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THE Tokyo Motor Show really is unlike any other – as our team out in Japan reveals this week. The home car makers really go to town with wild and wacky concepts that promise so much, but in the past have tended to deliver so little. However, I’m hopeful that could be about to change as there seems to be a new wind blowing through the Japanese car industry. At long last, they seem to have woken up to the fact that today’s buyers really like innovation and difference. Toyota is one step ahead on that, with cars like the innovative C-HR SUV on sale and providing a refreshing (and popular) point of difference in a crowded sector. There’s more to come from Toyota including sports cars under its Gazoo…

▪ New look, more power and torque, range up to 235 miles ▪ Innovations include ProPILOT Parking; more conventional dials THE new Nissan Leaf is the most significant electric car you’ll see this year. That’s because, while Tesla struggles to ramp up production for its latest Model 3, Nissan’s Oppama factory in Japan has been cranking out the revised Leaf since the summer. Such is the pace of the EV market that the newcomer shares little with its predecessor. There’s all-new styling inside and out, more power and extra torque, as well as a greater EV range thanks to cost and energy-density improvements in lithium-ion batteries. Various new tech features cap things off. Most people will prefer the new Nissan’s looks, although some may be disappointed that it’s not quite…

James_Brodie@dennis.co.uk @jimmybrods THE Citroen C4 Cactus has been given a mid-life facelift, three years after the company’s funky compact crossover first landed at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show. Gone is the car’s distinctive, Airbumpplastered SUV look, replaced by more conventional hatchback styling. A fresh face, new cabin comforts and more powerful engines are also on the menu, as is Citroen’s latest suspension technology. The refreshed design marks a departure from the original’s chunky appearance. This new C4 Cactus steps more towards a standard family hatchback in terms of how it looks, as the brand intends to place more distance between its ‘normal’ cars and its new Aircross range of crossovers and SUVs. With the arrival of the toned-down C4 Cactus, Citroen will finally call time on the regular C4 hatchback.…

John_McIlroy@dennis.co.uk @johnmcilroy THE revived Supra sports car will ditch its Toyota badging and be sold solely under the manufacturer’s Gazoo Racing brand, Auto Express understands. In what will be seen as a major commitment from the marque to its high-performance Gazoo division, the sports coupé – which is being developed jointly by the Japanese maker and German giant BMW – will not be sold with Toyota badges. “The Supra will be by Gazoo,” said the boss of the performance division, Shigeki Tomoyama. The news comes after it transpired that the Gazoo Racing team became more heavily involved in the car’s development – after Toyota president Akio Toyoda tested the vehicle and decided it needed to be “more mobile”. Prototype cars have since been given more of an edge to what…

Jonathan_Burn@dennis.co.uk @Jonathan_burn HONDA hogged the limelight at last week’s Tokyo Motor Show with the unveiling of its Sports EV Concept. The low-slung, two-seat coupé previews how an all-electric Honda sports car could look, but bosses insist there are currently no plans to put the model into production. Honda CEO Takahio Hachigo told Auto Express: “We don’t yet have any plans to make it commercial. We are going to see what the feedback is like so we can learn whether we should launch it in the market.” It follows Honda’s Urban EV supermini concept (opposite), which was first seen at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September and has been confirmed for production in 2019. The Sports EV sits on the same all-new electric vehicle platform that underpins the supermini, although no…

Subaru set to go electric by 2021 THE global design chief of Subaru has revealed to Auto Express that the brand’s first electric model – due by 2021 – will be a full-size SUV. The car, whose styling will be inspired by the Ascent Concept (above), will use multiple electric motors to provide 4WD, and will sit on the maker’s new Global Platform architecture. While the design isn’t yet finalised, engineers are working on how best to package the batteries without compromising practicality. Hi-tech suspension for all DS models DS plans to roll out its camera-enhanced suspension set-up across all large cars – including the replacement for the DS 5. The system, which is similar to Magic Body Control on the Mercedes S-Class, will make its debut on the DS…