About a year ago, we reviewed this question – “used to hate it but now I like it” – and received a lot of great responses. My choice in this category then was the early ‘50s Hudson Hornet. But that just proved I was a certified old guy since the Hudson was built and sold in the middle of the previous century. I recently came across a more recent model – one that I couldn’t stand when it was introduced, but have warmed up to as time’s gone by…
I saw a mid-2000s vintage Jaguar X-Type Estate the other day and I had to do a double-take – it looked pretty attractive. When this car came out in 2001, I was with the large group who denigrated it as “just a Mondeo in a retro tux.” Another example of Ford taking a premium brand, then going cheap and diminishing it by bringing out new models using basic Ford components.
XE and F-Type
XF
I-Pace and XJ
But a good fifteen years have softened that judgment – and I wasn’t sure why. After pondering it a little, I’ve concluded it’s likely due to Jaguar’s current dearth of unique styling. I’ve never been a fan of the XE – to me it looks like an amalgamation of styling cues from various sport sedans. The F-Type seems a capable performance car, but de-badge it and few would know it’s a Jaguar. The XF could be confused with a Genesis – and these days that may be a compliment. In my view, only the new I-Pace and older XJ have any unique Jaguar styling identity. Whether you’re a fan of its looks or not, the X-Type never had that problem – most would recognize it as a Jag right away.
The interior was also spruced up with the requisite wood and leather, and in my dotage seems quite inviting…
So I’ve reassessed. The X-Type still isn’t on my Top Ten list of cars to own if I ever hit the lottery, but if a clean, low mileage Estate with the 3.0 litre six and a manual popped up, I’d give it a perusal…
So, as we enter a new year, what car did you previously dislike, but have now had a change of heart?
The Subaru Impreza (Wrx Sti) Blobeye or frogeye
The Lancia Thesis
First generation C5 Citroėn
Renault AE truck later also known as Magnum
The slab sided look of the C5 wasnt to my liking to begin with but after 3 years of driving mine I guess Im used to it and like it also the surprised look of the Hillman Superminx was odd when they were new but Ive got one now and am well enough impressed with the car.
I am finally coming around on two: the 1962 Plymouth and the early fuselage Chrysler C body cars.
The 62 Plymouth was so far outside of my idea of what a car should look like, and when they were around in dwindling numbers in my youth I could not see a single appealing feature about them. I now see an integrity to the design. I don’t think it’s a beautiful car, but I do find it uniquely attractive.
The early fuselage is another, particularly the 1969 Plymouth and Chrysler. Again, I did not like the modern styling when these came out, and living in a world highly biased towards GM and Ford, the Fuseys just looked “off”. Again, I now see a modern style that wasn’t just a copy of something else. The look became less successful as it got facelifted multiple times, but I now find the early ones beautiful.
Thanks for your affirmation of the ’62 Plymouth.
Since I bounced around in the back seat of a 361 “Golden Commando” powered ’62 Savoy for several years; I am slightly biased in my affection for this usually unloved Mopar.
I quickly developed a serious case of automotive lust over the 1969 Plymouth Fury that continues unabated today.
But as you noticed, they became less beautiful with each restyle/facelift
I’ll up you one: the ’62 Dodge. If one can ignore all the negative group-think about it, it’s really quite a fine period piece. The front end predicts the Mustang quite closely. In fact, given its long-hood, short tail proportions, it’s quite the Mustang prophet. Which explains why the Polara 500 coupe and convertible actually sold quite well, given the very limited market niche it occupied. It doesn’t work so well as a low end sedan, but as a sporty coupe/convertible, it works very well.
I felt like you, loved the looks of the X type estate so bought one. It sounds good on paper 3.0 litre V6, 4WD. However the engine needs revs to deliver its torque so an automatic version has to be driven in permanent sports mode or it never gets on cam and consequently the fuel consumption suffers a lot. Also it really is a modeo underneath and a few British winters on our salted roads really show it. It’s a Ford, built down to a price.
Who cares its underpinnings are shared with a Mondeo, which is an excellent car as well? That said a lot is not interchangeable. I needed rear suspension arms and other rubbers for the X Estate and they are different to the Mondeo.
Not sure it is built down to a price, the quality is pretty good. Love it, good practical size. I also have the 3.0 auto and never felt it was slow or needed the Sport button. Yes they are a bit thirsty. If you want frugal get a Skoda diesel or something.
Jags come in diesel they actually used a complete Peugeot powertrain like the Mondeo they are built from.
From the current offerings, most definitely the Porsche Panamera. However, I also remember disliking the fifth generation BMW 5 series (E60) when introduced in 2002. Thought it was hideous!
Totally about hating the E60….especially after the brilliant E39
I’m with you on the Jag X type, when they came out I didn’t think they looked distinctive enough, and the press were sniffy about them, which clouded my opinion. Now however things have changed. Here in Cape Town I see them almost daily, and they are all in great condition. None of the modifications and slammed suspensions that befall older BMW’s and Audi’s are happening to the X type. They clearly appeal to the type of buyer wanting to project some traditional prestige on a budget, like an estate agent starting out.
Say what you want about the Ford Flex. I couldn’t stand it when it came out and I thought it had a stupid name, but I ended up really liking it after having one as a rental. Would be a great family hauler if one has multiple kids and dogs. Drives nice, has a decent interior, and I now like the boxy shape.
I’m with you on the X-type, Jim. Sedan version that a relative had is the only Jaguar I ever drove, and it was pretty forgettable. But the wagon version actually is quite fetching.
Agree on the Flex. Also think Ford missed an opportunity with it… had they introduced a limited edition “Country Squire” trim level it would have sold like hotcakes for two years. By then any of us old baby boomers that grew up in Squires and had any interest would have bought one.
With the curvy restyle in 1992 I threw verbal stones as the new Fords and Mercurys.
Now that I am enjoying my 5th Panther series #FoMoCo I guess one could say that I have changed my mind and evolved over time.
The first generation Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable wagon…I thought if looked like an overinflated blimp in the rear. But that passed quickly and I would wind up owning four of them including two at the same time.
#IMO one of the most stylish, graceful, svelte and beautiful station wagons ever built.
I’ll stick with a CC, the 1966 full-sized Fords. As a kid, I thought the ‘65 Ford was a breakthrough after the pudgy looking ‘64’s. A year later the 1966, especially the squarer taillights, just looked off to me. But recently, perhaps influenced by commenters here at CC, I’ve come to like the sharper details of the 1966 style. Especially the taillights.
Never seen the X Estate as a beautiful car and never thought I would own one. But it is so very practical! I wanted a successor for my 6 cil Subie Outback and the 3.0 auto X is perfect. Had it since 4 years ago. They are very rare here, sometimes you see an Estate but 90% is a diesel. I like it more than the Subaru.
First gen Ford Focus for me, smacks of try too hard with lines that came and went from nowhere and an awkward face.
Didn’t take too long to look back at the comparatively raised stance and realised why it was that shape, helped I guess by every other manufacturer following suite.
Also like the styling or not it follows a vision, something you can’t really say about any following Focus, no matter how good they are.
Around the time the X-type estate was introduced, I showed a photo of one in CAR Magazine to a couple of 20-something female baristas at my local Starbucks. One of them immediately said, “That’s wrong!” I doubt these women were gearheads, so they probably haven’t given the car enough thought to change (or not) their opinion.
Ford Panthers.
When they came out in ’79, I saw them as “Me-too” GM wannabes. So I entirely missed the over 20 years of improvements made to them. It was a revelation when I test drove an LX Sport and Maurader. I love my big old “Cruiser” and have come 180 on them.
Well said. Ford continued to develop the Panther when GM neglected then abandoned thr B body. So the Panther platform grew to be superior. I own examples of both. I like both but the B bodies feel quite elderly in comparison.
The 1995 Buick Riviera.
When introduced its mate the Oldsmobile Aurora looked much more balanced to me and it had a V-8 engine. The Riviera had only a pushrod V-6 (supercharging as an option and later standard). And the “C” pillar location on the Riviera seemed awkward – too far forward and visually incongruous with the rear wheels. At the time I could have seen myself with an Aurora or an 88 LSS – but not the Riviera.
But eventually I bought a lightly used, clean supercharged ’97 Riviera. The red leather interior was wonderful; I loved the way the dash blended into the door panels. The trunk was huge. The pearlescent white paint finish was stunning. I liked the car and it did not need the Oldsmobile’s V-8. Those two are probably the last newly introduced GM cars that I have bothered to notice at all.
Reminds me of the Mazda 929 with those sweeping lines.
The 2007-present Nissan GT-R.
I was in high school when it came out, yet I HATED the styling and sheer size of the thing. So bloated! I didn’t care how great it’s performance was, it looked like a caricature of the R32-R34.
Only now have I started to appreciate it. It has aged very well.
Citroen DS. I hated them when they were around but have come full circle.
Mazda RX-8. When they came out, they were supposed to be some sort of a more practical successor to the last (FD) RX-7. But they just looked frumpy and all wrong.
Now one doesn’t see too many of them around any more, as they are an early version of how cars are being consumed now, which is like smartphones. Use them for a few years, dump them and move on. No sense in trying to maintain a pile of unrepairable parts with unobtainable replacements, all in a proprietary package of largely plastic and electronics, that defies either understanding or the ability to effectively troubleshoot.
In the meantime, they do have a distinctive look all their own, and represent (at least so far, and likely forever), the last iteration of a rotary engine as a primary power plant, not as an auxiliary for something else. As cars evolve to a universal shape, before they are stomped out of existence altogether by SUVs and such, the rear bustle of the RX-8, the arched roof, and the relatively long hood on a visually stubby car make an interesting and unique look. Still not really handsome, but the look works for me now, as something different and its own thing. Or perhaps I admire the perseverance of the owner for keeping it on the road, and feel for him when the car simply refuses to function one day, and any amount of coaxing will likely not do a thing to resolve the situation.
Jaguar X-type was the failure at the beginning. People like Jaguar because they like and can afford a real one like XJ (all generations), but dress up an European Ford just didn’t make even though this Ford had a quite good reputation as a Ford. More you forced the salesman to lie and explain all the ways to push the cars out.
I never know there is now a XE in Jaguar lineup. This is in my view this wastes effort to make a vehicle again those three German bands, aka ABB (Audi, Benze and BMW), they almost suck out all the oxygen in the last two decades — last year the situation changed a bit Tesla model 3 was the top seller of premium band of vehicles in China. But look at Acura, Jaguar, Infiniti and Volvo, they are beaten. Even Lexus is struggling despite its excellent reputation, LS is almost gone, RX should outsell ML, X5/X3, IS is not the car people look for a entry level sport sedan/coup. Consumers view Lexus as Coach bag while they really want a LV bag. The real virtue of Lexus is resell value, but how many today consumers think this way.
Back this topic, i had a lot of reservations and even suspected feeling about W168 ML350 because of its bad reputation on reliability and popular resentment. But after owning one for almost 15 years as daily vehicle I have to say it is a good vehicle for me despite it is not trouble free. It never got me strained one time. It has no major defects on engine and transmission, no weird electric/electronic problems. The vehicle remained its solid Benze stable feeling all the way before i sold last November with 160k miles. If i got a X5, which is a better vehicle, is probably gone after 10 years.
Another vehicle now I really want to have a third vehicle is BMW E46 with manual transmission. It has all the old BMW virtues and yet affordable. And other plus it is reasonable reliable. For years I don’t think it is that good, keep think the E38 is the BMW I like to drive. But now I am convinced E46 is better choice.
72 Torino, that gaping maw grill. It was such a change from the slick 68-69 and 70-71 Torinos. Then the 5 mph bumpers came and the smashed flat front ends. Suddenly the 72 looked pretty good.
I love wagons, and so through that prism, I’ve come to appreciate and have affection for cars whose ordinary sibling passenger models I would either dislike or never consider otherwise.
I love this X. They were out of my price range at the time, but had it not? The Mondeo was well-regarded, and I think Ford’s ownership was a positive for Jaguar overall. Would never have considered the sedans.
Our first family car was a ‘60 Rambler American. Cute, but ughh! But a Rambler American wagon? Worthy.
Or our ‘62 Mercury Comet (we called it the vomit). Yet to me, a wagon version would do it.
Lincoln Mark V. When new and into the early 80s, I hated these as the polar opposite of the form -follows – function, performance car that all the magazines were telling me I should like. In high school a friend drove me around in his Dad’s car. I was both amazed and disgusted at the sheer inefficiency of the device.
But I bought one in the mid 90s as a cool example of disco era excess, and its virtues grew on me. It’s a rare example of extreme styling as a statement, much as a Lamborghini or Rolls is a statement of excess.
Furthermore, traditional smooth quiet luxury and isolation is an automotive super power, but one that’s under appreciated these days.
Finally, Ford bestowed their most reliable, durable mechanical components upon the car and reinforced many components to handle the weight and stress, for trouble free driving. I own two at present.
When it came out I thought the Lexus IS300 Sportcross was really odd looking. Not quite a wagon because of how it slopes in the hatch area, but too long behind the rear axle to be a hatchback. I still think it would look better as a proper wagon, but it blends seamlessly into the sea of crossovers that compromise the rear cargo area for… looks?
First-generation Cadillac Seville. Almost everything that’s wrong with them can be corrected with a driveline swap (engine and trans) and revised bushings, spring rates, and alignment angles. At this point, they all need an engine, and suspension work anyway. The basic vehicle–an upgrade from the GM “X-body” is superb.
’74 and later AMC Matador coupes. I was repulsed by them when new. It took me 40 years to “get” what the stylists were after. I am now enlightened
If I was going to have a malaise era auto, it would be this car hands down.
First, that X-Type wagon is one of the rarest vehicles on US soil. They sold so few that you’re far less likely to see one than any Ferrari or Maserati.
As for cars that grew on me, the Bangle 5-series was, at first, an abomination. Now, especially the wagon/touring is, to me, one of the finest looking vehicles on the road. There’s an edited precision to the design (rare for Bangle’s designs) and for me, it really flips my switch.
For me it’s the good ol’ Aussie AU Falcon.
There’s a meme going around on FB saying that Mercedes liked the design so much they pinched it for the CLS – and the old CLS does look sort of like an AU with a roof chop.
At the time it was too radical for Aussie tastes, and Ford squared up the design for its replacement, which at the time seemed a much more successful, coherent design. But nowadays the previously-unloved AU actually seems quite good looking; Ford just brought out the design a few years too soon.
This one lives around the corner from me.
Original Valiant. Too weird compared to Corvair (one of my favorites) and Falcon. Lovable now, and more goodness under the hood than the other two, more power, Torqueflite and alternator.
The rwd volvos when I was a kid was ugly, stodgy, looked like an orthopedic shoe, slow, expensive, and driven by the kind of people who always thought they were better, wiser, and more educated than you were for picking something that in many other respects failed as a modern car. By the end of the 240s run it was in fully loaded lesabre range with the same ugly homemade cheap plastic dashboard that had been around since ever and still looked like a plastic orthopedic shoe.
But I bought one or two to flip and the simplicity of it and the third world, a moderately intelligent cat can fix anything in five minutes with a 10 piece set of tools repairability impressed me. Swedes are apparently committed to a philosophy called lagom, roughly translated as just enough or moderation, and the 240/740 is just enough. It’s just powerful enough. It’s just roomy enough. It’s just economical enough. It’s certainly durable and easy peasy to fix when something goes wrong, and it’s not thrilling in any way but not bloated and wallowing and not bmw exciting. It’s just enough.
I hated the 86 and subsequent tauruses for their melted, blobby styling. Nature is capable of making any variety of curves but only the precise, rational mind of man can draw a truly straight line. The formal roofed styling of the rival gm products looked strong, athletic, and light in a way bloated swollen curves didn’t.
Then we had a 94? wagon very used and it was just a very competent car. The wagon, true to wagon form, swallowed immense loads of cargo
The seats front and back were large, comfortable, roomy, and well positioned and shaped unlike some gm seats which had short cushions and were too low. Everything worked well and if you could ignore the cheap and ugly plastic dash, it was well engineered and drove well.
Since we’re talking about Volvo’s, I hated the styling of the first generation XC90 when it first came out. I was just getting my driver’s license when they hit the stage and and I couldn’t help thinking what a weird looking vehicle it was, total opposite of what a Volvo should be. Now that I’m on my second one there’s very few things about it I actually dislike about it.
Honda Element is one that comes to mind. I thought they were clownish and stupid-looking (especially with that black cladding) when they first came out. But now I see them as versatile, fun and relatively simple cars, and I wouldn’t mind owning one, even an early one with that black cladding.
The original Mazda Mx-5, of all things.
I never thought it ugly, but it looked so klutzy compared to the delicacy of the Lotus Elan which so obviously inspired it. I couldn’t see it WITHOUT seeing the Elan it wasn’t, and if I were a rude person and it an animate object, I would have been tempted to tell it to either lose some weight or wear a different outfit.
Nowadays, I like them for what they are, their own thing, and perfectly decent lookers at that.
W203 Benz:
I thought the Audi A4 had a better interior, and the E90 BMW was much more of a looker.
Fast forward 15 years: the Audi A4s have extremely expensive suspension components, the E90s have N47 engine problems…
The W203? Got an awesome facelift, timeless styling and is considered a proper dead-reliable Benz. I know this because I own one now.
Ok back in the early 70’s I was aghast at anything Peugeot. They turned my guts inside out. More recently, and a big thanks to Cold War Motors and they excellent videos they have on refurbishing these as well the Saab’s I must say I have fallen into “like” mode on these cars. They are well built and stylish in their own right. Love mode might take me a bit longer yet lol.
BMW 5 series E39, from 1996. I thought (and still do) that the E34 was one of the great looking saloons and that the E39 failed to follow up. But it has aged well, especially in Touring format
I had to really give this one some thought, but I finally came up with one.
Nissan Cube.
Its particular kind of different has grown on me.