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Top 5 hatches of the 2014 Geneva motor show

By Ollie Kew First Official Pictures 05 March 2014 11:00 There’s a wildly diverse crop of new hatches at the 2014 Geneva motor show: a rear-drive city car, a firecracker of a crossover, new concept cars and even a lap time world record holder. Here are CAR’s Top 5 hatches of the 2014 Geneva show – and the customary dishonourable mention… The Mazda Hazumi concept is essentially what the new Mazda2 will look like when it hits showrooms – and it’s set to give the mainstream makes a proper fight. Mazda isn’t just on a styling roll of late – even the Mazda3 and Mazda6 are arguably the most handsome cars in their respective classes – but are building cars that are sensibly priced, affordable-to-run and damn good fun to drive.

Renault R-Space concept

Following on from the DeZir and Captur, the R-Space took to the stage at Geneva alongside the Twizy and Zoe to complete a healthy concept car showing from Renault.  An upbeat, funky vision of the MPV segment sees the R-Space omit B-pillars in favor of a frameless suicide door set up. This allows uninterrupted access to the interior, which is the main focal point of the concept. Seemingly split into two sections, the rear has been designed with children in mind and features a bevy of motorized cubes that can alter the seating arrangement for child, adult or even baby seats.

Concept Car of the Week: Plymouth XNR (1960)

In the early ‘50s, both GM and Ford offered attractive and exciting sports cars, symbols of a proud post-war America. Ford had the Thunderbird and GM the Corvette, but Chrysler's approach was more pragmatic, producing cars that were practical and robust but also slow. After commissioning a long series of concepts designed by Italian carrozzeria Ghia, Chrysler gave a free hand to its design chief Virgil Exner to inject some life into its lineup.