With the global auto industry in a constant battle to meet tougher environmental and fuel economy regulations, plus massive shifts in customer tastes, 2015 is shaping up to be yet another year of interesting and significant new vehicle introductions.
Alphabetically, here are the top 10 new vehicles in showrooms or making their debuts at an auto show in 2015:
2016 Acura NSX
The highly anticipated Acura NSX concept was unveiled at the 2013 Canadian International Auto Show.
Handout, Acura
Can Honda catch lighting twice in a bottle? That’s the question I have with the new 2016 NSX super sports car.
More than three years after the NSX Concept debuted at the Detroit auto show, Honda’s Acura brand will finally let loose the production version of the successor to the original 1990 to 2005 classic sometime in 2015.
NSX part deux keeps the original’s two-door, mid-mounted V6 configuration. But instead of rear-drive only, the new, American-built NSX will sport traction at all four wheels and three electric motors to help the powertrain achieve around 400 horsepower.
2015 Cadillac ATS-V
The 2016 Cadillac ATS-V at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Andrew McCredie, Driving
It takes time to slay a legend. In the case of General Motors’ Cadillac brand, it’s been about a decade and a half and counting since the folks at Cadillac went gunning for Germany’s BMW, specifically, the high-performance M3/ M4. But the new ATS-V just might be a legend slayer.
With a 455-horsepower twin-turbocharged 3.6-litre six-cylinder gas engine, lightweight aero-bodywork, Brembo brakes, six-speed stick and Magnetic Ride Control suspension, let’s just go ahead and book Calabogie Motorsports Park now for the inevitable Caddy versus BMW showdown next year.
Read more: Top 10 debuts at the 2014 L.A. Auto Show
2015 Jeep Renegade
2015 Jeep Renegade
Handout, Jeep
For the second time in a few years, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ Jeep will test the strength of its brand equity.
The first was the current Cherokee, a jacked-up Fiat compact hatch that is selling like beard oil at a folk music festival. And next year, Canadians will get a crack at the new 2015 Renegade, a jacked-up Fiat subcompact hatch that’s pulled its exterior out of the Jeep tickle trunk.
Like the new Honda FR-V, Mazda CX-3 and a host of other new small cute-utes, the highly customizable and urban-friendly Renegade should make Jeep traditionalists cranky and Jeep salespeople happy.
2016 Mazda CX-3
Mazda CX-3 at the Los Angeles Auto Show.
Andrew McCredie, Driving
If you don’t think that the crossover body style will replace the conventional hatchback, take a look at the new Mazda CX-3.
Built on the same platform as the Japanese automaker’s subcompact Mazda2 hatchback and sedan platform, the CX-3 will likely outsell those other conventional body styles quite handily.
In fact, with available all-wheel-drive and desirable raised ride height, the CX-3 might eventually challenge the brand’s Mazda3 compact as Mazda’s bestseller.
2016 Mazda MX-5
The 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata at this year’s Paris Motor Show.
Graeme Fletcher, Driving
Arguably the most radical re-do of Mazda’s small roadster since its arrival in 1989, the new MX-5 coming in 2015 eschews any nostalgic ties to old-timey British roadsters from the 1960s.
The MX-5 boldly goes into the future, with more modern sharp-edged styling and extensive use of lightweight materials. Will the new Miata (you and I know that’s what the MX-5 is still known as) turn off old fans? Will it gain new followers? Stay tuned.
2016 Mini Clubman
Mini Clubman concept at 2014 Geneva Motor Show.
Graeme Fletcher, Driving
First seen in concept form last year in Geneva, the Clubman is essentially a station wagon version of the Mini two- and four-door hatchbacks.
Now with six doors (four at the side and a pair of vertical rear doors) and longer and wider than the current compact Mini Countryman, the production Clubman will arguably be the most practical (i.e. potentially best-selling) Mini ever, and gives hipster parents a real alternative to the Volkswagen Golf Sport Wagon as their vehicle of choice. If it comes in brown, Mini won’t be able to make enough of them.
2016 Nissan Titan
2015 Nissan Titan
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Yes, Virginia, Nissan still makes a full-size pickup. Of course, just like its rival over at Toyota (I think it’s called the Tundra), no one buys any Titans, seeing how the Big Three (Ford F-150, Ram 1500, Chevrolet Silverado/GMC Sierra) have owned this segment since, well, ever.
But here is Japan’s Nissan, giving it the ol’ college try once again with a NEW! and IMPROVED! Titan full-size pickup. Unless the new Titan comes with a hot tub and a lifetime voucher for free BBQ wings, though, truck buyers will more than likely stick to their American standards.
2016 Toyota Prius
2015 Toyota Prius
Handout, Toyota
It’s big news when an all-new version of the world’s best-selling hybrid car debuts. Such will be the case in 2015, when the fourth-generation Toyota Prius is expected to debut.
So far, Toyota has set the bar high, saying the next Prius will deliver significantly better fuel economy in a more compact package that is lighter in weight and lower in cost. Heady stuff. To find out if the 2016 Prius will meet those goals, we’ll probably have to wait until next fall’s Tokyo show to see the final version. But expect 2015 to be the year of the Prius.
Volkswagen crossover
Volkswagen CrossBlue Concept.
John LeBlanc, Postmedia News
With U.S. annual sales running less than half the 800,000 goal predicted for 2018, Volkswagen officials seemingly have left out a key element in those plans — crossovers.
Sure, there’s the small-but-pricey Tiguan, and the larger Touareg, which suffers the same value challenge. But 2015 will finally see the production debut of Volkswagen’s idea of the Ford Explorer/Honda Pilot/Hyundai Santa Fe XL/Toyota Highlander — previewd by the CrossBlue Concept first seen at the 2013 Detroit auto show.
2016 Volvo XC90
Volvo XC90
Andrew McCredie, Driving
After spending more than a decade on sale, the old Volvo XC90 is finally being replaced by a completely redesigned model next year.
At first blush, the new 2016 Volvo XC90 looks just like any other new three-row luxury crossover. Ho-hum. But the XC90 — with its Lego-like scalable chassis, multiple engine outputs based on a singular 2.0-litre four, architecturally interesting interior featuring one of the first applications of Apple’s new CarPlay infotainment system — is just the tip of the arrow from a resurrected Volvo.
If the XC90 ends up good, there may be hope that the Swedish brand survives to see the top 10 most anticipated debuts for 2020.
