Ford Focus Vignale concept

Compared to the standard Focus, the Vignale has a bit more 'bling' to it but is still a fairly sober design that we can expect to see on our roads in production form next year.

There's a slight resemblance to a Thunderbird (or Saab 9-3 cabrio?) around the rear, with that lean-forward rear mask, horizontal chrome number plate plinth and wide trunklid to accommodate the folding hardtop mechanism. The front end also brings together a series of design cues that give it a definite 'Ford' character: the 3-bar upper grille and egg-crate lower grille with 'billet aluminium look' that we've seen on the 427 showcar, for instance. Indeed, the whole lower mask arrangement is almost a Mustang face in miniature with those hooded foglamps and inverted trapezoid lower grille set in a forward-raked surface.

The interior continues the transatlantic theme with cream horizontal pleated seats and dark contrast Abalone-coloured leather on the dashboard. NH

Opel Astra GTC

18 months ago in Geneva, Opel revealed the GTC Genéve concept car as a preview to the production debut of the three door Astra in Paris. The car is quite distinct from the five door launched a year ago with a more coupesque silhouette and DLO, and with many other subtle differences such as; a side feature molding that dives and tapers towards the front, a grille with unique body colour insert and graphic that doesn't connect with the lower aperture, and overall less chrome appliqué.

As well as clever differentiations from the five door model, the GTC is also exceptionally well judged as being clearly a more sporting alternative but one that still has a practical package - there is plenty of room for four and their luggage. A significant option for the GTC also made a production world first debut - a panoramic windscreen that stretches back behind the driver's head making for a unique driving environment. SL

Related Stories:
Opel GTC concept at Geneva Motor Show 2003

Chevrolet M3X concept

On September 16th General Motors announced that Chevrolet will be its new entry level brand in Europe, despite being a very American brand that has previously sold less than 10,000 cars per annum in Europe and is best known for the Corvette sports car. Following on from this and debuting at Paris is the Chevrolet M3X, which is a show car preview of the baby Chevrolet due early next year.

Relative to the Daewoo Matiz upon which it is based, the M3X has been cleverly differentiated with a new nose featuring larger lamps and grille aperture, distinctive roundel themed rear lamps and a DLO with more dive. Inside the interior has also been ingeniously updated and improved over the Matiz and most notably features a large centre mounted instrument binnacle. SL

Sivax Xtile concept

Sivax is a Japanese-based design company who are showing here at Paris for the second time with a 'Streetster' series concept. The design is based on Japanese anime characters and the main theme is one of overlapping surfaces and bisecting curves surrounding a two-seat roadster package.

A novel feature of the Xtile is the unusual 'double axis doors' where the front section folds through 90° allowing the rear section to lie parallel to the car body for easier access. A centre spine swoops down through the cockpit from the rear deck to anchor on the centre tunnel and carries the main controls on its side surface.

Dimensions: length 4000mm, width 1880mm, height 1120mm, wheelbase 2400mm. NH

Hyundai Sonata

The Sonata is Hyundai's largest sedan sold outside of its domestic market and this new model has been designed to closely target North American market cars such as the Toyota Camry and Ford Taurus, and to a lesser extent the upper medium European sedan typified by the Ford Mondeo and Volkswagen Passat.

Unlike its predecessor it is more formal and Teutonic with stronger surfaces, a better stance and more reserved themes. Overall the car is quite a conservative design but with some subtle details such as the recessed bonnet surface, and headlamps and bumper shut similar to the Audi A3 (whose launch the Sonata's design sign-off would have preceded). SL

Kia Sport concept

This is Kia's preview of a possible new Rio targeted to European taste. It's a 5-door hatchback that reflects Kia's new positioning as a more sporty and youthful brand and deliberately takes a European design theme for its inspiration. The exterior is made up of crisp forms, albeit fairly generic, while the front end has a simple rectangular grille flanked by leaf-shaped headlamps.

The interior is more adventurous with use of yellow and charcoal leather to set the tone. The centre console is slanted towards the driver and contains a DVD and MP3 audio unit accessed via a deeply recessed screen. An unusual aluminium panel surrounds this where an array of perforated slots act as vent outlets.

The Sport concept has a 2.0L turbo with 200ps and sits on 18” 5-spoke wheels. Dimensions: length 4150mm, width 1800mm, height 1470mm, wheelbase 2500mm. NH

Page 4 of 4