Best Cars of the 2017 Geneva Motor Show

We can always count on the Geneva International Motor Show to deliver, whether you’re looking for outrageous concepts or the latest in European luxury cars, and 2017 is no different. From a Peugeot concept that might leave wagon fans salivating to a new Civic variant with more than 300 hp and a manual transmission, the 2017 Geneva auto show brings together a wonderful mix of hot cars—keep reading for the favorites of Motor Trend editors who attended the show this year.

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2018 Range Rover Velar

The admiring gossip from rival designers and the milling crowds on the Land Rover stand at Geneva confirmed what we thought when we first saw it a few weeks back: The Range Rover Velar is a stunner. The exterior is a master class in proportion and surfacing, at once wonderfully extravagant and tightly disciplined, and the interior delivers an artfully modernist expression of luxury. The Velar will be remembered as one of those epochal production cars that debut at Geneva every decade or so. It’s that good. But is it too good? The competitively priced Velar could end up stealing sales from the more expensive Range Rover Sport. And it cruelly exposes Jaguar-Land Rover’s rampant cost cutting in the interior of the closely related Jaguar F-Pace. –Angus MacKenzie

Beyond the importance of filling the SUV gap between the Evoque and Range Rover Sport, the Velar stands out for its sleek look. The SUV is enhanced by design details including flush door handles, blacked-out pillars, exterior mirrors, and roof. Inside, the vehicle is loaded with the tech Land Rover is infusing its SUVs with. –Alisa Priddle

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Peugeot Instinct Concept

I’m a complete sucker for any long-roof car, and when said long-roof measures as low as this one does (the whole thing appears to glide about 2 inches off the deck), my knees go wobbly. This car would have me cheering for PSA’s promised return to the U.S. market if not for the facts that A) the plug-in hybrid concept is a pure fantasy, and B) it’s an autonomous car (OK fine, it does have a “drive” mode, but still…). –Frank Markus

I like how the grille fills the front of the car yet is not overpowering. And the LED headlights define it. Being a concept, there is no B pillar, so the four doors can open wide to reveal this four-seat shooting brake’s interior. The car is a plug-in hybrid with an output of 300 hp and is an autonomous vehicle for the future. –Alisa Priddle

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2017 Honda Civic Type R

I’ve never been a performance Honda Civic guy. I always respected the performance that models like the Civic Si offered, but there was something clinical about them that just didn’t do it for me. The Honda Civic Type R changes all that. For such a traditionally conservative company, the Civic Type R is just so wildly immature in its styling—it’s got a hood scoop! A big wing! THREE exhaust pipes. Why three? Who cares! But more important than the styling, the Civic Type R appears to have the goods a performance car needs, with a 306-hp turbo-four under the hood, a six-speed manual, and sticky tires. –Christian Seabaugh

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Vanda Electrics Dendrobium Concept

This concept from a Singaporean startup features some of the wildest GTE-Pro/GTLM class styling. The body tapers even more dramatically in back than the Ford GT’s because its fully electric drivetrain resides low in the chassis. Speaking of which, Williams designed it. Here’s hoping enough filthy rich folks express sufficient interest during the public days to bring this wild child to fruition. You just gotta love the easy-entry afforded by suicide butterfly doors and a rear-hinged roof! –Frank Markus

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Bentley EXP12 Speed 6E concept

A tightly kept secret until revealed by Bentley boss Wolfgang Dürheimer, this gorgeous and exquisitely detailed concept was one of the genuine surprises of the 2017 Geneva Show. The EXP12 Speed 6e is not merely auto show eye candy, though. First, it previews some design elements of the next-generation Continental GT, which is scheduled to make its world debut later this year—take careful note of how far forward the front wheels sit compared with the current Conti. And second, it will be used as a research tool to discover whether Bentley customers would seriously consider buying and driving an electric vehicle. The EXP12 Speed 6e’s mission is to prove that an electric vehicle can be luxurious, glamorous, and deeply desirable rather than automotive muesli, a car you drive simply because it’s good for the planet. –Angus MacKenzie

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2018 Volvo XC60

I like that this is not a baby XC90, but is more raked with a short overhang in front and a nice character line on the sides. Thor’s Hammer headlights extend to the updated grille. Inside is clean Scandinavian design, and I love the introduction of driftwood as the latest soft pore wood with a light coating that does not take away the washed out look or the texture of the wood. –Alisa Priddle

The Volvo XC60 has never really had the same sort of brand cache as the XC90, but with the smaller crossover’s new styling and the same powertrains as its big brother, I’d be surprised if Volvo didn’t have a hit on its hands. I was initially skeptical that Volvo’s new design language would scale down to the smaller XC60, but it works. Although it lacks the outright elegance of the XC90, the XC60 has a sportiness that should really help it appeal to younger buyer. If that doesn’t do the trick, the beautifully crafted interior and many powertrain options—from a turbo-four (T5) and super-turbocharged I-4 (T6), to a super-turbocharged I-4/electric motor plug-in hybrid combo (T8) really ought to. –Christian Seabaugh

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Alpine A110

The sweet little Alpine A110 is the long-awaited production version of the affordable mid-engine sports car Renault-Nissan has been teasing us with for years. The car is built on a bespoke extruded aluminum chassis that’s wrapped in aluminum panels styled to recall the classic Alpine coupes of the 1960s. The engine is an aluminum block, 1.8-liter inline-four mounted transversely behind the cabin, driving the rear wheels through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. With at least 250 hp on tap to haul around less than 2,400 pounds, the powertrain should deliver impressive performance. The Alpine looks way better built and better equipped than an Alfa Romeo 4C, and it should be significantly cheaper than a Porsche Cayman. Just the thing to spice up your friendly local Nissan dealer’s showroom… –Angus MacKenzie

My photo albums are filled with shots of vintage Alpine A110s, most of them blue, so the notion that an all-aluminum production car faithful to the original’s design but improved by flipping the engine around to a mid/rear configuration is seriously drool-worthy. That there are no plans to import this one to the U.S. is perhaps the bitterest disappointment of the show. –Frank Markus

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2018 Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo

I’m cheering this Porsche on, hoping it does for shooting breaks what the Panamera (and A7/S7) have done for luxury/sport hatchbacks: made them cool, desirable, and frequently copied. Of course, the geek in me wishes this bodywork was offered with the 918 Spyder-inspired Turbo S E-Hybrid drivetrain parked just meters away on the Porsche stand. –Frank Markus

I don’t think anyone expected Porsche to build this wagon, but I’m sure glad it did. At face value, the Panamera Sport Turismo is just a slightly longer version of the Panamera fastback, but the design scales up beautifully, giving the Panamera Sport Turismo a beautiful, purposeful shape. –Christian Seabaugh

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Mercedes-AMG GT Concept

The Mercedes-AMG GT concept is indeed a four-door sedan, but it is sleek and ready to leap. Shown with a gorgeous glossy red paint, the car has a long body, and the hood extends with a nose that juts out in an aggressive yet elegant manner. In back is an intriguing center exhaust with a carbon-fiber diffuser that wends its way around the exhaust. –Alisa Priddle

The Mercedes-AMG GT was the perfect car to establish the AMG brand, and the GT Concept is the car that’ll ensure it has a future. Although it’s still a concept, make no mistake that this car is destined for the streets. Ignore the yellow-gold trim on the wheels, camera-pod mirrors, and dumb center-exhaust tail pipe, and you’ve got a beautiful, slick shape of a four-door fastback that’ll be much easier for potential owners to justify than a two-seat coupe. The best part is that under the hood the AMG GT concept signals the way forward for the brand with a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V-8 paired with an electric motor and all-wheel-drive system that’s good for nearly 800 hp and a 0-60 mph time of less than 3 seconds. –Christian Seabaugh

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