[avi550m]

A big part of the car buying process is the aesthetic appeal of the vehicle. A well engineered product may not find takers if it looks ugly, as the initial impression would be poor. Given that cars are still a status symbol in India, no one would want to mocked by their neighbors for driving around in something ugly. And for the most part, most cars sold in India have been at the very least, aesthetically bland and non-offensive, with some looking good even after all these years.

But we are not here to talk about good looking cars. We are here to talk about ugly cars, specifically, the ugliest cars in the history of motoring in India. Here is my list, which ones are on yours?

1. Honda City 2nd Gen (the 'Dolphin'):
The first gen Honda City sold in India is a timeless classic. Whether it be in 1.3, 1.5 or VTEC form, the wedge shape looks sleek and sharp even today. So what did Honda do to replace this sharp suit of a car? It gave us what is infamously known as the 'Dolphin' 2nd Gen Honda City, a car with a boot that places many Pixar moms to shame. It looked ok from the front, but that rear end needed to lose a lot of kilos.



2. 1st Gen Hyundai Santro:
The Santro was a landmark car in India. It sold like hotcakes in India and cemented Hyundai's presence in the market. It, along with the wagonR, provided a lot of space and practicality in a small overall frame. And yet, while the wagonR was unabashedly a square box, the Santo, with its toothy grill and curves, was an overstyled box that only a mother could love.



3. 1st Gen Hyundai Sonata:
The Sonata was a well proportioned executive barge from the rear and side view, but like the Santro, it was way too overstyled in the front. It has the same toothy grill that was Hyundai's signature at that time, and even worse was its twin eye headlamps, which will definitely scare anyone who sees it in their rear view mirror.



4. Mahindra KUV100:
Let's make a small, compact SUV, said Mahindra. What could go wrong? Well, in this case, I would call it less of an SUV, and more of a warthog. It just looks so... disproportionate, as it someone took a longer car and squished its aspect ratio from 16:9 to 4:3.



5. Mahindra Quanto:
Let's make a sub 4m Xylo, said Mahindra. The Xylo was never a pretty car, but at least its huge size, width and height was offset by its length. So what happens when you chop off the rear of the Xylo, while keeping all other dimensions intact? You get the Quanto, a car which looks so top heavy I'm afraid it will fall over while standing still.



6. Maruti Zen 'Classic':
The Jellybean Zen is an example of timeless design brilliance. It's like the kind of girl who straddles the line between cute and hot effortlessly. It was just... right. And then Dr. Frankenstein decided to bolt on a 'Retro' set of headlamps and grill on the front of this poor girl. Think of the worst botched plastic surgery, and you get an idea of what they did to the poor Zen.



7. Maruti Zen Estilo:
After the old Zen died, people were clamoring for a successor, and what did Maruti give them? An insult to everything the old Zen stood for, with the Estilo, a car which had no reason to exist in the market, given that it was just a wagonR with curves. It came in ghastly colours (like that below), and looked weak and pitiful, a car with no soul, an insult to everything the Zen badge stood for. Thankfully, they soon dropped the Zen moniker and just called it the 'Estilo'.

[urbanzameendar]

How come you forgot the ugly contraption called S-Presso! Seems like they took an Alto K10 and blew air into it to make it appear muscular.

Ugly from all sides.

[karan0009]

Adding a few more to the list. No offense to the owners.

1) 2nd Gen Creta - May be it is futuristic design, but I am still not able to digest the overall exterior design.

2) BMW i4 - Never thought that a modern BMW will make it to the list. Those kidney grills are just super weird

[Akshay6988]

Though looks are subjective, no way someone would call these two cars good looking :
1) Maruti Suzuki S Cross first gen
With those bulbous XL sized headlamps and plain side profile with bland alloy design made this crossover look horrible, and it didn't exactly look "premium product" for Nexa. They did change the headlamps and the grille but it made it rather mixed design, aggressive front, bland side and rear profile.

2) Maruti Suzuki Spresso
A matchbox on scooter tyres ? This thing looks so weird on the road, my mind gets confused to process what I'm seeing. Looks very very weird.

No offense to respective owners of these cars, just my perspective.
https://https://www.team-bhp.com/for...1&d=1616229338

[clevermax]

Originally Posted by avi550m

1. Honda City 2nd Gen (the 'Dolphin'):
2. 1st Gen Hyundai Santro:

Out of all the cars, these two are the winners, hands down.
The first Santro already had a nickname - The Ugly Duckling.
No words to describe that contraption which was named as Honda City.

[Avinash_R]

The irony in the name called Dzire

[pacman2881]

Looks are very subjective. An ugly car for one might be handsome for another.

However, my previous car (Suzuki Ritz) I believe will have a good consensus to be listed here

Originally Posted by Akshay6988

1) Maruti Suzuki S Cross first gen
With those bulbous XL sized headlamps and plain side profile with bland alloy design made this crossover look horrible, and it didn't exactly look "premium product" for Nexa. They did change the headlamps and the grille but it made it rather mixed design, aggressive front, bland side and rear profile.

I kind of like the understated looks of the old S Cross. Not everyone will like it but I don't think the design is so polarizing to be called ugly.

[Ravi_CK234]

Other than the KUV, the TUV from the Mahindra stable should find a place here
I, personally, do not like the rear looks of Maruti Ignis.

[dr.aviansh]

There’s a similar thread that focused on Ugly FACELIFTS while this one is more about Ugly Models or Generations in particular.
https://https://www.team-bhp.com/for...step-back.html

If you ask me the ugliest thing that ever existed on the Indian roads, it’d be a tie between these two.

1.) Sipani Montana and Hindustan Trekker :
Sure these are four wheelers, but they barely deserve to be called a Car and a Jeep respectively. I’m sorry but I just can’t understand what made their manufacturers completely IGNORED how these two looked.





2.) Mahindra Nuvosport : If there was an Ugly Duckling in the animated movie ‘Cars,’ I’m sure this would have made it into the top contenders list for the final selection. It’s probably what Pontiac Aztek is to the US.



3.) Maruti Alto : I love how the first gen Alto’s were cute, especially the pre-facelift model. She’s still a delight to look at, more so the VX 1.1 with body coloured bumpers. Even the Maruti 800 had managed to look decent all the way till 2010’s, but not this one. Guys at Maruti seriously need to be investigated if they’re under some conspiracy with Hyundai!



4.) Hyundai i20 : The first generation had the best interiors and the second generation had the best exteriors. Period.
Is Hyundai trying to be Peugeot with the new design language?



5.) Maruti S-Presso :Time and again this WILL show up and I’m taking as an opportunity to upload my memes on this car.



RUNNER UP :

Nissan Micra’s tail lights and curvy silhouette that remind me of the Ambassador Nova. Thank god the Pulse didn’t have those.

[EightSix]

The ugly cars are still there. Here are some ugly cars on sale right now. —

‼️Disclaimer:‼️ I, EightSix, or Team-BHP should not be held responsible for any damage that might happen to your eyes after seeing the next part of this post. Read further at your own risk.

Mahindra Alturas G4



The front profile doesn’t match the rest of the car, there is an excess of visual bulk on the side, the wheels don’t match the car either and lastly, there is an ugly badge that reads Alturas G4 on the boot.

Toyota Vellfire



The grotesque chrome grille at the front is the ugliest bit of this car. The rest of its design is not particularly appealing either.

Hyundai Aura



Let me just say that this car is a lesson on “How NOT to design a car”.

Mahindra KUV 100



This car is ugly with an uppercase U!

And since the thread wants ugly cars from HISTORY —

ICML Rhino -



The country’s largest tractor maker entered the MPV segment with this ugly Qualis+Scorpio contraption.

Toyota Etios



This car is ugly, awful, grisly, grotesque, hideous, horrid, unseemly, unsightly and all those other words you get when you enter “ugly” on thesaurus.com.

Nissan Evalia



Indians had loved vans — The Maruti Omni van was the most popular one of them. It offered utility, convenience, space etc. But then, this THING from Nissan came on our shores and spoiled the van’s reputation. I blame this as the reason why Indians don’t like vans. This van is less ugly only next to its cousin - the Ashok Leyland Stile.

Chevrolet Enjoy



**no caption here because I stepped out to wash my eyes**

Toyota Prius



Last but not least - The Toyota Prius.

After all this ugliness, if you want to cleanse your eyes, be sure to check out this thread (The most timeless car designs ever...)

[DicKy]

Originally Posted by lonetraveller89

Offended? Hold your pitchforks, I was just teasing you. Now brace for impact as every car you've ever thought as decent looking gets called 'ugly'. This was just your obligatory 'Beauty is in the eye of the beholder' post. Sometimes I think that today's opinion-driven internet is a curse.

Spoke too soon. Spoke too soon my friend.

I find beauty in cars that are otherwise called as ugly, if there is some historic reason behind the designs or some functional purpose. Or maybe the reason is that most cars sold in India don't meet my design criteria (dash to axle ratio, clean lines, proportionate). So I have kinda given up and see cars for what it is.

Still I was kinda enjoying the listing of cars like the Santro, KUV100, dolphin City, Aura while wondering if the others in the list deserve to be in this list when it hit close to home real quick below thanks to @EightySix

Like the saying in malayalam, "It is always fun to see someone else's mother going crazy mad"

Originally Posted by EightSix

[b]

Toyota Etios

This car is ugly, awful, grisly, grotesque, hideous, horrid, unseemly, unsightly and all those other words you get when you enter “ugly” on thesaurus.com.

Really? Like really?

If it was about the interiors or unToyota like build quality would have agreed with you.

But to call the styling as "ugly, awful, grisly, grotesque, hideous, horrid, unseemly, unsightly" ?

C'mon. Call it boring, bland, vanilla, plain Jane. Not grotesque or hideous.

[Aafaq]

Adding one more to the list..
Premier Rio

[fhdowntheline]

Looks are complete subjective. Sometimes they mask a purpose. The Kwid is a great looker in the entry level segment. But the SPresso feels more spacious. The Redigo looks equally spacious with even smaller dimensions in terms of length.
The Creta may look hideous to some.but it looks unconventional and edgy to me.

Some of the cars that make the cut are:

1st gen Indigo and Dzire ( although I owned it).

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by Avinash_R

The irony in the name called Dzire

What about the Nissan Sunny and Renault Scala? They have an equally bad derriere.

https://www.motorbeam.com/nissan-sun...al-comparison/

Originally Posted by avi550m

1. Honda City 2nd Gen (the 'Dolphin'):


2. 1st Gen Hyundai Santro:


3. 1st Gen Hyundai Sonata:

4. Mahindra KUV100:

5. Mahindra Quanto:


6. Maruti Zen 'Classic':


Attachment 2134924

7. Maruti Zen Estilo:

Lovely thread. Agree with all your points and of others, except the Harrier and Crysta.

[DogNDamsel12]

Curiouser and curiouser this post has gotten.

I hated the Liva from every angle possible.


I don't know if my ugly would be similar to everyone else's. I resent most of the current generation Hondas - the chrome overtures, and the gaping grills, the backside of the Ameo which was fairly Skoda-fied. Same for many high-end cars - seems like their faces have been pried open to add some additional dentures aka grills. I mostly look at cars these days with too much scorn and disgust. Bleh! What happened to old-school boxy, sleek bodies!