Auto Shows Car reviews

Hot hatches are big business in Europe, but not everybody wants the stiffer ride, or the higher associated fuel bills, which is why Kia has made the Ceed GT-Line which it revealed at the Paris motor show.

Blood Type Racing is returning to the SEMA Auto Show with a new creation. The noted tuner is mixing it up this year, ditching past automotive muses like the Hyundai Genesis Coupe and Ford Focus ST in favor of a Ford Edge ST. It’s a fitting challenge for Blood Type Racing; the Edge ST is the first SUV to come out of the Ford Performance team so, by default, it’s performance-ready on its own. But even that didn’t dissuade Blood Type Racing from going to work. The tuning specialist created an extensive program for the SUV, highlighted by an engine upgrade program that adds more power to a vehicle that already boasts an output of 335 horsepower and 380 pound-feet of torque to go with an ST-tuned suspension.

The Ford Expedition is arguably one of the most versatile SUVs in the market. It has the size, the technology, and the all-around capability that you’d want from a full-sized SUV. It’s also highly customizable, whether through Ford itself or through the aftermarket tuning scene. The Ford LGE*CTS Expedition Classic is a perfect example of the latter. It’s designed and built by noted designer Theresa Contreras, who focused on creating a “modern classic” interpretation of Ford’s popular SUV. There’s a lot to like about the this tuned Expedition, particularly its impressive presentation. We’ll get to see it up close at the 2018 SEMA Auto Show in Las Vegas.

The Ford EcoSport’s standing as the Blue Oval’s smallest crossover isn’t stopping it from making a statement at the 2018 SEMA Auto Show. With assistance from aftermarket tuner, Tucci Designs, the EcoSport is showing off a more rugged “Big Adventures” personality that’s built for the outdoors. Bucci Design’s Ford EcoSport Big Adventures is one of five Ford crossovers and SUVs that’s appearing at SEMA when the world’s biggest aftermarket auto show opens its doors next month.

Toyota RAV4 has been around for almost 25 years now. It has been one of the most stable products for the Japanese giant, raking in sales numbers consistently since its launch. At a time when sedans’ sales were booming, Toyota offered customers with a car that could be taken on any terrain, had the looks of an SUV, and could be handled like a hatch. While this sounds like a success formula now, it was quite a big risk two decades back.

The automaker showcased the fifth-generation RAV4 Hybrid, at the Paris Motor Show this year. Toyota has used a new underpinning, called the TNGA (Toyota New Global Architecture) platform. With increased body rigidity, The RAV4 now boasts a low center of gravity and better handling when compared to the previous iterations. As for the dimensions, the SUV is 4,600 mm long - shorter by 5 mm compared to the previous gen, but the wheelbase is 30 mm longer. This is because there is reduction of 35 mm in the bonnet and boot overhangs. It is 10 mm wider, and 10 mm shorter.

The Renault EZ-Ultimo is a futuristic concept car that the French firm unveiled at the 2018 Paris Motor Show. A fully autonomous car, the EZ-Ultimo rounds out Renault’s trilogy of concept robo-vehicles designed for shared mobility. It joins the EZ-Go and the EZ-Pro, also unveiled in 2018.

Described as a "robo-vehicle for a premium mobility experience," the EZ-Ultimo was developed for increasingly congested city traffic and to meet new urban trends in which more and more people drop personal cars in favor of shared car services. Powered by an all-electric drivetrain, the concept car is intended to be offered as a service for "a single trip, a circuit or a day booking" provided by premium travel companies and resorts. One of Renault’s most luxurious vehicles ever, the EZ-Ultimo previews a production car that might become available over the next decade.

Continue reading to learn more about the Renault EZ-Ultimo concept.

The sixth-generation Chevrolet Camaro was just updated for the 2019 model year, now sporting a brand-new face that makes it more aggressive than ever. As it is always the case, Chevy began rolling out various upgrades and accessories for its popular coupe. With the 2018 SEMA Show just around the corner, Chevrolet created the Camaro Shock, an SS-based pony car that showcases a new exterior color and various accessories and concept parts.

Finished in Shock Yellow, hence the Camaro Shock name, this production-ready concept is packed with accessories and performance parts created by the same designers and engineers responsible for the Camaro itself, for seamless integration. While some are already available, other parts will hit the market later this year and in 2019. As usual, you can shop online for the parts on Chevrolet’s website and choose to have them delivered either at home or at a dealer delivery. You can also choose to install them yourself or have them fitted by professionals at a Chevy dealership. Let’s see what’s new.

Continue reading to learn more about the Chevrolet Camaro SS Shock.

As part of the SEMA show this year, Ford introduced a quartet of amazing, modified Mustangs, one of which is actually a car crafted by the CGS Motorsports. Every year, Ford gifts us with four or five fantastic tuned Mustangs and gives us a unique opportunity to see just how differently tuners approach the tuning of these cars. California-based CGS Motorsports focused on power and performance upgrades and simplistic interior mods. While we are still waiting for the interior shots, the sketch of the exterior shows admirable modifications and transformation of the 2018 Ford Mustang GT fastback into a proper street racer.

Being Vietnam’s first automaker, VinFast has no track record and not a single series car produced yet. But if the two very convincing models it showed at the Paris motor show are any indication, the fledgling automaker has high ambitions and its sights set on the premium segment.

One of the two vehicles it unveiled in Paris is the SA2.0 SUV, a high-riding model almost the same size as a BMW X5, with sleek styling and a rather luxurious appearance. It has been said that the model makes use of a BMW-derived platform and, from the side, it really does look a bit like the aforementioned X5 (the previous generation), especially in the lower part of the body.

VinFast wants its vehicles to evoke the beauty of the land where they were made, which is why it employed Italdesign Giugiaro to come up with the design and then had Pininfarina further refine it before going public. The resulting design is actually quite successful, even if it looks a bit too Mazda Kodo-esque from some angles - definitely not a bad look.

It comes with one turbocharged engine choice, standard rear- but optional all-wheel drive and a modern seven-seater interior complete with massive portrait-style infotainment screen and hints of BMW.

The Ford Mustang is, without question, one of the most heavily accessorized cars in the world, and we’re getting several servings of it when the 2018 SEMA Auto Show rolls around next month. For now, five different tuners have taken the challenge of giving the Mustang the aftermarket runabout, including CJ Pony Parts, which is presenting the Mustang GT Supercharged Drifting Smoke Show at the annual aftermarket spectacle in Las Vegas. Long name notwithstanding, the Mustang GT Supercharged Drifting Smoke Show comes loaded with upgrades, topped off by a slick Stars and Stripes graphic.

Galvin Auto Sports is returning to the SEMA Auto Show with a new toy to showcase to the masses. The tuner’s new car-of-interest is a heavily decked-out Ford Mustang GT with enough kits and packages to make Jeremy Clarkson’s head explode. One look at this Galpin-tuned Ford Mustang GT and you might even mistake it for a Decepticon with its colors and all. Fortunately, it has no plans for world domination because, from the way it looks and presumably runs, this tuned Mustang GT will settle for being one of the stars of SEMA.

Audi is one of the most successful manufacturers in the highly-popular GT3 arena which attracted most of the world’s top manufacturers since the class debuted in 2006. The German manufacturer rolled out an update for its second-generation R8 LMS which promises to build on an already strong base.

VinFast is a new manufacturer from Vietnam that brands itself as “the first volume automotive manufacturer” in the nation, as well as the first to ever take part in a major motoring venue such as the 2018 Paris motor show. It used the event to reveal its first two models in production trim, theLUX A2.0 sedan and the LUX SA2.0 SUV, models whose planned production is set to kick off in mid-2019 out of a brand new plant built in the north of the country.

Both vehicles are meant to evoke the beauty of their land of origin, and both vehicles are modern and pleasant to look at. But it’s the A2.0 sedan that looks like the classier design of the two, featuring a clean overall design with striking front and rear fascias and an interior that looks a lot like what Volvo is doing with its latest models.

VinFast apparently asked the local public to vote on the car’s design, and a reported 60,000 people cast their vote and choose out of a total 20 possible models designed by Italdesign Giugiaro, Pininfarina, Torino Design and Zagato. Most popular designs for the sedan and SUV were two by Italdesign Giugiaro, but they were further refined by Pininfarina with which VinFast collaborated to create the two cars that debuted in Paris.

After unveiling the Niro EV at the International Electric Vehicle Expo in South Korea, Kia has also revealed the European version, dubbed e-Niro, at this year’s Paris Motor Show. It comes with two battery pack options, a range of up to 301 miles (or 485 km) on one charge, and it even comes with a system called Coasting Guide Control which informs the driver of the best times to coast calculated based on a planned route.

You may also have noticed that its name sounds like the surname of Robert DeNiro and Kia has gone ahead and embraced this and featured the movie star in its TV, digital and print adverts.

Out of the five modified Mustangs that Ford is bringing to this year’s SEMA Show, the Bojix Design creation is the bluest of the lot. Under that two-tone bodywork, there are tons of Ford Performance parts to drool on.

Ford’s advertising the Mustang as one of the most tuning-friendly cars you can get your hands on. To showcase how easy it is to turn the Mustang into something special, using both Ford Performance parts and other aftermarket components, Ford commisioned five tuners to bring to the show their own interpretation of the sixth generation muscle car. These are CGS Motorsports, Galpin Auto Sports, CJ Pony Parts, TJIN Edition, and Bojix Design which is one of only two cars not to be covered in some dull gray or black paint scheme.

Keep reading to learn more about the Bojix Design model

Behind the glitz and glamour of the 2018 Paris Motor Show, Land Rover presented a one-off Discovery that it created for the Red Cross. The model is called the Red Cross Discovery Emergency Response Vehicle, and it was developed as part of an 18-month collaboration between Land Rover’s Special Vehicles Operations (SVO) and the Austrian Red Cross. The Discovery is unlike standard Discovery models. Among other things, it features state-of-the-art communications technology that’s there to help save lives.

Ford’s bringing five brand-new Mustangs to the 2018 SEMA Show modified by five different tuners. TJIN Edition’s interpretation is the only to feature the Ecoboost engine, but what it lacks in engine capacity it makes up with a purple paint job.

The Ford Mustang has been, historically speaking, one of the go-to muscle cars when it came to tuning. The tradition lives on to this day, and Ford is priding itself with this heritage. To showcase that tuners are still pushing and shoving each other for a chance to apply their treatment to the sixth-gen coupe version, the Blue Oval brings to this year’s SEMA Show five Mustangs, all different from one another.

Keep reading to learn more about the TJIN Edition Mustang.

The Toyota Yaris GR Sport is the more down-to-Earth version of the limited-run GRMN. It features some sporty styling, but much of the oomph of the GRMN is gone, akin to a sheep in wolf’s clothes.

Last year, at the Geneva Motor Show, Toyota unveiled the Yaris GRMN hot hatchback to the world. A run of only 600 units was slated for 2018 for the car that was inspired by the Yaris WRC but, confusingly, presented itself with GRMN logos all round. GRMN stands for Gazoo Racing Masters of the Nurburgring – so not really related to rallying. In any case, the 209-horsepower pocket rocket was fun to drive and powerful enough to excite.

Now, a year later, Toyota brought to the Paris Motor Show a GRMN for the masses: the Yaris GR Sport. It’s based off the hybrid Yaris, so the figures are, frankly, negligible, but you do get great economy. What is more, the car comes in the usual Gazoo Racing white with red and black inserts and black wheels. It isn’t a hot hatch, but it’s sort of a stepping stone, a ”warm hatch.”

Keep reading to learn more about the Toyota Yaris GR Sport.