There is often the platonic ideal of a car. The trim or body style it is intended to be, leaving all other options looking slightly wrong. The Buick Roadmaster is a great example of a car that looks perfect exactly one way: the wagon with the wood. Have you ever seen the sedan? It’s not terrible, but it’s not right.
You can play this game all day long. A Peugeot 504 sedan is a fine automobile and something I’d love to own. But, as Thomas pointed out to me, any reasonable human being would rather have a 504 Coupe. It’s the body style that floats into your brain when someone says “504.”
That’s not always the case. Sometimes a design is so good it works in every configuration and trim. This idea initially came to me from the Autopian Discord (join here!), where Alex? pointed out that every body style and trim of the Corvair is great. Coupe. Sedan. Hell, truck! There’s no such thing as a bad Corvair, just like there’s no war in Albania.
My question is: What’s an example of a car that looks great in every time and body style? My answer, much to the disappointment of Adrian, is the C5 Corvette. From the lowest-spec autotragic silver C5 to the exotic and strangely British Callaway C12, they’re all great. Do I have a preference? Sure, the fixed-roof-coupe Z06 is my preference. Would I kick the 1998 Indy Pace Car out of bed for eating brakes? I would not.
And an Anniversary Red Metallic 50th Anniversary Edition convertible with an early version of Magnetic Selective Ride Control Suspension? Come to Papa.
It can’t be the only one. Name some more cars that look great in every trim or body style.
I would substitute C6 Corvette. It is like a C5 in a better tailored suit.
And thanks for the Corvair shoutout. It is odd, because I have owned an early and a late model and I never thought of them as handsome until just recently.
Both the C5 and C6 look good in convertible, coupe, or bulked-up top end trim models. It’s a real feat of design, especially as I’m thinking about the super-awkward “this should have been a hatchback but we need a sedan for the hatch-phobic US market” Fiesta and Sonic.
Word on the Fiesta and Sonic. It’s sad as the hatch versions were really good looking, and seemingly more popular than the tragic sedans.
I could never figure the envisioned overlap in the companies’ minds between buyers of small cars and, er, older consumers who like their trunks.
That’s what happens when you just tack a boot on a car that was clearly designed from the onset as a hatchback. Especially modern ones.
Would I kick the 1998 Indy Pace Car Edition out of bed?
Hell Yeah, I’d kick it all the way to a wrap shop.
the 2nd gen 93-2002/2002 Dodge Ram 1500/2500/3500 pickup. It made pickups fashionable (for better or worse) and just looked good in every body style and bed length
I’ll go all the Magnums, because the first one is far better than the real bastard-Charger that was the “personal luxury coupe” it’s biased on, then it’s A-body Mexican variant wasn’t too shabby either. Of course, the wagon was pretty awesome.
Can’t leave out the K-car based Magnums that Mexico had from 83-88, They looked tough with blacked out trim and backed it up turbo engines..
The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. The hardtop look great, but Spider is otherworldly.
Plus the 8C Disco Volante by Touring. Sigh…
The Mk1 Focus. Available in 2-door hatch, 4-door hatch, wagon, and sedan
The saloon isn’t quite right. Like all of the saloons derived from cars that were first and foremost designed as hatchbacks it looks a bit forced and artificial.
Here in the states, we didn’t get the 4-door hatch for a few years (and then few people bought them b/c ‘murica), so the sedan was kinda our baseline for what a 4 door version of a Focus should resemble. Maybe that’s why to us, they look okay?
The Mk2 Focus (European and South American) looked great in 3 or 5 doors hatch, sedan and wagon shapes, both pre and post-facelifts.
Alfa Giulia, the Sprint GT, 1750, 2000, all editions, beautiful in every guise, never lost its charm.
I’m going to nominate the 2006 Lexus IS. There wasn’t a bad line on that car.
My first thought was fox Mustangs. One of the few convertibles of the era (i.e., ones that started as a hardtop then were sent to be decapitated) that looked good top up or down. Plus the notchback and fastback versions both were pleasing to the eye.
Then I thought about the Corvair you mentioned. The 70-71 Ford Torino came in almost as many flavors:
2-door hardtop
2-door fastback
2-door convertible
2-door truck (Ranchero)
4-door sedan
4-door hardtop
4-door station wagon
While some look better than others, I’d say there isn’t a bad one in the bunch.
Volvo 240; Citroen DS; Volvo P1800; 55-57 Chevrolet Bel Air; Ford Pinto; AMC Hornet; Saab 900; Saab 9-3; Audi A3, 4, 5; VW Rabbit/Golf; BMW 3&5 series; 1993-2008 Mercedes E Class; Honda Accord; 1974-2000 Toyota Corolla; Datsun 510; 1978-84 Subaru Leone.
Aston Martin DB9/DBS and the mid-2000s Vantage. Lots and lots of variants and not an ugly one among them.
I think the C5 corvette looks slightly better in Hardtop form…also the less we talk about the 98 Indy Trim the better.
Mazda with their “Kodo” design, example Mazda 6 in the different variants or Mazda 3 too. In general Mazda has a sexy lineup today.
Nailed it
Yes. Even their SUVs don’t look that bad. And some of them have fading blinkers!
Every Bruno Sacco production Mercedes-Benz. They may not be very striking today, but every last one of them looks right. Never had a Merc, likely never will unless I stumble upon 190E Cosworth-importing money, but that styling can’t be argued with.
For a spicier take, I propose the VW Gol (BX Platform) looks great despite only being inspired by Giugiaro’s European shapes. The Passat’s smaller cousin, it looked great in any shape: Gol hatch, Voyage 2-door sedan, Paraty station wagon and Saveiro ute. Fun fact, the early Gol featured a front-mounted 1300cc air-cooled flat-4 straight from the Beetle, making it Volkswagen’s only front-engined air-cooled car that I know of. It even has a unique fan shroud that looks quite stylish compared to the contemporary “dog-house” shroud. Later models and performance trims were all water-cooled.
I agree with you on every point.
I’m a bit biased because my first car was a V70, but I always liked every variation of the Volvo P80 (C70/S70/V70) cars.
Yes! All beautiful cars and the V70 was the best.
Skyline, from Prince on down to the R34 generation of skyline. GTR, Coupe, Sedan, Wagon, it had it all and I like all of them.
Also, the S13. Coupe or fastback, popups or solid headlights. Or best, put those hands together for the best ever S13, the Sil80.
I had a UK spec S13 200SX, and a friend had a JDM S13 Silvia.
I’d still love a Sil80 though, despite not having pop up headlights.
Even the fixed headlight S13s had two options: normal lenses or projectors, and both looked good.
Its true. I have a Sil80 with the triple projectors, which are the headlights I like the most. She’s a little rough right now though, but unlike nearly every other one I see, she has never been a drift missile. Full interior, minimal modifications (except obviously the front clip). I’m really hoping to turn to that car and give it some new life soon.
I am deeply envious.
I’m also part of the problem as I used to compete at drifting. Several RWD cars died so I could get good enough to finish 12th. It’s hard to justify.
I hear ya. I discovered early in my car love hobby that going fast and driving hard cost me tons of money. I never had enough fun to want to keep spending the loads of cash.
I have a 5 lug swap and a 300zx TT big brake kit waiting to go on it. I want to put the Silvia K’s front bumper on it, and the 3 piece rear factory valance, and Wangan Wing. Basically, I plan to build the car from Initial D…. I even have a set of those BBS mesh, though they currently are my go to rims on my DD.
This may be cheating slightly, but I lean toward the Type I VW Beetle.
And while we’re here, let’s add the VW Type II, the Type III, and the Type IV, though the III arguably has the most variety.
I’d add the Rabbit platform to that too, though I myself proposed the BX (Volkswagen do Brasil’s smaller sibling to the B2 platform).
I’m going the cheap shot route here and throw in trucks.
Every Ford F100/F150 from 1978-1987
The 1989-1991 Chevy K5 Blazer
The 1981-1992 Dodge Ram
With the near complete demise of coupes, convertibles, and wagons, how many nameplates even come in multiple body styles anymore?
The only one that comes to mind is the Civic, featuring sedan and hatchback models that look damn near identical
I mean, there are more than that.
Bronco, Wrangler, and Defender come in 2 and 4 door configurations, along with most full size trucks.
Many sports cars are still available as either a coupe or convertible.
I suppose you could argue stuff like the BMW 3 and 4 series are really the same model with a different number of doors.
But it’s undoubtedly less than ever before.
Definitely less bodystyles today. I imagine when for example a common C-segment car had 3-5 door bodystyles (sometimes even a coupe), convertible, saloon and estate.
On the other hand, if there is the Corolla and Corolla Cross, are the Golf and the Tiguan bodystyles of the same model?
The MK6 Jetta has always been quite sharp in every trim
Golf > Jetta (at least with the Mk6 I can argue they’re pretty much the same car)
More like Mk.5. The Mk.6 is where the Golf and Jetta diverged.
Weirdly, the Golf Wagon (aka Jetta SportWagen in the US) got the new front clip and interior of the Mk.6 Golf, but did not otherwise get the structural improvements the Golf got. So it was kind of a Mk.5/Mk.6 hybrid from 2010 on. Furthermore, the wagon returned in 2009, so the “Mk.5” Jetta SportWagen is a bit of a one-year-wonder, only appearing for 2009. What’s more, the 2009 offered the 2.0T. After that, it was just the 2.5 I5 or TDI.
Touché. You’re absolutely right: I completely forgot the Mk6 Jetta was the one where they Americanized it – even going as low as to change to a torsion-beam suspension and re-using the 2.slow for the American markets.
I am going to respect the intent of your opinion, but argue that the MK4 Jetta/Golf siblings are a better pair. They both look pretty great, and while one can see that they’re related they both somehow look just a bit distinct from each other.
The Mazda RX7 was always a looker, no matter the year or generation.
Case closed.
All the FC RX7s on UK eBay are convertibles, and they don’t look good top up or down.
I love the FC coupe, I had two of them.
I like the vert, I just don’t want one.
If something as smooth and clean as the C5 came out today, we’d never hear the end of how boring it is. I love them though. Favorite generation.
With the way Tesla, Lucid and the like are pushing design, I actually think it would do really well if you just gave it some LED lights.
You would not believe how often people ask me if my C5 is new.
Second gen (’90s) U.S. Ford Escort.
Now Matt and I will say the coupe is fantastic, and probably at least a quarter of this place will rave about the wagon, but the sedan as well had a similarly handsome, put-together style that typified the model then. Great wheel and color choices across the lineup too.
don’t forget about the 4-door hatch too 😛
The 1966/67 Pontiac Le Mans/Tempest/GTO
The 1932 Ford
The tri-five Chevys
E30 3 series, E28 5 series are the first things that come to mind.
I’d throw the E39 on there as well.
yeah, definitely! I was trying to not just say “Every BMW from 1970-2000” because that felt unfair, but i honestly believe it.
I feel a similar way about a good few brands. Some designer/brand combos just never fail. For example: Giugiaro and Volkswagen, Sacco and Mercedes, Gandini and Lamborghini.
I agree, BMW was on point with their style until the unfortunate 2002 7 series and 2004 5 series. I still haven’t forgiven BMW for ruining car design for years. My family is passionate about the peak era BMW with having had 3 e38s, two e36s and an e39. We still have the e36s and an e38, they get a lot of compliments.
As the owner of an E39 myself, a base, pre-facelift model with the standard bumpers, orange indicators, non-sport suspension and 15″ wheels is not much of a looker. It’s not that it looks bad, but it’s bland and has a weird underbite that was fixed with the LCI:
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/AN5K07/bmw-523i-1996-to-2003-AN5K07.jpg
I see what you mean, but I still find it pretty attractive. Just a simple, well-proportioned thing.
I was thinking the same, if the very basic model looks poor, does this mean many of them are discarded?
https://assets.catawiki.com/image/cw_normal/plain/assets/catawiki/assets/2023/10/25/5/e/7/5e72e390-3a9a-4b73-8450-a94789f7362f.jpg