The Most Important Cars of the 2016 New York International Auto Show

Thinking of buying a car in 2016 or 2017?

NYIAS-Gear-Patrol-Lead-1440 Nick Caruso, Andrew Connor

CES showed us the future of automotive tech. Detroit showed us some very exciting coupes, concepts and luxury cars. The headliners at Geneva were some of the fastest, most expensive and best-looking cars ever built. Next up on the 2016 circuit is the New York International Auto show, and though there wasn’t anything jaw-dropping, per se, the news this week should appeal to most drivers: these are the more practical cars we can expect to see on the road in the very near future (read: not $2.6 million Bugattis). Not that the show is boring at all — there’s a new Camaro, a refreshed GT-R and a drop-top Audi R8 on the floor. Bottom line: anyone planning to buy a new car in 2016 and 2017 should take note of all the new releases this week.

2017 Mazda MX-5 RF

What’s better than a coupe version of the Miata? A version with an automatically retractable Targa hardtop, just like in the Porsche 911 Targa and the Ferrari 458 Spider.

2018 Lincoln Navigator Concept

Forget about the absurd gullwing doors and you’ll find that the concept previews some pretty big changes for the forthcoming Navigator redo: a 400 horsepower 3.5-liter EcoBoost engine, a brand-new chassis and Lincoln’s new and improved design language.

2017 Subaru Impreza

The new Subaru Impreza serves as a debut for Subaru‘s Global Platform, which will be the basis for Subies to come. The company claims the new Impreza is roomier, more agile and safer than before. Feel free to imagine what it will look like with a big wing, a hood scoop and gold wheels.

2017 Audi R8 Spyder

Audi’s revised R8 (an update to this beauty) is now available sans roof. The sound of that Lamborghini-derived 540 horsepower V10 just got a lot sweeter (and louder).

2017 Toyota Prius Prime

The new Prius Autobot Prime is supposedly Toyota’s most advanced hybrid ever. It’s a plug-in version, boasting an all-electric range of 22 miles (at speeds up to 84 mph) and a claimed overall fuel economy of 120 MPGe. Which makes up for the fun to be had in, say, off-road-ready trucks.

2017 Hyundai Ioniq

Hyundai’s new Ioniq is three different eco-friendly cars available on one platform: a conventional hybrid, a plug-in hybrid and a full electric car with 110 miles of range.

2017 Camaro ZL-1

With 640 horsepower and 200 pounds’ worth of weight savings over its predecessor, Chevy’s new track-focused ZL-1 is arguably the best iteration of the new Camaro yet.

2017 Nissan GT-R

The Nissan GT-R has been refreshed ad nauseam since it launched in 2007 (and its siblings have benefitted too). The all-new version is still a couple years away but in the meantime, the GT-R’s latest iteration gets 565 horsepower (a 20 horsepower bump), Nappa leather, a better infotainment system and a slightly redesigned front fascia.

2017 Honda Civic Hatchback

Honda ceased selling a hatchback version of the Civic in 2003 — a shame considering the original Civic from the 1970s was designed with a hatch. Luckily Honda has come to its senses and will be making a hatchback version of the new Civic available in the US later this year.

2017 Mercedes-Benz GLC Coupe

Mercedes-Benz took “inspiration” from BMW and revealed another “coupe” version of its GLC SUV. It will be available in two variants: a turbo-four GLC300 with 241 horsepower and a twin-turbo V6 GLC43 AMG with 362 horsepower.