Car models: Successors & Replacements

[Milkyway]

Lots of the older ‘models’ filtering through & fond memories of quite a few of them... mostly good.
Hard to comment on the good v not so good, as I didn’t really drive a lot of the same models to compare.
Some interesting comparisons though.

Edited by Milkyway on Thursday 28th July 14:48

[Chewbacca NE]

The worst of all time. Original Mustang to Mustang II

Whilst it might have saved the brand it was an utterly horrific effort.

[samoht]

Ford Puma


Ford "Puma"

[Missy Charm]

The nineties Nissan Primera was much better than the weird and horrible owl-beaked bulbous thing that replaced it.

[PomBstard]

Triumph Man said:

The VXR8 comment reminded me - The Insignia Commodore must have been a right downer after the frankly quite good VF Commodore. Wrong wheel drive, hatchback, no V8 option - eww.

As a VF2 V8 owner, this was my first thought too. Should’ve simply called it Insignia here too and left the Commodore name out of it.

Others that I can think of…

Mk4 Escort to Mk5 - the Mk4 was no great shakes but at least it could be fun, whereas the Mk5 had nothing to commend it

Similarly the Mk2 Astra to Mk3 - turgid

And the Mk1 Punto to Mk2 - it was almost impossible to drive a Mk1 at anything other than flat out, it really was underrated fun - but the Mk2 took it all away.

[LuS1fer]

PomBstard said:

And the Mk1 Punto to Mk2 - it was almost impossible to drive a Mk1 at anything other than flat out, it really was underrated fun - but the Mk2 took it all away.

I agree, the Mk 1 was also significantly better quality and the Mk II was an exercise in cheap cost-cutting.

The Toyota Carina Mk II was a better car than the Carina E but Toyota slowly lost the plot, in general and the new Supra is no substitute for the old Supra.

To some degree, I also mourn the loss of a hatchback on the Mustangs and Camaros. I know it made them less structurally rigid but there are practical advantages.

In motorcycle land, the original Honda MSX125 was far better styled than the later ones which look like Lego bricks.

[Milkyway]

I seem to recall that the E - Type slowly got ‘less desirable’ with each successive model change.
( Watching too much Bangers & Cash etc).

[LuS1fer]

The Mk 1 and Mk II Cortinas were pretty similar underneath the restyle and many preferred the Mk I. I had a Mk II 1300 and a Mk I 1200 and the Mk I was the better car.

Certainly the Cortina Lotus/Lotus Cortina got downgraded as the original suspension used coil overs and an A frame before it reverted to leaf springs.

[miken2k8]

Citroen saxo to c2

[RazerSauber]

I'm sure Mercedes will have a few. Didn't they undergo awful build quality in the early 2000's? For Mercedes standard, anyway.

What about the Mk8 Golf R? Heard a few people complain about the monobrow looks and the interior not being all that ergonomic.

E39 > E60 M5's. Yes, the engine was a peach when it worked but dodgy electrical faults, unfathomable idrive systems, endless reliability issues and questionable looks at the time? I still think the E39 is a better M5.

E38 > E65. Elegant luxury saloon to gopping bloated tank.

1978 Dodge Challenger. Enough said.

4th and 5th Gen Dodge Chargers. Oh dear god.

[KaraK]

Leins said:

Pug 306 > 307 (by a very large margin)

Definitely.. I as much as I loathed the old 306 shed I had at one point it did have "not being a 307" as a major plus point. The 307 had the build quality of a pre-schooler's craft project where the parents didn't help, and I've driven vans with better handling.

[Deranged Rover]

Milkyway said:

I seem to recall that the E - Type slowly got ‘less desirable’ with each successive model change.
( Watching too much Bangers & Cash etc).

But that was replaced by the XJS which was massively better!

[Cliftonite]

Deranged Rover said:

Milkyway said:

I seem to recall that the E - Type slowly got ‘less desirable’ with each successive model change.
( Watching too much Bangers & Cash etc).

But that was replaced by the XJS which was massively better!

Although in many quarters the XJS was deemed to have been a disappointment if considered to have been a replacement for the E-type.

[Cliftonite]

Peugeot 405 to 406.

[Mr Tidy]

Timberwolf said:

I don't think the Granada to Scorpio changeover was particularly bad in the UK as the Granada III wasn't exactly a looker inside or out and the Scorpio interiors were a big upgrade, but if we're talking about the European nameplate change (Mk2 -> Mk3 in UK terms) then it's definitely a shout.

The new car might have had the technology but it definitely lost something in terms of road presence and that feeling of working man's luxury on the inside. Mk2 Granadas may be chintzier than a 1970s living room on the inside, but I'd take that any day over the feeling you're just sitting in a bigger, fancier Sierra.

I bought a 1978 MK2 Granada 2.8 Ghia in 1981 and loved it! 4 electric windows and a manual sunroof - marvellous, at the time!

Then in 1990 I bought a 1985 2.8i Scorpio. Way faster and overloaded with features. Heated screen, mirrors and front seats that had electric adjustment - and the rears had electric recline! All leather of course.

If you had the wipers on putting it in reverse would activate the rear wiper, and A/C was pretty unusual then especially with an electric glass sunroof.

I thought the early ones looked good, but then when you were driving it you were only looking at the inside anyway!

[RedAndy]

Celica Gen 6 GT4 (twin headlight model) to the Gen 7 cheese wedge 190.

Went lighter and easier to drive with better seats - that was an improvement, but went from 4wd to front wheel drive. The lovely tunable 2.0 Turbo of 250bhp to a 1.8 highly strung peaky 190bhp, Hewn-from-granite to flimsy construction.

In short, the ST205 was a proper fast homologation rally car and the G7 was a corolla in a frock. likeable, but not a Celica.

[S2r]

I always thought that my P reg Vectra drove a lot better than a W reg one I had later.

They were company cars, both 1.8LS and a step up from the 1.4 merit Astra I had had before (but not quite as good as the Mondeo I had for a few weeks).

[Milkyway]

I bought a Calibra (8V) in 1990...it may be trivial, but the ‘V’ grill really spoilt it’s looks.
(Never really gelled with it... don’t know if it got any better)