Most Anticipated Cars of 2017

From the M2 to the NSX, 2016 saw some remarkable cars hit UK showrooms (here our pick of the best and the worst) and 2017 looks like it could be another vintage year for the new car market.

Here’s what we can look forward over the next 12 months…

Land Rover Discovery

Spring 2017 will see the long-awaited arrival of the fifth-gen Discovery. Design-wise, it looks like someone has taken a Discovery Sport and simply blew it up a bit. Indeed, the new model is 14cm longer than its predecessor, almost stretching for five metres, but marginally narrower and lower than before.

Despite its length upgrade, the Discovery has been on a bit of a diet, hacking almost half a tonne from its curb weight thanks to greater use of aluminium in its body.

Prices start from £43,395 for the entry-level S model, reaching to £68,295 for the 600-units only First Edition.

Find out more on the Discovery 5.

Ford Fiesta

The Fiesta may not do much to quicken your pulse, but the super popular supermini has been Britain’s best-selling car since 2007 and it is sure to enjoy another sales surge in 2017, with the arrival of an all-new model.

The car is famed for its class-leading handling, but a sophisticated range of driver assistance systems will make this seventh-gen Fiesta the world’s most technologically advanced small car.

Visually, it’s more of the same, just some sharper lines here, some pinched angles there and a new wider grille. Sadly, the hot-hatch ST version won’t be with us until 2018.

More details here.

Before then though, Ford is set to keep us sweet with an even harder-core take on the already bonkers Focus RS – the RS500. Details are scant but it should be good for nought to 62mph in under four seconds, retailing at more than £40,000.

Ferrari LaFerrari Aperta

What do you get when you take a tin opener to Ferrari’s £1 million LaFerrari? The Aperta, which translates as ‘open’ in English.

Only 499 fixed-roof LaFerraris were built and these open-tops will be even more scarce and in demand with production capped at 209.

The key difference between the two is the removable carbon-fibre hard-top, or retractable soft-top, but there are other slight changes, such as re-angled radiators to direct air flow out along the underbody – rather than over the bonnet – and a longer front air dam to help boost downforce; minor points that only die-hard fans will care about.

What matters most is that the Aperta will use the same mild hybrid system and 6.3-litre engine as the standard LaFerrari. This means 949bhp, a 0-62mph dash of less than three seconds and a top speed of 217mph.

More info here.

Volkswagen Golf

Another slightly dull entry here but a biggie nonetheless, if only because the new and improved Golf will tell how much VW has learned from its emissions-cheating scandal.

On face value, you’d think that not much has changed with Golf mk7.5, but its looks were never the problem. Instead, more attention is on its engines, most notably, a new 1.5-litre TSI petrol. This 147bhp four-pot unit features active cylinder management (ACT), which means the engine disables certain cylinders when they aren’t needed, thus saving fuel and reducing emissions.

The refresh exercise means we’ll also get a new GTI – boasting 226bhp, 10bhp more than before – as well as new Golf R and GTD variants before the end of 2017.

Audi SQ2

2016 saw Audi confidently stride into the compact SUV market with the well-received Q2, and a performance-focused version will join it in 2017 in the form of the SQ2.

No official details from Audi so far – the car hasn’t even been confirmed yet, so we’ve had to use a picture of the standard Q2 here – but the SQ2 has been spotted testing at the Nurburgring race track.

Many expect the car to use the same four-cylinder 2.0-litre turbo petrol engine from the Audi S3, pumping out 296bhp and quattro four-wheel drive.