Calendar year

1997

What the archive documents for calendar year 1997. “Introduced” and “in production” are listed separately; model years, where a market uses them, are shown apart from calendar years.

Across the archive in 1997

Production started Toyota Prius (XW10) Toyota · 1997
Production started Volkswagen Golf Mk4 Volkswagen · October 1997
Production ended Mercedes-Benz W124 Mercedes-Benz · 1997
Production ended Mazda MX-5 (NA) Mazda · 1997

Other models in production during 1997

Introduced earlier; their documented production covers 1997. Introduced-this-year models are listed above.

Chevrolet Suburban Volkswagen Beetle Oldsmobile 88 Hindustan Ambassador Premier Padmini Lada Niva (VAZ-2121) Fiat Panda (141) Jeep Cherokee (XJ) Maruti Suzuki 800 Peugeot 205 Hindustan Contessa Maruti Suzuki Gypsy Honda NSX (first generation) Renault Clio Toyota Land Cruiser (J80) Tata Sierra (1991) Volkswagen Golf Mk3 Hummer H1 McLaren F1 Subaru Impreza (first generation) Ford Mustang (SN95) Mercedes-Benz E-Class (W210) Porsche 911 (993) Honda Civic (sixth generation) Chevrolet Corvette (C5) Lotus Elise

Detailed reference: events in calendar year 1997

First shown Mercedes-Benz M-Class (W163) 1997, North American International Auto Show, Detroit^[1]
Production started Mercedes-Benz M-Class (W163) February 1997^[2]

Detailed generations in production during 1997

Production years from the sources; a generation counts if 1997 falls within its first and last production year.

Honda1995–2001

Honda CR-V (RD1)

First generation

Kia1993–2005

Kia Sportage (NB)

First generation · sold as Wanli Sportage / Sportage Grand

Mercedes-Benz1997–2004

Mercedes-Benz M-Class (W163)

First generation

Toyota1994–2000

Toyota RAV4 (XA10)

First generation · sold as RAV4 L / RAV4 J

Sold as model year 1997

Honda CR-V (RD1) model years 1997–2001, United States^[3]
Kia Sportage (NB) model years 1995–2002, North America^[4]
Toyota RAV4 (XA10) model years 1996–2000, North America^[5]

Sources

Mercedes-Benz W 163 — Wikipedia (de) Reference work (read 9 October 2026)
Mercedes-Benz GLE — Wikipedia Reference work (read 9 October 2026)
Honda CR-V Timeline and Milestones — Honda News (American Honda) Manufacturer (read 9 October 2026)
Kia Sportage — Wikipedia Reference work (read 9 October 2026)
Toyota RAV4 — Wikipedia Reference work (read 9 October 2026)

Wikipedia sources link to the exact revision that was read. Specifications differ between markets, years and versions; each figure is shown with the market and version its source states.