2016 Hits and Misses: Best Concept Car

Andrew Maclean: Hyundai's Genesis New York

The concept from Hyundai's luxury brand not only previews the South Korean car maker's upcoming G70, a rival to the likes of the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3-Series, but it's striking design shows immense confidence against well-established players.

Stephen Ottley: Hyundai RN30

There were some cool electric car concepts in 2016 - my favourite was the Mercedes-Benz EQ - but it was the South Korean brand's Paris motor show star that stood out for me.

The RN30 won't make production in anything like its wild concept form, but it smashes a lot of the perceptions around the brand and suggests it will be serious about its upcoming range of N Performance models - which will begin with the new i30 in 2017.

David McCowen: Rolls-Royce 103EX

The 103EX is a fascinating peek into how luxury transport will look throughout the next 100 years. Opulent, decadent, and more than a little indulgent, the 103EX combines historic design cues with modern touches including its female Spirit of Ecstasy emblem brought to digital life as an "ethereal concierge" at the centre of each journey.

Mark Short: Cadillac Escala

While most manufacturers are going smaller General Motors' luxury brand has gone back to its roots with this large uniquely American, and unmistakably Cadillac, concept. The Escala uses a new 4.2-liter twin-turbo V8 engine, a prototype of a new system in development for future Cadillac models and is still rear drive. Very cool.

Kez Casey: Buick Avista

Holden's American subsidiary Buick continues to reinvent itself to shed its dad-car image and the Buick Avista coupe concept rocketed the brand into the conscience of a whole new breed of buyers with a high-performance turbo V6 and muscular styling.

Whispers of the Holden-designed Avista reviving the Monaro nameplate in Australia started to whirl shortly after the coupe's unveiling, but sadly production plans have been quashed leaving the Avista as little more than a motor show fantasy.

Peter McKay: Mercedes EQ

Call me conservative but I want concepts to be realistic, meaning that it's easy to visualise them in production. The EQ seen at the Paris show is a giant shift for Mercedes towards serious volumes of electric vehicles. EQ is a new line showcasing the potential to do so much more than today's cars, like taking on chores while its owner is busy elsewhere. Makes you think.

Toby Hagon: Volkswagen ID

Good looking, clever inside, highly relevant and only a few years away.

Stephen Corby: Jaguar I-Pace

Not just because it was a beautiful piece of design, managing to make an SUV look desirable, even to a massive cynic who despises their very existence, but because the I-Pace is more than a concept; it's a near production-ready Jaguar EV that will hit Australian roads in 2018.

It's also an important and epoch-shifting concept car, because it indicates that the world - and not just the Californian bit of it - is getting serious about EV technology. Well, the rest of the planet at least, because we're still lagging behind.

Cameron McGavin: Jaguar I-Pace

Today's Jaguar is a very different beast to the one we once knew but this spectacular preview of the company's first electric car from the recent LA Motor Show suggests the British brand's transformation from old geezer to ultra-hipster has only just started.

David Morley: Rolls-Royce Cullinan

Surely the Rolls Royce SUV concept. Even the idea of it makes me giggle. RR is in on the joke, too, describing the Cullinan (for that is its codename, apparently) as an 'all-terrain, high-sided vehicle'. That's armoured personnel carrier, to you and me.

Jonathan Hawley: Renault Trezor?

Having not driven one of these recently ? and what would be the point? ? I'm plumping for style, and the winner has to be Renault's Trezor from Paris 2016. Of course it was wacky, from the snakeskin panel texture to the expanding steering wheel and even the 260kW Formula E motor. But those proportions, barely 108cm tall and a beer can's width off the road, the wrap around windscreen and the world's coolest side scoops made it look real, and real cool. Will they build it? Of course not. Do I want to drive it? You betcha.