Are mark 1's always the best ones?

[Yiliterate]

Not exactly mainstream, but the later versions of the Porsche 928 seem more desirable than the mk1...maybe because the model itself hasn't really become iconic despite being generally well-regarded; as such, the performance and (arguably) aesthetic improvements have held sway...

[mildmannered]

J4CKO said:

Mk 1 Capri, by far the prettiest...

MK I Facelift (off course)

[iva cosworth]

mildmannered said:

J4CKO said:

Mk 1 Capri, by far the prettiest...

MK I Facelift (off course)

Agree,GXL best looking by far,even out doing the 3100 ...

[Otispunkmeyer]

exgtt said:

Vince70 said:

I always preferred the mk1 escort myself but I guess it's because it was my 1st car I would love to get another 1968 1300gt for £50.
I'm not really a Renault fan but I had a MK 1 rti 16v Laguna and it was a fantastic car,
Good on fuel a lovely engine and very well built.

Then I replaced it with the mk2

It was the complete opposite and can honestly say that I think Renault shouldn't of been able to sell this as a car as it was misleading.
It should only of been sold as a static display.

Totally agree, even now the mk1 Laguna makes a great shed, they're one of the cheapest cars out there too!

My old boss had a mk2 estate diesel, pretty smart looking thing, expired in the works car park - diesel run on - pretty much the whole office watched as this thing smoked itself into oblivion.

I test drove a MKII estate because I just loved how they looked. What a shambolic disappointment it was. The dash lit up like a christmas tree during the drive (although nothing felt mechanically wrong with the car) and the whole interior just didn't seem attached to, well, anything! really odd, jelly like bin plastic that flexed and creaked rather alarmingly. What a load of tosh.

I really wanted my parents to get one when they came out as well and instead they went for an espace or science RX4...... a wiser choice in hindsight.

[mildmannered]

Of course, I may be a little biased towards the MK II



Here's mine

I also prefer the MK II Micra, the K11? (Jelly mould) much nicer than the previous incarnation!

[green-blood]

Mk 4 fiesta whips versions 1 to 3. The boggo 1.25 had the best controls on anything up to then

[S0 What]

Mk2 sierra, way way better than the Mk1, Mk5 cortina better than the Mk3 (yes yes i know but the Mk3 was totaly differant to the Mk1 or 2 and basicly ford started again where as the Mk5 is basicly a Mk3 err Mk3) you know that made sence in my head, no idea how or why

[V8covin]

240z or 370z ?

240 for me

280zx or 300zx twin turbo ? no brainer

[ClaphamGT3]

The MkII Jaguar is much preferable to the - retrospectively named - MkI in my view.

[Tango13]

GC8 said:

mildmannered said:

"They're boxy, but they're good! (Brewster's Millions, Volvo tag line)

Wasnt that a Dudley Moore film about mentalists starting an advertising agency?

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099316/

[New POD]

S0 What said:

Mk2 sierra, way way better than the Mk1, Mk5 cortina better than the Mk3 (yes yes i know but the Mk3 was totaly differant to the Mk1 or 2 and basicly ford started again where as the Mk5 is basicly a Mk3 err Mk3) you know that made sence in my head, no idea how or why

No the headlights on a 1983 Y reg 1.6 Base model estate in beige are a delicate design icon.

[ch108]

mildmannered said:

I also prefer the MK II Micra, the K11? (Jelly mould) much nicer than the previous incarnation!

The jelly mould was better than any other Micra. My sister had one and it was great fun.

I had the misfortune to have one of the new Micras (frog looking one) as a courtesy car for a few weeks and I hated it. It was horrible to drive and didn't like the concept of bends, even sweeping ones on motorways!

Regarding the Laguna, never had a Mk1 always liked the look of them, but I think I bought the only MkII that never broke down! 4 years with the only issue being the front electric windows packing up. ( I only replaced the drivers one due to the cost!) I never regretted buying it and it was extremely comfortable on the daily commute, and the occasional longer journey. Even when I sold it there was nothing wrong with it, but I was just getting a bit nervous that after 4 years ownership and it now being 7 years old that something would go wrong and cost me alot of money.

Still on the subject of Renault, I thought the Mk1 Megane was better looking than the rest, my dad had one and again I don't think he had a major problem with it. If you compare that with the reliability of the ones with the big ass, they get a bad reputation.

Mk 5 Cortina was better looking than the Mk4. Mk1 Focus better looking than the Mk2. Also preferred the earlier VW Passats from around 2000 compared to the later ones. (When they made them over complicated with no handbrake and stupid ignition system where you had to depress clutch to start car, plus the looks weren't as good).

Edited by ch108 on Thursday 22 August 20:26

Edited by ch108 on Thursday 22 August 20:29

[Craikeybaby]

The old "original and best vs new and improved" argument...

The only car I've owned both the first and most recent versions of is the MX-5 and I much prefer the mk3.5 to my old mk1.

I wouldn't have considered a mk1 MR2, I just think they look too 80's, but I really like the mk3 MR2.

Hopefully my next car will be an Elise, while the S1 is meant to be purer, I'd prefer to take some of the improvements they made to the S2.

[anonymous-user]

The Mk2 Mondeo was a LOT better than the Mk1 - and the Mk3 was better still. Don't know about the latest one though.

[GC8]

The Mk2 MX-5 was superior in every way to the Mk1, but people seem to regard the NA as 'better'. The reality is that it is harsher, slower, bendier and noisier and 'better' really means: ooh look, pop-up head lamps.

[Craikeybaby]

After the '93 facelift when the 1.8 came along the mk1s were a lot better than the early 1.6s, they had a lot of the bracing that the mk2 had - they're also less prone to rust.

[GC8]

I agree. There were three steps: 1.6l, 1.8l and Mk2 with the Mk2 being as far ahead of the 1.8l Mk1 as it was ahead of the 1.6l.

I love MX-5s, but I cant understand why people insist that the inferior car is superior. Maybe Im less influenced by the head lamps having had so many cars with similar arrangements?

[Dave G fsi]

Mk1 Focus is best

[300bhp/ton]

Playsatan said:

If manufacturers put so much time and money into improving their products why are the first ones always the most popular.

I genuinely can't think of a mainstream car were I don't prefer the older version. Is it just me or is it a PH trait?

It depends really. Often the Mk1/S1 will be flawed that is addressed later on. Or developed on a tight budget so corners where cut and later on resolved.

Although I don't actually disagree with the sentiment, many of my favs are early models.

But as time passes new legislation is created, so often updates are also done to keep the vehicle in production.

And lastly it's a perspective thing. By the time a model is maybe in it's 4th variant, you'll be used to the earlier ones. So it's easy to simply not like it just because it doesn't look like the earlier one.

[AlexS]

parabolica said:

Mechanically cars always tend to improve with revisions; I think it's the cosmetics that are susceptible to suffering. For example I much prefer the looks of the original 300c compare to the new version which just looks so bland; same with the pre-dame Edna 9-5.

The Edna 9-5 was just a (second) facelift on the Mk1. The Mk2 didn't come out until 2010.