BMW 2 Series Active Tourer

BMW’s first front-wheel drive car is a five-seat MPV. Rear legroom can potentially match a 7 Series, or it can offer almost as much cargo capacity as an X3.

The rear seat slides backwards and forwards by up to 120mm and is split 40:20:40. It folds individually and electronically from the boot to expand the luggage area from 468 litres to 1,510 litres. The front seat folds flat too. The Active Tourer is only 20mm longer than a 1 Series, but because occupants sit 110mm higher than in BMW’s small rear-drive hatch, there is significantly more room. A list of lifestyle accessories is on offer.

Power comes from BMW three and four-cylinder engines and CO2 emissions are in the 109-139g/km range, with combined fuel consumption between 4.1 and 6.0l/100km.

Audi TT

On sale later this year as coupe and convertible. Audi has revised the hybrid steel and aluminium construction further and claims the entry-level model is now 50kg lighter.

Expect three engines: 2.0-litre TDI diesel with 184hp, the only front-wheel drive model, CO2 emissions are a provisional 110g/km. Petrol models are fitted with the 2.0TFSI engine developing 227hp and 305hp (for the range topping TTFS). There’s a choice of six-speed manual or S-Tronic automated transmission. Features include standard bi-xenon headlamps and an all-digital instrument pack.

Ford Focus

The latest Focus, due on sale later in 2014, gets Ford’s new corporate frontal styling. It’s the first Ford to feature the revised SYNC2 connectivity system, now with 8-inch colour touchscreen and advanced voice control. The navigation system will come with a split screen display and improved features.

Features include Active Park Assist to help with perpendicular parking. Bi-xenon headlamps will be available. Ford also claims improvements in ride and handling.

Jeep Renegade

Renegade is the smallest Jeep for some time, built on the Fiat Group ‘small-wide 4×4 architecture’ based on the small-wide architecture from the Fiat 500L. Jeep says it is designed for global markets with 16 powertrain combinations. This will include the first nine-speed auto transmission in a small SUV.

Engines include 140-168hp 1.4-litre MultiAir petrol, 1.6-litre 108hp petrol, 2.4-litre 184hp petrol for America and the Far East. 118hp 1.6-litre and 140 and 170hp 2.0-litre diesels will also be available, mainly for Europe.

Mazda Hazumi

Mazda Hazumi concept is a stylish pointer to how the replacement Mazda2 might look. 'It’s a concept for a B-segment car and that is an area of the market worth 3.5 million cars a year,' says COO for the region, Phil Waring.

It clearly has the same design themes as the larger Mazda3, CX-5 and Mazda6 and includes a number of SKYACTIV features, like the current production cars.

It was also a launch platform for Mazda’s new 1.5-litre diesel engine. Mazda has had a gap in its diesel range since the split from Ford and this will be the answer.

Toyota Aygo/Citroën C1/Peugeot 108

The replacement for the Toyota Aygo, Citroën C1 and Peugeot 107 is another joint venture between Toyota and PSA Peugeot Citroën. The model is 24mm longer than before and 10mm narrower.

As before, Toyota provides the 1.0-litre engine, now producing 68hp, with features to improve efficiency.

Fuel consumption has been reduced to 4.1l/100km combined and CO2 emissions of 95g/km or 97g/km with automated transmission. The C1 and 108 will also be available with the PSA-built 82hp 1.2-litre three-cylinder petrol engine offering 4.3l/100km and 99g/km of CO2.

Porsche Macan S Diesel

The Macan compact SUV was given its European debut at Geneva and the diesel variant, the Macan S Diesel, appeared for the first time. Power comes from the Volkswagen Group 3.0-litre V6 producing 258hp and 580Nm of torque. The car has an automatic four-wheel drive system, which transfers torque to the front wheels when needed. The PDK automated transmission is standard equipment and Porsche quotes combined fuel consumption of 6.1l/100km with 159g/km CO2 emissions. The car will reach 100km/h from rest in 6.1 seconds. Options include air suspension, Porsche Torque Vectoring Plus and adaptable front lighting.

Volkswagen Golf GTE PIH

The Volkswagen Golf GTE plug-in hybrid combines a 150hp 1.4TSI petrol engine with a 102hp electric motor. This gives the car an electric range of up to 50km and a choice of driving modes to enable zero emissions driving in cities. The car is equipped with a six-speed DSG automated transmission.

Using the EU NEDC hybrid cycle, the car returns combined consumption of 1.5l/100km with an equivalent 35g/km CO2 emissions. The total combined range is a claimed 939km. The battery can be recharged from a domestic power point in around 3.5 hours or 2.5 hours from a fast charging point.

Renault Twingo

Even though the new rear-engined Twingo is 100mm shorter than the current model, there is 220mm more loading space between the glove box and rear of the car with the back seats and front passenger seat folded flat. The Twingo has a turning circle of 8.6m, some 1.3m less than the current model and less than the current Smart.

Although new Twingo and Smart is a joint venture between Renault and Daimler, the cars are 80% Renault, using Renault engines and transmissions, for example.

Commonality across Twingo and yet to come Smart four-seater and Smart Fortwo varies between 60 and 75% – seats are from the Mercedes A-class and the windscreen and front windows are common across all three models.

Mercedes-Benz S Class Coupe

As you would expect, the new S-Class Coupe is bristling with technology, including the optional Magic Body Control suspension system with curve tilting function, enabling the car to lean into bends like a motorcycle. There’s a lengthy list of driver assist systems, as well as features like the Air-Balance package, which can scent and ionise the air inside the car. Two thirds of the roof section is taken up with a panoramic glass roof. Opt for the Magic Sky Control and the transparency of the roof.

Mini Clubman concept

The Clubman concept previews the second model in the new MINI family, and it has clearly learned lessons from the last Clubman, which had two doors on one side and only one on the other.

For right-hand drive markets, the side with two doors opened out into the middle of the road – a legacy of the positioning of the fuel filler cover. The new car corrects that. It retains the twin rear doors of the last model, but there are now two doors on each side.

One consequence is that this is the longest MINI ever – at 4,224mm it’s fractionally longer than today’s Countryman.

Peugeot 308 SW

308 SW is due for European launch in April. It is 140kg lighter than the previous 308 SW and offers between 610 and 1660 litres of load space. In SW fashion it comes with a large glass roof. Features include a head up display and 9.7-inch touch screen.

Engines include 1.2-litre three-cylinder and 1.6-litre four-cylinder turbocharged petrol and 1.6-litre and 2.0-litre HDi diesels. Peugeot says the 130hp 1.2 produces CO2 emissions of 109g/km, while the BlueHDi 120hp 1.6-litre diesel offers CO2 emissions of 85g/km.