade of green is oh-so lovely. M8 Gran Coupe vs AMG GT 4 Door Coupe comparison? Bring it on.

Biggest Miss: Range Rover SV Coupe

Lazy. The SV Coupe will probably sell out instantly, but it comes across as lazy. Gerry McGovern is one of the most talented designers in the world, and somehow the SV still seems like a late-night cut-and-shut job.

Chopped, dropped and slathered in leather, it doesn't move the game forward in any way.


Anthony Crawford, in Sydney

Best Production Car: Jaguar I-Pace and Volvo V60
JLR keeps producing stunning concepts that end up as fully-fledged production cars a couple of years later. But the Jaguar I-Pace hits that strategy out of the park, with a futuristic EV Crossover that seems to have everything going for it: styling, performance, practicality and range - and it's for the here and now. Roll over and die Tesla, your time is up.

I absolutely loved the hot Volvo Estates like the old 850 R. They were great designs, with legendary practicality and solid performance. The new V60 is a simply stunning design, I just hope it has enough go to excite.

After seeing the misguided Lagonda Taraf at Goodwood a few years back, I couldn’t see the brand working. But the Vision Concept just might work as the first ultra-luxury EV - its cutting edge design could work, especially if the age-old brand is first to market with a production series model that mostly mirrors this concept.

Biggest Miss: Range Rover SV Coupe

My old man bought one of the first Range Rovers ever that landed in Australia and as we all now know, it was a revolutionary vehicle that created an entirely new segment - the luxury SUV. It was a ground-breaking vehicle that created such desirability thanks to its style. It could go almost anywhere off road, yet was just as home in front of a five-star hotel in London, Paris or New York.

This new Concept doesn’t seem to have any of those traits necessary to break new ground, in fact, it doesn’t look as good as the current four-door Range Rovers. I hope I’m wrong.


Kez Casey, in Melbourne

Best Production Car: Peugeot 508

It's often said that the French don't do fashion, they do style. Nowhere is that more obvious than the square-jawed handsomeness of the new 508.

Not only is it a looker from any angle thanks to a new fastback form, but Peugeot is one of the few companies that resists making every new model larger and heavier. The interior is gorgeous in its understated elegance too, all that's missing is a decent high-performance engine.

A concept car should always push boundaries and divide opinions - unless it's just thinly veiled version of a production car, like this pointer to the Toyota Supra.

Official details are a little thin, but the lure of BMW powertrains holds promise and it's certainly not hard to imagine the silly-looking widebody kit toned toned down for production. Now if only Toyota would stop teasing and start building the darn thing!

Aston Martin's CEO claims Lagonda is meant to break the luxo-duopoly between Rolls-Royce and Bentley whilst attracting younger buyers.

The brand will even relaunch as an EV and autonomous tech leader, can't argue with that, but I just don't see the world's cashed-up influencers lining up for something that looks like the result of a one-night stand between a Tarago and a fishing boat.


Rob Margeit, in Sydney

Best Production Car: Toyota Auris (Corolla)

It actually hurts to admit it, but the all-new Corolla 12th-gen Corolla looks a million bucks, sharp from just about any angle and if that contrasting roof features on the production car, expect other manufacturers to follow suit.

Is it just me, or is Toyota beginning to throw off its conservative shackles (the latest Camry another case in point) and dare I add, designing the cars Lexus should have been throwing out there all along?

Best Concept: BMW M8 Gran Coupe

It defies BMW's recent nomenclature where all even-numbered cars feature just two-doors, but what the heck, BMW has added the word Coupe to the name so it's almost a two-door anyway. It does seem a pointless exercise though, with the new 8 Series already in the wings – and with the requisite number of doors.

Still, as styling exercise, the M8 Gran Coupe is gorgeous.

Biggest Miss: Sbarro 4x4+2

Just no. No no no no no no.


Podcast

Listen to Mandy Turner, Mike Stevens and Scott Collie take you through the biggest news from the 2018 Geneva Motor Show. Then join Paul Maric, Alborz Fallah, and Mike Costello direct from the show as they discuss their hits and misses.


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