Is Hyundai making the best-looking vehicles for regular people? (Which can be trucks and SUVs and crossovers, etc. Anything outside the most expensive and/or mission-focused performance vehicles out there.) I think it might be Hyundai. Between the current lineup of H-cars and the premium Genesis models, I find the models that most frequently make me say, “that’s a great-looking car” are Hyundai products. But, to be fair, I do often confuse “most looking” with “great-looking.” As in, if it appears the designer designed their balls off (a phrase I like to think designers use), then I tend to like it. Case in point: the Ioniq 6 in the topshot. That car is designed.
Make no mistake, I appreciate cars with a less heavy-handed look as well. I think all of the Tesla models, with one huge stainless-steel exception, are good-looking cars. I wouldn’t call them minimalist, but they are unbusy and nicely proportioned, and look smoothly muscled to me. And also old, sadly. Ain’t broke, don’t fix, I suppose, but I’d love to see Tesla do something new – just not the new thing Tesla actually did. But if you like it, great!
What about the European brands? I have to say, I can’t even picture the latest from, say, Renault, Skoda, and Peugeot. But they may well be the prettiest!
You tell me.
The Korean powerhouse of Hyundai/Kia are certainly standing out in the area of looks but their success is built upon the backs of their 100,000’s of former owners of vehicles whose engines failed on the freeway, burned millions of gallons of oil and whose powertrains in general are sh-t.
Never Hyundai/Kia will you burn us.
Genesis, by an enormous margin.
Which is ironic, considering that Hyundai and Kia seem to be in a mutli-year race to see which can make the most gawdawful looking vehicles.
I like Alfas, and feel that Infiniti and Mazda are moving away from their ideal with ever-butcher facelifts, as has Ram. Caddy and Genesis seem to be on the come up. Genesis has their two-line look to retrain them from the excess the other Koreans seem to like.
Renault is the only brand without Fugly in their lineup. (Except for maybe the new Clio, not a fan of the “star-wars clone helmet” -styled face…
The current-generation Prius is a very nice-looking car.
The Prius losing the gaping catfish maw of its stablemates gives me hope that the Corolla, Camry and Crown will follow suit. The Prius is actually nice looking for a change. I don’t care about their trucks anymore.
Honda is hit or miss. Mazda, likewise. The Europeans we see here in the States used to be so elegant and now, not so much. I haven’t made the effort to see what Peugeot, Citroen and Renault are doing these days.
I see Chinese cars that look interesting in the positive sense of the word.
I do like a lot of Hyundais and Kias. So, I guess they’re doing better than most. But nobody has a monopoly on being uniformly good across their lineup.
I like Honda and Toyota styling right now (exclusive of Acura and Lexus). Hyundai/Kia have some standout models that grab my attention when they go past. Mazda has a good clean design theme without anything that stands out as bad. The Miata is at the top of the game! I saw a Ferrari Amalfi Spider a few weeks ago and thought, “That Miata has a longer hood than usual.”
I’ve been trying to think of another one, but I keep coming back to Hyundai/Kia. They have some really good-looking cars and SUV’s in their lineups, and they do interiors pretty well too.
Volvo as well, the latest V90 wagon was sex on wheels.
At one point I thought Audi was killing it style wise, that was probably close to 20 years ago now though, haha.
Wasn’t that around the time Peter Shreyer left VW/Audi to become Chief Designer for Hyundai/Kia? Coincidence? I think not.
Renault 5, so cute! Also Ioniq 3 and Ioniq 9, Škoda Elroq (in mint green, looks surprisingly chic). Hmmm.. then I’d say Volvo EX60 in forest green.
My list of good looking new cars:
I think Cadillac might be making the best looking general looking cars at the moment. Everything else is hilariously overstyled or extremely boring.
Hard disagree. Lyriq. Celestiq, optiq??? I call the Lyriq- the LyriqMedusa. They are high – id -eous. CT5 are OK-good.
optiq isn’t great but the rest look good, but hey taste is subjective
More like “least offensive” instead of “best looking”.
The best looking car currently is any optioned up Corolla with a black roof, as it remains the quintescential assembly of everything holy in a car:
Nothing to poke you, nothing to gauge your eyes out, nothing that you feel the need to rince your eyes with hydrochloric acid to unsee, visible wheel arches, clean proportions, butt sitting higher than the front, and a rear bumper that doesn’t sit flush with the trung lid and doesn’t slide you deep into four figures body work when you back into a pole at 2mph.
In short – a honest, good looking car that can even look cute with the correct wheels, a car that you’re happy to discuss but don’t feel the need to, a car that you alway like looking at when walking to and from it.
I fear the moment when it will be replaced. Which is soon.
Only if you like your car to have baby fish mouth.
Strangely I was thinking about this yesterday on the way home as I noticed many new Nissan’s that I found handsome, even almost elegant. I have also noticed Honda’s suv / cuv designs that are clean and look planted on the road.
So, at the moment, Nissan and Honda. Followed by Mazda
In the words of the great Paul Hollywood, “it’s overworked”. Everything today is so overstyled and they will all age so poorly that they’ll look silly and old in a few years. Especially Hyundai and Toyota.
VW is often derided for being plain or boring, but Chevy is just awful, Toyotas are hideous, Hyundais look futuristic now but in 5 years they’ll look a decade old. I’m so over publications calling out cars that simply look good as boring. Is it not enough to just be well proportioned with thoughtful creases and details on a car that’s meant to be regular traffic? Even this article is a testament to that, calling out Hyundai. Hyundai and kia are the most designed, but is it good design that will stand the test of time? No. In 15 years nobody’s gonna look at a Santa Fe and be like “wow Hyundai really cooked with that”.
That said, Honda has been cranking out some bangers lately. I really like the Civic, Accord and Passport. Mazda hasn’t missed a beat since they turned away from the big grin cars.
can’t think of anyone really.
After going to the Pebble Beach Concours a couple weeks ago, I find today’s vehicle designs don’t even begin to compare. IMHO today’s cars will not be considered classics…ever. And whoever thought most people would be driving station wagons! Call em SUVs, crossovers, whatever most are the 2 box design. Lots of creases that may or may not have starting or ending points. Taillights? A lot of them look almost the same. The golden age of the automobile has come and gone.
That said we do own a 2010 Highlander. Looks better than the new ones. And for fun we have a 68 AMX in Red and a yellow VW Super beetle Convertible Woody. Real teak wood. Mild custom. Save your money and I hope you get to have one more cool car in this lifetime.
I wish you many happy miles of motoring!!
I’m joining in with Mazda. They don’t make anything that looks bad, and I think the CX-50 is genuinely good looking (even if I wish they had reduced the cladding by 50%). The 3 still looks good, the hatch brings a little funk to the table, and of course the Miata still exists. I do wish they would consider adding some more non-neutral colors though. Soul red is great, but typically you’re limited to that, a sometimes available blue and a sometimes available green (on certain trims of the CX-50 and I think that’s it, lol).
Mazda has in on the interiors as well, now that they have moved to touchscreens in the car.
I’m one of the few defenders of knob, so even before I was totally fine with the infotainment.
Mazda interiors are far nicer than anything in their price range.
The knob is fantastic and they need to keep it, it’s way easier to use than the touchscreen. And yes, Mazda interiors are flexing on Lexus/Mercedes/BMWs that run twice their price. Easily the most slept-on brand at the moment.
Yes, I agree with Mazda. The Mazda6E looks great, shame it’s not available in the US, I would have bought one.
Last year, I traded in my 2023 RAV4 hybrid for a CX-50 hybrid. The deal was compelling as the used RAV4 carried a high trade-in value. What a difference; VW to BMW difference. Same drivetrain but Mazda TUNED the system perfectly. It’s hard to define how or why, but now I actually look forward to going out on errands and reasons to travel instead of avoiding them.
Good to hear about the hybrid, as I’ve heard it has the extra punch the weight of the CX-50 needs, but with FAR better economy. I’m very mad they don’t offer it in green like the non-hybrid. I’ll never understand this.
Let’s start with the lead photo- the Ioniq 6 has to be the opposite of good looking, in contrast to Hyundai’s other offerings IMHO with it’s droopy diaper rear end. Sure a bit better looking in N form but more like lipstick on a pig.
That said here’s my vote- Polestar. The 4, the new 4 SUV/wagon as well as the upcoming 5 are gorgeous…
I don’t love the Ioniq 6, but the facelift moved it from “really ugly” into “well, the front is pretty cool” territory.
Fair point…
The 6 is an interesting case of “beauty is in the eye of the beholder”. I have one and agree the rear end is dumpy. However, every couple of weeks someone will roll down a window at a stoplight and ask about it, ending with, “That’s a great looking car”. I personally love the car, partly because Hyundai took a chance with it and because it IS a little ugly.
Kia and Hyundai. Most of the European brands (read: the brands that I see most) have more or less lost it. VW and Audi are stuck in a rut. Peugeot struggles to make each car look more Batmobile than the last. Renault puts 20″ wheels on compact hatchbacks. Cupra is generic “look, sporty!”. Skoda is clean, but lethally boring. Mercedes – let’s not go there. BMW is almost as bad, except for the G61 wagon. I agree with previous posters about Volvo, they managed to take the look into the 21st century. And I do like the current Opel line-up. But the interiors don’t deliver on what the exterior promises.
I expect to get flamed for this one, but VW. Still understated and classy IMHO.