Cars and Crossover Debuts at 2014′s New York Auto Show

With the Detroit and Chicago auto shows already behind us this year, the industry and its observers are now turning their attention to the next big American auto event, which will take place in New York City during the third week of April. Though Detroit proved exciting in terms of the product spread, Chicago left many feeling a bit empty. Hopefully, New York will hold some surprises. So far, it’s looking like it will serve as a venue for more practical, capability-minded debuts, with a few standouts. Here are seven vehicles that are so far scheduled to reveal their new faces for the first time. Since the show is still further down the road, it’s likely there will be many more vehicles to pop up, so stay tuned.

 2015 Subaru Outback

It’s a busy year for Subaru. It’s expected that the 2015 Outback — due out later this summer, alongside the Legacy — will be the outdoor enthusiast’s leading choice and will offer a few minor tweaks, but nothing substantially industry changing. It will likely be as impressively capable as the current model but may feature better gas mileage, a different exterior (taking more after the Legacy), and the same rough-and-tumble attitude for which the Outback is beloved.

 2015 Nissan Murano

Though the Nissan (NSANY.PK) Rogue received a significant recent redesign, it’s been some time since Nissan’s larger crossover, the Murano, has gotten the same attention. That should change later this year, when Nissan releases the updated model, presumably based on Nissan’s Resonance concept (pictured) from last year’s Detroit Auto Show. The three-row option will be done away with (both the Rogue and Pathfinder have three rows, so Nissan’s bases are covered), and the vehicle will likely be built on the same platform as the Altima, Maxima, and Pathfinder. The Murano CrossCabriolet — a sort of weird attempt at a convertible SUV — will be discontinued, perhaps for the best.

BMW X4

BMW has an X3 and an X5, so the X4 seems sort of like a no-brainer. Essentially a smaller X6, the X4 is shaping up to be a coupe-derived X3, which tries to blend the sportiness of a coupe with the high-ground clearance and capabilities of an SUV. These cars have had mixed results in the past, but BMW seems to have found some success with the X6, so the X4 might just make it. Power is unclear but likely to focus around BMW’s 3-liter inline six, or possibly its new 2-liter turbo four.