Mercedes Vision R concept

This is the European version of the Grand Sports Tourer unveiled in Detroit in January with a 235mm shorter wheelbase and revised interior, which more closely reflects the imminent production model.

The 'Vision R' still retains the 4+2 seater layout however – and like its smaller brother here, the 'Vision B' – is finished in a newly developed high-gloss 'Alu-Beam' paintwork. The fine-grained particles in the paint give an enhanced metallic sheen to the vehicle that Mercedes intends to develop for production in future.

Mercedes refers to both the 'Vision R' and smaller 'Vision B' as being part of a new Sports Tourer family of vehicles which focus on 'Travelling and Experiencing' as their guiding theme and share a common design language. NH

Audi A4

This is one of the most extensive facelifts seen on a mainstream production car in Europe: bar the roof and glass house, the exterior has been completely revised to bring the A4 in line with Audi's new design language that the A3 and A6 ushered in last year after the Nuvolari, Le Mans and Pikes Peak concept cars.

The interior is less changed with a new corporate steering wheel design being the only obvious change, although under the skin there are quite substantial revisions including revised suspension and a new manual gearbox that has enabled the engine to be positioned slightly farther rearward. SL

Porsche Boxster

The 2005 Porsche Boxster might appear as a facelift to the 1996 original car but in fact it's a complete reskin. Indeed, 80% of the total components of the car are either new or revised, according to Porsche.

The revised shape shares a lot of common themes with the new 911 and the overall feeling is of tighter, less organic surfaces. The hood now features a totally enclosed shutline treatment not unlike the iconic 550 Spyder and the wheelarches are more defined than previously to cover a wider track. The door section is updated with the reverse flip of the previous model simplified to a single curve.

The interior keeps the floating binnacle theme as before but the overall feeling is of a more grown up yet high quality ambience, which simply reflects today's design taste compared to the mid-nineties, when the original Boxster was designed. NH

  Read our full Design Review...

Citroën C5

The C5 was launched in 2000 as a replacement for both the Xantia and large XM but has struggled to win buyers despite a good combination of technical features, comfort and good value for money.

The revised front face incorporates Citroen's new double chevron grille and 'boomerang' shape for headlights although, remarkably, the front fender is carried over unchanged (look closely) resulting in that continued heavy jowled look forward of the front wheels. The rear view is simpler now with the licence plate moved down to the bumper and fewer offsets than before. The awkwardness of the basic shape remains though: the widest point still reads as the base of the A-pillar, while the elephant-size rocker panels and door protectors are continued over unchanged.

On the plus side, the New Look C5 features a wide array of innovative equipment, including Citroen's new lane departure warning system, Xenon directional headlamps and laminated side glass. NH

Mazda 5

Previewed as the MX-Flexa concept at Geneva this year, the Mazda 5 effectively replaces the Premacy as Mazda's contender in the compact MPV segment and uses an extended version of the Ford Focus/C-Max platform.

The big story here is yet another clever solution to seating the middle passenger in the 2nd row of a 7-seat MPV. The two outer sliding seats have large storage compartments under each cushion. The centre 'karakuri' seat folds out of the left hand compartment; the right side seat contains a fold-out table with cupholders and net storage for kid's paraphernalia. Choose between the two. And have underseat storage plus the two additional fold-out seats in the rear. In terms of how these vehicles are really used by families, this offers one of the neatest solutions yet for seating flexibility.

Dimensions: length 4505mm, width 1755mm, height 1615mm, wheelbase 2750mm. NH

BMW 1 Series

Although it's already on sale in several countries, this is the world show debut for the 1 Series and the first time to view in detail for most designers. In the flesh, the rear wheel drive layout is evident in the distance from front wheel to A-pillar which is quite different from other front wheel drive hatchbacks, although this has the downside of pushing the cabin rearwards and making the rear door aperture very small – entry and exit to the rear seats is surprisingly tight.

One also realises the grille reverts to being more vertical than recent BMWs and the wide-eyed headlamps extend almost to the front wheelarches, giving a very wide 'face' to the car.

The interior has a modern and casual ambience with an IP that combines convex and concave plan shapes in its form, thus echoing the complex exterior surfacing. NH


BMW 1 Series Design Development story coming soon...

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