Not many people visiting the Geneva show, car designers included, will likely pay much attention to the Dacia Duster debuting there this week. But this is an important new production design and a rather impressive one at that.

Billed as a 'low emission off-roader from €11,900', the Duster follows in the footsteps of the successful Logan in being sold under either the Dacia or Renault brand, depending on territory. The Duster is a compact SUV-crossover with exceptional utility; the trunk has a huge 475 cubic meter capacity, the cabin is very spacious, the high ground clearance and steep ramp angles give the 4x4 version good off-road performance, and there are no extraneous elements to the design. Arguably is at it unpretentious best in white on steel rims.

While the Duster doesn't have a radical form language, the exterior's crisply defined shallow-angle creases scribing around blown fender volumes work with a broad track and long wheelbase to give a strong 'planted' look. These creases appear again at the rear of the car where, consistent with how they work on the flanks, they scribe around the lamp graphic and visually extend this into the tailgate in a distinctive and appealing way. At the front they define the crown of the hood and wrap from the wheelarch around the front of the bumper. Only the apparently mandatory Dacia sagging arc in door sides - so slight that it can only be seen from some angles - detracts from its design.

The interior design is handsome but slightly compromised by carry-over from the other Renault designs; we're sure that the designers would have wanted more of the robust forms of the exterior and the car's generally honest ruggedness to be evident.

Cheap cars from Eastern Europe tend not to get much attention. But this new Dacia really is a highlight of the show; it's a great design, it's refreshingly honest and unpretentious for an SUV-crossover, and it has more space and off-road ability than the fashion orientated SUV-crossovers at half the price.

Proclaimed as the first-ever application of the ‘Nagare Flow' design language in a Mazda production car, we unfortunately expect the new Mazda5 to be the final one too, now that former design chief Laurens van den Acker has departed to Renault.

Nevertheless, the composition of the flow lines is very elegantly resolved when studied in detail. There's a rising feature line under the door handles, below which are two flow lines that lead your eye towards the black guide rail slot for the vast sliding rear doors. The uppermost line indexes neatly as an extension of the flowing front fender line, which itself flows outwards and upwards from the front grille. The arrangement is completed with a complimentary lower bodyside flow line. As a styling device it is somewhat whimsical, but it gives the car a uniquely elegant character that sets it apart from mainstream competitors such as the Peugeot 5008 or Focus Grand C-Max. Indeed, it's unusual to see such decorative lines on cars these days, not least because it is so difficult to press in steel, so we applaud this achievement for the Hiroshima design team.

The Mazda5 builds on the themes set by the successful outgoing model, which sold over 470,000 in four years. It continues the fully glazed DLO look and vee-shaped rear window of the previous model but adds horizontal tail lamps and a bolder front end. The large five-point grille has a diamond texture that fades out as it reaches the 'boxers gum shield' licence plate mounting, a theme that's repeated in the big dummy side grilles that reach up to the top of the front tire.

The interior retains the clever seven-seat Karakuri-Functionality from the outgoing model but adds sporty wraparound front seats and use of higher quality materials throughout. The IP is a more elegant design with a pair of deeply-set instruments mounted under an unusual peaked binnacle hood. In view of the size of those rear doors, we're glad to see there's a power-door option too.

Mitsubishi joins the compact crossover party currently dominated by the Nissan Qashqai in late June 2010 with its ASX model, in a move that will lessen the brand's traditional reliance on large 4x4s and pickup trucks and their associated weaker economy and emissions. Indeed, although the five-seater ASX will be offered in all-wheel drive, the majority of its sales are expected to be two-wheel drive - just like the Qashqai.

The exterior of the production model stays pretty faithful to the cX concept of 2007 with the now signature Mitsubishi deep gaping front grille pioneered on the Lancer Evo. The side profile also keeps the single pronounced feature line from the concept that starts from behind the front fender with a deep undercut before curving slightly upwards through both door handles and reducing in intensity. Only the back sees significant change - where the concept's deep and plunging smoked glass tailgate has been replaced with a more conventional shorter hatch with tapered taillights reminiscent of the Audi Q5.

The exciting and innovative interior of the cX - with its huge vertically oriented lozenge-shaped center infotainment screen and gear selector integrated into the front bench seats - is unfortunately nowhere to be seen. In its place on the ASX is a more conventional interior that will be familiar to drivers of existing Mitsubishi product. However, a Mitsubishi source says the quality of the materials used on the European models has been upped compared to the Japanese versions. The Geneva show models certainly feel a cut above regular Mitsubishis, from the slush-moulded IP surfacing and tactile feel hexagonal print wrapping on the interior door handles to the ‘square-punched' patterned fabric on the seating.

In the metal, and especially in darker colors - unlike the first official pictures shown in light blue metallic - the car looks purposeful, distinct and a credible competitor to the Qashqai and Ford Kuga.