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As the second biggest and last major European motor show of the year, Paris holds an important place in the automotive calendar. Bigger than Geneva but dwarfed by Frankfurt, the show it alternates with, this year’s show one again showcased the next generation of cars heading for UK dealerships.
Once again there was a distinct emphasis on EVs and crossovers, with many brands, notably Kia with the Niro and Mitsubishi with its extending PHEV lines, combining both.
Paris is traditionally well-supported by all the carmakers. However, this year there were no shows from Ford, apparently spending its budget elsewhere, Volvo, who will only do one major show per continent and, inexplicably, Mazda. Even top-end brands from Rolls Royce and Bentley to Lambourghini and Aston Martin chose to sit it out. Perhaps this marks the beginning of a trend with carmakers now seeking to quantify and qualify their substantial motor show investments. Maybe the new low-key and low-cost London Motor Show model, with dealers representing carmakers, is the way forward.
Paris certainly highlighted the best in current and future products with a plethora of new launches heading for UK showrooms over the coming months from Land Rover’s fifth generation Discovery, the first time in a decade that the car has been replaced with an all-new model, to Skoda’s Kodiaq, the brand’s first family-size SUV.
There were plenty of small cars making their debut too from Kia’s attractive and now tech-laden Rio, Citroen’s stylish C3, complete with Cactus side-cladding, to what was arguably the star of the show; Nissan’s new generation Micra, a car so different from its forebear that the brand must have thought long and hard about whether it was time for a name change.
The Paris Motor Show runs from 1-16 October with thousands of visitors able to see an extensive cross-section of future models. Here’s our personal choice of 10 cars to watch out for when they arrive in the UK over the coming months.
10 Key Cars revealed in Paris
- Audi Q5 – the all-new SUV boasts more space than before and heads to the UK in spring 2017
- Citroen C3 – bubble wrap cladding follows the Cactus ethos
- Honda Civic 5-door – attractive new model boosts brand’s renewed line-up
- Hyundai i30 – new mid-size hatch shows Korean company’s maturity
- Kia Rio – new look and more tech for brand’s city car
- Land Rover Discovery – brand’s new product rollout sees all-new version of popular mainstay
- Mercedes EQ – Concept version hints at brand’s all-road E-Class
- Nissan Micra – wider and sleeker than before which further broaden the model’s appeal
- Peugeot 5008 – less MPV and now more SUV as the brand strengthens its crossover line-up
- Skoda Kodiaq – brand’s first family-size SUV expected to be priced from £23,000