Thread: LA motor show: top five production cars

Our pick of the best cars appearing soon at a showroom near you Toyota Rav4
Longer, wider and more spacious than before, the fourth generation Rav4 also brings some much needed visual excitement to the Toyota range. Material quality is up, too, and officials promise an involved driving experience, although the appearance of a Sport mode can often be a mixed blessing. Sales begin next month, with deliveries around February 2013. Despite the Cars growth in size and quality, insiders say price rises wont be too great.
VW Beetle cabriolet
UK sales may not match those in sun-drenched California, but the Beetle cabriolet remains the poster model of this cute, style-led vehicle – so much so, in fact, that chief designer Klaus Bischoff describes it as a halo model.
Those looks are complemented by a typically desirable cabin, generous standard kit and reasonably practical interior space. UK pricing will start from 18,150, and sales begin next February.
Fiat 500L Trekking
The chunky Fiat 500L is expected to go on sale early next year, although theres no word yet on when the 500L Trekking, seen for the first time in LA, will make it across The Pond.
Still, if you like the 500Ls looks but want a slightly more rugged vehicle, the Trekking fills the brief, delivering family sized space in a desirable package.
Acura RLX
Why, you might wonder, would a British website place an America-only model so high on its list of most significant production cars at the Los Angeles motor show?
The answer is because the 306bhp 3. 5-litre direct-injection V6 engine and Hondas Precision All-wheel Steering system will make it on to the upcoming new Honda NSX, one of the most anticipated new car launches of current times.
Ford Fiesta Ecoboost
Proof, if ever it were needed, that the world is changing rapidly, comes with the arrival on US forecourts of the 1. 0-litre Ecoboost engine in a supermini. Insiders admit that the combination is being put on sale as much to shout Fords environmental leadership and cutting edge technology as it is to shift stock, but the significance of this launch should not be played down; nor, judging by our first drive review of the Ford Fiesta Ecoboost, should the quality of the product itself.