|
|
geneva motor show 2004
Mercedes S-Class Debuts In Frankfurt, Takes The Honours
Hybrids Are Everywhere, But Why Bother When You’ve Got Diesels?
Jaguar XK, VW Convertible, Audi Q7, Honda Civic Impress
FRANKFURT, Germany
Good news for despicable and corrupt third-world dictators. Mercedes has redesigned their favourite car, the top-of-the-range S-Class, which made its debut at Europe’s most important car show here.
Other debutants trying to hog the limelight at the show included the new Jaguar XK sports car, Honda’s new Civic, and Audi’s long-delayed entry into the SUV market, the Q7.
Chinese car makers made a hesitant first appearance with the Brilliance Zhonghua saloon and the Jiangling Landwind SUV.
VW introduced its Eos coupe convertible, while Ford unveiled the Iosis concept car, which apparently flaunts design cues which will appear in the new Mondeo early in 2007.
But the star of the show was the Mercedes S-Class, the motorcade limousine of choice for tyrant squanderers of funds raised by the likes of Bob Geldof and Bono to theoretically help out Africa’s poor and starving. It has reached new heights of excellence and now comes with the choice of a de rigueur hybrid power system.
The S-Class can have either a petrol-electric or diesel-electric hybrid system. It’s hard to see quite how a hybrid can produce better fuel economy than some of Mercedes’ new diesel engines. We’ll have to wait and see, but companies like Mercedes often have to waste money going down blind alleys to placate noisy environmentalists.
Hybrid Versus Diesel
News that the new S-Class will have a choice of hybrid power comes days after Auto Bild car magazine tested the Mercedes ML320 CDI diesel SUV against the Lexus RX400h petrol-electric hybrid, and found the Japanese hybrid wanting. Auto Bild, quoted by Mercedes in the press statement announcing its redesigned M class, said that in a 3,210 mile/5,200 km sea-to-shining-sea test across America from New York to San Francisco, the 3.2 litre 224 bhp V6 diesel returned 31.04 miles per gallon-9.1 l/100km - 10.8 per cent better than the 27.69 mpg-10.2 l/100km for the 3.3 litre 211 bhp V-6 petrol-hybrid Lexus. Even in town, where hybrid’s are said to be at their best, the Lexus was only 0.42 mpg better than the diesel.
Nevertheless, hybrids are the flavour of the month. VW, its subsidiary Audi, and Porsche announced at the show that they would develop a new, fuel-efficient hybrid engine. Less than a week ago BMW joined General Motors and DaimlerChrysler to develop their own hybrid engine.
Sleeker, More Exciting
The new S-Class though looks sleeker and more exciting than the previous model even though it’s bigger. There’s more room in the back and in the boot. There is a 7-speed automatic gearbox. Base models are powered by 3.5 litre V6 petrols, or 3.0 litre V6 diesels, with prices starting at around £50,000-74,000 euros. For nervous dictators worrying about an imminent coup, there’s a V12 for the fastest possible getaway.
It wouldn’t be a Mercedes S-Class if there weren’t some ground breaking new high-tech gizmos on offer. This time there is an infra-red lighting system which gives up to 150 yards of vision at night via a dashboard mounted screen.
Also vying for attention was the new Jaguar XK, with an aluminium monocoque design based on the XJ saloon. Weight is cut to 1,595 kg from the old one’s 1,660 kg. Jaguar says that the new car is sleeker and sportier than the previous model. That may be true, but the new one doesn’t look as lithe as an E-type. It’s rounded lines look on the chubby side to me. Power comes from a 4.2 litre 300 bhp V8, coupled with a six-speed sequential gear shift. It’s good-bye J-gate. It has a pop-up hood to cut down on injuries if the car hits a pedestrian.
Flash Civic
Honda’s 8th generation new Civic looks much more exciting than its predecessor, and like its Jazz little brother, will offer class-leading flexibility. The flash new looks will help Honda to lower the age of its typical buyer, it hopes. Engines start with a 1.4 litre petrol. The 2.2 litre 140 bhp diesel sounds appealing. There’s a hybrid too, naturally.
Audi finally came up with an SUV. The Q7 is heading for a dealership near you, via testing grounds in the Arctic, Sahara, and the Nurburgring. The thinly disguised VW Touareg offers 7 seats in three rows. Prices start at £33,500-48,900 euros for the 233 bhp 3.0 litre V-6 diesel. A la Citroen, the Q7 has a lane-departure warning system that vibrates if you drift across a lane. The Q7 shakes the steering wheel, while Citroen thrills you to the marrow via a vibrating seat. Options include air-suspension.
Goddess Of The Dawn
VW’s Golf-based Eos convertible coupe looks lovely, and includes an engine which will make it a much attractive competitor than its pioneering Renault and Peugeot counterparts. Eos, named after the tragic Greek goddess of the dawn and mother of the wind, will be available with a 3.2 litre 247 bhp V6 with DSG sequential gearbox, as well as a 1.6 litre petrol and 2.0 litre diesel. Prices will start at about £20,000-30,000 euros.
At the outrageous end of the market, Bentley unveiled the Azure convertible, while Rolls Royce had a long-wheel base Phaeton. The Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder convertible has a power roof which stows in the compartment behind the seats. The Porsche Cayman is a Boxster with a steel roof which has more room for storage. No sign yet of the fourth model, the Panamera, on the Porsche stand.
Coming back down again towards reality, the Peugeot 407 Coupe has a tough act following the wonderful Pininfarina designed 406 coupe. The new 407 coupe is designed in-house and looks a bit heavy and busy, decidedly lacking in pizzazz.
Small Caddy
GM’s decision to launch Cadillac in Europe has always seemed a pointless project to me. Its latest iteration is the Cadillac BLS, based on the Saab 9-3. At least its got a diesel engine – a 1.9 litre 150 bhp motor – and is the smallest Caddy so far. Good luck with that.
There are always plenty of concept cars at these shows. Most of them are designed to just pretend that a manufacturer has some new ideas. The yellow Citroen SportLounge may well fit into this category, but it looks great with its flowing, aerodynamic lines and cockpit style integrated driver’s seat. It has rear doors hinged at the back like the Mazda RX-8. If any of its ideas found their way into a redesigned Citroen C-5, that might do the impossible and de-bland a boring looking vehicle. The Ford Iosis concept, like the SportLounge, is a so-called coupe with four doors. Ford says it embodies all the design elements of the next generation of Ford cars in Europe. We wait and see whether this is hyperbole.
Choke Pedestrians
Opel was very proud of its Antara GTC mid-sized SUV concept. If it arrives in dealerships, hopefully it will be without the exhaust pipes which, in the name of flair and emotion, point the fumes straight at the pedestrians from the side of the car.
Escape With A Punto
Fiat’s new Grande Punto looks handsome, particularly from the front with its new nose, which Fiat likes to think reminds people of a Maserati. Bigger and longer than its predecessor, if it fails, it will be goodnight Vienna for Fiat.
Come to think of it, despicable dictators worrying about imminent coups, might well trade down to an anonymous Fiat to make their escape, rather than a V-12 Merc. Fortunately for us, there aren’t enough of them to bail-out Fiat.
Neil Winton – September 15, 2005
home page / more reviews / auto industry news / links / top of page
|
|
