New Cars of 2015: Nine Expected Launches and What Became of Them

How we picked and updated the list

We kept the nine cars from the 2015 article and checked each one against manufacturer data, Euro NCAP and reference sources. Old price guesses without a source were removed. For every car we added the launch facts, the main engines and the end of the story, using kW first.

1. Land Rover Discovery Sport (2014–present)

The Discovery Sport replaced the Freelander and opened the new Discovery family. It was revealed in September 2014, built at Halewood in England, and offered a 5+2 seat layout for children in the third row. At launch it had a 2.0-litre petrol engine with 177 kW (240 PS) and a 2.2-litre diesel with 110 or 140 kW (150 or 190 PS). Jaguar Land Rover's own Ingenium engines replaced them from late 2015.

It became a hit: 69,501 sold in 2015, 122,460 in 2016 and 126,078 in 2017, for 413,642 from 2014 to 2018. Euro NCAP gave it five stars in December 2014. The 2019 update moved it to the PTA platform with mild hybrids and a plug-in hybrid. Read more on our Discovery Sport page.

2. Ford Mondeo Mk5 (2014–2022)

The 2015 article asked whether the Mondeo could repeat its 1994 European Car of the Year win. It came close: in the 2015 vote it finished fourth with 203 points. The fifth Mondeo had been revealed in Detroit in January 2012 as a twin of the North American Fusion. Its European launch slipped to October 2014, after Ford closed the Genk plant and moved production to Valencia.

It offered petrol engines from a 1.0-litre three-cylinder upwards, diesels and a 138 kW full hybrid. European production ended on 30 March 2022, and Ford did not replace it with a direct successor in Europe. The Ford Mondeo page has the details, and our published comparison Ford Mondeo vs Volkswagen Passat sets the two rivals of 2015 side by side.

3. Mercedes-Maybach S600 (2015–2017)

The S600 brought back the Maybach name, this time as a Mercedes-Benz sub-brand rather than a separate maker. It premiered in November 2014, orders opened on 15 December 2014, and deliveries began in February 2015, close to the April date the old article expected. The car is a stretched S-Class: its wheelbase is 200 mm longer than that of the long S-Class, all of it for the rear seats. The engine is a 6.0-litre twin-turbo V12 with 390 kW (530 PS) and 830 Nm.

The 2017 facelift replaced the S600 with the S650, and the Maybach versions of later S-Classes continue the line. More in our Mercedes-Maybach S600 review.

4. Volkswagen Passat B8 (2014–2023)

Volkswagen revealed the eighth Passat on 3 July 2014 at its design centre in Potsdam. It was the first car of the Volkswagen Group to use an enlarged MQB platform, and it was built in Emden and Zwickau. In the 2015 European Car of the Year vote it won with 340 points, ahead of the Citroën C4 Cactus (248) and the Mercedes-Benz C-Class (221).

The range ran from a 1.6 TDI with 88 kW to a 2.0 TSI 4MOTION with 206 kW, plus the GTE plug-in hybrid with a system output of 160 kW. An Alltrack followed in late 2015 and a facelift in February 2019. Saloon production in Europe ended in December 2021, and the estate was built until 2023.

5. Audi Q7 4M (2015–2026)

The second Q7 was revealed in Detroit in January 2015 and weighed up to 325 kg less than the first. Built on the MLB platform, it offered 2.0 and 3.0 TFSI petrol engines, a 3.0 TDI, plug-in hybrids and an SQ7 with up to 373 kW (507 PS). With five seats in use the boot holds 890 litres.

The Q7 4M received facelifts in 2019 and 2024 and stayed in production for more than ten years. A third generation was revealed on 9 June 2026. See our Audi Q7 page for every generation.

6. Chevrolet Tracker (2013–2022)

The Tracker is the name used in South America and some other markets for the first Chevrolet Trax. It shares the Gamma II platform with the Opel Mokka and the Buick Encore, as the old article noted, but has its own body and interior. Engines included a 1.4 turbo and a 1.8 petrol, both with 103 kW (140 PS), and front- or all-wheel drive.

Euro NCAP gave the Trax 94 % for adult protection in 2013. In 2019 a new Tracker on a different GM platform replaced it in China and South America.

7. Kia Sorento UM (2014–2020)

The third Sorento was revealed in South Korea on 28 August 2014 and shown in Europe at the Paris Motor Show that October. It was 95 mm longer than its predecessor but lower, and Kia claimed 14 % more body rigidity. Engines included a 2.4 GDi with 142 kW, a 2.0 turbo with 179 kW, a 3.3 V6 with 216 kW for North America and a 2.2 CRDi diesel for Europe, with five or seven seats.

The 2017 facelift brought new lights and bumpers. The fourth Sorento was unveiled on 17 February 2020 with a 1.6 turbo hybrid, and a plug-in hybrid was planned from the start.

8. Jaguar XE (2015–2024)

The XE was revealed in London on 8 September 2014 and went into production at Solihull on 13 April 2015. The old article was right that it would be Jaguar's most affordable and most technical saloon: its aluminium-intensive body has a drag coefficient of 0.26. At launch the range ran from a 2.0 Ingenium diesel with 120 kW (163 PS) to the 3.0 V6 XE S with 250 kW (340 PS).

Euro NCAP gave it five stars in 2015. The SV Project 8 of 2017, with a 5.0 supercharged V8 of 441 kW (600 PS), was built 300 times. Sales reached 44,095 in 2016 but fell afterwards, and production of the European car ended in mid-2024 without a successor. See our Jaguar XE review.

9. Mercedes-Benz GLE Coupé C292 (2015–2019)

The GLE Coupé was Mercedes' answer to the BMW X6. Unveiled at the Detroit show in January 2015, it was based on the W166 GLE and built in the United States. The top AMG GLE 63 S Coupé had a 5.5-litre twin-turbo V8 with 768 Nm. Production of the first generation ended in August 2019, and the second-generation C167 coupé followed on the new GLE. More on our GLE Coupé page.

How the new cars of 2015 turned out

By our count, six of the nine new cars still have a direct successor on sale in 2026, two ended without one, and the Passat survives only as an estate. The biggest sales success was the Discovery Sport, with more than 400,000 sold in its first five calendar years.

Verdict: which 2015 newcomer to buy used

For a family on a budget, a Passat B8 estate with a TDI engine is the most rational choice among the new cars of 2015: roomy, economical and the Car of the Year. The Discovery Sport suits buyers who need seven seats and some off-road ability. Drivers who value handling should look at the Jaguar XE, and the Maybach S600 is for those who want maximum comfort and accept high running costs. Our car comparison tool helps set any two of these against each other.

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