Most disappointing automotive "sequels"?
Discussion
Not “2Fast 2 Furious” or “Herbie Goes to Monte Carlo” but cars that didn’t live up to the reputation/excellence of their immediate predecessors. It can be the whole model range or a specific model.
Just to qualify that statement, the 1990 mk5 Escort following the mk3/4 Escort, which was consistently the top UK best-seller of the 1980s was widely regarded to be inferior to the car that preceded it. It was heavier but still retained the same outdated engines, felt very built down to a cost and had the IRS removed. The mk4 Escort however, may not have been top of the class but was a solid offering in its class for its time, whereas the mk5 Escort went straight to the bottom of the class. More recently being a satisfied mk7 Golf owner, I checked out a mk8 Golf as a potential replacement and I couldn’t see any advantage to “upgrading” to the mk8. It looked worse, felt significantly cheaper inside and the UI was demonstrably inferior.
Conversely, the mk3 Golf may not be remembered as fondly as the mk2 perhaps but on balance it was probably a better car. Bigger, safer, more refined, more luxurious and more modern etc but if you had previously owned a mk2 GTi 8v/16v in period and decided to “upgrade” to the mk3 GTi, you would probably have been quite disappointed, as the 8v mk3 GTi at any rate was not a great car.
So what automotive “sequels” would you consider to be disappointing/inferior to their immediate predecessors?
Just to qualify that statement, the 1990 mk5 Escort following the mk3/4 Escort, which was consistently the top UK best-seller of the 1980s was widely regarded to be inferior to the car that preceded it. It was heavier but still retained the same outdated engines, felt very built down to a cost and had the IRS removed. The mk4 Escort however, may not have been top of the class but was a solid offering in its class for its time, whereas the mk5 Escort went straight to the bottom of the class. More recently being a satisfied mk7 Golf owner, I checked out a mk8 Golf as a potential replacement and I couldn’t see any advantage to “upgrading” to the mk8. It looked worse, felt significantly cheaper inside and the UI was demonstrably inferior.
Conversely, the mk3 Golf may not be remembered as fondly as the mk2 perhaps but on balance it was probably a better car. Bigger, safer, more refined, more luxurious and more modern etc but if you had previously owned a mk2 GTi 8v/16v in period and decided to “upgrade” to the mk3 GTi, you would probably have been quite disappointed, as the 8v mk3 GTi at any rate was not a great car.
So what automotive “sequels” would you consider to be disappointing/inferior to their immediate predecessors?
white_goodman said:
More recently being a satisfied mk7 Golf owner, I checked out a mk8 Golf as a potential replacement and I couldn’t see any advantage to “upgrading” to the mk8. It looked worse, felt significantly cheaper inside and the UI was demonstrably inferior.
So what automotive “sequels” would you consider to be disappointing/inferior to their immediate predecessors?
Out of interest, had they carried those stupid bags of silica inside the coolant expansion tank which obviously burst and clog up the heater matrix over to the Mk8 from the Mk7s? So what automotive “sequels” would you consider to be disappointing/inferior to their immediate predecessors?
Feel like Golfs have been more a gradual decline, the Mk5 was a good car but climbing in to a MK6 immediately afterwards it was obvious that cost-cutting had occurred, same for subsequent models in my experience. Hardly surprising I suppose given how much they have had to pay out in settlements to class-action lawsuits over the past few years..
Triumph Man said:
On the basis of looks alone, the new 5 series vs the previous gen (G30/G31) 5 series.
I'd tend to agree. No diesel option now either, which I just found out today. I haven't seen one up close yet but in pictures, it does look like a rather badly proportioned vehicle, which is a shame, as the G30/G31 appeared to have put the 5-Series back on track stylistically.I also remember a good friend buying a then new E60 520d when it first came out and being rather underwhelmed by it. The E39 5-Series was probably one of the greatest large executive cars of all time and it seemed that BMW could do no wrong in the late 90s/early 2000s but relatively speaking the E60 was a little ugly, felt a bit cheap inside compared to the E39, 1st gen iDrive wasn't great and the wheels looked lost in the arches. Some good engine options still at least and the introduction of the 520d model probably helped increase volume sales and the E60 M5 is still a bit of a "hero" car for me but on balance, the E39 is still the more desirable car IMHO.
Ditto the E65 7-Series as suggested below.
Durzel said:
Nissan 300ZX to the Nissan 350Z?
No idea if the 350Z was supposed to be a successor, but it's a completely different (and worse) car.
The twin turbo 300ZX was sublime for its time.
I can see why you would say that but wasn't the 350Z a different kind of car really. More of a back-to-basics reset back to the 240Z at a more affordable price point, whereas the 300ZX was a relatively hi-tech and expensive car in its day. In fairness I quite liked the 350Z and it was the 370Z that left me a little cold in comparison. The 370Z is possibly the better car but didn't really move the game on far enough for me in terms of performance and styling. No idea if the 350Z was supposed to be a successor, but it's a completely different (and worse) car.
The twin turbo 300ZX was sublime for its time.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff