The Madrid International Motor Show is attractive to marques that sometimes get overshadowed elsewhere. Michael McAleer, Motoring Editor, reports
It seems like a thankless task to organise a car show that hopes to compete with the big three shows every year (Detroit/Geneva/Frankfurt).
Even the Tokyo motor show seems to be struggling these days.
It seems that for too long the big players in the car market saved all their glamorous releases for one of the big three shows, leaving the likes of the British and Madrid motor shows with little to trumpet bar a few local premieres and the odd quirky concept.
Yet there are signs that things may be changing, however slowly. The problem, as the car companies are starting to learn, is that with all the action taking place over the same two days in Geneva or Paris, there's tight competition for attention. Some manufacturers are perhaps annoyed that their €1 billion investment is drowned out in all the media fury.
It's too early to say that smaller shows are starting to make a resurgence, but the Madrid show, which opened last week, did feature a couple of world and European premieres.
Korean marque Kia certainly chose the Madrid show with care to launch its new Carens seven-seater people carrier.
Due for launch in October/November this year, it is aimed at the likes of the Opel Zafira and other mid-range people carriers and will be powered by either a 2-litre petrol or a 2-litre diesel engine.
Prices are likely to be in the region of €25,000, keeping the Kia brand as one of the most competitively priced on the market.
Indeed the feisty spirit at the Korean marque showed itself during the launch event as organisers had inexplicably permitted Volvo to hold its press conference at the same time as Kia, and in the next stand.
If not quite a battle of the bands then certainly a battle of the sound engineers and senior executives ensued. The demur Swedes came out losers against the big bang of the Kia chorus, led by its European president Jean Charles Lievens.
Also unveiled at the show was the facelifted Sorento. It's not a world away from its predecessor - first introduced in 2003. Kia refers to the changes as "mild evolution" and there is no mistaking it for anything but the Sorento. Engine choices remain either 2.5-litre diesel or 3.3-litre V6 petrol. Diesel power has been increased to 170bhp with a 0-100km/h time of 12.4 seconds, while petrol power is up 46bhp to 238bhp.
Probably of just as much interest to the Irish market is the arrival of the facelifted Toyota Avensis. While the big news is that a new 2-litre 125bhp D-4D diesel engine has been added to the range, the discreet changes to the front appearance are noticeable nonetheless.
Far from a change to light clusters, the key difference is in the front grille. Gone is the rather dour look of the current model and in comes smiling upward lines. It may be an early sign of madness, but I think it actually looks a lot friendlier than the current version.
Of the European show launches, one particular eyecatcher was the new Audi TT, premiered last month at the New York car show. Standing squat though strikingly similar to its predecessor, the new TT features the hottest fashion trend of late in sporting car circles - the flared rear hips that pay homage to the Porsche 911 and Aston Martin Vanquish.
Perhaps the most annoying feature of the new TT is the stubby aerial - as one colleague described it, looking something like a third nipple atop the roof.
Other premieres were for the revamped Ssanyong Rexton. This second generation of the seven-seater SUV takes design cues from the Toyota RAV4 while still retaining similarities to Mercedes, particularly the large front grille. However, it's not just the exterior that gets a revamp: thankfully the outdated 2.9-litre diesel has been replaced and the Rexton II now features a new third generation common-rail diesel 2.7-litre engine, already offered in the Kyron.
The Mercedes link is not just coincidence: Ssangyong was previously controlled in part by the German brand but is now part of the Chinese Shanghai Auto Industry Corp (SAIC).
Undoubtedly Madrid will never really rank among the mighty shows, and the minnow shows like Dublin or Wales will never be more than glorified showrooms you can visit any day of the week at the likes of the Airside motor park.
However, for the medium-sized shows whose days seemed to be numbered some time ago, there is a degree of hope. While the big guns are still set to keep their powder dry for the upcoming Paris show this September, the British motor show in July is promising a few world premieres of its own and none of them could be regarded as minnows in their fields.
Top billing will go to the new Opel Corsa and the Land Rover Freelander (though Land Rover has yet to confirm that it will make it to the show).