so if you were buying now would you wait on the 17's or go with the 16's
Depends.
Are you someone who buys and keeps or someone who "horse trades" a lot?
If you buy and keep, the 2016 is probably the better buy because you will be able to get them at a pretty good discount over the 2017 models. While if you are going to "trade up" later the 2017 is probably the better bet since it won't be starting with as large a depreciation hit.
Are you going to ride all year round in your location? If you don't ride in the winter then I would probably wait and get one of the 2017 EPS or Deluxe models when they are released in the Spring. No reason to buy something that is just going to sit on a battery charger all winter.
They will likely be $2,000-$3,000+ more than what you would pay for a 2016 model but you would get the "updated DCT", the "thicker seat" and possibly some other model year updates that aren't being published.
All that being said, I am glad I got my 2016 model in July, even though I haven't been able to ride it more than around the yard since August.