Cars for 2023

Ted Welford

chooses his top 10 vehicles for the year ahead, ranging from supercars to pick-up trucks.

The automotive world is in a weird state of flux right now. At one end of the spectrum, we’ve got manufacturers announcing they’ll never sell another petrol or diesel vehicle as they switch to EVs.

Then, at the other, we’ve got firms letting their hair down with wild performance cars, almost as a last hurrah for the combustion engine as we know it.

All this makes it a particularly exciting time to be a part of the automotive industry.

There’s a lot of great new metal on the horizon – EVs, supercars, hot hatches and more. These then are the 10 cars to keep an eye out for in 2023.

Porsche 911 Dakar

How do you go about making a Porsche 911 even more desirable?

The answer, it seems, is to crank up the suspension, add some extra spotlamps and give it a name that sounds good whenever you say it – Dakar.

Drawing inspiration from the classic 911s that conquered the famous Dakar Rally, this off-roadready 911 is limited to 2,500 examples, with each one costing £173,000. Our lottery numbers had better come in...

Volkswagen Amarok

How could you not get excited by a new pick-up truck? Okay, maybe it’s just us. But the original Volkswagen Amarok made such a huge impact on the truck market when it first arrived that it’s hard not to feel just a little bit of anticipation about the arrival of the new one.

Sharing a platform with the new Ford Ranger, this latest Amarok looks even more aggressive than the one it replaces, yet it’s expected to retain the same car-like driving experience and solid build quality that made its predecessor such a hit.

Mini Hatch

Mini’s Hatch is a consistent sight in the monthly list of best-selling new cars. So, how do you replace it? Well, you might expect it to switch to a totally electric model, but the new, yet-to-be-fully-revealed Mini will continue to be offered with petrol engines in some form.

That said, it’s likely we’ll still get a new version of the Mini Electric – we just hope it’ll have a longer range than the current version, as that’s the model’s only real shortcoming.

Honda Civic Type R

Honda’s mainstream European line-up has already switched to pure-hybrid and electric models but this is the exception. Set to hit the roads in early 2023, it’s a development of the predecessor – a true hot hatch favourite.

Limited to only a few hundred cars in the UK, it offers a sporty exterior design – including the trademark big rear spoiler and triple-exit exhaust – while its 325bhp 2.0-litre engine is the most powerful VTEC Turbo fitted to a Honda.

Polestar 3

Polestar has been establishing a firm reputation here in the UK, with its ‘2’ electric model finding favour with all manner of buyers. So you can’t blame the Swedish firm for looking to capitalise on this popularity by expanding its range with the ‘3’ SUV.

We think it’s a particularly goodlooking new car, too, and its range of around 379 miles means it’s more than just decent aesthetics that we’re getting here. Hyundai has quickly established itself as an EV leader, with its futuristic Ioniq 5 being widely praised. In 2023, things get even more interesting with the new Ioniq 6. It’s a car that Hyundai has been teasing for what seems like an eternity, but it finally arrives at dealerships early this year.

Offering a raft of new technology, its impressively streamlined shape is a far cry from the boxy and inefficient SUVs, and enables an electric range of up to 328 miles. We can’t wait to get behind the wheel of this EV.

BMW M3 Touring

Performance BMW fans have been asking BMW for an estate version of the M3 for years, especially given that both Audi and Mercedes have rival models. But the wait is over next year, with the new M3 Touring.

Revealed at the 2022 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the first cars will arrive at dealerships in 2023, bringing far greater practicality than the standard M3, yet still with the same focus on performance and driving enjoyment.

Alfa Romeo supercar

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen a true supercar from Alfa Romeo, but that time is coming in 2023 as the brand looks to send its combustion engines out on a high and celebrate the centenary of its sporty Quadrifoglio division.

Alfa Romeo still hasn’t definitively confirmed the arrival, but since boss Jean-Philippe Imparato has spoken about it being ‘limited to 100 cars’ and ‘designed with customers’, we expect it to make its appearance in the first few months of 2023.

Lamborghini Huracán Sterrato

It seems like 2023 is going to be the year of the raised-up sports car – just see what Porsche has done to the 911 – with the Sterrato being a more go-anywhere-focused version of Lamborghini’s Huracán.

It’s a release tinged with sadness, mind you, as it’ll probably be one of the last times we see Lamborghini’s famous V10 in one of its new cars.

That said, as a finale it’s a heck of a way to go out.

Jeep Avenger

‘Jeep’ is a name that many think of in relation to big, thirsty SUVs. But this American 4×4 brand is changing, with nearly all of its models already electrified in some way. Jeep takes the next big leap in 2023 with its first production-ready EV – the Avenger.

Slotting beneath the Renegade in the line-up, the Avenger offers Jeep’s well-loved EV powertrain and a developed version of a powertrain found in various other Stellantis products. A four-wheel-drive model is set to follow, too. Jeep has underperformed in the UK for some time, but the Avenger will hopefully serve as a return to form.