Geneva delivers more new-car headlines than any show. It's the global go-to for a snapshot of where we're heading. But who's revealing the best in 2018? Simon Hacker sent a postcard.
GENEVA - It might be almost as cold as Britain, but the heat is on in the show halls of Geneva, with makers desperate to upstage each other's best hardware. Let's check some of the usual suspects for starters.
Audi is buffing its new A6 which takes up many of the self-driving gizmos big brother A8 now offers. Audi also's readying the E-Tron, which is an all-electric SUV that should undercut Tesla's gull-wing Model X by about £20,000. Citroen Berlingo Multispace spells three words you don't often hear in conversations about exciting cars, but take a look at the reborn model, which is also the basis for Vauxhall's Combo Life and Peugeot's Rifter. You might think it less motorsport, more Millets, but it's funky and your kids will love it.
I'm not sure about Ford's Ka+ which is a Ka that's been force-fed some steroids, but the resharpened Edge is looking great and now has an "evasive steering wheel", meaning it can swerve around small hazards in the road, like hedgehogs or Nissan Micras.
So that's enough warm up. Now to one of the show's main sensations: Honda's Urban EV. Dull in name only, this is just about finished now as far as the road-going version will be. Could a hatchback be more knockout? Sadly, petrolheads won't get a version. The next version of Hyundai's Santa Fe might not stop traffic but, in reaction to many tragic headlines, it features a genius device that warns exiting drivers if they've left a baby in the back seat.
As ever, the SUV sector sees more me-toos piling in. Jaguar's I-Pace looks like a handsome newcomer and being electric, it signals another attempt by key makers to catch up with the likes of Tesla. It'll be jostling with Lexus though, which has revealed its new UX as a head-on rival. Prices from £50,000, for what you'll get, look competitive.
Family hatchbacks still sell though, so Mercedes Benz will have high hopes for the new A-Class, which features more room than ever and a widescreen ents system. It'll start at £24,000, which makers like Kia won't lose sleep over. Kia's next Ceed, in fact, might be an interesting candidate for performance enhancement. It's certainly more seductive than before, now being lower and wider. Skoda's Fabia, meanwhile, has also been under the knife and is looking good, though best in hatchback/family car debuts most probably goes to Toyota for its next Auris. It'll be built in Derbyshire and enjoys eating Golfs, allegedly, for breakfast. It certainly looks ravenous.
What's that, you want exotic fantasy? Mercedes-AMG GT landed in Geneva in four-door form, sizing up the customer base of Porsche's Panamera. Engine options will include a V8 with more than 800bhp. Volvo's performance sub-brand Polestar also breaks free at this show with its first ever model: Polestar 1. In hybrid form, it'll produce 592bhp and travel 93 miles on a charge. And while Porsche readies the Mission E coupe, its stand also reveals the E-Cross Turismo estate, which travels for 310 miles on a zap - and zaps to 62mph in 3.5 seconds.
Finally then, what's the Avon Tuning Best in Show? It looks edible, has a turbo 3.0-litre engine, eight-speed auto box and rear drive... it oozes both retro romance and modern edge... and it blows the dust off a badge we've all drooled over for years. Yes, the Supra is back. And for that, Toyota, we salute you.