Current car designs that will "date" very quickly

fricatus

I remember looking at a 1990 Audi 80 a few years back and thinking that it still had a remarkably fresh, modern design that had stood the test of time.

At the other end of the scale, I was looking at a '04 Hyundai Accent the other day and thinking how the design is already looking dated.

What car designs do you think will begin to look old and dated very quickly? My vote goes to the Nissan Tiida. Not so much the hatchback, but the "saloon".

samsamson

I don't think this Honda Civic will age well;

http://images.intellichoice.com/images/AutoShows/Big/112_05fas_honda_civic_s.jpg

Though I found it stunning when I first saw it on the road.

Mr Benevolent

Most of the new-shape BMWs.

woodseb

samsamson wrote: »

I don't think this Honda Civic will age well;

http://images.intellichoice.com/images/AutoShows/Big/112_05fas_honda_civic_s.jpg

Though I found it stunning when I first saw it on the road.

funny, i would think that car would be the one to age best

Zube

samsamson wrote: »

I don't think this Honda Civic will age well

Yes, the current Civic is completely overstyled, it won't last. Knowing Honda, the next one will be a hyperbland pensioner special, the same way the Prelude swung wildly from blue-rinse to aggressive and back to head-scarf-wearing aul' wan in 3 model generations, alienating all its customers and then coming to a confused end.

maidhc

Depends on the car. The Accent looked vile and outdated even when new.

The Mk1 Focus came out in 1998, 11 years ago. It still looks very fresh.

I think the new Civic is aging very well too.

sundula

Although i hate the guy i have to agree with Jeremy Clarkson when he said the 'fairy lights' on the A4 were like chirstmas lights in a council estate. When i saw them first i thought they were alright but the more i see the more dated and tacky they appear to be.

RobAMerc

I have for the last 20 years thought BMW's tend to look very sharp when first launched but age poorly - Mercedes looked old from new but never seemed to really date too badly, however the current E class imo is going to get very old very fast.
Talk about design for design sake !

Jeese someone should have told that lad no more creases down the side !

YozzerHughes

The LED runing lights at the front of the current Audi range I think will date very quickly. "Wow cool" to "oh that's tacky".

Mr Benevolent

YozzerHughes wrote: »

The LED runing lights at the front of the current Audi range I think will date very quickly. "Wow cool" to "oh that's tacky".

+1, they don't look like LEDs anymore though, more like big Christmas light bulbs. Cheap & nasty.

Zube

YozzerHughes wrote: »

The LED runing lights at the front of the current Audi range I think will date very quickly. "Wow cool" to "oh that's tacky".

I expect every new car from 2011 on will have LED DRLs thanks to EU regulations.

colsers22

I saw a Nissan Qashqai in that nasty red colour yesterday and thought it looked very dated. All the new Nissans are dating quickly. The Note and Tiida are ugly and cheap looking.

ongarite

A4 for me, is lookin dated, strange side profile & rear styling.
Mondeo is looking a bit dated too IMO aswell as the 407.

spank_inferno

+1 on the Audi headlight design
However apart from that I think by and large the rest of them will age pretty well.

Golfs & Skoda's dont seem to age but I think thats because they hardly change their design, generation on Generation.

However... that Sirocco. It never looked good imo and will look worse as time passes. It looks like a squashed Mk V golf.
The rear of the car reminds me of Eric Cartmans face.

KTRIC

Late 80's to early 90's Saabs age quite well. As do early Audis.

qz

I thought the Nissan Murano was a great looker when it was released, but it already looks bloaty ;[

KTRIC

qz wrote: »

I thought the Nissan Murano was a great looker when it was released, but it already looks bloaty ;[

I work with a small guy that drives one of them. He looks comical getting in and out

Stevie Dakota

Cars that are not holding up well or will date quickly IMO are -
Ford Mondeo
Audi A4
BMW 7 series
New E-Class

Cars that I think will age well
Ford Fiesta
Insignia

fm

the new megane.it looks good but is over designed

The_Conductor

Cars that will date quickly

Volvo sports cars (all of them)
Smart 4-2
Smart 4-4
Fiat Punto
Ford Ka
Peugeot RCZ
Peugeot 1007 (if I want a van, I'll buy one, thankyou)
Peugeot 4007 (it would be been better if they never tried to put a SUV together)
Chrysler rebadged stuff (Nissan, Fiat and Kia)


Cars that seem to be holding up well (despite the odds in some cases)

Peugeot 207cc (yum)
Fiat Coupe (I don't understand why these little monsters are so easily available in the UK- they're incredible fun to drive)
Alfa Romeos
Volvo estates (the Sports Wagon range are actually fun to drive- why does that sentence sound so defensive?)
etc

Saab Ed

I win



For the love of God who thought this ever looked good. Oh better not forget this horror......



Dated before it left the designers Brain as a message to his hand I say

TwoShedsJackson

The Tiida was god-awful when it was launched though, the back end looks like someone put it in an industrial press.

empirix

what about tghe A3 -sometimes i look at them and go nice other times i look and go hmmm!

Eoin

Have to agree with the Audi lights as well. As I said before, I think they would have looked much better if they were a solid light like the CCFL angel eyes - or at least a higher concentration of LED bulbs.

smccarrick wrote:

Volvo sports cars

Can't agree with that - I think the new C70 will still look good in a few years time, just like the pre-facelift one still looks good (to me anyway).

RobAMerc wrote:

I have for the last 20 years thought BMW's tend to look very sharp when first launched but age poorly

I might be biased, but I really think the e39 5 series has aged very well.

Saab Ed

Anything Korean.......anything :pac:

alias no.9

I'm going to be a little contrary here, I think the Tiida will date quite well but only because we've seen the worst of it from the start. It could never possibly look more 'uncontemporary'.

niceirishfella

The New Jag XF. That looks good now but will look dated in 10 years to be sure with everything else around it too most probably. It's just fashion.

HashSlinging

Cars that wont age well
Opel insignia
Sirocco
Passat

sundula

qz wrote: »

I thought the Nissan Murano was a great looker when it was released, but it already looks bloaty ;[

+1, looks like some sort of old moon buggy

BlackWizard

colsers22 wrote: »

I saw a Nissan Qashqai in that nasty red colour yesterday and thought it looked very dated. All the new Nissans are dating quickly. The Note and Tiida are ugly and cheap looking.

I think the Nissan Note and Nissan Tino will do quite well. The Tino came out in 2001 and it still looks okay.

I don't think the current Passat will last that long. I can't see the older model looking "dated" for a good while to come.

The Citroen C5 looks dated already

mcwhirter

The new renault laguna already looks dated.

bazz26

The Alfa 156 has aged very well considering it is an 11 year old design. The only thing that gives it away imo is the interior space and design.

New model Renault Megane and Laguna are pretty dull and already look like they are in need of a facelift.

New Skoda Superb is old looking from the side and rear already.

Another is the pre 2005 VW Passat, looks very dated now.

Saab Ed

mcwhirter wrote: »

The new renault laguna already looks dated.

+1


And I sell them............shame on me :eek::D

bf

I think the current Mondeo wont be looking to modern in 2/3 years time...

alias no.9

bazz26 wrote: »

The Alfa 156 has aged very well considering it is an 11 year old design. The only thing that gives it away imo is the interior space and design.

11 year old design on a 21 year old platform :eek:

bazz26 wrote: »

New Skoda Superb is old looking from the side and rear already.

I know the similarities are limited but every time I see a new model superb, the back of it reminds me of the facelifted Renault Safrane.

Stevie Dakota

bf wrote: »

I think the current Mondeo wont be looking to modern in 2/3 years time...

In three years time it will be near replacement, I think it looks dated NOW, I'd say a facelift is in the pipeline.

cashmni1

Mondeo, Passat and Laguna, all current, all dated looking.

C5, Insignia, Fiesta and Megane all look good now, but I wonder how they will look in 2 years, esp the C5.

I remember when the current BMW 5 series came out, i thought it was a revelation. Now they look dated imo.

The new C-class Merc will date well I think.

AugustusMaximus

cashmni1 wrote: »

I remember when the current BMW 5 series came out, i thought it was a revelation. Now they look dated imo.

Quite the opposite for me. I think its maturing nicely as other car companies have caught up with some of BMW's design philosophy and the car doesn't stick out as much as it used to.

Don't think the E65 7 series has dated well at all. Looks terrible now, especially compared to the 5 series.

Stevie Dakota

AugustusMaximus wrote: »

Quite the opposite for me. I think its maturing nicely as other car companies have caught up with some of BMW's design philosophy and the car doesn't stick out as much as it used to.

+1

Put and E39 and an E60 side by side and E39, while still elegant looks VERY old school.

az2wp0sye65487

Does anyone think that the car companies purposely come up with designs that will be outdated soon, just so that they can release a 'new model' a year or 2 down the road to generate more sales?

Lex Luthor

The Mk1 Focus and Alfa 156 will never age.

The trouble with Audi's is that they all look very similar to eachother and they have few changes between the previous and newer models. Its just like a progression rather than a radical design change. But if it works, then why mess with it.

Nissans just look old all the time.

Lex Luthor

Stevie Dakota wrote: »

+1

Put and E39 and an E60 side by side and E39, while still elegant looks VERY old school.

I still look twice when I see a nice looking E39, but will rarely glance at an E60. Still think my old E39 523i was one of the best cars I have ever owned.

alias no.9

Octavia Greasy Grapefruit wrote: »

Does anyone think that the car companies purposely come up with designs that will be outdated soon, just so that they can release a 'new model' a year or 2 down the road to generate more sales?

http://www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q=planned+obsolescence&meta=&aq=0&oq=planned+ob

Stevie Dakota

Octavia Greasy Grapefruit wrote: »

Does anyone think that the car companies purposely come up with designs that will be outdated soon, just so that they can release a 'new model' a year or 2 down the road to generate more sales?

We are to blame. The days of long model cycles are over, we are all visually more literate and want to be excited by design. These means car design becomes fashionable and responsive to whatever is in vogue at the time. Bangle, despite his critics and some design misses had a vision and BMW where happy to challenge preconceptions, I'm not sure we'll see much of that in years to come.

JoeA3

It's been mentioned a few times, but the MK I Focus looks as fresh as ever... apart from the interior of course. Actually, I think the MkII Focus will (and maybe already has) dated much much quicker.

Sean Quagmire

Lex Luthor wrote: »

The Mk1 Focus and Alfa 156 will never age.

The trouble with Audi's is that they all look very similar to eachother and they have few changes between the previous and newer models. Its just like a progression rather than a radical design change. But if it works, then why mess with it.

Nissans just look old all the time.

Totally agree here. MK1 Foucs has aged very well.

I cant stomach to look at any nissans without feeling slightly depressed. not a shred of passion in them.






nasty..