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Car brands use countless tricks to extend generations. Designing a car—let alone a platform—costs a fortune. Hence why it is so crucial to monetize investments by adding [new iterations]. Any formula is valid, but marketing always has perfect solutions to make us take the bait.
If there is one word that gets repeated in advertising, that word is ‘new’. And the restyling, or facelift, is the exact solution to give them the excuse to slap that aforementioned term onto the very same car they’ve been selling for years.
The problem? Well, the new isn’t always better. In this short article, we are going to review 7 models that got worse with the restyling. Of course, we’ll do it with a slightly more humorous tone than usual.
Fiat Multipla
Yes, the ugliest car in the world and whatever else you want to say. But its design—though horrifying—had logic and personality. Faced with so much criticism from automotive scholars, Fiat decided to do a redesign to turn it into a more sober car. And, obviously, they messed up.
Every good professional has to keep their composure when doing something right, and a person who doesn’t understand their job criticizes it. In the field of design, this is a basic principle. Fiat thus ended up with a vehicle that might not be as ugly, but that totally lost its original essence.
Ford Escort V
Spotting a bad restyling is easy. Does the new one look older than the old one? That’s precisely what happened with the fifth-generation European Ford Escort. We started from a gorgeous design, very well-balanced, with tail lights that looked like they were made of Haribo gummy candies.
However, in 1992, Ford Europe had the wonderful idea of giving it a redesign. They weren’t quite hitting the mark back then. The model, which was sold until 1997, looks today absurdly older than the original design.
Ford Mondeo Mk II
In 1996, Ford Europe introduced the Mondeo. It had a very nice design, the work of John Oldfield. However, the bigwigs of the group didn’t end up liking the aesthetics. They said it looked like a low-quality Asian car. They blamed the design for not achieving the sales they had anticipated.
No sooner said than done. In 1996, they launched the Ford Mondeo Mk II, a car that was exactly the same as the previous one (not a new generation as such), and that completely changed its bodywork. And, lo and behold, it now looked exactly like a low-quality Asian car. A masterstroke by the blue oval brand, absolutely.
Volkswagen Polo 6
Let’s go for a recent one. If there’s one cool thing about the Volkswagen Polo, it’s consistency. Within the Wolfsburg brand, the Polo has maintained a visual line over the years that is worthy of admiration. We could say it’s something only comparable to the Porsche 911 with those lines that are recognized regardless of the generation.
The Polo’s headlight clusters have been refined and refined generation after generation. Restyling after restyling. Until the Polo VI. The latest redesign has completely broken this trend with rear optics that aren’t ugly, but could belong to any Hyundai, Opel, or Renault. A true absurdity.
Audi A4 C6
Let’s continue with the Volkswagen Group. Another minor sacrilege was committed with the Audi A6 back in 2008. After four years on the market, the A6 C6 had a redesign that focused especially on revamping a rear end that didn’t need any improvement. The result? A bland sedan that lost all its personality in one fell swoop.
Curiously, around the same time, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class had an equally bland generation. Did the Germans call a truce, or did they opt for simpler designs to weather the economic crisis?
Peugeot 206+
They wanted to sell the 207, but they also wanted an affordable vehicle below a certain psychological price point. PSA didn’t think twice and launched the Peugeot 206+, which could easily have earned a spot in the circus right alongside the ‘Liger’.
Half 207, half 206. Starting from the premise that the 207 was already a much uglier car than its predecessor, the result of this stunt—worthy of the crazy kid from Toy Story—was a car whose nice front optics were stripped away to slap on one of the ugliest front ends the lion brand has ever made in its entire history.
Citroën Xsara
Forcing a design line with a shoehorn is usually the perfect formula to ruin a car that was well made. PSA also messed up with the Xsara, a model that was consistent with the design line of the double chevron brand at the time.
To modernize it and homogenize the image with respect to the rest of its models, the Xsara received an optics transplant. Now it was flashier, but being such a boxy car, those teardrop-shaped lights didn’t fit in at all.
By the way, the poor Citroën Saxo went through the exact same process, losing its headlights that gave it a somewhat ‘hoodlum’ touch, to instead have quite generic lights that made it lose that distinctive edge.
If you’re left wanting more, take a look at the second part, where we talk about sports cars that got worse after a redesign.