Mirror Mirror On The Wall, Which Is The Ugliest Of Them All!

[LOVE HER(ALD)!]

Hi folks,

I was wondering how many of us here were happy with the way the new breed of cars look. I know this thread might upset many owners who have recently purchased their gleamy new machines. My apologies to them at the very onset. Please note that the purpose of this thread is not to hurt anyone's sentiments, but to find out whether we, the prospective car buyers, are content with whatever is being dished out to us.

So here is my countdown of the ugliest 10 cars on Indian roads today:

10th: NEW HONDA ACCORD: I feel the design is too "over the top" and somehow lacks character. Right from the rectangular grille to the bulging, chiseled headlamps to the sharply raking sides that meet up in the chrome-accented boot with those tiny taillamps - all of this gets a bit too far stretched. And I would not be amazed if BMW sued Honda for stealing the rear straight from their 7-series and the rear door design from their VW Passat. Indeed a shameful act for Honda designers.

9th: TATA INDICA VISTA: In my opinion, the earlier Indica (in its first Avtaar) was by far the best design amongst all its later incarnations. The Xeta with its bulging SUV-ish rubber cladding made the tyres appear all the more skinny and gone was the innocent smiling grille. I had high hopes from the Vista, but it disappoints immensely. The wierd front, the annoying gap in the wheel arches, the squarish rear, all make it an unpleasant car to look at. No matter how spacious it is, or how good the multijet Fiat engine performs- don't we deserve a decent looking car in the first place?

8th: TATA SUMO GRANDE: It seems this vehicle was designed by someone who was robbed of all his valuables, was thrashed and beaten black and blue, was kept hungry for days together and was subjected to electric shocks from time to time... how else would you describe the monster he created?

7th: HYUNDAI VERNA: Just because their Santro was such a bit hit, Hyundai has taken its customers for granted - that whatever they throw at us would be lapped up. All due apologies to Verna owners, it is a bad car to look at- from any angle. Please don't be shy to admit that you bought the car only for its brilliant CRDi engine.

6th: HYUNDAI i10: I know many would like to hang me to death for including India's current favorite in this list! But I think it looks quite hideous from a lot many angles. The rear doors, with their upward dip for the quarter glass is singularly the worst part of the design. The front, with its non-existant grille and comically huge headlamps are a far cry from looking "cute", the tyres are far too skinny. But the rear is smart - the only saving grace, in fact.

5th: MARUTI SX-4: Sorry for pointing a finger at another India favorite. But the car sorely disappoints as far as the body design is concerned. SUV like stance, wierd front, sides and rear. Probable reason for success might be the loaded list of standard equipment.

4th: TATA INDIGO: This car funnily reminds me of days when local mechanics used to make station-wagons out of Ambassadors and Premier Padminis! The Indigo, by all means, looks like a "hand-made" avtaar of the Indica. It made me go red in the face when my friend from the US burst out laughing at the car when I hired an Indigo to pick him from the airport.

3rd: MARUTI SWIFT DEZIRE: Guess the only things desirable of the car are (a) the astonishingly efficient diesel engine and (b) the boot that promotes it to the "sedan" category. Never ever witnessed a greater design blunder officially rolling out of the factory of any car manufacturer. I guess MARUTI and TATA have to be aware that the entire world is witness to their creativity.

2nd: NEW MERCEDES-BENZ C-CLASS: Have we noticed the intensity of the panic at the Mercedes-Benz headquarters after the launch of the new BMW 3-series? The new C was created with such desperate urgency to take on the 3, that the designers erased all the characteristics from the design that the three-pointed-star is known for. If we remove the grille and the logo, it would be hard to identify the car as a Mercedes-Benz. Sheer disappointment. My reason to place it at No.2 is due to the heavy penalty points on Mercedes-Benz - something so undignified cannot be pardoned if it rolls out from the world's top auto manufacturer.

1st: MARUTI A-STAR: The ugliest new star on the horizon! A repulsive car to look at, especially head-on. But it is a known fact that it will be the new best-seller very soon. Come on BHP-ians, lets celebrate our misery!

P.S.: The earlier, now defunct Honda City has not been included as it has (thankfully!) been phased out.

Need your comments coming in fast!

Vikas

[subscrive]

Why dont u convert this into a poll?

[vnabhi]

Take out the Accord, Vista, i10 and the Merc, then I agree with your list. I'm surprised that the Accord figures in your list.
Swift Dezire would be the numero uno in my list of ugly ducklings. It looks like the architect who designed the boot was inspired by the b.u.t.t. of a Sumo wrestler.

[anupmathur]

LOL, beauty is in the eye of the beholder!
How come you never heard this before?

It's not as if car designers are from Mars or Pluto; they are also mainstream people who are taking all the cues from people around them!
What they are dishing out is pretty much what people want. This is a game of averages, and every individual can never be satisfied fully!

Some of your ugliest do not appear so to my eyes. And there are others that seem to have been missed.

[DCEite]

May i ask which is the car of which you actually like the look?

[Tejas@perioimpl]

Accord and c class look goooood!
You should have made a poll.. much simpler than keeping a count.
My vote would go to dzire & vista for being unimaginative rather than downright ugly.

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Where is the Zen estillo? The Maruti Swift? The WagonR?

I own a wagonR, but still cannot accept its ugliness. I would leave out the Vista and grande (and verna too), but included certain colours of the Logan. (strange, only certain colours).

[Strangerintown]

Originally Posted by DCEite

May i ask which is the car of which you actually like the look?

Exactly my thoughts on seeing the above list . Must say my taste is quite different though I do agree to a few cars on this list. I was personally very surprised to see the new Accord on the list as I loved the design.

But as someone has pointed out - beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

[LOVE HER(ALD)!]

Hey guys,
I knew it was coming! Anup, DCEite - personal apologies for upsetting you (thanks for being nice and dignified while replying, but noted your displeasure!)

For sure, beauty does lie in the eye of the beholder - to each his own. Guess I was not allowed to make this a poll due to my newbie status.

My only idea behind this thread is to get a personal take on your top-ten hate list. Would appreciate names of ten cars which you do not wish to possess (even if you do!)

Most of us agree here that the new Mercs are no more the cars they used to be. As regards the Accord, well it does borrow a lot many elements from competition - which it shouldn't have. Just look at the new City and the Civic - so classy and so original. The Accord could have been a bit more original, thats my only grudge.

Thanks a lot buddies. Atleast I have managed to create some stir among all you guys! Keep posting!

[blue_pulsar]

Add to the list:
Logan(Its plain ugly)
Bolero(Too crude now)
Facelifted Fiesta(The old one looked so good)
Facelifted Ikon(The old one looked so good)

...Just look at the new City and the Civic - so classy and so original...

The new City, although looks stunning, feels it is inspired from Beemers, especially the tail lamps and side profile.

[lancer_rit]

Most of the cars on the list I agree with. Except the Honda Accord and Merc C class. Both are stunning in their own way. The Accord has one sore point according to me - the large and potruding chrome door handles, they look a bit out of place.
I had the chance to look at the new Accord, next to a BMW 730ld, and a Merc E class side-by-side. I can tell you this car has 'presence' and one doesn't feel from the outside looks that it is overawed by the 7-series!
Also, I quite like the Indica Vista even if the original Guigaro design may look better!

[bhp1]

Brave effort Vikas! Must say you have some eye to be able to differentiate & not just fall for the hype. IMHO only a few think so intricately!
Im with you on the new Accord, if we can just forget for a moment that its a Honda & an Accord, there's nothing much to it. Civic & new City have set a new precedent, which Accord ideally should have topped. I rather liked the previous gen. Accord's design much more, with its sporty/purposeful looks.

Actually there are countless cars which do not look good, but Im more interested in the ones which actually do not look good, but are perceived by most otherwise!
I've never liked i10's design too, contrary to popular belief, but that's a matter of personal choice.

Well about Suo Grande, Indigo CS, Dzire, etc. Im speechless!

[gkrishn]

After having a car like safari, i have no idea how they came up with some thing like sumo grande. Its plain yuck... the most ugliest on the road.

[architect]

I remember posting this elsewhere on another thread: Beauty is about basic proportioning and detailiing. If the basic proportions are good, the detailing can be tweaked.

I cannot digest the looks of half the cars in the market. And I am sick and tired of everybody claiming that an ugly new car is better than a good-looking old one, just because of "Novelty".

To your list, I wouldn't mind adding the U-Va. Somehow, it has decent proportions, but the sides and the rear is all wrong. Even the Swift suffers from a terrible looking rear-end.

[razor4077]

Agree with most on your list, except the Accord. In person, it looks pretty good and makes its presence felt. I concur on the BMW-inspiration part, but then, isn't imitation the sincerest form of flattery?
The i10 isn't half bad either... I don't mind it.
I'd add the following to the list:
- Wagon R: pick any generation, it was always ugly.
- Zen Estilo: no offence to anyone, but this might even beat the Wagon R on the ugly list. It was criminal on Maruti's part to link the Zen name to this car. The Zen was hands-down the best looking small car ever sold in India IMHO.
OT: I thought Maruti were mending their ways when I saw the A-Star concept. Somewhere between concept and production, they went back to their Estilo ways. Hence its presence on your list.
- Logan: Too boxy and uncontemporary. Reminds me of the Peugot 309 of yore.