Top 10 best new cars at the 2019 Frankfurt motor show
Our pick of the most important cars to debut at IAA 2019
From sensible city cars to all-electric supercars
Mix of production-ready and concept cars feature
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Written by Tom GoodladPublished: 10 September 2019
The International Automobil Ausstellung (IAA) has kicked off for another year, and some huge new-car debuts have been made at the Frankfurt motor show.
Unsurprisingly, there’s a rich mix of all-electric cars set to change the world, exotic supercars and one or two surprises in between, not to mention a selection of real-world cars that are just as important as the showstoppers.
Scroll down for our selection of the top 10 cars on the show floor at IAA 2019, all of which you can expect to see in some form or another in the next couple of years.
Volkswagen ID.3
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2020 Volkswagen ID.3 front and rear
Possibly the most important launch of the 2019 show is the ID.3, Volkswagen’s first purpose-built electric car that spearheads the firm’s relaunch (there’s a new badge to mark this). Up to 342 miles of range is possible, the interior is more spacious than a Passat and the exterior no longer than a Golf. It paves the way for a whole range of ID models coming over the next few years, as well as various other models from elsewhere in the VW Group.
It’s finally arrived! Following several years of concept cars and anticipation, the Land Rover has finally been revealed in production spec at the Frankfurt show. A choice of 90 or 110 body lengths, petrol and diesel power (plus plug-in hybrid later on) and a series of packs to suit your adventurous (or not) lifestyle make it highly configurable and highly capable. It looks set to be an appealing mix of modern technology and traditional Land Rover ruggedness, but it comes at a price with 110 models starting at around £45k…
Taking the electric car to a whole other level is the Porsche Taycan, a full EV that’s bringing Porsche performance to the zero-emissions area of the car market. Priced from £116,000 it doesn’t come cheap, but it looks every inch the modern supercar inside and out, has space for four, is capable of at least 250 miles on a full charge and is also due to be mind-bendingly rapid with a 0-62mph time of as little as 2.8 seconds for the Taycan Turbo S.
And now for something more sensible, but no less important. The i10 is a huge sales hit for Hyundai, and the latest version revealed at Frankfurt takes its sensible interior and ups the ante with a more stylish look with neat design touches (there’s even a sporty N Line model) and a modern interior with large touchscreen, plenty of driver assistance and safety kit available and a choice of nippy petrol engines.
Hot on the heels of the bonkers RS 6 Avant is the slinky RS 7 Sportback. Powered by a monstrous 600hp 4.0-litre TFSI petrol engine that’s good for a 3.6-second 0-62mph time, the RS 7 certainly has the performance to match its rakish, beefed-up looks. Of course, Quattro is standard, as well as a thunderous sound coming from the rear of the car, wrapped up in a sleek body with a top-notch interior that’s packed with technology and equipment.
If the RS 7 sounds a bit intimidating, the Honda e may well be the antidote. Cutesy looks and dinky dimensions debut in production form at Frankfurt following previous concept versions, with a 136-mile range and high-tech interior all present and correct. An entry-price lower than expected puts it right in the crosshairs of the MINI Electric and updated Renault Zoe, though.
The Corsa should be a sales success even before we’ve driven it. Regularly found in the top 10 sales charts, the latest version borrows mechanical bits and pieces from the Peugeot 208 and throws on a Vauxhall suit. It looks sharp and interesting and is aiming to take on the VW Polo and Ford Fiesta. Its party trick – like the 208 – is that it’ll be available as an all-electric Corsa-e as well as regular petrol and diesel versions.
Here’s the next BMW 4 Series Coupe. While the Concept 4 is – as the name suggests – a concept car, its overall design is fairly close to how the finished thing will look. Whether that enormous and controversial grille makes it to the finished thing is another story, but some of BMW’s latest concept cars haven’t been too different from the real thing.
The Vision EQS Concept previews what will be an electric flagship to the firm’s EQ range alongside the EQC SUV. It may well look like a futuristic and wacky concept with huge wheels, curvy bodywork and outlandish light design, but the EQC production car ended up looking remarkably similar to the concept car that previewed it.
The Cupra Tavascan is a checklist in what the future of the car market could look like based on what people want and need. It’s high-riding, has SUV styling, it’s electric but it’s also sporty. What’s not to love? Whether it’ll look as eye-catching when it reaches production is another thing, but the future is Cupra looks to be very SUV-focused if this joins the line-up alongside the Ateca and forthcoming Formentor crossovers.
