[jonesanto]

Elantra first generation: Though it had all the bells and whistles never sold well because of its looks. It was competing with Octavia and Optra, both were much better looking cars. I own an Elantra and it certainly has aged well. Even now after locking I turn back and have a look at the car.

[pavi]

I did not like the s-cross when launched, started liking it after some time, and I am hating it to the core since Maruti facelifted it. Skoda Octavia also made me a hater of that design at first, but RS made me a changed man, I love it now especially in the blue shade. The new Honda Civic is also making my eyes pain somehow. But surprise surprise!! I have been loving Skoda Yeti from the start.

The cars which are being hated by myself even after so many years are Estilo, Zen Classic, Eon, TUV300, KUV100, Verito Vibe, Alto 800 etc. I also hate those sedans which seem like ‘jacked up’ in the name of increased ground clearance, current Corolla, Fiat Linea, Punto are some examples.

[landcruiser123]

I somehow never liked the 2007 Innova's rear end without a spoiler. I cried so much when my dad told me that the V version wouldn't come with a spoiler. To make the problem worse, the genuine Toyota spoiler (with a central LED strip as HMSL and indicators in the left and right part of the strip) was in the range of 10k according to my dad.


The car came home without a spoiler and we just learnt to live with the looks. It was a wonderful car with very few drawbacks.

[vb-saan]

I would say the original (pre-facelift) Skoda Yeti top the list – it looked like toad and hated at the first look; but after a while it started feeling like a cute friendly design and I quite liked it. So much that I was disappointed with the facelift.
Another car which I did not like initially was the F30 3-series. Did not like the way the headlights met the grille, but later it started to look like an elegant machine.

Bad designs are aplenty in our market, but two distinct ones which remained bad in my books were the 1st gen BMW X1 and the 2nd gen Honda City.

[drive2eternity]

It came to India before my teenage, when all I was accustomed to, were the sweet looking Jelly-bean Zens, the sleek Esteems and the nimble M800s. It was such a departure from the existing design language of cars, I thought this is how all cars in the future would look like, thanks to being designed on computers (Yes I drew a lot of cars on MS Paint every weekend). Stupid me!

It looked like the perfect collection of boxes, like the car designers only knew how to make straight lines. A car whose surface area would be the easiest to find. The shortest distance between points A and B has to be a straight line right, then why bother giving it some curves.

But it sold, in hundreds and thousands and more. Soon, it became the epitome of the Indian middle class. It was taller than some of our present brood of AWD SUVs (Duster, I am looking at you), could swallow more luggage than some compact sedans which run on the roads today (Swift Dzire, don't try to hide my boy), was comfortable with a huge glass area and yet had the footprint which helped it be the perfect city dweller. One could park it in a non-existent parking spot on the side road and trust me, it would not interrupt the traffic flow. Brilliant!

Seeing it time and again, the design grew on me, and from the initial feeling of repugnance, I began to admire the practical little car it was, so aptly suited for the city. Even if it was sold in odd colors like the one shown below, it soon became more than acceptable.

And then, Maruti brought its replacement, and the repugnance was back.



Image Source : Mr. Google

[Kosfactor]

I wonder what thoughts would be going through a designer's brain, I do not think they would want us to hate it , how we perceive their designs can be quite the opposite sometimes. So they design cars that makes sense to who can afford to buy it while we run around in our school uniforms sneering at them, only to grow up and like some of them later.

Here is a few.

1. The Santro Mk1 - Ugly in my eyes when launched but now I think it looks okay.
2. PAL Padmini - I remember my uncle buying one brand new, while we had better sedans on the market, why I wondered, now I would love to have one.
3. Fiat 118NE - it was too boxy when I saw it brand new, now I think it looks sporty.
4. Zen mk1 - the rear end looked wierd and yellow?, a common sentiment at that time, now though it looks better and more original than any other Maruti.
5. M800 Mk1 - Looked like a home appliance then, few years back I was searching to buy one.
6. Scorpio - Is this what you could design after looking at Safari? Now i made peace with it.
7. TUV3OO - until the T10 launched I wasn't warmed up to it. I like it now.
8. SCross - Mk1 was unbearable to look at, the refresh model with a black chromed grill mod can be parked next to an X1.

So I guess when it comes to cars, there aren't too many bad designs just about individual preferences and they too change over time.

Except some that never really looked nice in my eyes.

1. Sumo (briefly)
2. Qualis
3. Xylo and it's cousins
4. Innova
5. Etios and it's cousins
6. Tata Estate (loved it at launch)
7. Ford fusion
8. Peugeot 307 was it?
9. Ambassador, except Mk2

[Vignesh_N/A]

Has to be the BMW F10 for me. Myself being a big fan of E60

[narayans80]

Etios sedan - When it launched, the interiors were an eyesore. Oddball AC vents and interior color palette. By 2016 facelift, it was a decent car and I seriously considered buying.
S-Cross facelift - Horrendous front grill was a stark contrast to the unassuming looks it had first time around. Ironically it was the most practical option I could choose at that budget for my use cases.
Swift - Unusual looks that I couldn't bring myself to buy even today.
Amaze - Initially a decent exterior with extreme cost cut interior. Now its the other way around, an oddly looking rear and a huuge 'pain-in-the-eye' chrome strip at front. Seriously considered for its diesel CVT option.

There are few candidates for the reverse category, which has been exclusively created by Toyota for going over flamboyant with their designs off late. The current gen Corolla, Camry have just too much creases for my liking. A far cry from how they looked. The worst of the lot has got to be C-HR

[peus017]

For this matter, I would say most of the Toyota Cars have this odd designs which are not fancy, but gradually they grow on you. Simple, elegant and mistaken for their value :P

In general for designs, the more you observe them, the more you either start liking them or disliking them.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by anthusiast

Though the previous-gen Innova was remarked to look boxy, dated and van'ish, for me it still beats all its current and erstwhile competitors.

The proportional design is timeless.

The 3rd facelift (2011-14) is the pick of 4 variants during its tenure.

with all points. Still the best looking MPV in my opinion. Vans are really not my scene, but if I had to drive one, I'd pick the 3rd facelift. Innovas look especially nice in white or black with a smart number plate.

Originally Posted by pavi

Skoda Octavia also made me a hater of that design at first, but RS made me a changed man

Well said! How can anyone not love this?

[SJM1214]

For me its MS S-Cross.

Back in 2015, there was a rumour/news that MSIL is coming up with SX4 based crossover. It was said that it would be up against the Renault Duster, Ford EcoSport and the new Hyundai Creta. I was contemplating a proper compact SUV in line with designs of Duster and Creta. And what we got was an ugly looking (IMO) crossover with very low GC. The only good part in S-Cross was 1.6 engine.

I checked S- Cross after launch and TDed it many times. I never liked it. However, I kept spotting it on the road regularly. Somehow, my eyes got used to it and I started liking it. The features like large headlights, black cladding and hatchback stance which I hated, actually started making a good impression in my mind. IMHO, S- Cross was a product with futuristic design and my mind took some time to accept it.

And now, I love this car. The facelifted S- Cross with new grille is one the best looking car currently in the market.

[9thsphinx]

Anyone feel the Nexon is doing great in that aspect?

When it was launched everyone thought it's a beefed up Indica but it looks quite confident and butch on the road now. Has some street credence amongst the current gen of CSUV's, to me.

[Tejas@perioimpl]

For me it was the first gen Maruti Zen launched in 1993.

When it was launched, everyone was used to the flat boot of the M800 and the bulge at the rear was called unattractive and people said it would flop. I remember going to the showroom to check out the car and every customer there said the shape was "weird".

Slowly and steadily though the jellybean shape got acknowledged and loved!



Image source: https://www.cartrade.com/maruti-suzu...ws/203476.html


The Zen Classic and Zen Estillo launched in 2006 though never grew on me.

[1100D]

For me, my preferences have always been consistent. What I don't like, remains that way!

However, one of the only exception to this is this :-



(Image from public domain/wiki!)

The "Bangle'd" 5-series, I like it now as much as I hated it at first!!

[PrideRed]

Just an observation, no matter how bad a car looks, once you start spotting them more and more on the road, you develop some sort of affinity towards it. A bad looking flop car in market will continue to look bad whereas bad looking hit car will look atleast acceptable with time. Qualis, Santo are good examples of bad looking cars that went on to become a hit.