Since it's the final major date in the international car show circuit, the New York auto show traditionally plays sweep, catching the leftovers. Pickings were particularly slim this year, but there was still some major news coming from the Big Apple.
Even though the redesigned Subaru Impreza doesn't look a whole lot different than its predecessor, beneath lurks an all-new structure that will underpin all future Subarus. We'll see if this improved Impreza can hold on to its Consumer Reports Top Pick status.
Gasoline prices might be low right now, but Hyundai and Toyota used New York to highlight their latest green cars. With three different flavors of electrification, the Hyundai Ioniq attacks the Prius head-on, promising higher efficiency than the Toyota. Meanwhile, Toyota showed their Prius Prime, a plug-in hybrid that promises to improve on the previous Prius' short electric-only range.
At the other end of their product range, Hyundai-Kia showed two new luxury sedans. Kia redesigns the Cadenza, updating an already good car that that's often overlooked by buyers. Showgoers definitely noticed another car from the Korean automaker: the shapely Genesis New York Concept. This striking model previews the brand's BMW 3 Series sports sedan rival. As we've repeatedly discussed on Talking Cars, this market segment lacks a clear choice that combines being rewarding to drive with strong reliability and easy-to-use controls. Hopefully the Genesis can fill this vacancy.
Speaking of hard to miss: the gull-winged Lincoln Navigator concept previewed a more luxurious version of the company's seminal big SUV. While the Talking Cars team agrees that the retractable hardtop Mazda MX-5 RF looks great in profile, ever-practical Jake Fisher yearns for the added cargo space of a liftback.
As with the other "Talking Cars," this episode on popular cars is also available free through the iTunes Store. Subscribe to the video or audio. You'll also find the video on YouTube.
Share your comments on this show below, and let us know if you need any advice for choosing a car.
"What Makes a Car Fun?" episode 89
Straight Talk on the Best New Cars, episode 88
Popular Cars and SUVs, episode 87
Self-Driving Cars, episode 86
2016 Detroit Auto Show, episode 85
