Stars Of The 2016 Paris Motorshow

The Prancing Horse will be taking a considerable percentage of the limelight thanks to their first ever 4 seater, turbo-charged, V8 monster in the form of the GTC4Lusso T. This new model takes some ‘shooting-brake’ styling from the incredible Ferrari FF but it does certainly possess it’s own identity, particularly with that voluptuous front bonnet - under which lies a 3.9litre V8 unit throwing out around 600 horsepower and slapping 760Nm of torques-worth of tyres on the tarmac. Sounds lovely, doesn’t it? All this will equal an industry standard 0-62mph time of just 3.5 seconds. Best of all, expect an interior second to none.

Hyundai are back with the latest version of their i30 hatchback. Bearing the same name and carrying forward the i30 marque, this new model has been ‘designed, developed and tested’ in Europe and features their new ‘cascading’ front grille which we’re likely to see across a number of cars in the Hyundai range. Hyundai have said that their new i30 is a car for everybody. Parents, young drivers, the elderly; everyone will be able to live with the new i30 in relative comfort. Obviously the new i30 will be up against the likes of the Volkswagen Golf and Ford Focus - which are some tough opponents, but with their 5 year warranty and, no doubt, competitive pricing, they could be onto a winner…

We don’t know much about the specs yet on this new model, there’ll be more of that to come, but expect petrol and diesel models achieving over 50-60mpg.

The Discovery is now an extremely well established car in the eyes of British car buyers thanks to its continued production since 1989. It’s changed an awful lot since then and Land Rover won’t hesitate to deny that;0 the marketplace has changed a lot too…

This new beast promises to be even more luxurious and comfortable than the model it replaces but also dares to go even further than any has before. Land Rover have said their new Discovery was “Created with absolute versatility, capability and technology like no other.”

The new Disco will also be available as a 7 seater, (as previous models also were) thereby offering itself as a viable option for large-family buyers.

It’s been rumoured for a long time now, in fact a quick google returns results from 2008, but it looks like the BMW X2 is just round the corner! As you may have guessed from the name, the X2 will be an SUV available with X-drive. The X2 positions itself between the X1 and X3 in terms of size and price. The X2 is likely boast coupé styling too, as the BMW naming system currently leaves even numbers with a sloped roofline; think the 2 Series, 4 Series, 6 Series, X4 and X6… Interestingly, (purists may want to cover their ears here) the non-XDrive X2 is likely to be a front-wheel-drive car opposed to the traditional rear-wheel-drive setup that BMW are famous for. Whether this is a pro or a con is entirely up to you. (It’s a con.)

Sadly, no photos yet - they’ve done well to keep this one under wraps. We’ll have on live ASAP.

There is a brand new Kia Rio debuting in Paris on the 29th of September. KIA managed to sell 473,000 of these in 2015 alone and it accounts for 16% of their annual sales. The Rio will be entering its fourth generation and looks to improve on the current factors that set it apart from competitors. This means even more practicality, connectivity, safety, convenience and technology in the B segment. Kia anticipate that they will sell over 100,000 models in the first year of sale, which will begin in the first quarter of 2017.

Probably the biggest (literally) car to hit the floor at this years Paris Motorshow is the brand new Skoda Kodiaq. This is a large SUV available with 7 seats and it is 4.7 metres long, almost as long as the titanic Volvo XC90. Skoda claim ‘a design that is full of character, an exceptional amount of space, practicality and innovative technology often found in higher vehicle classes.’

The Kodiaq will boast the largest boot in its class as well as seriously impressive looks. This is their latest effort to dominate each and every segment in the market by offering the most complete package in every vehicle class.

The next generation of the Nissan Micra has been teased to the world in a strange video that claims ‘A Revolution Is Coming’ in the form of the new Micra. (Pack your essentials and say goodbye to your loved ones...) The teaser video shows two obscure angles of the new Micra as it flicks through different colours. The styling changes do look rather drastic, with jagged edges and an angular rear-end. Could this new Micra appeal to a younger audience? Who knows, we’ll have to wait and see.

We anticipate the new model to be larger than the outgoing model and some rumours suggest it will be available as a 5-door car only. 

There’s been a shift in the family carrier marketplace. More and more manufacturers are beginning to ditch the ‘people carrier’ look with their large family cars and instead go for the more desirable SUV aesthetic. Let’s be honest, few people carriers were ever really attractive, some were just less ugly than others. Peugeot have jumped on board and their 3008 - which was probably one of the prettier people carriers - is to be released as a brand new SUV. They’ve started from scratch on this one, it boasts some of the exquisite styling cues that exist across the new Peugeot range as well as the GT spec, powered by a 2.0litre diesel unit with 180PS and Start Stop technology. If you want the looks but not the guts, then there is the GT-Line spec which has the styling but more economical engine choices.

We’ll be on the launch of this new 3008 SUV and we’ll aim to have one of the first driven reviews live on the site toward the end of the month, so keep an eye out!

It’s time for a new Citroen C3! These things have sold like hotcakes since introduction in 2002, in fact they’ve moved over 3.6million models off their forecourt! This new version is heavily revised and really focuses on a younger audience. The Citroen C3 now includes their ConnectedCAM - an HD camera mounted in the cockpit to let drivers share photos and videos with their friends.

The car is highly customisable and is available with two-tone paintwork, three different roof colours an interior personality to reflect the buyer's preferences.

Making its world premiere at the Paris Motorshow this year will be the new Mini Clubman JCW. You know the drill by now, the JCW is the top-spec, performance model of each car in the MINI range and the Clubman is the latest sibling to be gifted a touch of magic from the in-house tuning team. This Clubman will stand against few competitors as there aren’t many performance cars in the C segment, especially none that can compete with a 0-62mph time of just 6.3 seconds. This is thanks to a power output of 231 bhp and 350Nm of torque - the Clubman JCW will go on to a top speed of 148mph. Naturally, the Clubman needs to be a car that makes sense to owners, so, accordingly you can get a full 41.5MPG and All-Wheel-Drive meaning excellent traction and equally impressive economy relative to the performance.