LA motor show 2017: our star cars

LA MOTOR SHOW STAR CARS

We've picked our favourite new models on display at the year's last motor show. Scroll through the gallery to see our choices...

STEVE CROPLEY - REDSPACE

Chris Bangle’s extraordinary new Redspace is my LA star car, not because I think we’ll all be driving such outlandish cars in the short term but because I know of old how influential this designer and his work can be. Redspace may be off-the-wall, but good will come of it, mark my words.

CORVETTE ZR1 CONVERTIBLE - JIM HOLDER

745bhp, 715lb ft, 6.2 litres, V8, 212mph. All very impressive. But don’t let any of those admittedly impressive numbers distract you from perhaps the most impressive one of the lot: for a mere $123,995 (£92,500), our friends from across the pond are able to buy all this performance and theatre.

JEEP WRANGLER - MARK TISSHAW

The Wrangler isn’t really my cup of tea looks-wise, but this new one has deeply impressed me in how it's managed to pack in every new bit of technology it needs to survive and thrive well into the next decade, while still looking so tough, rugged and old school. Bravo, Jeep.

BMW i8 ROADSTER - RACHEL BURGESS

I'm such a fan of the i8, it's hard not to be sold on the i8 Roadster, which adds open-air glamour to the equation. With added power too - a feature applied across the updated i8 range - it is highly likely to be more enjoyable than ever behind the wheel.

INFINITI QX50 - JAMES ATTWOOD

Yes, it’s a big, slightly bland, boxy SUV. Another one. But the intriguing thing about the QX50 (which we've driven) is what’s under the bonnet: a genuinely innovative variable ignition engine. If the petrol engine can deliver diesel-like fuel efficiency as promised, it’s the sort of machine that could show the old-fashioned internal combustion engine still has a vital role to play in the future.

MAZDA 6 - SAM SHEEHAN

I’m a fan of the new Mazda 6, not because it gets fancy seats and a new dashboard, but because most of its updates are focused on improving how it rides and steers. In a world where bigger infotainment screens and fake carbon trim are often the focus of a facelift, it’s good to see Mazda giving its refreshed saloon oomph where it really matters.

RANGE ROVER SVAUTOBIOGRAPHY LWB - JIMI BECKWITH

No matter how many Bentley Bentaygas, Rolls-Royce Cullinans or other such cars come along, just remember that Land Rover got there first with the SVAutobiography. Quite a shrewd move, creating a long-wheelbase luxury SUV to take on the luxury saloon elite, and it certainly seems to have paid off. The new version adds even more Vogue to an already painfully stylish car.