The latest ideas in car design are embodied in concept cars which give the manufacturers the opportunity of judging the public's response to them. There's bound to be something that will appeal to all of us whether the concept is technical innovation or design. For 2011 I present five cool concept cars.

The likelihood of having your new car written off is fairly strong, it's best to take out gap insurance when you purchasing the new car.

Volkswagen XL1 Concept

First unveiled at the Qatar Motor Show the Volkswagen XL1 Concept puts the emphasis on economy. The car is not heavy on account of its strong yet light carbon fibre body. A 20kw lithium-ion battery pack will take the XL1 twenty miles at which point a 800cc 48hp engine takes over. A further efficient 320 miles can be squeezed out of the small 2.64 gallon fuel tank. It's a mystery as to how Volkswagen will manage to provide production models of this concept at a reasonable price.

Renault Captur concept

Renault hope that the new Captur concept car will sell like hot cakes. With its removable hardtop and its eclectic features the Captur combines the characteristics of a convertible, an MPV, a coupe and a hatchback. Anyone sitting in the Captur will experience a strange floating feeling which is the result of having the seating attached to the central console rather than to the floor. Powered by a 158bhp engine, it is capable of speeds up to 130mph. Low emissions put this concept in the tax free range.

BMW Vision ConnectedDrive

At the 2011 Geneva Motor Show this sleek and aggressive looking concept car has stimulated enormous interest. The bodywork is beautifully designed with rounded headlights and grill that is reminiscent of a shark's head. Sliding doors remind us of the Z1 limited edition and the L shaped rear light cluster is a new design we'll be seeing on new Beemers. Essential information such as speed is displayed on a 3D screen which can also display GPS information when needed.

Infiniti Etherea concept

Infiniti's contribution to the Geneva Motor Show is the Etherea, their first compact car and a direct competitor to BMW's Series 1. The Etherea, a smart hatchback, is quite different from Infiniti's usual range of luxury 4x4's and executive saloons. Probably to be powered by a turbocharged 4 cylinder Mercedes Benz engine, this petro-electric hybrid will be in production in 2014 and is clearly aimed at a younger market. My wish list includes the Etherea and the necessary gap insurance.

Vauxhall Zafira Tourer concept

Amazing performance is not a pre-requisite of a concept car. The Zafira Tourer, by Vauxhall, is an example. The hugely popular MPV could be superseded by this seven-seater passenger vehicle. Although shown as a concept, the style and design may be what we will see when it goes into production later this year.

The Zafira features a new version of the Flex 7's practical seating system but does not inherit the FlexDoor system from the Meriva. On the dash there's a touch screen display whilst the rear seat passengers can surf the internet or watch films on the front seat mounted laptops.

The entry level Zafira is expected to be powered by 1.4 litre turbo-charged engine with a stop-start system and carry a price tag of £20,000.

Gap insurance should be bought at the same time as one of these new cars is bought.

We, the public, are given a sight of the future by concept cars whilst they, the manufacturers, find out what our responses to them are. The concepts represented by these advanced cars are clearly what people want in their new cars; this is evidenced by the reactions of those attending the Geneva Motor Show.