Autoblog's five favorite 2016 New York Auto Show debuts

The close of the New York media days means the end of auto show season for a while. We'll pick back up this fall in Paris, and with such a big gap between the next expo, New York tends to cap the past season with a bang.

While this year's show wasn't full of ridiculously hot concepts or fire-breathing supercars, New York showed us a lot of the new production metal that'll be hitting the streets sooner than you can say, "That's not a real bagel." Have a look at our editors' five favorites by clicking to the right in this slideshow.

CHRIS BRUCE: I can't wait to see the new NSX go racing, and the fact that the NSX GT3 simplifies the powertrain down to a twin-turbo V6 makes the situation even better in my opinion. It already looks good, and I can't wait to hear how it sounds.

ALEX KIERSTEIN: It’s almost like Acura is acutely aware of the most common knee-jerk reaction among us critics about the new NSX: it’s seemingly unnecessary complexity. Perhaps it’d be a better sportscar without a few hundred pounds worth of hybrid tech? Consider this a preview of the rumored Type R. It’s also a great-looking version of the road going car.

STEVEN EWING: I’m still not convinced I’m ever going to drive the NSX, even if some of my colleagues already have. With concept after concept after showcar after... oh, wait, did you say racecar? Okay, Acura, once again, you have my attention.

SEBASTIAN BLANCO: Despite their nothing-special looks, the Ioniq triplets are actually full of something unusual. No other automaker will have one model with these three types of powertrains in them as soon as Hyundai (Ford's Energi and standard hybrid models come closest). Therefore, because it's a potential game changer in how people shop for cars. Pick your body style, your color and how advanced you want your powertrain.

STEVEN EWING: It’s about time someone came along and fought the Prius. Yeah, the second-gen Honda Insight kind of tried, but Hyundai’s electrified threesome feels like a much more comprehensive effort.

STEVEN EWING: Speaking of Prius, as much as I usually hate the thing, I gave this one points simply for fixing the awkward hatchback’s styling. This thing looks a whole lot better, and the plug-in option is great.

SEBASTIAN BLANCO: Not as impressive as other PHEVs because of its EV-only range of just 22 miles (lots of other automakers beat Toyota here). But look at it this way: the Prime adds 22 miles of electric range to a Prius that should get at least 52 miles per gallon. That's not nothing. 

BRANDON TURKUS: Genesis is still new, but its first concept car shows a tremendous amount of promise. From a pure styling standpoint, this is probably one of the prettiest cars on display in New York.

ALEX KIERSTEIN: Genesis hasn’t been a brand very long, but its first concept car is sufficiently handsome (beyond the details that are pure concept car fantasy) to show some real promise. The eventual 3 Series-fighter that will emerge from this styling exercise will undoubtedly be toned down, but Genesis would be smart to carry over the bulldog stance and elegant creasing with as little change as possible.

GREG MIGLIORE: Genesis wanted to make a splash in New York — a critical luxury market — and this concept accomplished that. Not sure about those side markings around the fenders, but otherwise it’s an impressive design statement.

CHRIS BRUCE: I'm impressed that Genesis is already taking a swing at models like the BMW 3 Series, and its first swipe at the ball is gorgeous. If the brand can bring this shape to production, it could really turn some heads.

GREG MIGLIORE: I think it’s better looking than the ragtop. I really like the targa element, which offers a different dynamic than a total convertible. This would be the Miata for me if I were in the market.

BRANDON TURKUS: I want to give this all of my points. Mazda gave us the Miata Coupe we’ve always wanted without compromising the open-roof experience. It looks outstanding – better than the normal ND – and I simply can’t wait to drive it. 

CHRIS BRUCE: The latest Miata is awesome. Don't take my word for it; the convertible just won World Car of the Year. The RF's ability to add the extra all-weather usefulness of a hardtop makes this version even better to me. My only minor concern is that the roof mechanism looks extremely complicated. Part of me wonders if Mazda wouldn't have been better off to just make the top a simple, removable piece to stow in the rear. Oh, the RF's new roofline looks fabulous, too.

ALEX KIERSTEIN: The old Miata PRHT’s neat party trick was hardtop versatility with a soft top form factor. The RF is a similar proposition from a functional standpoint, with the added benefit of an attractive profile that no one will confuse with the standard ND. Some purists will question the tradeoff, but I think a little weight is a small price to pay for beautiful, distinctive lines and some extra all-weather practicality.

PETE BIGELOW: It looks awesome and was the clear winner of the show. You can argue about everything else that comes after it for this list, but really, the fight for second place is pretty interchangeable.

As Pete Bigelow just said in the previous slide, "the fight for second place is pretty interchangeable." He's right, too. The Miata RF got a ton of points. But there was a clear second-place choice, even if it all sort of fell apart from there. Here's a look at the breakdown.

• Mazda Miata RF – 56 points
• Genesis concept – 28 points
• Toyota Prius Prime – 13 points
• Hyundai Ioniq – 10 points
• Acura NSX GT3 – 9 points

So the Miata won hands-down. We all knew that was going to happen. But the rest of the smaller votes were spread across a number of different cars. Here's the full list of everything else we liked in New York.

• Lincoln Navigator Concept – 8 points
• 2017 Mercedes-AMG C63 Cabriolet – 8 points
• 2017 Nissan GT-R – 8 points
• 2017 Toyota 86 – 7 points
• 2017 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV – 6 points
• 2017 Mercedes-AMG GLC43 – 5 points
• Nissan's historic GT-R display – 5 points
• 2017 Mercedes-AMG E43 – 4 points
• 2017 Chevy Camaro ZL1 – 4 points
• 2017 Toyota Highlander – 2 points
• 2017 Acura MDX – 1 point
• Jaguar XKSS restoration (photo, and the fact that this is awesome news) – 1 point