Best cars of the 2016 New York Auto Show

By Bill Howard on March 24, 2016 at 3:06 pm Comment

The New York International Auto Show concludes six-plus months of major car shows that began last September in Frankfurt. Despite all the major shows (Frankfurt, Tokyo, Los Angeles, Detroit, Geneva, New York) and US mid-majors (Washington, Chicago), automakers never seem to run out of new cars to unveil — plus local re-introductions of cars announced elsewhere, which the automakers call a “North American debut.”

Here’s our take on the top cars of the 2016 NYAIAS, which opens to the public Friday and runs through Sunday, April 3, at New York’s Javits Center. Prepare to spend an extra couple minutes getting through the metal detection stands and explosives-sniffing dogs. The show is international and so is the concern over security.

2017 Toyota Prius Prime plug-in hybrid

A Prius plug-in hybrid (PHEV) is back in the Toyota line-up after a two-year absence. The 2017 Toyota Prius Prime now goes 22 miles on battery before the combustion engine kicks in. That’s enough so the average daily commute will be covered on battery power for about half the commuting population. Toyota’s estimate of the electric/gasoline efficiency is 120 MPGe, the best of any plug-in so far.

As with any PHEV, you’ll want a 220-volt, not 110-volt, charging source in your garage to refill a depleted battery overnight, but prices are coming down.

(Hyundai) Genesis New York concept

The low-slung New York (the car’s name) concept appeared to be the only car in the Javits Center done in robin’s egg blue. It’s Hyundai’s idea of a BMW 3 Series / Audi A4 competitor for its new Genesis sub-brand. The car is too stylized to go direct from this design to production, but it suggests the Genesis nameplate will have a compact car as well as midsize and full-size, along with a likely SUV.

For the New York concept, at least, a big screen curves (slightly) around the driver’s position. Even more intriguing is a shallow bowl shape fixture in the console that is used for gesture recognition, somewhat as BMW is doing in the new BMW 7 Series. An infrared sensor tracks left-right swiping actions, front-back motions, character strokes on the bowl face, and circular motions for fine tuning.

Lincoln Navigator gull-wing concept

Since it’s an auto show concept car, Lincoln installed super-wide gullwing doors and a chromed three-step ladder for disembarking. It was all a way to show off the interior of what — minus the gullwing doors — is likely to be the 2017 Navigator. The 24-inch turbine wheels will probably be scaled back, too. However it ships, Lincoln needs multiple hit cars and SUVs to stay in sight of a resurgent Cadillac, which is trying to haul in Audi-BMW-Mercedes.

The new Navigator will get a twin-turbo V6 engine good for 400-plus horsepower. It’s unclear if the new Navigator will abandon the heavy body-on-frame construction for a unibody to help fuel economy at the cost of ruggedness (in some buyers’ minds). The Navigator plays in the small but prominent luxury full-size SUV category. The US market is just under 200,000 units (1% of the US market), led by the Cadillac Escalade and Mercedes-Benz GL selling about 25,000 each, with the outgoing Navigator back at 12,000 in 2015. The total market will grow by the end of the decade when BMW brings in an X7 SUV. The big land cruisers may be the automakers’ first choice for launching the next generation of semi-autonomous driving features.

2018 Hyundai Ioniq EV, hybrid, plug-in hybrid

The Ioniq is three cars under one umbrella name. All three will put up big efficiency numbers when they ship in 2017, Hyundai says.

The battery-only Ioniq should run 110 miles on a single charge, somewhat better than your garden variety EV (Nissan Leaf, Ford Focus EV), but not in league with costlier Teslas and Chevrolet Bolts (200 miles-plus). Hyundai says the hybrid Ioniq will have a combined city/highway rating of 57-58 mpg. The plug-in will go 25 miles on battery (not bad, not spectacular) and a diesel-like combined range of 600 miles on battery and gasoline power.

Hyundai acknowledges hybrids and EVs aren’t natural sellers in an era of $1.50 gas, but that’s okay because the Ioniq is also a sporty, fun-to-drive car, according to Hyundai’s chief of planning, Mike O’Brien.

Subaru Impreza sedan, hatchback

At a time when sedan sales are giving way to crossovers, including Subaru crossovers, the company says many younger buyers still want sedans and hatchbacks (which actually can look a lot like crossovers). Thus the all-new 2017 Subaru Impreza, built on a new platform, with more space and a revised version of the 2.0-liter engine with a modest bump to 152 hp from 148, still with a CVT. The body is 70% more rigid, Subaru says, which makes for better handling and safer crashes, including offset collisions. Both sedan and hatchback are 2 inches longer and wider.
The 8-inch infotainment touchscreen handles Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and NFC (near field communication). Driver assists include adaptive cruise control, automatic emergency braking, lane keep assist, and rear cross-traffic alert, and steerable headlamps. The sport version will have active torque vectoring. The new Impreza ships in late fall, Subaru says.

Other New York show introductions of note

Mazda MX-5 RF hardtop roadster. This is the current version of the Mazda convertible (new in 2015) with a retractable metal hardtop. Purists may prefer canvas but the metal provides better insulation and noise absorption when the top isn’t down. The 2016 MX-5 also hauled in the World Car of the Year, announced on day two of the show — proof that sometimes traditional cars with gobs of tech are honored.

Buick Encore. It’s a minor but important refresh to the compact SUV that is Buick’s best seller, with sales up 38% last year. In addition to a new front end look, the interior gets a larger, 8-inch center stack LCD and a 4.2-inch multi-information display. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are now included. Buick also pimped the dashboard with a lot of chrome. It may be too much for some American tastes and right at home with the Chinese market, where Buick is doing well. Buick notes the Encore is “the fourth all-new or significantly updated Buick coming in 2016, joining the Cascada convertible, Envision compact SUV and LaCrosse sedan.”

 Honda Civic Hatchback concept. This is a concept car that is nearly production ready, following the Civic Sedan and Civic Coupe that won several car-of-the-year awards already. Honda describes the hatchback as “a marriage of distinctive and sporty design, rewarding driving dynamics and versatile practicality,” the practicality party suggesting hatch version might have even more carrying capacity for those who don’t want an all-out crossover such as the Honda CR-V. The Civic Hatchback arrives later this year, to be followed by the performance-minded Civic Si and hot rod Civic Type R. Honda also announced that as of 2017, all Civics will be offered with a six-speed manual as well as a CVT.

Public service announcement: Honda wants you to know Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato showed up in New York at the hatchback debut and were announced as headliners on the 15th Anniversary Honda Civic (Music) Tour this summer. Lovato even designed a paint scheme for a one-off Civic Coupe (background in photo above right).

Acura MDX. It’s “only” a mid-cycle refresh to keep the best-selling premium midsize three-row SUV fresh until a new MDX shows circa 2020. But there’s a lot to like. For 2017, the Acura MDX makes its AcuraWatch safety suite standard on every MDX sold (about 60,000 a year); no longer is it a $1,500 option you can ignore or miss when you go shopping. Prices aren’t set for the 2017 model (probably mid-forties to high-fifties), but odds are the efficiencies of scale will drive the imputed cost in the base price closer to $1,000. That includes adaptive cruise control (ACC) with low-speed follow (LSF), collision mitigation braking system (CMBS) with automatic emergency braking, lane departure warning (LDW), lane keeping assist (LKAS), forward collision warning (FCW), and road departure mitigation (RDM).

In addition to combustion engine front- and all-wheel-drive models, the 2017 MDX will offer a Sport Hybrid version with the gasoline V6 driving the front wheels, an electric motor optionally providing front traction, and two electric motors (only) providing rear traction. At 325 hp, the hybrid has 35 hp more than the gas-only MDX.

Nissan NMC ‘microbility’ concept. Nissan Future Lab’s New Mobility Concept is a “final mile” vehicle for getting about in urban areas, a 92-inch EV with room for driver and a passenger behind. Propulsion comes from a 17-hp electric motor and 61-kWh lithium ion battery, good for 40 miles at a top speed of 25 mph. Three of the NMC runabouts fit sideways in a standard parking space. It’s both a concept in the US (a small fleet operates in San Francisco) and, in several European markets, on sale as the Twizy sold by Nissan’s parter Renault.

Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 hardtop, convertible. The 2017 ZL1 is on a new platform that shaves 200 pounds of body weight. Combine that with a 640 hp supercharged engine and you have an affordable almost-supercar. Even with the weight reduction, it’s expected to way around 4,000 pounds.

Kia Cadenza. The 2017 Cadenza is Kia’s take on the Toyota Avalon, and to a lesser extent the Chevrolet Impala or Ford Taurus: a big, roomy sedan built for comfort more than speed. There’ll be a head-up display, more common in luxury and not near-luxury vehicles, and an improved surround view monitor. Kia says it reduced overall weight at the same time it made the body 35% stiffer.

Nissan Titan pickup. The metro New York is actually a big market for pickups. Javits Center space constraints force pickups, commercial trucks, and larger SUVs one floor blow the Javits’ main level. There you’ll find the new Nissan Titan, a mainstream pickup truck competing with the Chevrolet Silverado, Ford F-150, GMC Sierra, and Ram 1500. It gets a 5.6-liter, 390-hpV8 engine with a V6 coming later. Nissan entered the US pickup truck 12 years ago and this is the first full refresh since 2004. Out of the two million pickups sold last year, Nissan garnered less than 1% market share. This follows the larger Titan XD to market; it was announced late last year.

Range Rover Evoque convertible. The Evoque SUV with the high beltline and low roofline is a smash hit for Range Rover with more than a half-million sold. Now there’s a convertible version. It will certainly draw side glances when it takes to the street. Maybe stares. If history can be a guide, the similar Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet was a smash non-hit.