Geneva Motor Show 2011

With so many national, European and world premieres, the Geneva Motor Show lived up to its promise of another blockbuster year for the global automotive industry. Patrick Anderson picks and highlights some of the most hyped models presented at the show…

As the first of the main international motor shows each year, Geneva never fails to impress – from new models and the latest concept cars to European and World premieres. Visitor numbers went up this year; in fact they surpassed all expectations with the total number standing at 735,000, a 6% rise on last year’s figures. As is the growing trend, the electric cars were out in force with many now in actual production, several of which are now on sale in the UK. THINK, a Norwegian electric car was one of the newer vehicles on display as was the Toyota EV based on the iQ electric car, as well as Nissan’s sleek electric concept; Sflow.

For concept cars Hyundai showed the i40, Curb and Velostar. Other manufacturers showing their versions included Mazda’s concept SUV the Minage, Renault’s Captur and the Saab Phoenix. In the hybrid categories we saw the Peugeot 908 Hybrid 4 (first shown in Paris), and Volvo with their V60, also a diesel hybrid. Rolls Royce showed their 102EX, a one-off fully electric-powered Phantom, which was a sight to behold. Morgan re-launched a 21st century version of their 3 wheeler and Land rover showed their e-range 4WD vehicle. Amongst the exotics making their world premieres and turning heads were the new Ferrari FF, Jaguar XKR-S2, Koenigsegg Agera R, Lamborghini Aventador, Pagani Huayra and Aston Martin who showed off the new Virage and Virage Volante models. There were of course scores of others, but too many to list here. I will be bringing you more on these in upcoming editions, so here are some of my favourites in the meantime…

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Aston Martin Cygnet

The latest news from Aston is that their concept city car the Cygnet will go into production this year. A small city car unlike anything they have ever produced (you may have seen it featured in one of the Harrods Christmas window displays for a while). I’ll bring you more on the Cygnet in later editions.

www.astonmartin.com

Aston Martin – Track Day

It’s fair to say that it is almost every man’s dream to sit behind the wheel of an Aston Martin. So an invitation to experience not one, but five of their current models on a closed circuit was an opportunity not to be missed! I was invited to join a small exclusive group of people to spend a day putting all the current models through their paces. The cars were the V8 Vantage SportShift, V12, DB9 Touchtronic, Rapide and DBS Touchtronic. What a dream line up.

Millbrook is a 40 yr old test facility originally set up by General Motors and now used by nearly all the manufacturers. Featuring a high-speed bowl, two and a half mile hill route, city routes and standing mile, it enables hard testing of cars and drivers in a safe and controlled environment. Although I did wonder why they wouldn’t allow us to use the off-road and water bath routes. Aston Martin have their own facility here where prospective and confirmed buyers can get some hands-on training in their dream cars. Aston still remains in the old tradition of custom building to every customers spec. You can’t just go and buy a new car from a showroom, so every vehicle is slightly different as you can choose the colour, interior finish, trim etc.

A short two or three laps in each vehicle was not enough for an in depth report but an overall impression of these luxurious vehicles capabilities. The V8 Vantage Sportshift was for the standing mile on the circuit. With the vehicle’s amazing acceleration it was time to brake almost as soon as you got the speed up. A very steady and well balanced car that almost kicked you in the kidneys as you changed gears up and floored the throttle!

Taking the cars on the hill circuit was an eye opener, having driven the circuit many times in the past on SMMT test days. Plus having one of Aston Martin’s own professional instructors on hand certainly improved my perception and speed on the hill. The cars are all very similar inside; deep luxurious leather trim and well finished facia and instrument clusters. The touchtronic gearbox was simple and as one would expect, well positioned for ease of use. The surprise came with the 4-door Rapide, which from the outside looks almost identical to the other models. And when the instructor asked me to sit in the back, I was rather apprehensive as you can imagine since I stand at over 6.7ft! But much to my (pleasant) surprise, it was fairly comfortable, especially when compared to similar 2+2 sports cars. It wasn’t knee knockingly tight, but I wouldn’t want to travel all day in the back.

So to our final test; having driven the bowl at Millbrook we were not really allowed on the lip top lane. Each lane is designed for certain speeds, so after careful instruction we did the lip circuit at 100mph with no hands on the wheel. I can tell you, it takes a bit of getting used to driving at such high speed and putting your trust in the centrifugal and gravitational pull to hold you on line. All in all a thrilling day and can’t wait to get the chance to drive one of the cars on a proper road test.

www.astonmartin.com

MAZDA 5 – UK launch

Press launches are a rare occasion to be a passenger as well as a driver. So a 2-day trip down to Devon and Cornwall to try out the improved latest version of the Mazda 5 was just such an opportunity as well as a chance to get to sample some great food and lifestyle down there. Lunch at Jamie Oliver’s 15, a restaurant run to help young people get a job opportunity and a career, was a splendid opportunity to relax and eat as we watched the surfers and half-term holiday crowds on the wide beach at Watergate bay.

Then it was off into the cars for driving across the moors and the winding small roads of Devon and Cornwall. So the car was a people carrier of which we had two different models to try. The two petrol vehicles we tried (2.0litre and the 1-8 litre) were underpowered (diesel models will be available later in the year in the UK).

The steep hills and tight turns of the small roads of this part of England showed this, with a lot of driving resorting to 2nd gear. The other major fault on the six-speed gearboxes is the reverse gear. No lock or gate meant as I changed down on a tight steep hairpin it easily dropped into reverse! My other gripe was with the front passenger seat where I was constantly rubbing my knees on the dash, so not ideal for the taller person. The rear seats can be configured in several ways depending on loading and passengers, with seating for up to 7, in three rows of 2-3-2 configuration. The side sliding doors mean easy access for rear passengers from either side when the car is parked in tight spaces, with doors opening to 686mm and barely standing out from the side of the car at 160mm. The rear seats can also be flattened in various configurations giving a large flat space for big loads.

But if you are tall be aware of the tailgate which is at eye /head catching height when opened up. The dash has a large selection of buttons 13e switches of which 5 are blank possibly for fog lights etc. The driver’s side has no less than 10 switches, but the one thing missing was the sat-nav! None of the models we tested had any fitted, which these days is a standard and not an extra in most cars. However, the 2.0 comes with i-stop which is becoming another standard in many vehicles as petrol prices soar, so there was a little saving grace. After a night in Rick Stein’s delightful hotel/restaurant, including a cookery demonstration in his cookery school followed by a sumptuous meal in the restaurant, we woke early for a drive up across Bodmin Moor. It was raining and the vehicle didn’t like the strong winds. The difference between the 1.8 and 2.0 petrol engines is not very noticeable and still the gear ratios of the vehicle are not very well suited to a people carrier. All in all not the best of the people carriers although a gourmet tour of Devon and Cornwall did make it a worthwhile road test…

www.mazda.co.uk