Toyota Corolla hybrid
The biennial Paris Motor Show is usually a showcase of glamor, new designs and high technology. However, there is growing uncertainty in the automotive market.
Ride sharing, electrification, and autonomous vehicles are on the horizon, some looming closer than others. The carmakers themselves are unsure as to what the market will look like in the near future.
Absent from the show floor this year were major carmakers such as Ford, Fiat-Chrysler, Mazda, Nissan, and Volkswagen.
Lego Chiron
We take a look at some of the Paris Motor Show vehicles that would be right at home on Manila’s mean streets:
The ffhas been around since 2014, and it remains one of the high-technology products from the German brand. The carbon-fiber chassis hatchback can whir to 100 kph in 7.3 seconds, with the sporty i3s slightly quicker at 6.9 seconds.
More importantly, this year sees the i3 pure electric vehicle increase its range to as much as 260 km, with the doubling in storage capacity of its high-voltage battery, making it more adoptive to the stop-and-go of Manila traffic.
Suzuki Jimny
The SQ2 compact SUVs are one of the hottest segments in the Philippines right now, and Audi has made its entry even hotter by stuffing a 300 ps engine into the Q2.
The SQ2 features a 2.0-liter gasoline engine turbocharged right up to 300 ps and 400 Nm. The result is a 4.8-second sprinter to 100 kph, thanks to the standard quattro all-wheel drive.
The SQ2 is handsome without being too flashy, with a healthy dose of performance when you do get free of city traffic.
BMW i3 city car
Once the great flower in Toyota’s bouquet, the Corolla has withered in favor of SUVs and minivans. Two new models might just turn a few heads—if not some checkbooks—back to the Corolla, a wagon and a hatchback, both built on Toyota’s new global platform.
The new chassis promises better handling, all the better to avoid the numerous crazy obstacles on our streets. They are offered in hybrid format, just in time for that looming P60-per-liter gasoline.
Peugeot goes back to the future with its e-Legend concept. With styling that harks back to its 504 circa 1960s, the e-Legend has a stunning silhoutte.
Hyundai i30 Fastback N
The concept is envisioned to be an autonomous electric vehicle. Inside, there’s a Focal sound system and a 49-inch digital curved screen, perfect for whiling away one’s time while stuck on Edsa.
Carmakers are now offering us four-door coupés, so why not a five-door coupé? The N in Hyundai’s i30 Fastback N stands for Namyang, and is Hyundai’s go-faster brand.
It also means Nurburgring, where Hyundai’s Testing Center sharpens the handling of cars bearing the brand.
The 275 ps may be just the thing to snake around the curves of the Tanay highway.
There’s hot anticipation for Suzuki’s new Jimny. Its combination of boxy SUV looks, simple operation, and an efficient drivetrain means that demand will be high when it arrives.
Audi SQ2 compact SUV
Its high ground clearance means a safer journey when floods strike.
It’s hard to top a 420-kph supercar, but Bugatti managed to do it, with a … 20-kph car?!
This one is unique because it’s built with more than one million Lego Technic elements. Even the motors are Lego Power. With 2,304 motors, the Lego Chiron can go a little over 20 kph—on the fast side for Manila traffic.
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