HOT on the heels of the Geneva Auto show held in Switzerland last month, the New York International Auto Show, which closes on Sunday, has thrown up some worthwhile showstoppers.

According to MSN Auto, vehicles worth talking about include Cadillac’s 556-horsepower sport wagon and a Hyundai that features the world’s first lithium-polymer hybird, to a slick new Scion micro-compact with huge potential.

Of the more than 1000 vehicles on display at the Jacob Javits centre in Manhattan the web-based MSN Auto selected ten for special mention.

Acura TSX Sport Wagon

The idea is simple: There are drivers, Acura believes, who love the performance and sporty styling of the TSX, but want more space for their golf clubs. Thus, the TSX Sport Wagon, a textbook example of building on a winning product and proven design language, and essentially playing it safe. What makes the TSX stand out is the execution. From the powerful sport-sedan look and 5-speed steering-wheel-mounted paddle shifters up-front to the under-floor hidden storage bins in back, all marriages of driving and hauling should end so happily.

Cadillac CTS-V Sport Wagon

The final look of the CTS-V Sport Wagon is still up in the air, the production model might not share every aggressive line as the show vehicle unveiled in New York but in this case, who cares? The new CTS-V is a power and ambition, targeting the likes of BMW’s M5 Touring and Mercedes-Benz E 63 AMG Wagon with a supercharged 6.2-litre V8, delivering 556-horsepower and 551 ft-lb of torque. With competitive performance features, like forged aluminum wheels, magnetic ride control and a six-speed manual or automatic transmission with Performance Algorithm Shifting, the cliche fits: This is the Cadillac of sport wagons.

Hyundai Sonata Turbo and Hybird

Hyundai’s hot streak continues here in the Big Apple as the automaker unveils two innovative new versions of its successful Sonata. The 2011 Sonata 2.OT brings GDI turbocharging to the people, with the kind power – 274 horses-reserved for higher-end models and respectable gas mileage 34 mpg highway, 22 city, as well.

The Sonata Hybird might be even bigger news, with a new kind of lithium-polymer battery pack that Hyundai says is more energy dense, but also more stable than existing cells. The result is a hybird that gets better mileage on the highway than in the city — 39/37 mpg, respectively, and electric-only up to 62 mph.

Infiniti QX56

The new QX56 is further evidence that the full-size SUV will not go gently into that good night. Like it or hell it, this North American version of the recently unveiled Nissan Patrol is built to stand out, from its direct-injection 5.6-litre 400-horsepower V8 engine to the humpbacked hood and black pillars that give the impression of the world’s largest wraparound sunglasses. The redesigned 8-seater’s fuel economy is supposedly 10 per cent better than the 2010 QX56, but that, of course, is not why anyone will be buying this monster of a truck when it hits dealerships this summer.

Kia Optima

Kia has spent years struggling for relevance, or at least a little attention. The new Optima might be the company’s best audition yet, replacing the staid looks of the 2010 model with a mix bold and curving lines, and offering two distinctive powerplant choices. Although the midsize sedan will come standard with a 2.4-litre GDI 4-cyclinder, it will also be available with at 2.4-litre hybird engine that will go on sale next year, or a 2-litre turbo GDI, which Kia claims gets V6 power out of four modest cylinders, managing 274 horsepower.

Lincoln MKZ Hybrid

The Ford Fusion Hybrid was a crucial part of the venerable American automaker’s brand reinvention, proving that Detroit could be as forward-thinking and responsive as any foreign model. This year, Ford continues its push for domestic electrification with the Lincoln MKZ Hybrid, which the company claims is the most fuel-efficient luxury sedan on the planet. The new MKZ improves on the Fusion’s core gas-electric drivetrain — featuring the 2.5-litre Atkinson-cycle 1-4 hybrid engine, — squeezing 41 mpg on highways, and staying in emissions-free, electric-only mode at speeds of up to 47mph.

2011 Mercedes-Benz R-Class

For the 2011 model year, Mercedes-Benz took one of its rare ugly ducklings — the R-Series — and re-imagined it as the roomy, assertive swan it was always meant to be.

The exterior is fully redesigned, with a raised, more refined nose, and a wider, more prominent front grille. The interior was untouched, and the crossover will be available in the US with either the standard R350 4MATIC V6 or the BlueTEC turbodiesel version, which trades horsepower for increased torque (400 lb-ft) and fuel economy, getting 18 mpg on the highway and 24 in the city.

2011 Mitsubishi Outlander Sport

Already a hit on the world market, where it’s known as either the ASX or the RVR depending on the region, the new Outlander Sport is expected to cash in on one of the US auto market’s biggest ongoing trends, the streamlining of the SUV. The 5-seat Sport is a more compact take on the Outlander, sharing the same Lancer Evolution-sourced looks, while coming in 440 pounds lighter and 13.6 inches shorter. Priced at around US$20,000 with a 2.4-litre 4-cyclinder MIVEC engine that’s no powerhouse, but is expected to get at least 30 mpg on the highway. The Sport has what it takes to dominate the compact crossover segment.

Scion IQ

At last year’s New York Auto Show, Scion showed off a three-seater ultra-compact concept called the iQ. In fact, it was just a Toyota iQ, which was already on sale in Japan at the time, dressed up with a Scion badge and some tricked-out custom tuner parts. Now, the Scion iQ is back as a four-seater, loaded with a bigger engine (a more respectable 1.3-liter 4-cyclinder, as opposed to the Japanese iQ’s golf cart-worthy 1.0-litre). Although Scion isn’t releasing prices, its version of the iQ isn’t intended as a budget vehicle but an urban attention-getter, a competitor with Daimler’s smart car, but with street credibility.

Volkswagen Touareg Hybrid

If it seems a little ironic that VW’s first hybrid is an SUV, or that a diesel version of the Touareg is still more efficient, look on the bright side. The 2011 Touareg Hybrid, which shares its gas-electric drivetrain with the Porsche Cayenne S Hybrid, comes with a supercharged V6, can run electric-only at speeds of up to 31 mph, and gets a combined 29 mpg. That number doesn’t include the truck’s stop-start feature, a rare find in the US, which should boost fuel economy even more (by turning the engine off during stops, instead of idling).