The Most Important New Cars Coming This Spring and Summer

Spring is upon us! The grass it getting green, the trees are blooming, and the rain showers seem like they will never stop. New cars, trucks and SUVs are also in full bloom this time of the year, as all the latest and greatest vehicles that debuted in late 2015 and early 2016 are starting to arrive in showrooms across the country.

Which models should you be on the lookout for as the weather warms up? Check out our list of the most important models arriving in showrooms this spring and summer.

Ford Focus RS

The Focus RS will make its way into dealers boasting an aggressive design language and a 350-horsepower 2.3-liter engine that matches its wild looks. This potent powerplant will pair with a six-speed manual transmission that delivers the power to a rear-biased all-wheel-drive system with a drift mode.

This hot hatchback is primed to rip the lid off the segment it competes in, blasting by current class favorites, like the Mini Cooper JCW, Focus ST, and Golf R when it arrives in the spring of 2016 at a starting price of $35,900.

Chrysler Pacifica

Chrysler is attempting to reinvent the segment that it revolutionized back in the 1980s: the minivan. The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica will take the place of the long-running Town & Country this year, and the changes it will usher in are significant. The first item that comes to mind is the Pacifica's sleek body that counters the rolling-brick design of most minivans today. While the new look is great, the huge news regarding the new Pacifica is its available hybrid powertrain, which allows up to 30 miles of electric-only range.

The Pacifica will hit showrooms in the spring of 2016 with a starting price of $28,595. Sadly, the hybrid variant will not arrive until later in the year.

Cadillac XT5

Cadillac’s renaming scheme is in full force as the CT6 is already in stores and the XT5 crossover is set to arrive soon. This model not only boasts a new design that is more upscale than the existing (and aging) SRX crossover, but it also has an updated 3.6-liter V6 with 310 horsepower and cylinder deactivation to help conserve fuel. What’s more, the XT5 boasts 3.2 inches of extra legroom when compared to the outgoing SRX, making it more family friendly.

The XT5 will hit showrooms in the spring of 2016, but Cadillac hasn’t revealed its pricing yet.

Nissan Titan

The Titan XD received nearly all of the press when it came to the redesigned Japanese pickup as it pushed the truck to a level it had never reached before. But there is one more Nissan truck in the works, and that is the base-level Titan (sans “XD”). The Titan is 14.7 inches shorter than its XD sibling, making it easier to handle in tight spaces. This redesigned Titan will feature an updated 5.6-liter V8 with 390 horsepower, which finally allows it to compete against the big-three American truck manufacturers.

The 2016 Nissan Titan will hit showrooms in the summer of 2016. Pricing will come closer to its on-sale date.

Mazda CX-9

The CX-9 has long been the outlier in Mazda's lineup, as other models featured the new Kodo design while the midsize crossover still had the old design language. For the 2017 model year, the CX-9 will inherit the new Kodo language, giving it an aggressive look that sets it apart from other three-row crossovers on the market. What’s more, this new people hauler will feature a 2.5-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine with Skyactiv technology that delivers 250 horsepower, 310 pound-feet of torque, and up to 28 mpg highway.

The 2016 Mazda CX-9 will hit showrooms in late-spring 2016 at a starting price of $31,520.

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