Now that the press days for the 2018 New York Auto Show are over, and the public is now free to go and check it out, we thought we’d give a bit of a recap of what we saw there. Before heading to the NYIAS, we thought it would be a quiet show. BMW didn’t have any big news, really, and we weren’t hearing much from automakers. But it turned out to be a better show than we originally expected. So let’s talk about the best cars we saw in New York, so when you, the public goes, you know what to look for.

BMW

Let’s start with BMW, being that most of you are BMW enthusiasts. To be honest, there weren’t a lot of new cars there but there were some cool things to see. For instance, there were a ton of great colors. BMW killed it this year with bringing some really interesting colored cars to the show. There was a Dakar Yellow BMW M3 (my personal favorite), a British Racing Green BMW M6 Gran Coupe, a Fire Orange M4 Convertible and an Individial Nardo Grey BMW M760i. Nardo Grey is typically an Audi color but it’s another personal favorite and it looked very cool on the big V12-powered Bimmer. The BMW i8 Roadster was also there, looking good, as well as the ALPINA B7 and the brand-new BMW X4 M40i.

 

Audi

While BMW’s stand was sort of quiet, Audi’s was anything but. They had the worldwide debut of the new Audi RS5 Sportback, a car that had many people very excited. The standard Audi A5 Sportback is a competitor to the BMW 4 Series Gran Coupe, so the RS5 Sportback is what a BMW M4 Gran Coupe would compete with, if it existed. And seeing the RS5 Sportback made us yearn for an M4 Gran Coupe. I’m a big fan of the RS5 Sportback and thought it looked great. I also love how Audi had the stones to make a worldwide debut with a green sports car. Excellent. Oh, and it packs a 450 hp 2.9 liter twin-turbo V6 and can hit 60 mph in 4 seconds or less, while have a pretty huge trunk and back seats. Sign us up.

Audi also had the new A8 there and its interior and luxury was seriously impressive. We haven’t driven the A8 yet but, just judging from the interior, it might have it over the BMW 7 Series. The seats are sensationally comfortable and the build quality is other-worldly. It also features some pretty slick tech and the best touchscreen infotainment system I’ve ever used. Again, we haven’t driven it so I can’t say how good that touchscreen will be while driving but, from just sitting at the auto show and using it, color me impressed. Hell, even some BMW people were coming by and looking at it, impressed by it and felt that an M4 Gran Coupe should be made.

There was also the new Audi R8 RWS (Rear-Wheel Series), which is the first-ever rear-wheel drive Audi and it’s flipping awesome. The idea of a rear-wheel drive, mid-engine, naturally-aspirated V10-powered supercar is awesome in itself but then you add it its fantastic looks, impressive tech and everyday usability and the R8 RWS is one of the coolest cars on the planet.

 Volvo

If Volvo just made the XC40, I think it’d be a successful car company. That little crossover is going to sell like crazy and deservedly so. It looks fantastic, has a cool, quirky and modern interior and sports some pretty good cargo space. If I were shopping in that segment, between the XC40, BMW X1 and Jaguar E-Pace, I’d have a hard time not picking the Volvo. It just has so much character and it looks so good.

Genesis

Even just a few years ago, if you had told a car enthusiast that one of the most exciting cars to see at an auto show would be an electric Hyundai, they’d laugh at you. While Genesis is technically not a Hyundai anymore, as Genesis is now an individual brand under Hyundai, similar to Lexus and Toyota, it’s still associated. However, the Genesis Essentia Concept was one of the coolest cars we saw in New York. A fully electric, rear-wheel drive, grand-touring car with futuristic Roaring ’20s styling and a 0-60 mph time of three seconds? I don’t care what brand makes it, that’s pretty damn cool.