Martin Ward, manufacturer relationships manager Cap HPI shares his views on the Geneva Motor Show and PAL-V flying car. 

 

Tuesday

Over to Geneva for the day, for the 88th motor show. Those who have been to this small and compact show will know just how easy it is to get there.

Fly into Geneva airport and just a short 15-minute stroll to the exhibition halls. 

This year, plenty of new cars, concepts and technology were on view.

Volkswagen showed not one, but four concepts, that may, or may not, one day be in our showrooms. Even if one makes it, it will shake up the future design of cars. 

Škoda showed its Vision X, a mix between a small SUV and a hatch, but I guess the finished car will be around 15-20% different to the show car, based on past concepts.

Star of the show seemed to be the Jaguar I-Pace, a great-looking SUV that’s electric-powered with a range of around 300 miles. Hyundai showed the new Santa Fe, BMW had the new, re-styled X4, Toyota had the all-new much improved Auris. 

The all-new Kia Ceed hatch and wagon broke cover. When it goes on sale in late summer it will have new engines and a much improved interior. 

The new Audi A6 was there and, although you instinctively know it is an A6, the lines are crisp and bold and the new grille makes the car very distinctive. 

Lexus showed us the UX. It was difficult to gauge its dimensions, as you couldn’t get near it on the turntable, but it did look good, and very modern. 

But the vehicle that had me wondering about the future was the PAL-V flying car, yes, a full production car that flies.

The cost is around €500,000 (£450,000), but I was told this will drop to €300,000 (£268,000) in time. You need 40 hours’ tuition, it uses standard petrol and has a range of 800 miles on the road and 250 miles in the air.

Could we be headed from congested roads to the congested skies? Probably not at that money. But a nice, if not scary, thought.  

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