Geneva
A crisis? Old Europe has not heard of anything like this. While the domestic automobile market is more reminiscent of a ship going to the bottom and sending a distress signal with all its might, the sale of new passenger cars in the Old World is reminiscent of a boat speeding along the waves. Judge for yourself: over the past year, 14.1 million cars were sold here, which is 9% more than in 2014. The jerk worthy of an Olympian was demonstrated by crossovers, which countless will gather at the exhibition. The 2015 subcompact SUV segment has grown - attention! - by 46%, up to 1, 099, 577 copies! Compact SUVs, including Volkswagen Tiguan and Kia Sportage, also strengthened their position, but more modestly: up to 1 2 2 7 950 cars (+ 13%). It is not surprising that the cohort of fresh SUVs that arrived at the Geneva festival of automotive life is worthy of mention in the first place.
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A new round of cross-mania
Variety will appreciate the "kindergarten" size class B. Audi will show its smallest crossover named Q2. The new “couch” is a variation on the MQB modular chassis with a transverse power unit and is unlikely to surprise with a technical filling. But the restyled Opel Mokka, found in letter X, and the gloominess is unfamiliar. The European sales of the Rüsselsheim small car are very peppy, and after updating the appearance, the appearance of the 1.4-liter “turbo four” and other upgrades, interest in it should only increase.
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Opel Mokka X. Photo: Opel
Rejuvenated Peugeot 2008 was limited to very successful cosmetics, which also does not suffer from a lack of attention from customers - the third place in terms of sales in its size group. But the kid Volkswagen T-Cross to market success is still far away. It will be presented in the status of a concept car - a kind of preview: SUV on the MQB chassis will appear in 2018.
Who has grown to the serial format is the phantasmagoric Toyota C-HR on the scalable TNGA platform (Toyota New Global Architecture), previously seen in show cars. A spectacular toy on wheels can become a strong player in the European “theater” and a powerful sales promoter of the Japanese brand, which last year came close to 600, 000 cars.
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Toyota C-HR. Photo: Toyota
A lot of interesting premieres are expected in the camp of compact crossovers. The Spanish subsidiary of Volkswagen Group, the SEAT brand, has finally revealed to the world the production model of Ateca. By dimensions, the handsome man in every possible way emphasizes his subordinate position in front of the Tiguan soplatform: its length is 4363 mm, and its wheelbase is 2638 mm. Meanwhile, the second-generation Wolfsburg SUV, which debuted last fall, will arrive at the motor show in a stretched version and XL. The forest base grew by 110 mm and allowed to gain space for the third row of seats. The initiative to transport seven people will be supported by Skoda VisionS - still a concept on the 4.7-meter-long MQB “trolley”, but ready to turn into a commercial SUV with the likely name Kodiak by fall.
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Skoda VisionS. Photo: Skoda
The landmark premiere will definitely be the Jeep Compass changer. The outlines of the prototype clearly hint at a resemblance to the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Obviously, the car was created on the Italian Compact US Wide chassis, which is now used even when designing a large Chrysler Pacifica minivan. The pride of the Jeep engineers for the brand’s heritage, most likely, did not allow the newcomer to completely get lost: we are almost sure that he is endowed with an offroad potential worthy of a crossover.
A new “face” with a touch of aggression and austerity will show Ford Kuga. In its arsenal is also a 1.5-liter turbodiesel.
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Ford Kuga. Photo: Ford
The show will not do without high-profile representatives, and what! At the Maserati booth, they will tear off the cover from the stunning Levante, dividing the platform, powertrains and all-wheel drive transmission with Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans. The Modena “trident” did not have anything like it yet, but market realities forced it to make a deal with conscience and go beyond the usual production line. But the handsome SUV should significantly improve the Maserati sales statistics, which is not impressive yet, although last year's result of 6067 cars in the Old World is a record for a luxury brand.
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Maserati Levante. Photo: Maserati