Last week we saw several cars that are slated to “debut” in Geneva, ruining the surprise and sort of defeating the point of the motor show. Sure, outlets will still send their journalists to snap photos in person, but the press images distributed by the brands are already the best possible images you’re going to get of the new cars. What’s sort of ridiculous is that the show isn’t even this week but the week after! And most of these reveals aren’t coming from leaks, but rather seem to be planned PR measures by the brands. Maybe they figure they’ll be competing with other brands for the limelight at the actual show, so getting out there early is a good way to not get buried in a pile of more interesting cars? Maybe this is another sign that auto shows are waning in their popularity and influence and that future car launches will all happen in virtual reality. Who knows. In any case, here are your new cars.
SEAT’s Cupra Brand
It’s not often in this new car section that we get to talk about entirely new brands, but this week is special because of a design study leak and the following bean-spillage from Spain. SEAT, the company with the same name as something you sit on, but pronounced differently, has announced that they are spinning off Cupra, which was the name attached to the performance versions of their vehicles, into a completely stand-alone brand. Just like Mercedes has done with AMG and Volvo has done with Polestar, Cupra will now get their own models, as well as still creating performance versions of SEAT cars.
The announcement of the brand came with the new company’s first vehicle, the Cupra Ateca. Now, from a European performance brand, you’d expect their first vehicle to be a statement-maker – Something that says, “We’re here and we mean business, so watch out Honda Type R and Volkswagen GTI!” Instead, what we got was, “We’re here and we are heavily influenced by global market trends and intend to have solid sales instead of operating as a niche manufacturer catering to the desires of performance enthusiasts!” Needless to say, their first vehicle was a little underwhelming. As you might have guessed, it’s a compact crossover that looks aggressive, but isn’t really any faster than your neighbor's Toyota Highlander. It has 300 horsepower and all-wheel drive, which are cool and hits 60 in less than 5.5 seconds, which is quick, but not blistering. What’s more interesting is the design study of the Cupra Ibiza, a hot hatchback that SEAT has made for years and is apparently great to drive, though we don’t get it here in the States. So since we can’t get these and probably won’t see one unless we travel abroad, what’s the takeaway? Crossovers are ruining even the brands designed to be performance-oriented from the start.
Ferrari 488 Pista
Unlike Porsche, Ferrari doesn’t really do a whole lot of special editions of their vehicles, so when we get one, they tend to be pretty special. This was one of those special weeks because we were treated to details of the forthcoming 488 Pista, a track-focused version of the 488 GTB with 710 horsepower and 568 foot pounds of torque, delivering 62 miles per hour in just 2.85 seconds. This is also the first time I’ve seen a 0-60 time include hundredths of a second in its calculation, which is an illustration of just how ridiculous and excessive these cars are becoming. I don’t know about you, but if I drove one of those things, then sat in a McLaren 720S, which does the same run in 2.9 seconds, I would totally be like “oh yeah, you can definitely feel that the Pista is at least four hundredths of a second faster, but five?” The cars have virtually the same performance, so you can tell who Ferrari was benchmarking during testing, which should be pretty flattering for McLaren. Care to guess where this will debut? Yep, Geneva, where there will be no actual new cars.
Volvo V60
When I was test driving cars, the only vehicle to rival the GTI for my affection was the Volvo V60 T6 R-Design, which was attractive, fast, comfortable and handled well. It lost points for being expensive, heavy and having a dated interior, but it was a very strong contender. Now though, I’m really happy I didn’t buy it because there’s a new V60 coming soon and holy shit it is a beautiful, beautiful wagon. It cops the modern Volvo styling, complete with “Thor’s Hammer” headlights and sleek, sexy crisp curves and lines. The dated interior has been completely revised with a big central touchscreen and gigantic speakers you can see from the press photos and guy, we haven’t even gotten to the best part yet! The new V60 will be available with Volvo’s T8 powertrain, which pairs a twin turbo six cylinder engine with a plug-in hybrid system that develops 390 horsepower! Sure, this will be on some top of the line R-Design trim and will cost probably around $60k but not only does the wagon renaissance continue, the Hot Wagon market is heating up! While I’m in no hurry to replace the GTI, when the warranty runs out, there may be a few of these coming off lease and I might just be the first one in line.
Peugeot 508
Also revealed ahead of a formal unveiling in Geneva was the second generation Peugeot 508, which is the company’s flagship sedan. It’s super attractive, especially in the red color promoted in the photos distributed to media sources, and it’s been transitioned from a conventional sedan to a fastback, meaning the rear glass lifts with the trunk, which is a popular trend these days. The power trains aren’t likely to ignite any sort of passion for driving if you didn’t have it already, topping out at a 222 horsepower gasoline engine, but a plug-in hybrid version will be available after launch, which could tempt the more efficient-minded buyers. The interior is just as good looking as the exterior and it’s interesting to see the French company invest so much in the development of a really plush sedan, given the falling popularity of that vehicle style. The 508 isn’t slated to come to the US, but remember that all new Peugeots are designed to comply with American safety standards, so there’s a real possibility we could see it eventually.
Subaru Ascent
In significantly less exciting news, there’s a new big SUV from Subaru, who have been missing out on sales since the death of the Tribeca left them without a three-row crossover. Well that has been fixed with the new Ascent, which is a handsome-looking SUV that slots in above the Outback as Subaru’s largest and most expensive vehicle aside from the track-focused WRX STI Type RA, which is much more interesting. It’s about what you would expect from Subaru; all wheel drive is standard, as is their EyeSight safety package and it comes with Subaru’s turbocharged 2.4L boxer engine that puts out 260 horsepower through a super terrible CVT. I know this because I drove a Forester with that same combination and could not find an ounce of joy in that car. It’s also relatively under-powered compared to other vehicles in its class equipped with V6s, but at least it gets 27 miles per gallon, which is frugal. Subaru is aiming at the Toyota Highlander and Honda Pilot and hopes to even draw some customers away from the German brands, which I’m sure they can do if they find buyers who don’t care how their car looks or feels on the inside and place a greater emphasis on value for the money instead of driving experience. Honestly, I’m a Subaru fan, but they have done nothing to earn my affection recently.
Gold Cup S70
While China is on the cutting edge of electric vehicle technology, the country also has a reputation for appropriating the design of other vehicles. That rich tradition has continued this week with the Gold Cup S70, which is an odd bird. I say that because it has the beak that adorned most recent Acuras, but is a pickup truck that looks a lot like the current model Honda Ridgeline, so it wouldn’t be totally unreasonable to look at this and think, “Oh, Honda is making an Acura version of their pickup.” No, they’re not. But China is!
Authored by
Devlin Riggs
