Cars That Are Ageing Badly

[ali27]

Willy Nilly said:

Bingo.

A bit like "oh look how such and such a 50 year old celeb has let themselves go a bit." They got old.

I guess there are just a few exceptions though such as the Peugeot 205 and first generation Fiat Punto, both of which if you don't look inside could be launched today and would consider to be new models?

[Ste1987]

berlintaxi said:

MikeT66 said:

J4CKO said:

DanielSan said:

These have gone from sharp and contemporary looking to really old seemingly over night.

I prefer timeless, they still look better than the later ones by and large.

I'd agree with you on that one, J4CKO - still lovely looking tings.

Melted and ugly would be a better description, have not aged well at all, on what planet do they look better than the current one?

I like them as they're a car that can be picked up for barge money, yet still look 4 times the value.

I saw an XJ8 on the M1 yesterday, thought "hmm, old school Jaaag" then saw it was an 02 plate. They do look 20+ years old, but then again, haven't they been around a while?

[Ahonen]

The original BMW X3 looks old before its years, to me at least, though I appreciate it's around 13 years since it was launched. The black plastic bumpers don't do it any favours and they make me think of the bottom of the range old Escort and Fiesta 'Popular' models - the ones where such decadent luxuries as headrests and rear wipers were on the options list.

[leedsutd1]

all 2005 year cars will look dated ,its because there 10 years old , the new Bentley is hideous

[anonymous-user]

gizlaroc said:

Same here with the RRS, can't believe how suddenly they are looking dated.

However, I still think the FFRR from 2002 on can look OK still.

Slight bias as we own an L322 RR as pictured above. It's the last RR that has a silhouette very close to the original, which I don't see as a negative.

After initially finding the new shape RR a bit too smooth and losing the heritage lines, I am now starting to appreciate it as it's own thing.

[r11co]

Not that there's many of these left anyway, rust and the scrappage scheme seeing to most of them, but for a car that was so dynamically 'right' the facelifted (aka Mk2) Mondeo was never going to be a style icon...



...yet the car that followed is a textbook example of timeless understatement....

[Penguinracer]

I think any Chris Bangle-era BMW will age badly.

You can add the E32 to the exception list of aging 7 Series...not too bad for a 1986 design I think...

[dbdb]

Ste1987 said:

I like them as they're a car that can be picked up for barge money, yet still look 4 times the value.

I saw an XJ8 on the M1 yesterday, thought "hmm, old school Jaaag" then saw it was an 02 plate. They do look 20+ years old, but then again, haven't they been around a while?

An 02 plate XJ8 will have been the X308 shape which is based on the XJ40 which was launched 30 years ago.

[DeanHelix]

caelite said:

Haha my pal was due a new pickup for his work. Ended up going for a Great Wall (Supposedly good Chinese company recently debuted in the pickup market) because it, I quote 'Looks like a 10 year old Navara, nice n' boxy', which is what it was replacing. He really loves it and nothing of note has fallen off in the few months he's had it. Paid an astronomically low price for it too, <£15k for the top of the line model before VAT (which i think he recovered through his work).

Like most chinese vehicles it looked dated as hell leaving the showroom floor .

That looks like a Suzuki Swift with Golf V lights grafted onto a Hilux.

The Chinese don't seem to do original, just amalgamations of other people's designs. Land Wind X7 for most blatant example.

[SuperHangOn]

berlintaxi said:

MikeT66 said:

J4CKO said:

DanielSan said:

These have gone from sharp and contemporary looking to really old seemingly over night.

I prefer timeless, they still look better than the later ones by and large.

I'd agree with you on that one, J4CKO - still lovely looking tings.

Melted and ugly would be a better description, have not aged well at all, on what planet do they look better than the current one?

It's all subjective but I think the newer model looks a bloody mess with weird angles and knife slashes all over the place. It will date horribly. The original is a quite a timeless design although very spec/colour sensitive.

Edited by SuperHangOn on Thursday 22 September 10:34

[GeordieInExile]

ocrx8 said:

Proportions are ghastly. I think it's the awful C-window. It reminds me of a Granada.

This looks older than the car it replaced, for my money.

[Löyly]

ELUSIVEJIM said:

With these feet said:

Mk1 TT, Wifey has a MK2 and still looks quite modern, the first generation not so.

The original TT might be starting to look a bit dated now but it is much better than the Mk2 design which just looks lazy.

Indeed, the original TT is clearly not a new car. It looks 'of it's time' simply because it made such an impact when it was released but it hasn't aged badly. In fact, the best thing that Audi ever did for the Mk1 TT was to release the Mk2, since the Mk2 was dreadfully dreary looking. The Mk1 has the timeless look of the concept car about it, whereas the Mk2 now just looks very 'old hat' and dated. At least the Mk3 TT has some visual appeal that was completely lacking in the last generation.

[J4CKO]

SuperHangOn said:

berlintaxi said:

MikeT66 said:

J4CKO said:

DanielSan said:

These have gone from sharp and contemporary looking to really old seemingly over night.

I prefer timeless, they still look better than the later ones by and large.

I'd agree with you on that one, J4CKO - still lovely looking tings.

Melted and ugly would be a better description, have not aged well at all, on what planet do they look better than the current one?

It's all subjective but I think the newer model looks a bloody mess with weird angles and knife slashes all over the place. It will date horribly. The original is a quite a timeless design although very spec/colour sensitive.

Edited by SuperHangOn on Thursday 22 September 10:34

It is a Marmite car I think, I can totally understand how some might not like it, I think its a fantastic shape, the only bit I think wasnt successful was perhaps the headlamp area, the new one looks ok but the rear arches just look wrong, it lost the purity of the original design.

It is kind of in that old Merc territory now but I tend to think Mercedes have lost the plot styling wise of late having resorted to some weird stuff, where they used to rise above it they seem to have just joined in.

I tend to like some Avant Garde designs, Fiat Coupes, Mk1 TT etc and try to separate whether its new, expensive, blingy with the right badge from whether I actually like the design/look.

[jhayward1980]

My daily is an 02 xjr. Always think it looks ancient. But everyone seems to love it and when it goes it really goes! Only intended to have it for 6 months and now i cant imagine letting it go!

https://flic.kr/p/Lwtr1Z

[Tuvra]

jhayward1980 said:

My daily is an 02 xjr. Always think it looks ancient. But everyone seems to love it and when it goes it really goes! Only intended to have it for 6 months and now i cant imagine letting it go!

https://flic.kr/p/Lwtr1Z

In fairness though, people love cars like that because they are "retro cool". Same as G-Wagen's, Defenders, Morgan's, Caterham's, E30's, Classic Mini's etc

[Phon_E87]

r11co said:

Not that there's many of these left anyway, rust and the scrappage scheme seeing to most of them, but for a car that was so dynamically 'right' the facelifted (aka Mk2) Mondeo was never going to be a style icon...



...yet the car that followed is a textbook example of timeless understatement....

I can only assume you're being funny here...

[r11co]

DeanHelix said:

The Chinese don't seem to do original, just amalgamations of other people's designs. Land Wind X7 for most blatant example.

Flying well off-topic now, but the X7 is a wonderful thing. RR Evoque styling with Toyota RAV4 platform and running gear, and totally legal because JLR didn't file their patents properly before showing their concept at a Chinese motor show.

[bunglesprout]

Skoda Rapid notchback. Reminds me of a Chrysler Neon.

[anonymous-user]

The Mini Coupe.

How was this even allowed to be built.

[J4CKO]

JMo22 said:

BMW i8 - saw one the other day from rear 3/4 and just thought it looked incredibly dated. Never understand why car manufacturers think electric/hybrid cars need to look different to petrol cars (usually just for the sake of it), thought Tesla had shown that is the wrong approach.

I dont think it looks dated when I think about it, it is just that it has been around three years and we are familiar with it and nobody thinks a spaceship has just landed any more.

Its a lifecycles, the styling stays the same, new stuff arrives and when things are new we tend to be impressed.

Like when the MK1 TT arrived, it looked exactly like the concept, it was a sensation, then after two years it gained its image sue to those who bought them, they were everywhere and generally driven by trendy folk, then it got old, the new one came out so it was just an old Audi TT model, now it is becoming a bit of a classic.

The i8 is seen in reasonable numbers now and barely raises and eyebrow, for the first few folk who got them, it must have been strange being gawped at all the time, but now, its "Oh its one of those strange BMW things"