Tokyo motor show 2017 – our star cars

Jim Holder: Okay, so officially it’s not previewing the next WRX, but in reality we all know it is. And, yes, the looks owe an awful lot to what’s gone before, but who’s to knock flared wheel arches and a bonnet scoop? Subaru’s WRX icon may have become a millstone round its neck in some regards, but with looks this good the next one might just be a corker.

Mark Tisshaw: Do I have to give a reason why? Just look at it. Honda trotted out the usual ‘we’ll evaluate feedback’ line about whether or not it will make production, but who could turn their nose up at it? Even better was the styling shift towards cleaner, more timeless and less polarising design. A winner.

Rachel Burgess: If even some of the beautifully fluid shapes – apparently created by going back and forth between clay modelling and digital modelling over two years – can make it into the next generation of production models, it’s a very good sign for the future of Mazda design.

Richard Bremner: If you’re fed up with hearing about cars inspired by Riva motorboats or felines, this will refresh you – a car inspired by a toolbox. The result is not quite an oblong on wheels, but it’s close. The TJ’s wheels-at-the corners stance, bluff nose, blistered arches, flat screen and ribbed bonnet are perfect, as are the fold-flat seats. Almost production ready, Toyota will make it if the interest is there. Get to it please, we say.

Jimi Beckwith: Mitsubishi to me has always been about making brutally ugly SUVs with compelling off-road potential. The e-Evolution is no different, with its weird, craggy spaceship-like styling and electric four-wheel drive. Even better is that it's reaching production in the next two years as a similarly aesthetically challenging rival to Nissan Juke that might not be as frustratingly common.

James Attwood: With a design that's outlandish bordering on ridiculous, the e-Survivor looks like a machine from Mad Max reimagined in the style of Tron. With an electric motor inside each wheel and ultra-high ground clearance, it also looks like it could be an awful lot of fun to drive (even if you might look a bit daft doing so).

Sam Sheehan: Word on the street is this concept previews the next-generation 3. If the production version looks anything like this inside and out, I dare say Mazda will be in for good things. There might be some 'toning down', with that blade-like nose unlikely to fare well in pedestrian safety tests, and the whole car will undoubtedly sit higher. But if the general sleek theme is carried over, who wouldn't be tempted to get a 3 over a Focus?