PEUGEOT went on an SUV offensive at the Paris Motor Show, offering us the 2008, 3008 and the seven-seater 5008. The 4008 goes exclusively to China.
Jumping firmly on the crossover bandwagon, which is rolling ever faster over Europe, the French company gave us a look at the brushed-up and revamped range.
The latest generation of their i-Cockpit digital instrument technology will be available first in the 5008 and the 3008 SUV in the compact sector. That offers a compact steering wheel, head-up instrumentation and a high centre console and touchscreen all geared towards best driver comfort.
Their stand also included the new Peugeot 3008 DKR 2017 rally car – the most extreme version of the 3008. It is currently on trial in Africa on the Rallye du Maroc.
Skoda had already unveiled their first SUV, the Kodiaq, at an exclusive invite-only ceremony in Berlin. But at Paris it was on display to the public for the first time.
And just to make sure nobody missed it, the Czech company had a total of 11 vehicles on their stand – the full range in all its glory. It is, however, a car we will be seeing a lot more of as the Kodiaq is just the first in a series of SUVs.
The Kodiaq, named after a bear, is a seven-seater with an enormous boot, which seems to be the trademark of a Skoda. First impressions by the public seemed to be very favourable.
While Paris was humming with new electric cars, connected innovations and pledges of much more autonmous driving, the SUVs kept on coming. SsangYong, already a tried and tested big car brand, unveiled not only the new Rexton but also their LIV-2 Concept.
The LIV stands for Limited Interface Vehicle – LIV-1 was unveiled at Seoul in 2013. The LIV-2, however, is the final design before the launch of the actual model next year. It’s a big premium SUV that will, say SsangYong, continue the brand’s theme of Dignified Motion.
And talking of electric cars, Mercedes-Benz announced at the show that they will have 10 different all-electric cars in their catalogue by 2025.
And to show the way ahead, they unveiled an all-electric concept car called the Generation EQ. A play on IQ, EQ stands for Electrical Intelligence and will become a Mercedes sub brand, just like Smart.
The show car, which Merc say will be on sale in production form in 2019, sits on a new platform that’ll be used on all electric models, whether they’re an SUV like the EQ or a different sort of vehicle.
A 70kWh battery pack gives a range of up to 310 miles – which should spark a bit of interest.
