The Geneva International Motor Show enters its 90th edition this year. It’s one of the oldest, grandest and by far and large, the biggest motor show in the world that has been around since 1905. Although a lot of manufacturers will not have their pavilions at the Palexpo this year due to a couple of reasons – many of them are skipping the motor show due to the ongoing surge in coronavirus, while others are cutting costs amidst the global slowdown in car sales.
Car-makers including Lamborghini, Tesla, Jaguar-Land Rover, Ford, Mini, Nissan, Mitsubishi, Volvo and Group PSA will skip a trip to the majestic Swiss Alps and Lake Geneva this year – similar to what happened at the Auto Expo 2020 earlier this month. Don’t worry though, since we’re expecting a lot of action to take place nonetheless. Here’s what to look out for.
While the earlier Sorento was bulbous and fluid, Kia has opted for an angular and aggressive look for the 2020 Sorento, borrowing design cues from the Telluride. On the inside, there’s a Mercedes-like dual touchscreen layout, dual-tone steering wheel, leather door panels and seats and ambient lighting among other features. There’s no official confirmation if the Sorento will make it to India, but if it does, it will rival the Hyundai Santa Fe, Honda CR-V, Tiguan Allspace and the Skoda Kodiaq.
It’s time for the i20 to sport Hyundai’s cheesy sounding design language – Sensuous Sportiness. Lines on the new i20 are a lot more accentuated along with a sculpted rear, full-width tail lamps that oddly border half the fuel tank lid and reduced glass area. There’s no official confirmation by Hyundai as to when they will bring the new i20 to India. But when it does arrive, expect it to be powered by the 1-litre turbo-petrol engine along with the regular 1.2 petrol and 1.4 diesel options in BS6 tune.
Carmakers are lusting at the sexy performance SUV-coupe segment. Lamborghini Urus, Porsche Cayenne Coupe, BMW X6 M (Featuring in evo India magazine, April issue) and now this, the Mercedes-AMG GLE 63 S Coupe. Its overall design is similar to the latest generation GLE, except for the sporty inserts and an outrageous powertrain featuring the 4-litre twin-turbo V8 pumping 603bhp and 850Nm that’s coupled to a 48V mild hybrid system, providing an additional 22hp and 250Nm. Although we already have the GLE 43 AMG in India, we don't know yet if Mercedes-Benz India will launch the GLE 63 AMG too.
The E-Class is the bread and butter for Mercedes-Benz, not only in India, but across the globe, having sold 14 million models across 9 generations, since 1946. Mercedes-Benz will skip the dual eyebrow DRL design in the 10th generation E-Class and the styling will be on the lines of the new A-Class Limousine. It will also have the intuitive ‘MBUX’ infotainment system and in the race towards clean emissions, expect the line-up to include a plug-in hybrid version alongside multiple mild hybrids with 48 volt system.
The new Octavia is even more desirable with an angular and razor sharp design. In terms of powertrain, the 1-litre TSI engine (108bhp/ 200 Nm) will open the range, followed by the 1.5 TSI unit (147bhp/250Nm). Both get a 48 V mild-hybrid system with the 7-speed DSG gearbox. At the top, is the 2-litre TSI paired to a 7-speed DSG making 187bhp and 320 Nm. The diesel range is based on the 2.0 TDI only, developing 115, 150 or 200bhp. For India, Skoda might offer the 1.5 TSI and 2.0-litre TSI and TDI engines with the Octy.
This isn’t it. There will be plenty of head-turners amongst performance cars as well with the Porsche 911 Turbo and Ferrari Roma. Toyota will also showcase their upcoming compact SUV, that is reported to sport a hybrid drive system and AWD as well. BMW on the other hand will showcase the electrified X1 and X2, both of which will sport a 70kWh electric motor coupled to a 1.5-litre turbo-petrol engine. So, be ready for your social media feeds to be flooded with all the latest updates from evo India on the 90th Geneva International Motor Show (March 5 to 15, 2020). Also, stay tuned to evo India on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.