TMW - What to look forward to in 2014

2013 was a great year for The Motoring World, Our first year, The return of Datsun and SAAB, brand new niche cars from Rolls Royce, Bentley and its return to motorsport and the Bentley Boys, the ever increasing sight of SUV's on the roads of the world, and a world that is slowly but surely creeping out of its financial situation that started nearly 5 years ago.

So what do we have to look forward to next year, an huge amount, some truly stunning supercars, more SUV's in varying sizes and engines, some famous hatchbacks, small and fun mini cars and a whole host of sports cars, below are just a small sample of some the cars that we expect to see the light of day either to buy or launched to conceptual stage.

Family cars

Audi A3 E-tron (summer 2014)
Hybrid model of our 2013 Car of the Year blends hot hatch pace with CO2 emissions of 35g/km.

Hyundai i10 (early 2014)
City car gets the latest family look and greater refinement.

Kia Soul (early 2014)
Promises improvements to refinement and driving dynamics.

Mazda 3 (January 2014)
Will be lighter than today’s 3, thanks to Skyactiv technology.

MINI (early 2014)
New model gets revised dashboard and engines and bodywork.

Peugeot 308 (January 2014)
Lighter than current car, with a much classier cabin.

Renault Megane (early 2014)
Face-lifted range gets Renault family look and new petrol engine.

Skoda Rapid Spaceback (January 2014)
Shorter version of Rapid, but has more boot space than a VW Golf.

Smart Forfour (autumn 2014)
Next-generation city car will be available with either conventional engines or electric powertrains.

Vauxhall Corsa (autumn 2014)
Revamp of current car will introduce three-cylinder engines.

Volkswagen e-Golf (summer 2014)
Golf gets a 113bhp electric motor with 118-mile zero-emission range.

Volkswagen e-Up (early 2014)
Electric Up is the quickest model in the range; 100-mile range on one charge.

Estate cars

Honda Civic Tourer (early 2014)
Swish-looking estate gets a bigger boot than rivals from Ford, Skoda and Volkswagen.

Peugeot 308 SW (autumn 2014)
Estate will get the same three-cylinder engines that are due in the hatch next year.

Seat Leon ST (January 2014)
New model will beat Astra and Focus Estates on boot space.

Executives

Audi S3 Saloon (early 2014)
Hot version of Audi’s new 3 Series rival gets 296bhp, four-wheel drive and does 0-62mph in 4.9 seconds.

Infiniti Q50 (January 2014)
G Series replacement gets new name and engines, including a V6 petrol-electric hybrid.

Mercedes-Benz C-Class (spring 2014)
All-new executive car will be offered with a hybrid powertrain.

Luxury

Audi A8 (January 2014)
Updated model gets styling tweaks and changes to engine line-up.

Bentley Continental GT V8 S (early 2014)
More powerful versions of the GT have re-tuned suspension and steering.

Tesla Model S (early 2014)
Luxury electric car will go up to 300 miles on one charge.

MPVs

Citroën Grand C4 Picasso (January 2014)
Seven-seat MPV gets more practicality and efficiency.

Small SUVs

Audi RS Q3 (January 2014)
Evoque rival gets 306bhp engine and four-wheel drive.

Ford Ecosport (spring 2014)
Fiesta-based SUV will get a 1.0-litre three-cylinder petrol engine.

Jeep Cherokee (early 2014)
Freelander rival will borrow Fiat diesel engine to boost UK sales.

MG CS  (Late 2014 Concept)
Based on MG5 underpinnings too little, too late.

Mercedes GLA (December 2013)
A new rival for the BMW X1, Audi Q3 and Range Rover Evoque.

Porsche Macan (spring 2014)
Cayenne’s baby brother will share underpinnings with the Audi Q5.

Skoda Yeti (January 2014)
Family favourite gets a face-lift, plus more standard equipment.

Ssangyong Korando (early 2014)
Bigger than the current model, but likely to get same engine line-up and two- or four-wheel drive.

Large SUVs

BMW X4 (spring 2014)
Expect ‘son of X6’ to cost around £3k more than equivalent X3s.

Land Rover Discovery (November 2013)
Face-lifted model gets better fuel economy and more equipment.

Nissan X-Trail (July 2014)
More stylish than current car; available as five- or seven-seater with two- or four-wheel drive.

Ssangyong Rexton W (December 2013)
Budget seven-seat off-roader gets 2.0-litre diesel engine.

Toyota Land Cruiser (December 2013)
Seven-seat SUV gets a face-lift and revised dashboard design.

Coupes

Peugeot RCZ R (early 2014)
The company’s most powerful production car ever gets 270bhp.

Open-tops

Audi A3 Cabriolet (winter 2013)
Longer, lower and lighter than the current car. S3 version will follow.

BMW 4 Series Convertible (early 2014)
New 4 Series loses its roof; keeps same range of engines.

Hot hatches

Seat Leon Cupra (autumn 2014)
Promises understated looks, but more power than the VW Golf GTI.

Volkswagen Golf R (spring 2014)
Choice of three- or five-door 296bhp hatch; 0-62mph in 4.9secs

Sports cars

BMW M4 (autumn 2014)
New range-topping coupé follows M4 Concept revealed in Frankfurt.

So, there you go, a taster of what is to come next year, from the small and cheap to the outlandish and uber expensive, and everything in between, but one thing for sure is that the automotive world will be a force again next year, and not just from the usual suspects, expect the Chinese to pick up momentum and make small inroads into the world auto market, but rest assured they are coming, like the Japanese in the 60's and the Koreans in the 80's with big brands behind the Chinese names and extremely healthy bank balances they can compete and will get better and will be, before long, names that trip of our tongues like Ford, Rolls Royce and Mercedes do now.

Have a great 2014.

Info courtesy of CAR MAGAZINE

Jon Mower

Happy Birthday SEAT, 60 years and counting

• Today marks 60 years since the first SEAT car, a 1400, was produced
• SEAT 1400 saloon became an instant hit, with 10,000 orders after its debut
• 98,000 1400 models were produced over a decade
• SEAT has gone on to produce 16,000,000 vehicles and counting

Yesterday was a very special day for SEAT: exactly 60 years ago to the day, the company’s first car rolled off the production line at its Zona Franca factory in Barcelona. That car was the SEAT 1400, an elegant and luxurious saloon designed in the spirit of the most popular American sedans of the '50s.

SEAT had been established only three years earlier, and had developed the 1400 with a focus on the transport needs of government officials. Initially available as a saloon, SEAT would also create estate, seven-seat and commercial versions of the 1400; Spanish cabbies loved the 1400, and it remained a popular taxi well into the following decade.

With a price tag of 121,875 pesetas (€41,735 or £35,200 today), SEAT initially produced five cars per day, built by a workforce of 925 employees. The rear-wheel drive 1400 was powered by a front-mounted, water cooled 44 PS engine and came equipped with a four-speed manual gearbox.

It wasn’t until June of 1954 that SEAT gave the model its official debut, at the Barcelona Trade Fair. And with petrol rationing in Spain having come to an end in 1953, the company received a staggering 10,000 orders. That allowed SEAT to both increase production and drop the price, reducing it to 117,000 pesetas.

By the end of 1954, SEAT had delivered 945 1400 models, but by the end of the following year, annual production was closer to 3,000, with almost all of the 1400’s components manufactured in Spain. One year later and production had more than doubled, to 7,000 units, and by the end of the following year SEAT was producing 10,000 1400 models annually, with 42 leaving the factory every working day. By that stage the workforce had increased to 5,000.  

Production of the 1400 ended in 1964, with 98,000 cars having been produced in Zona Franca and Spain going from strength-to-strength economically. SEAT was at the forefront of that growth, and remains a key player in the Spanish economy today, designing, developing and manufacturing its cars in the ultra-modern Martorell facility on the outskirts of Barcelona; since 2010, SEAT has invested €35m in the ‘SEAT al Sol’ project, which has reduced factory CO2 emissions by 7,000 tonnes per year using solar panel technology.

Since the launch of the 1400, SEAT has built more than 16,000,000 vehicles, including icons like the 600, the 127, the Ibiza and the Leon. Today the company exports over 80% of its production, and has over 1,800 points of sale worldwide.

2013: a year of significant anniversaries

The SEAT 1400 was replaced by the 1500, which began production 50 years ago in 1963. Ten years later in 1973, its successor, the SEAT 132, came to market. A truly luxurious car, the 132 was the first SEAT to feature an automatic transmission, and later in its lifecycle it became the first available with air conditioning.

Forward another ten years to 1983 and the SEAT Ronda came to market, and ten years after that, SEAT introduced the second-generation Ibiza - the first car ever produced in SEAT's Martorell factory and a model that, now in its fourth generation, remains SEAT’s most popular car.