There was a new name from China at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, and it was BYD. The initials stand for Build Your Dreams, and the company was formed in 1995 with the merger of two smaller Chinese car firms. Its ambitious plans include wanting to get into Europe by 2010 and into North America soon after.

Bosses claim their first international offering will be the F3, a compact sedan in the C-segment to compete against the likes of the Honda Civic and Toyota Auris.

A Dual Mode (DM) version of the F3 was on the Geneva stand. It’s a hybrid, but while most cars of this type rely on a gasoline engine with an electric motor for support, the F3 DM does it the other way round. Despite the vehicle’s size, at around 165 inches long, it has only a 1.0-liter engine.

BYD also revealed it has plans to design a new car especially for Europe. Bosses wouldn’t say what that model will be, only that it will be smaller than the F3.

Such a vehicle was also on display. The F1 is a city car that bears more than a striking resemblance to Toyota’s popular Aygo urban runabout. It was joined by the F3R, a five-door compact hatchback.--Richard Yarrow

For Lancia, the arrival of the all-new Delta was so important that bosses decided to clear the Geneva Motor Show stand of any other distractions. None of the Italian brand’s other models were there for press day.

At 177.2 inches long, the five-door compact hatchback is a striking piece of automotive design. Inside there’s smart chrome detailing around the interior instrumentation, plus one of Lancia’s signatures, a four-spoke steering wheel. Cabin features include a Blaupunkt audio system, with an upgrade to a Bose unit on the options list. Fiat’s Blue&Me collaboration with Microsoft – which includes hands-free and Bluetooth interfaces, voice recognition, a USB port, MP3 player and an SMS interpreter – is also available.

A variety of gasoline and diesel engines are available in the Delta, all turbocharged and all coupled to six-speed transmission, either manual, robotized or automatic.

Personalization will be a key selling point with the new Lancia, and the Fiat-owned company says there’s more than 1,000 different combinations available. These include three trims, four seat upholsteries, three interior colors, five types of alloy wheels and 12 body colors.--Richard Yarrow

Peugeot is on a roll. Like the 206 before it, the 207 supermini is Europe’s most popular car and the larger 308 isn’t far behind. More than 100,000 have been sold since launch last summer.

The French firm used the Geneva Motor Show to unveil the 308 SW, the wagon version of the compact hatchback. The newcomer builds on the strengths of the 307 SW but develops them further. The panoramic glass roof is now 27 percent larger, the modularity of the interior is easy to use and the rear tailgate has been made more practical with the additional of separately opening glass.

The three individual chairs in the second row of seating can each be removed, and when the seven-chair option is specified, all rear passenger seats fold flat to create a large load space. The load cover has been made easier to operate, and one of the interior lights in the trunk can be removed and used as a flashlight.

The powertrain options replicate the 308 hatchback with 11 different ones available.--Richard Yarrow

World debuts for three new production cars plus a concept that hints at the future design direction of another – that was the big news from Renault at the Geneva motor show.



The star of the show for the French automaker was undoubtedly the last of these; called the Megane Coupe Concept, with its dramatic two-stage gull-wing doors it gives clues as to what the forthcoming Megane Coupe will look like. Just over 177.2 inches long, one innovation is the use of a Samsung cell phone to lock and unlock the cabin. It reveals a state-of-the-art red and black interior with touch-screen functions and four-zone climate control. The phone is also used to fire up the engine. It’s a 200-hp 2.0-liter gasoline unit linked to a six-speed manual gearbox. Riding on 21-inch Michelin rubber, it will hit 60 mph in 7.2 seconds. Insiders say the prototype is fully drivable.



Renault’s first ever SUV was also at Geneva. Called the Koleos after the two concepts of the same name, it’s a crossover compact 4x4. It’s been developed using technology borrowed from alliance partner Nissan, whose X-Trail off-roader is a similar size and in its second incarnation already. The Koleos goes on sale in Europe this summer, with a 2.0-liter diesel engine likely to be the most popular choice with buyers. Two power variants, with 150 and 175- hp, will be available. A front-wheel drive 4x2 model will also be launched. With Renault among the last volume car makers not to have an SUV of any sort, the Koleos is expected to offer excellent value for money. Insiders say it will be priced to tempt buyers away from the likes of the Honda CR-V and Toyota RAV4.



Active Drive is the name of Renault’s newest chassis, and it’s called that because it allows all-wheel steering. The car the technology will first appear on is the Laguna GT, and that too was at the Swiss exhibition. Available as a hatchback or tourer, here’s how the system works. At speeds below 60 kph, the rear wheels turn in the opposite direction to the front ones, up to an angle of 3.5 degrees to cut the turning circle by up to 10 percent. At higher speeds, the rear wheels turn in the same direction to enhance cornering stability. The car goes on sale next month, and the technology will also appear on the Laguna Coupe that’s due for launch at September’s Paris Motor Show.




The French car maker’s final offering was its new pocket rocket, the Renaultsport version of the Twingo city car. Under the bonnet is a naturally aspirated 1.6-liter gasoline engine developing 133 hp. The track has been widened by 2.4 inches over the standard Twingo to improve grip, and the springs have been stiffened and the dampers uprated to give a sportier ride. The car can be ordered with a choice of two chassis; either Sport or Cup. The latter rides 0.16 inches lower, creating an improved center of gravity and better handling. The car will go on sale across Europe later in the year.--Richard Yarrow

“Suicide is painless,” goes the theme song from “Mash.” But don’t use that word around General Motors Chairman Rick Wagoner. “We’d rather you don’t use that word,” he explained, during a conversation at the Geneva Motor Show, following the debut of GM subsidiary Opel’s new Metiva Concept.

Why so squeamish? Well, you might understand why an automaker like Opel would rather not use the term, ‘suicide doors,” but would rather call the onospace” Meriva’s rear-hinged portals “FlexDoors.” It just seems like a much friendlier way to connect with potential customers.

Well, whatever you call them, Meriva’s got some interesting ideas to offer up, and we expect to see a number of them showing up on the production version, which is soon to replace the existing Meriva model in GM’s European line-up.

“The Meriva Concept clearly illustrates how our new Opel design language can be adapted to create bold, fresh design solutions for the monocab segment,” explains Mark Adams, Vice President of Design, General Motors Europe.

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Opening a full 90 degrees, the unusual door design is meant to enhance Meriva’s functionality – without borrowing the sort of sliding doors that hallmark a minivan. Opel officials insist the rear-hinged design makes it easier to control access to the back seat, handy when you’re hauling around a car full of kids.

The suicide, er, FlexDoors are just one of the more notable features of the Meriva Concept. One of the other distinctive styling cues is the ‘wave’ in the rear window line, intented to provide a better view for the passengers in the back. It isn’t an entirely new concept, however, first appearing – in admittedly more extreme form on the quirly Citroën C2.

While both the wave window and FlexDoors seem bound for production, the unusual, U-shaped windshield, which stretches up and back over the rear passengers, is less likely to make it onto the assembly line.

Meanwhile, Meriva gives a good hint at how Opel is shaping a consistent look for its line-up, with its rear lights echoing the design of those on the upcoming Insignia, which will become Opel’s new upper midsize model, after its Summer 2008 debut.

The Meriva Concept is powered by a new 1.4-liter turbocharged engine with Variable Valve Timing.

While a number of new Opel designs are destined to be shared with GM’s U.S. brand, Saturn, insiders say Meriva is likely not to make the trans-Atlantic leap. --By Paul A. Eisenstein and Henny Hemmes