2016 Paris Motor Show

Renault Trezor concept

The Paris Motor Show...or should I say Mondial de l'Automobile? It's a show I particularly look forward to in the motoring calendar, sometimes surpassing others.
It maybe down to the ease of the journey. A relatively short hop on the Eurostar from Ebbsfleet and a couple of hours later (after a pleasant croissant and leisurely read on the train) you're at Gard de Nord. As long as the Metro doesn't throw any curveballs, it's a doddle.
I also enjoy the show's themed exhibition. One of the halls is always set aside for a look at the history of the industry; whether its fashion used to promote products, taxis from around the world or historic commercial campaigns, it's always a pleasure to take a step back and look where we've come from. This year the theme was 'Cars used on the silver screen' and exhibits included such luminaries as Herbie, Steve McQueen's Mustang from Bullitt and the Aston DB10 from Spectre.

Volkswagen ID concept

The show itself was impressive with a number of high profile launches. It's worth pointing out though that some manufacturers were notable by their absence. Ford, Volvo, Mazda and Lamborghini had all decided to give Paris a miss. Even so, there was still plenty to see.
World premieres came thick and fast...Land Rover Discovery 5, new Honda Civic, new Hyundai i30, Skoda Kodiaq, new Citroen C3, new Peugeot 3008/5008, new Kia Rio, revolutionary new Nissan Micra and second generation Audi Q5 were just some of the vehicles that made their debut in Paris this year.

LaFerrari Aperta - The Italian hypercar is even more breathtaking now it's morphed into an open-top

Interesting highlights included the Renault Trezor concept with its automatic opening canopy. Like the DeZir concept of 2010, the Trezor will usher in Renault's next generation styling direction, still headed by Laurens van den Acker. With the successful modern design of Renault's current range, it'll be fascinating to see where the French firm goes from here. (This reminds me, cannot wait for the new Alpine sports car, especially after the thinly veiled concepts that have teased us for what seems like an eternity).
Over at Volkswagen, the ID concept was an interesting specimen; the overall shape looking closer to production that I had expected. A year on from the company's diesel emissions scandal breaking, Wolfsburg are keen to move onto a greener future. The ID electric concept will become one of a number of dedicated battery electric offerings in the brand's line-up from 2019. VW hope the production ID will become as iconic as the Mk1 Golf was at its launch in 1974.

Opel Ampera-e

Talking of electric cars for the people, I rather liked the Opel Ampera-e. A rebadged version of the American market Chevrolet Bolt, to my eyes this isn't a bad looking EV thanks to it being relatively distinctive whilst avoiding the overly 'cutesy' design of the Renault Zoe. (Talking of which, Renault launched a new 41kWh Zoe in Paris with an impressive range of 248 miles). The Ampera-e features a range of up to 310 miles although it remains to be seen what will be possible during real world driving. Still, it's a shame GM have decided not to offer it to British buyers. I think it would have complimented the smaller models in Vauxhall's line-up and opened up the Griffin badge to the ever growing number of EV buyers.
Next stop Geneva...