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Great topic! I do realise that as you get older, you tend to see history and experiences in a bit of a rosy way and before you know you turn into a grumpy old man, bitching about how everything was so much better in the old days.

I can name several cars for which this was true. But I will limit myself to my own Jaguar XJR (X308). This was the last incarnation of the famous XJ, but it was also the first Supercharged XJ.



I still think of the X308 as the prettiest and most visually attractive XJR. All later models look like bloated whales. The X350 started the trend and it did not get any better with the current XJR.

Also, the X308 had what I would call a proper British/Jaguar interior, which means leather, but also plenty of highly polished wood. The dashboard, some switches randomly positioned and of course a proper J-gate. None of this huge circular buttons that come out of the middle console.





In all honesty the newer models are better to drive in terms of road holding and are very quiet too. The X308 will still give most of the newer XJ models a run for their money on acceleration and top speed. The ride is superior too, unless you go for air-suspension.

When all is said and done, for me the X308 is the last of the proper Jaguar very sleek sports saloons. Sleek as you would expect from a Jaguar!

This is what a sleek car looks like:

Am surprised nobody mentioned the Wagon-R yet!

The butter-smooth and dead silent 4 cylinder engine being replaced by the over hyped 3 cylinder engine was sad. I guess this was unavoidable in the ever-conscious mileage oriented crowd!

The Kawasaki ZX6R !.In terms of looks, I feel the previous generation ZX6R had much appeal compared to the new ZX6R. The headlamp styling in the current one feels a little out of place.

- Amen!! The original Zen was a 4 wheeler in design but a 2 wheeler in spirit......easy in the city and a hoot on the highway....would have been my first car if it would not have been discontinued.

The CBR600RR was a stunner both as a performance machine and in terms of looks in 2007




The subsequent versions, while being very capable machines, just did not match the visual oomph of the 2007 model

I'd also like to add the Ferrari California and it's facelift, the California T to the list. While most people said that the design was greatly improved, I think otherwise.

The original Cali had crisp lines and was characteristically a Ferrari but the T seemed like it was designed to be cast in a horror movie. Just look at that awful face :eek:



(Image source: Google)

Superb that you pointed that out agree:. The 2007 model 600 looked way better than the current model, which I feel even Honda must have realized, but it must be because they need to have the "family design" pattern facia.

Going a little more backwards I feel the 954RR looked real classy, but then the next generation 1000rr just couldnt do justice to the iconic face. No complaints about the rest of the body though.





Regards.

I'd like to add a few, some not sold here in India.


1. The 2007 Lexus Lx470 vs the later Lx570


2. The teenage dream 2006 Subaru Impreza wrx sti vs the 2014 iteration. A classic example of a Midlife crisis in the Auto industry!



3. The old Grand Vitara vs the one it got replaced with



4. The J90 series boxy LC Prado vs the J120 toned down and curvy version.



Source: Google and Autotrader.

I'd like to add one of my personal disappointment.
The legendary BMW E38 to the current 2020 7 series. Makes we cringe!

+1 for the old Figo and the old Zen

I have owned the old Zen (my first car and love) replaced by the better older generation 2011 figo [in terms of its go cart behaviour). I have not changed my car since as i did not want to end up regretting. Why didn't Ford just replace the engine on the go-cart? Uh!

May be :OT I have heard (not test driven yet) the 'S' model.is kind of comparable

Question is, what cars that are so good today that we will probably be talking about them in this thread tomorrow when they are replaced with less impressive successors?

Thar?
Brio?
Harrier?
Polo?

... grasping at straws here. I honestly can't think of any cars that stand out and excite me now, the way Zen, Figo, Gypsy, Palio did in their time.

The original Triumph Bonneville which was launched in 2013 had fantastic handling. I had taken a test ride but unfortunately was not in a position to buy it at the time. The current Bonneville T100 is very different in seating posture and handling - I do not find it fun to ride at all.

The original Royal Enfield versus the UCE Iterations.

Bullet Purists would agree that though the UCE provided the ailing brand the much needed mass appeal, it lacked the feel of the original.
Will miss:

Exclusivity of having the brakes on 'wrong' side.
The classic beat has been lost for ever.
The unique neutral finder.
The art of kick starting the bullet using the de-compresser, the amp indicator, and one smooth shove of the kicker.
The joy of thumping along in 4 the gear at 30 kmph

Replaced by:
Mass Produced copies of the old bike minus the character.
The irritating valve mechanism noise In the UCE.

The fact that an old CI costs as much as a new UCE is a testament to the fact.
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agree:

Though the 2006 Subie was nice, IMO the 2004 model is the best till date. It had a clean, proportionate design and that spoiler is wicked!

You have done an incorrect comparison, focussing only on the 2 tone paint job specific to India, rather than the actual cars themselves. The successive iterations of the cars you mentioned are as below:

PAJERO








The PAJERO SPORT





EDIT : All pics sourced from Google images, and belong to respectice owners.