The 23 New Cars to look out for in 2023 Part2
As we head into 2023, This is Money has picked its 23 favourite new cars set to launch in the UK over the course of the next 12 months.
We’ve already featured the first 12 models in part one of our A-to-Z preview of brands, which covered new motors from Audi to Kia.
Here’s part two, where we examine 11 vehicles hitting Britain’s roads in 2023 from manufacturers from Mercedes-Benz to Volkswagen.
Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV
Price: from approx £90,000
On sale: Early 2023
Mercedes is launching new models to its electric ‘EQ’ line-up at rapid pace. One of the new EVs it will debut in showrooms in 2023 is the EQE SUV, which – as the name suggests – is a jacked-up version of the Mercedes-Benz EQE saloon.
This is a premium luxury car with a premium price tag to match. It will likely start in the region of £90,000 – with the highest-spec variants easily eclipsing six figures. When it does arrive, it will take aim at the volume-selling SUVs made by its biggest rivals: Audi’s e-tron SUV; the BMW iX; and Tesla’s massive Model X.
It’s a smart looking thing, with the same curved and smooth looks that other Mercedes EQ cars boast. This is function as well as form, with the aim of reducing drag to take some strain off the battery and electric motor, and therefore boost range. The EQE SUV is said to be good for up to 366 miles on a full charge, and a hot AMG version will be added to the range too, which should be able to hit 62mph from a standing start in just 3.5 seconds.
MG4 EV
Price: from £25,995
On sale: Now
From an expensive luxury electric vehicle from Mercedes to one from MG Motor UK that has a more attainable price tag. The MG4 EV is the latest battery car the Chinese-owned outfit has brought to market – and it’s winning plenty of praise.
Already on sale from £25,995, it is currently Britain’s cheapest electric model and only one of three you can buy from showrooms today for less than £30,000. While it has been on sale since the end of 2022 and some are already in the wild, expect to see plenty more in 2023 as demand for this attainable EV grows.
The cheapest model has a 51kWh battery linked to a 125kW electric motor that propels it from rest to 62mph in 7.7 seconds, and up to a top speed of 100 mph, with a range of 218 miles. However, from £28,495 you can get your hands on the ‘Long Range’ version with a bigger 64kWh battery linked to a 150kW motor, which extends the driving distance on a full charge to 270 miles.
Mini Hatchback
Price: from approx £23,000
On sale: Early 2023
A new Mini Hatchback is due to be unveiled in 2023, and we’ve already seen quite a lot of it – though it’s heavily camouflaged, we must caveat.
The BMW-owned brand has been teasing us with glimpses of the next-generation Mini, with official images of prototype models undergoing extreme weather testing. However, it has told us that the production-ready car will be unveiled in full in 2023.
Continuing the trend from the previous-generation model, Mini will offer the new Hatch with a choice of petrol or electric power, with the latter being built on a platform co-developed with Chinese firm Great Wall (you’ll hear more about Great Wall shortly). Production of the Mini Electric will move away from Britain to China, it has been confirmed, though Plant Oxford will continue to produce combustion-engine variants, including the Convertible.
Nissan X-Trail
Price: from £32,030
On sale: Now
We Britons love a Nissan. The Qashqai – which is built in Sunderland – is on course to be the best-selling new car in 2022, granted it can keep its lead over the Vauxhall Corsa in the sales charts in December.
But for those with larger families where a Qashqai simply isn’t big enough, the next best option is the X-Trail – and there’s a new one on sale now. While first deliveries were expected to arrive in late 2022, the chances are you won’t be seeing many on the road until ’23, with examples arriving from its factory in Japan.
With charming new looks, seven seats, a choice of a mild-hybrid petrol engine and two self-charging hybrid options, and a starting price of £32,000, the X-Trail could prove popular over the next 12 months.
Ora Funky Cat
Price: from £31,995
On sale: Now
Great Wall Motor (GMW) is one of China’s up-and-coming car companies, and Ora is its new electric-dedicated brand that’s just entered the UK market. The first model comes with an oddball name, too.
Called the Funky Cat, some 6,000 Britons made ‘expressions of interest’ in having one before it launched, with the First Edition cars now just arriving on UK soil – with less-expensive examples due to follow in 2023.
First Edition examples have a 48kWh battery offering an official range up to 193 miles. They will be compatible with 80kW charging devices, meaning they can be charged to 80 per cent capacity in around 50 minutes. A 63kWh battery model with a range of up to 261 miles is also rumoured to come in the next 12 months.
Peugeot e-308
Price: from approx £37,000
On sale: Mid 2023
Peugeot’s popular family hatchback will be completely electrified in 2023, with the e-308 bringing a zero-emission option to the long-running c-segment model. It will be its fifth all-electric vehicle and join the ranks alongside the e-208 and e-2008 in the range – both of which are selling well.
Fitted with a 54kWh battery, the e-308 will provide a fully-charged range of up to 248 miles. And customers needing more lugging space can also get it in estate form, which is set to go on sale around the same time as the conventional hatch.
Prices are still yet to be confirmed, but expect it to start just north of the e-2008, meaning around £37,000 for an entry-spec option. That will put it into direct competition with existing electric models including Volkswagen’s ID.3.
Polestar 3
Price: from £79,900
On sale: Now
Performance electric car firm Polestar recently unveiled its first zero-emissions SUV. It’s called the Polestar 3, is priced from £79,900, has a range of up to 379 miles and will make Elon Musk fret about what it could do to sales of his Tesla Model Y.
Order books opened in October, though first deliveries won’t be arriving until around mid-2023.
Powered by an 111kWh lithium-ion battery pack, the entry long-range car produces 360kW of electric power and can accelerate from 0-to-62mph in five seconds, with a range just shy of 380 miles. For an extra £5,600, you can buy an optional Performance Pack pushing power up to 380kW, reducing the 0-to-62mph time to 4.7 seconds (shaving off 0.3 seconds) – though it does slash range by 19 miles to 360 miles.
Porsche 911 Dakar (New Cars 2023)
Price: from £173,000
On sale: Now
The Porsche 911 is a model that’s about evolution rather than revolution, with the German brand’s flagship sportscar retaining its familiar looks dating back to the 1950s. But its latest derivative will be somewhat against the norm.
The 911 Dakar will be a limited production run of 2,500 cars with jacked-up suspension, chunky tyres and a number of off-road features, including a roof rack with LED lights. The iconic marque has created it as a tribute to the Porsche 953 that won the 1984 Paris-Dakar rally.
It uses the engine from one of its existing 911 models – the twin-turbocharged 3.0-litre flat six petrol from the GTS. This develops 473bhp and 570Nm of torque, sending power to all four wheels via the brand’s tried-and-tested eight-speed PDK gearbox. It will hit 62mph in just 3.5 seconds but the top speed is limited – mostly due to its off-road tyres – to 149mph.
Renault Austral (New Cars 2023)
Price: from approx £33,000
On sale: Early 2023
Renault has an all-new model entering its ranks in 2023. Called the Austral, it is the successor to the Kadjar and the largest SUV in the French firm’s vehicle range. It is the sister car to the Nissan Qashqai and – once in showrooms early next year – will rival its Japanese sibling as well as volume-selling competition including the Hyundai Tucson, Kia Sportage and Peugeot 3008.
It will be sold with a self-charging hybrid powertrain in the UK. This provides improved economy over standard petrol and diesel-powered rivals, though will mean a higher price tag, likely in the region of £33,000 – which is the starting price for a Qashqai E-Power.
Inside, it gets Renault’s latest suite of ‘OpenR’ infotainment technology, including a large tablet-style portrait touchscreen.
Vauxhall Astra Electric (New Cars 2023)
Price: from approx £40,000
On sale: Early 2023
The year 2023 will mark the arrival of the first fully-electric Vauxhall Astra. Based on the latest – and striking – eighth-generation family hatchback, first deliveries of this near-£40,000 EV are expected by mid-year at the latest.
It will be the sister car to the Peugeot e-308 already listed above, and will also be sold as a conventional hatch and estate. Both variants are powered by an 114kW electric motor and a 54kWh battery giving it a range of up to 258 miles from a single charge.
Acceleration from 0-to-62mph takes about eight seconds and top speed is 105mph. The new Astra Electric requires just 12.7kWh of electricity to cover 62 miles, which Vauxhall says makes it ideal for daily use. Charging to 80 per cent takes 30 minutes using a 100kW rapid charger and is expected to take around seven and a half hours on a domestic wallbox.
All models come as standard with a three-phase 11kW AC on-board charger suitable for wallbox use at home.
VW ID.2 (New Cars 2023)
Price: from approx £17,000
On sale: 2025
Don’t be surprised to see a few Volkswagen electric models come to light in 2023, and one we’re hoping to get a glimpse of in the next 12 months is a super-compact battery-powered SUV, which will likely be called the ID.2.
Already, VW has previewed how it might look with its 2021 ID.Life concept, which doubled as a car and a cinema on wheels with a retractable screen behind the windscreen glass and a projector that beams footage directly onto it – not something the production version is likely to offer. VW bosses said that a showroom-ready car would cost as little as €20,000 (around £17,000 at the time the comments were made) when it hits dealerships by the middle of the decade.
How could VW make an EV so affordable? Likely by fitting it with a small battery with a shorter full-charge range.
Also Read: The 23 New Cars to look out for in 2023 PART1
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