2018 Paris motor show preview
Renault's Trezor concept was one of the stars of last year's Paris showThe Paris motor show marks the end of the summer break and bring a flurry of new European model debuts. Check out what we’ll see there
The illustrious Paris motor show, the second largest European car show of the year, is returning for 2018 on 2 October.
Following a bumper debut count at Geneva 2018, Paris is the next chance for the world’s carmakers to show off their latest products and future-previewing concepts in the public sphere. Last year we saw debuts of the Land Rover Discovery, Nissan Micra and Volkswagen ID concept.
However, a number of big manufacturers are skipping this year’s show. Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Volkswagen, Ford, Nissan and Volvo all won’t be bringing anything along.
Other brands are using these absences as an opportunity to make a bigger splash with their new metal. Our A to Z below shows what we’ll be seeing there.
2018 Paris motor show: the cars
The reveal process for the new A1 happened a while ago, but the first in-the-metal look we'll get at the new Mini rival will be at the Paris motor show.
Audi is updating its 3 Series rival with a sharper look and more standard kit. The car is due to go on sale during the summer, so we can expect it to make its show debut in Paris.
Audi's smallest SUV is now the Q2, so the Q3 has had some growing up to do. And that it has - Audi claims that the car is more practical, better equipped and more grown up in its styling than before.
BMW’s lost some ground to Mercedes-Benz since the C-Class became the country’s — and Europe’s — top-selling compact executive car. The brand will look to the G20 to make up some of the lost pace, despite other car classes being savaged by SUV sales.
BMW's X2 M35i is the brand's latest hot SUV, and is the first M-badged car to come with four cylinders, instead of six. Sales start in March and rivals will include the Cupra Ateca and Volkswagen T-Roc R, but it has beaten both to market.
Speaking of which, while BMW’s rival to the Jaguar F-Pace has already been shown, it will make its first public outing at the Paris show. It’s got a fresh new look, architecture shared with the 5 and 7 Series and it is larger in every direction than its predecessor.
It’s been a long time coming, but the new Z4 will arrive first in Pebble Beach, but also in Paris as the overhauled rival to the Porsche Boxster and Mercedes-Benz SLC. BMW promises a renewed focus on dynamic ability for the new car, as well as a completely different look from its predecessor.
Citroen C5 Aircross Hybrid Concept
Citroën's first plug-in hybrid will arrive in 2020, and is closely previewed by the near-production-ready concept set for a Paris debut. It's also the closest thing to a hot Citroën we'll get for a while, with 225bhp and 249lb ft on tap. Electric-only range is claimed to be 31 miles.
The DS assault on the plush SUV market continues with the 3 Crossback — a rival to the BMW X1 and Jaguar E-Pace. The electric powertrain in the small SUV shows us where DS is going with the 3 Crossback, which is expected to eventually replace the ageing 3 hatch. Traditional, internal combustion-engined variants will also be sold, however.
We've already had a drive in a prototype DS 7 Crossback E-Tense, but the final car is due to make its inaugural apperance in production form in Paris in the coming weeks.
We don't know what it'll look like yet (although educated guesses can be made, based on the existing Fastback, and hatchback N), but we know what it'll drive like from our drive in a prototype.
Kia's Ceed GT tops the Ford Focus rival's range with 201bhp on tap from a turbocharged 1.6-litre petrol engine.
Kia’s shooting brake version of the Ceed, the Proceed, replaces the previous slow-selling three-door hatch version and deletes the apostrophe from its name for good measure.
Exclusive paint and interior design marks out the LC Limited Edition. The name is no exaggeration, either - only ten will come to the UK - five hybrids and five naturally-aspirated V8s.
Due in late 2018, Lexus's entry-level coupé gets a makeover inspired by the LC coupé, as well as tweaks to improve the handling and ride.
The warm version of Mercedes’ new hatch arrives in early 2019 as a 300bhp understudy to the 400bhp full-fat A45. It’ll rival the Audi S3 and Volkswagen Golf R, while the A45 will be more of a match for the RS3 and BMW M2.
Mercedes-AMG GT 43 4MATIC+ 4-door Coupé
Mercedes-AMG's latest bespoke model borrows the 369bhp 3.0-litre six-cylinder engine from the S450 and CLS450 models. 168mph and 0-62mph in 4.9sec are claimed.
Mercedes is also taking the A-Class to the fight against the Audi A3 saloon by making a long-booted version. The A-Class saloon’s styling has already been revealed on the Chinese-spec long-wheelbase car, but a slightly different look will be applied to the European car.
Mercedes' EQC, its first electric car from its EQ sub-brand, broke cover in Stockholm on 4 September. The car's first public outing, however, will be at the Paris motor show where the Autocar team will be able to gain further detail on the Jaguar I-Pace rival.
Another large luxury SUV set for Paris - the Mercedes-Benz GLE. It's been overhauled for its second generation (although technically it's older, given its rebadge from its ML-badged predecessor), with a long-range plug-in hybrid variant and trick suspension.
Peugeot 3008, 508, 508 SW plug-in hybrids
Peugeot's electrification push continues, with plug-in hybrid versions of its large-selling 3008 SUV, and new 508 and 508 SW (see below) D-segment offerings.
Peugeot's saloon has been given a new fastback shape, but what about the estate? Well, that's been given a sharp new look too, and we'll get our first in-depth look in Paris.
Peugeot's e-Legend concept is, predictably, an electric car. Less predictably, it's a dramatic and simply-designed coupé, with styling paying more than a passing nod to the now 50-year-old 504 Coupé.
Porsche's smallest SUV has been with us since 2014, so it's time for a mid-life refresh. We've already had a drive in a prototype, so take a look at our first impressions here before first examples hit the road at the end of the year.
The lightest of refreshes to the Kadjar's exterior styling betrays more comprehensive interior updates, as well as a new 1.3-litre petrol engine and revised 1.5-litre dCi diesels.
Nothing is yet confirmed, but Renault is almost certain to take a concept to its home motor show. Last time around, the brand unveiled the dramatic Trezor concept — an autonomous supercar that previewed the new styling direction of the brand.
Seat's long-awaited seven-seat SUV will finally bow in at the Paris motor show, with a name decided via a public vote and design drawing from the brand's smaller SUVs.
The next Skoda to get the tough off-road treatment is the Karoq, which gets a choice of two diesel engines and one petrol in rufty-tufty Scout spec. Four-wheel drive comes as standard, too.
Off-roading not your thing? Skoda's revealing a Karoq Sportline at Paris too, and it's got an exclusive 2.0-litre TSI engine with 187bhp.
Skoda’s first hot SUV, and what will be the second model in its vRS line-up since the Fabia vRS was canned, is already the fastest seven-seat SUV around the Nürburgring. It’ll be fully revealed in Paris before sales start at the end of the year.
Skoda's Rapid hatchback isn't long for this world, and it won't be directly replaced. Instead, it'll be replaced by the production version of this - the Vision RS, which takes its sportiness up several notches and pitches it directly against the Volkswagen Golf. The Golf GTI is in the crosshairs too, with a vRS version following.
Daimler's city car brand, Smart, is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, so is taking a "simple, reduced and pure, yet never boring" concept to Paris, with nods given to the 2002 Crossblade and 2011 Forspeed concept.
The Japanese carmaker has a reputation for quirky offerings, and this year we will see the European debut of the dinky new Jimmy 4x4 before first examples hit the roads later this year.
Suzuki's refreshed small SUV (yes, another one) gets a new engine lineup and tweaked styling.
The Camry has returned to Western Europe, and the occasion is to be marked by the car's appearance at this year's Paris motor show. It's got a 2.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid powertrain under the bonnet.
The Corolla - not Auris - Touring Sports arrives in the UK in spring 2019, alongside the regular Corolla hatchback. It'll be revealed at the Paris motor show. A third body style, a saloon, won't be offered in the UK.
The new RAV4 may have been introduced to the world earlier this year at the New York motor show, but it'll be introduced in Europe at the start of October in Paris.
Missed out on the chance to get your hands on the Yaris GRMN? The GR Sport is the latest car to get warmed up styling based on a sporting badge, with GRMN-inspired flourishes across the car's exterior.
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