42 FEATURE Geneva Motor Show
Electric, is, in essence, a testbed to gather a bank of research data that will inform the company’s future decisions on alternative drivetrains. It will tour around the world over the course of this year in order for existing owners to test drive the car and then provide feedback to Rolls- Royce. It’s a fascinating proposition, not least because it can be recharged by induction, which means there is no physical connection, the power being delivered from a transfer pad on the ground to an induction pad mounted under the car, beneath the battery pack. Another car suggesting that electric vehicles don’t have to be simply functional city cars or superminis is the Nissan Esflow electric sports car concept. Despite being heralded by a nonsensical press release that would be an ideal candidate for Private Eye’s Pseud’s Corner (“Daniel, an Esflow owner, works in tech, but lives for the weekend… On Saturday he drives to a popular club to exhibit his DJ skills and his friends are impressed by his cool EV sports car,” etc), the Esflow is a very stylish and well-designed car. If we end up with EVs that look this good, driving in the future might still be enjoyable. Another way that car owners are attempting to reduce their impact on the environment is by downsizing, trading their larger, gas-guzzling cars for less thirsty replacements. The supermini segment of the car market – known as the B segment – has been expanding for many years and is now the largest area of the market. It will come as no surprise, then, that a number of new models were revealed in Geneva to cash in on the supermini’s popularity. When Ford launches a new car, especially one based on the class- leading Fiesta, it’s always worthy of note. So it was with the B-Max, a mini-MPV to replace the previous Fusion and set to compete with the likes of the Vauxhall Meriva, Nissan Note and new kids on the block, the Korean cousins Kia Venga and Hyundai ix20. Although the B-Max is a concept at this stage, it will most likely be a strong indication of what the finished production car (which we expect to see for the first time at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September) will look like. Spacious, airy and featuring a pair of sliding rear doors, the B-Max should be as good to drive as any other model in the current Ford range – which should make it a winner. Equally impressive was the new Kia Rio, a replacement for the existing model
that was overdue for an overhaul. But where the former model looks bland, the new Rio is visually arresting. Designed under the aegis of the company’s chief designer, Peter Schreyer (formerly of the parish of Volkswagen and best known for his work on the Audi TT), the Rio continues the styling revolution he has brought to the Korean manufacturer. Using similar beautiful flowing lines to those in evidence on last year’s Sportage, the Rio should be the best- looking car in its segment when it arrives in showrooms in the autumn. The big question will be whether it will handle as well as the leaders of the pack, the Fiesta and Polo: if it’s even close to competent, and is priced to undercut the established players, it should be a hit with buyers. Also in the ‘small is beautiful’ category
is the latest concept from Mini. Moving away from 2010’s Countryman, the Rocketman is a design study for a smaller Mini or, if you like, a mini Mini. Nearer in size to the original Alec Issigonis-designed automotive icon, the Rocketman points to a new direction for the BMW-owned carmaker, responding
Mini Rocketman
to the increasing metropolitanisation of the global population, and the resulting demand for smaller cars. Features such as the funky two-part front doors and the split tailgate won’t make it to a production car, but we wouldn’t be surprised if the 3+1 seating arrangement in the interior (similar to that in the Toyota iQ) is retained, along with some of the other design cues. The rise of the compact crossover
continued at Geneva, with a number of strong concepts from manufacturers. Compact crossovers – also known by a variety of other names, depending on the manufacturer, usually involving some combination of the words ‘urban’, ‘activity’ and/or ‘sports’ – blend features from small family hatchbacks and SUVs to create a new style of vehicle that appeals to urbanites who like the chunky styling and rude height of a 4x4, but who
driving | April / May 2011
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