Top 10 Cars, SUVs of the 2019 Frankfurt Auto Show
It’s a pity the world’s most important auto show is only held every other year. The Frankfurt Motor Show 2019 — IAA, or Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung (International Auto Show) to the locals — had a laser focus on the future. In particular, all-out electrification, and the stepping-stones: hybrids, 48-volt hybrids, plug-in hybrids.
How big is the Frankfurt auto show? It’s CES times two. Messe Frankfurt comprises 12 buildings and 400,000 square meters of exhibition space, or 4.3 million square feet, equal to 75 football fields and end zones. The again-expanded Las Vegas Convention Center is now up to 2 million square feet of exhibit space. Here’s our take on the most important vehicles of this show of shows.
When Germany lands on the moon, this is their lunar rover. The Audi AI:Trail is an all-electric, all-terrain concept good for 250-310 off-road miles, and Level 4 (of 5) autonomy. Each of the 22-inch wheels gets its own motor. Also: Audi Light Pathfinders — drones — light the road ahead, so no need for headlamps. This Hummer-with-a-social-conscience is best in show.
The Mercedes-Benz Vision EQS Concept could become the company flagship, an EV supplanting the S-Class, taking advantage of a sleeker layout possible when you don't design for a combustion engine as well. The EQS lives a step above the EQE sedan that targets the Tesla Model S.
The Volkswagen ID.3 is the Golf-size vanguard of VW's $50 billion push into EVs. Three versions will run 205, 260, or 350 miles and starting in Germany at about $33,000. The US gets instead the Chattanooga-built ID Crozz SUV based on the ID.3. There'll also be a Microbus-look EV, the ID Buzz, by 2023.
The Hyundai 45 evokes a retro 1970s feel (as in Colt 45 Malt?) hatchback EV that "envisions its forthcoming EV design direction." It has side camera mirrors and a widescreen LCD that occupies two-thirds of the dash. The front lounge seats pivot (in the concept) for easy exit.
The BMW Concept 4 will become the 2021 BMW 4 Series, meaning the coupe version of the 3 Series sedan. Sources say the production version will look "less exaggerated" than the show car. Which is good, because virtually every commenter noted the visual excesses of the grille. The car is important because the 3/4 Series line is history's best selling sport sedan/coupe; last year they comprised a quarter of BMW's US sales.
The Honda E urban EV is Frankfurt's Best Car Americans Won't Get. Well-equipped with dual 12-inch cockpit LCDs and side camera mirrors and two rows of seats, the Germany edition is 33,470 euros, or $37,000. The base model is 134-hp; the Advance is 152 hp with heated seats and Honda Parking Pilot software.
The Land Rover Defender returns to the US with a mild hybrid option (total 395 hp), serious off-road aspirations, two- or three-row seating, an 8,200-pound towing capacity, and pricing of $50,000-$80,000. If desired, the factory will fit a satin protective film.
Sign of the apocalypse? The next BMW X6, a fastback midsize SUV for those who find the X5 too practical, will offer an illuminated kidney grille. The show car has light-absorbing "VantaBlack" paint. From some angles, the third-generation appears more sculpted, or maybe buyers are just getting used to the sloping-rear SUV look. The M50i model has 523 hp.
The Audi RS7 Sportback is an all-out, four-door sports touring coupe meant to compete with the Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door and the BMW M8 Gran Coupe, as well as (possibly) the Toyota Prius since, uh, it's a mild hybrid with a 48-volt powerpack. That and a 591-hp V8 give the RS7 a top speed of 174 to 189 mph based on configuration, and a price tag around $120,000.
Maybe a big electric van (not minivan) will get you out of your big SUV. The Mercedes-Benz EQV concept carries eight people up to 250 miles. The 100-kWh under-floor battery will go from 10 to 80 percent recharge in under an hour. While the gas-engine Sprinter passenger vans start around $40,000, the EQV would carry a healthy premium. No word on a US version.
Yes, there are a lot of electrified cars in the slideshow. It’s not because we’re Tesla-Rivian-Leaf-Bolt EV-worshipping robots. It’s because that’s where the world, give or take the US, is headed: toward electrified vehicles with 2-3 times the energy efficiency as gasoline or diesel burned in a combustion engine.
Volkswagen, for instance, has said its last new internal combustion engine design will come out circa 2026. That doesn’t mean Vee-Dub is all-electric in 2027. Rather it means VW will drive into the future with existing combustion engines, and refinements, but no new engines. Recall that GM got half a century out of the small block Chevy V8 engine, 1954-2003.
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