Are modern cars losing their character? I mean, I used to own a mk 1 Focus, and having now bought a mk 2, which is superior in every respect, I can't help but feel it's a bit souless. I always felt my Focus to have oodles of character, and this new one seems to be lacking. Also it's something I noticed with the Clio II- III jump, another car which was superior in every way, has again lost a lot of character in the transfer. And they say modern Peugeots have lost it too.
So are there any new cars about today (I mean in the mainstream, generally) that actually still have character, or has the quest for perfection left us with a lot of bland cars?
|
|
MKV Golf Gti. It has a very very entertaining side to it. You could call that character !
|
|
|
Chrysler 300C :), :), :)
MTC
|
Ferraris have character. So do proper Citroens. So do Alfa Romeos.
People complain bitterly about the reliability of these cars.
|
|
Yep MKV Golf GTI or the new A3 looks very nice, by no means do either look dull!
|
|
Character isn't necessarily about looks, it's about whether the car puts an involuntary grin on your face every time you drive it. The Prelude VTEC still does it for me and the one that did the same thing years ago was an Alfa...
|
|
|
|
I always think that when the term "character" is applied to a vehicle it means that it is a pile of unreliable crap that happens to look unusual or pretty.
Give me a dull car anyday.
--
|
Same sort of thing with human beings. When a person is described as 'a character' you know he or she will become tiresome sooner or later, even if the tiresomeness is minor and forgivable.
Surprises aren't always bad but their expectation creates a sense of insecurity. Modest and predictable may seem dull but are reassuring.
So 'character' isn't everyone's cup of tea. Love it myself.
|
|
|
Cars with character
Renaults - all of them except modus
Citroens, - all of them
Pugs - lost it all in recent years - looks? most of them - character? none of them
Vauxhall? corsa - the rest bland bland dull bland and dull
Ford - Ka. The rest all too ruthlessly efficient
Nissan - never heard of the word character - The Squashy should have buckets, but has none in spades.
Seat - all of them - shedloads of it
VW? none of them - all gone to Seat
Skoda - in an inverted snobbery way.
Honda - Never had any then suddenly Bang like a bus it all came along at once.
I could go on, but the "give me korean reliability" brigade will be along in a mo and they are far cheaper than sleeping pills.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
"VW? none of them - all gone to Seat"
I would argue that Skoda had some of it as well, but the GTi does have character, I love the designed in gruff exhaust note, and the feedback from the controls, it has oodles of character as said above it looks good as well but that alone doesn't add character.
|
I lied
The touran has loads of character - A badly behave child mostly.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
SEAT? Character? 3 MPV shaped mid-rangers with middling mechanical bits (character wise). For an MPV, the Altea is a good looking car, but the Leon and Toledo are pretty desperate efforts compared with their predecessors. And if you don't want a car that is MPV shaped, SEAT have nothing to offer.
|
From 1991 to 2002 I owned a '84 Ford Granada 2.8i Ghia X auto in 2 tone nimbus grey and strato silver.
No car before or since has come even close in terms of character, soul or just pure joy.
|
|
Agreed Imagos, anythng with a V engine qualifies.
|
A chevrolet caprice and a ford crown victoria have V8's
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
|
The leon and ibiza? MPV shaped? Have you sat in one? driven one perhaps? even SEEn one?
You got the lead part in Homer the movie or what?
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
The leon and ibiza? MPV shaped? Have you sat in one? driven one perhaps? even SEEn one?
The Ibiza was excluded from my statement (3 mid-rangers etc).
Leon - I *think* I have seen one, but perhaps I was looking at an Altea. Not sat in one, one box mpv-style hatches not being my thing. Now, the Mk1, Sud-inspired, Leon - that was a characterful tool. Couldn't believe it when I saw the Mk2. Same goes for the Toledo, but even more of a shocker.
|
No No - you have "ugliest back end ever crafted on a car" (or Toldedo as it is known) mixed up with lack of character.
Looks does not equal character. Tho good looks helps.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
Looks does not equal character. Tho good looks helps. ------------------------------
Agree with you on that.
To me, only the French and the Italian manufacturers have much in the way of character when it comes to mainstream motors. If spending a bit more cash, I think the 5-series BMW has character in spades, but the 3-series has become blander with each successive generation.
|
I agree bms. The new Seats are grotesque looking quite unlike the old ones.
Hideousness is character of a sort, but certainly not all there is to it.
|
Lud
Skoda estelles have shed loads of character. Mind you so did the kray twins.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
|
True in both cases TVM. But different kinds of character. Skoda Estelles are faithful, demure, fun-loving and intelligent. The Kray twins were, er, the Kray twins.
|
|
Purely on looks, the Fiat Multipla wins hands down when it comes to character. It has transcended the boundary of ugliness to such an extent that it is exquisitely beautiful.
--
|
|
Any Land Rover, including the original Range Rovers - espciallywith V8 engines !
|
Hondas with the V-Tech engine - that howl when it gets its second wind is breathtaking.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
What\'s for you won\'t pass you by
|
Cheesy will be on in a tick to say his Mondeo TDCi 130 Ghia has character,.
He will of course be talking out of his rind.
------------------------------
TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
|
My nominations for current non-stratospherically expensive production cars:
Most current Citroens
Most current Renaults
Smart ForTwo and Roadster
Ford Ka
The VXR Vauxhalls, particularly the Astra (attitude is a character trait :-)
Lotus Elise
Caterham 7
Honda Civic
I also agree, the mk1 Focus had it in spades, as did the performance versions of the Peugeot 306.
Cheers
DP
|
>>A Chevrolet Caprice and a Ford Crown Victoria have V8's>>
Yep and they've gots bags more character than any wretched 16v you care to mention.
.. and because they were sooo bad makes them interesting. I'd feel good in a '95 Chevrolet Impala SS purely 'cods it's got more character than the whole of Germany.
|
>Yep and they've gots bags more character than any wretched 16v you care to mention.
Pedantic I know but - the engines in the Caprice and Crown Vic are both 16v units.
>I'd feel good in a '95 Chevrolet Impala SS
The 96/96 Impala SS (in black) is one mean looking car and goes like stink for a car that size.
Kevin...
|
Cheesy will be on in a tick to say his Mondeo TDCi 130 Ghia has character . He will of course be talking out of his rind.
You are cruel, cruel and cruel.
|
|
|
|
|
Cars with character Vauxhall? corsa - the rest bland bland dull bland and dull
WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!?!?!?!?!?!??!!?
Hahahahahahahahaha! The Corsa is the vilest, most character-free pile of junk it has ever been my displeasure to drive. I was with you up to that point....
Nissan - never heard of the word character - The Squashy should have buckets but has none in spades.
That's just prejudice coming out -- the "Squashy" is no less characterful than a Renault Megane, which is just a bland car with a marketing gimmick glued to its ar$e. Anyway, Nissan might be a character-free zone, but no-one's going to tell me that some of the old Datsuns weren't a bit wacky.
I could go on but the "give me korean reliability" brigade will be along in a mo and they are far cheaper than sleeping pills.
No, not really ... just can't get over the Corsa comment.
Anyway the Koreans have produced their share of weird cars -- it's just that because they don't appeal to Western sensibilities they're dismissed as being "odd" whereas an equivalent Fiat would be classed as having "character". Same for a great number of Japanese cars, those funny little Datsuns being an example.
The problem with character is that it is such a woolly concept. Too often it's the last desperate defence of a bad car by a manufacturer the caller likes.
|
jase1, your post suddenly makes me fancy a Vauxhall Corsa for the first time ever.
There's nothing like gross ignorant coarse calumny to make one sympathise with the victim.
|
|
And frankly I don't think you would recognise character if it bit a huge piece out of your fundament.
|
And frankly I don't think you would recognise character if it bit a huge piece out of your fundament.
You are probably right. I don't tend to recognise the products of others' imagination.
|
|
|
|
There's nothing like gross ignorant coarse calumny to make one sympathise with the victim.
So, you resort to calling people names, but I'm the "gross ignorant coarse" one?
Yup, sounds like the sort of person who sees Renault's latest marketing gimmick and laps it up as fact. Good for you.
|
So you resort to calling people names but I'm the "gross ignorant coarse" one?
Not you jase1, just the calumnies. I am sure you are the nicest and subtlest of chaps on a good day...
|
|
|
|
|
Hahahahahahahahaha! The Corsa is the vilest most character-free pile of junk it has ever been my displeasure to drive. That's just prejudice coming out
Pot, kettle?
|
>> Hahahahahahahahaha! The Corsa is the vilest most character-free >> pile of junk it has ever been my displeasure to drive. >> That's just prejudice coming out Pot kettle?
How can it be prejudice when I have stated that I have driven the car?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
I've noticed this too, I blame mordern safety devices and gadgetry, making cars bigger and heavier.
|
|
I think it depends how long you own a car. All cars, modern ones included, develop character over a period of time. The longer you own a car the more of its traits you discover. The problem these days is many people don't keep their car for s long so they don't get to know them.
|
|
|
|
"Character" appears to be inversely proportional to useability (is that a word?). I can't remember the last time any of my daily drivers induced anything other than a yawn. OTOH, the biggest grins are induced by an early spring morning start in anything created or renovated by my own fair hand, preferably Brit and even better if the sky is the roof.
In no particular order:
AC ...... replica
7 ......... replica
TRx where x is any number between 4 and 6
Mini
I detest the phrase "daily driver", it's far too American, but it's a reasonable description.
|
Pedantic I know but - the engines in the Caprice and Crown Vic are both 16v units>>
But not 4 cylinder, The Crown Vic' is only avaliable as 4.6 V8 since at least 1979 and I think TVM was talking about the '91-'96 Caprice which was in 4.3, 5.0 and 5.7 guises, all V8's
How many valves though who knows... i was referring to 4 cylinder units ..... to be pedantic.
|
I have to agree with the Ford Ka being in the character catagory.
Even my Dad agrees :-)
--
Its not what you drive, its how you drive it! :-)
|
there seems to me (IMHO) to be some strange choices on here for a 'car with character' in that a lot of them are normal average motors
for me, virtually anything with a V8 would do (I appreciate there are a number of American lard machines with soft V8s which would be a no-no).....most 6 cylinders (same proviso as the V8s).........and anything quirky, good looking etc
i'm a real fan of wood and leather, so often that would do as well (Austin Allegro Van den Plas.. maybe not)
|
|
|
|
