Johannesburg - South African new vehicle sales were in the doldrums again last year as the economy continued to bite, but this hasn’t stopped motor companies from planning a barrage of new cars for our shores. From modest hatches to snarling sports cars, here are the new models headed our way in 2017:
Alfa Romeo
Alfa's new Giulia sports sedan takes on the German establishment.
The much anticipated
, which is an Italian rival for 3 Series, C-Class and A4, should arrive in the year’s first quarter.
This rear-wheel drive sedan will come in various 2-litre turbo guises, but a flagship 375kW/600Nm Quadrifoglio version is also on the way. Alfa’s new Stelvio SUV is at this point unconfirmed for 2017, but could well launch before year end.
Audi
Q2 is Audi's new baby crossover
Expect a four-ring onslaught this year with planned Audi launches including the
compact crossover in February, and the all-new
in March. An
will follow shortly after.
The next generation
and
should also launch around July.
On the performance front, we’ll get the
,
, and
sometime in the second quarter, while the tweaked RS3 Sportback
and RS5 Coupé
land near year end.
Bentley
Bentayga diesel is Bentley's first oil-burner.
The luxury British brand will launch its first oil-burner this year when the diesel version of the Bentayga SUV
comes out. Its 4-litre V8 diesel pushes out a mountain-tackling 320kW and 900Nm.
BMW
All-new 5 Series will be with us by early March.
The ludicrous, long-wheelbase M760Li
super limo should arrive early this year with 448kW and 800Nm of all-wheel driven turbo V12 power.
Expect the hi-tech seventh generation
late next month or early March, and also in March comes a plug-in hybrid version of the 3 Series called the 330e iPerformance
.
A special
Championship Edition is also on the way with launch timing to be confirmed.
Chevrolet
Won’t confirm anything.
Citroën
The French brand has quit the country.
Datsun
No plans for 2017.
Ferrari
Ferrari's all-wheel drive GTC4Lusso.
The successor to Ferrari’s FF model, the new
, is scheduled to land in South Africa around the end of April. Like the FF, the Lusso is designed with a shooting-brake body style and gets 507kW and 697Nm of V12 power directed through all four wheels.
Fiat
Fiat will re-enter the compact sedan market with new Tipo.
A stylish new Fiat Tipo
sedan is on the cards in the first quarter, with a hatch version arriving later. The
also gets a diesel engine option in single cab guise, while the double cab range is expanded with an automatic gearbox. Both are planned for the second quarter. A replacement for the big Scudo van, called the Tango
, arrives around the same time.
Ford
It’ll be a quiet year for Ford (in terms of products at least), with only the
due sometime in the second quarter. But will anyone trust it?
Jeep
A new version of Jeep’s small
should be introduced around July.
Honda
All-new Honda CR-V.
Honda has a facelifted Ballade
coming sometime in the first quarter, and a completely
coming later in the year.
Hyundai
Hyundai is gunning for Golf with all-new i30 hatch.
A small SUV called the
will fill the gap under Hyundai’s Tucson in February, and around the same time a facelifted version of the
hatch is planned. Later in the year we’ll see the launch of the
, and possibly even some go-faster bits from the brand’s new N Sport performance division.
Infiniti
Can’t confirm anything at this point.
Isuzu
Won’t confirm anything.
Jaguar
A
range will launch early in May.
Kia
New Picanto has a more mature appearance.
Korean brand Kia confirms
and
models, but can’t yet say when in the year they’ll arrive.
Land Rover
New Discovery follows in its predecessor's offroading footsteps.
In July Land Rover will launch its
SUV.
Lamborghini
There are two special Lambo models in store for our market this year, with a track-focused lightweight version of Huracan called the Performante
and a revised flagship
called the 740S.
Lexus
Lexus LC500 large luxury coupe.
Japanese luxury carmaker Lexus will launch its stunning new
large luxury coupé here in mid-2017. It’s powered by a normally aspirated 5-litre V8 packing 351kW.
Mazda
All-new CX-5 is due in the third quarter.
Mazda will introduce a retractable hard-top version of its MX-5 called the
early this year, followed by a facelift of its
. In the third quarter we can also expect the
SUV, together with a new derivative of the small Mazda2 hatch.
Mercedes-Benz
Facelifted AMG GT range includes new 410kW GT C version.
A big push on AMG 43
models takes place in February, and will include turbo V6 versions of the C-Class, C-Coupe, GLC, GLC Coupe, GLE, and GLE Coupe. The
hatch gets a facelift in the second quarter, with an all-new
arriving with similar timing. The AMG GT loses its lid with a
in quarter two, and should coincide with the rest of the beefed up and
, which includes the 430kW GT R. An E-Class Cabriolet
comes next in the third quarter, while the S-Class
gets a facelift near year end.
Mini
Countryman is the family-sized adventure version of the Mini
Mini’s plans include a hotted-up John Cooper Works version of the
late in February or early March, with the all-new
hot on its heels a little later.
Mitsubishi
Mitsubishi's revised Outlander.
Things have been quiet on the Mitsubishi front in recent times, but the year opens with the launch of the
double cab next week, an revised Outlander SUV
in February, and an all-new
mid-year. There’s also a facelifted ASX
crossover coming in January, and some additional Triton models in the third quarter.
Nissan
Nissan's Micra takes a radical leap forward.
The
bakkie, complete with multi-link coil spring rear suspension will launch imminently, followed by the new
hatch, now based on the Renault Clio, and facelifts of the Qashqai
and X-Trail
.
Opel
Won’t confirm anything
Peugeot
Peugeot's attractive new 3008 crossover.
The new
and
crossover SUVs arrive around March. A new 8-seater bus called the Traveller
should arrive around September, and the 308 hatch
also gets a styling adjustment late in the year.
Porsche
Won’t confirm anything.
Renault
Duster-based Oroch three-quarter tonner is Renault's new bakkie.
Renault will join the bakkie fray with its new
late in the year, but before that we can expect a
hatch, an automatic Duster
, an updated Captur
, and limited edition Kadjars
and Meganes
in that order. The attractive
is also scheduled for launch in the third quarter.
Smart
No plans.
Subaru
It’ll be another quiet year for Subaru, but a new XV
crossover is expected near the end of the year. Its arrival will coincide with the introduction of the brand’s new EyeSight safety technology, which includes auto braking, lane guidance and radar cruise control.
Suzuki
Suzuki Ignis compact crossover.
Suzuki’s ever-growing line-up will be joined by the Ignis baby SUV, which arrives around mid-year to compete against the Opel Adam Rocks and VW Cross Up.
Toyota
New C-HR will slip in under the Rav4 as Toyota's mini SUV.
Toyota SA kicks off the year with a bang with the launch of its
compact crossover, and shortly after that it plans to introduce a
and a tweaked version of the Etios
hatch called the
. Later in the year we can also expect some subtle changes to the Yaris
and 86
.
Volkswagen
Facelifted Golf arrives in July.
A spicy-looking Polo 1.0 TSI R-Line
will be introduced together with a 2-litre TDI engine in the Tiguan
next month, and the Beetle
gets a facelift in May. Then in July, both the
and
get some model enhancements.
Volvo
Volvo S90 is here soon to take on the E-Class.
The next instalment of the rejuvenated Volvo brand sees the high-tech new
arriving in quarter one. We can also look forward to a burly-looking
wagon later in the year.