Five Most Innovative Cars for the Future

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Release date:Spring 2015
Mercedes have always contributed heavily to developments and progression in the automotive industry with the introduction of various new technologies over the years, from the first seatbelts to Anti-locking Brake System (ABS). This year Mercedes will be responding to their German counterparts with their first all-electric hatchback. The Mercedes will try to outshine the BMW i3 and the Audi A3 E-tron with their B class electric Drive and they've done so in great fashion. Mercedes acknowledged that their B Class is desired for purposes which most suit the electric way of life, which is frequent short journeys such as the school run or heading down to the Supermarket. The B Class has a raised floor in the rear of the vehicle which is where the lithium-ion battery pack lives (instead of the gas cylinders in the non-EV models) so practicality-wise this is an EV simply without compromise. Compared to the generic fuel powered model; the interior is just as spacious, the roofline is just as lofty, the footwells are just as facilitating and the boot space is just as cavernous. Audi had to sacrifice roughly 100 litres of boot space for their Audi A3 to fit the electric batteries and, even worse, they forgot to put concealed storage space for the charging cables so they just sit in a bag - an afterthought perhaps?

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Release date: Spring 2015
A muscle car with an 'ecoboost' engine? Until now the term ‘eco' couldn't have been more distant to the muscle car sector. Traditionally muscle cars have large naturally aspirated engines with dreadful mpg and inefficient horsepower-per-litre figures. Now Ford have flipped the script completely with the new Mustang which comes with a 4 cylinder, turbocharged, 2.3 litre, Ecoboost engine pushing out a solid 310bhp. The most innovative part? This ‘muscle' car will return a modest 30mpg on a combined cycle. These efficiency figures have simply never been seen before in a muscle car group which is ever so popular across the pond - we can't wait for the UK's first muscle cars to hit the road so we can see what all the fuss is about. Another selling point is that this will be the first Mustang sold in right hand drive from the manufacturer - hardly ‘innovative' but it's nice that they've taken us Brits into consideration...

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Release date: Late 2015
Honda released the first NSX in 1990 with production continuing until November 2005 and even 25 years ago they were bringing new ideas to the table - namely the all-aluminium V6 engine mid-mounted on an all-aluminium body. The new model, which debuted in Detroit in January, hosts some really scientific (albeit geeky) developments such as the V6 which is accompanied by three electric motors, two turbochargers and a nine-speed automatic gearbox capable of shifting almost instantaneously and matching revs on downshifts automatically. There is an electric motor controlling each front wheel mounted on the front axle and the petrol motor controls the rears, so the new NSX is all-wheel drive and is said to deliver torque literally within an instant. Chief Engineer Ted Klaus stated 'The technology gives us a chance to create a car that is focused on being agile, precise and linear in its responses like never before.' The NSX is also a showcase car for the worlds first aluminium casting process combining the benefits of both casting and forged components - how about that for innovation...

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Release date: Late Summer 2015
The Mirai will be the first FCV (Fuel Cell Vehicle) Toyota have released to the consumer market and we're expecting its' arrival around September-time although this isn't quite set in stone yet. The original concept debuted at the 2013 Tokyo Motor Show and the final version was unveiled in November 2014 at the LA Auto Show. The Mirai will be one of the first hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles to be sold on a commercial scale, and it is certainly the first from a manufacturer as large and reputable as Toyota. The technology involved inside the Mirai will return 50mpg, which doesn't sound hugely impressive compared to modern diesel cars but bare in mind hydrogen will be considerably cheaper to buy than diesel and it is entirely carbon neutral. Put simply, this technology works by mixing hydrogen (stored in tanks under the floor) with air from the intake to propel the car forward, leaving H20 as a deposit instead of exhaust fumes. Hopefully we'll see the Japanese manufacturers pave the way for the Hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicles of the future...

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Release date: undisclosed 
Using their 'Google Chauffeur' programme, the internet behemoth will be entering the automotive industry over the next few years with the introduction of self-driving cars. The technology inside these vehicles will be parallel to no other - truly a leap into the unknown. The prototype of the Google car that was presented in May 2014 didn't have pedals or a steering wheel and road testing of this model has already begun, with zero recorded road accidents after covering 700,000 miles in testing. Interestingly, a Google prototype was actually rear-ended at a traffic light in 2010 by a human-controlled car.
Currently the Google car can't handle heavy rain or snow so we won't expect road-testing in the UK anytime soon, so while the world is in Limbo - we want to know what you think of autonomous cars? Let us know.