Monday, January 21, 2013

And the Ugly Cars

I'm not a huge fan of most of the sub-compacts that are being offered.  To me, they are too small and mostly too underpowered.  If you live in a city and that's the only type of driving you do, they are probably fine but if you do any other type of driving, you're better off with a larger car.  At any rate, I set out to seek out what I thought what the ugliest of the show.
 The Fiat 500 is a contender but I do kind of like it's looks.  I wouldn't find myself in one of them but still.
 Another version of the Fiat.
 This is the Scion iQ and I'll have to say that this one is probably my winnner.  It is small, the dashboard and creature comforts look like afterthoughts.  The stereo looked almost like you could rip it off the dashboard.
 Another view of the iQ.
 And the alleged engine.  I believe this gets 38 on the highway and mid 30's in the city.  Honestly, that's not much better than my Focus but I guess it's more important to look green.
 And then we get to the Smart Car.  I've dogpiled on this before.  Again, it's fuel economy is in the mid 30's and is not much better than my Focus. 
 Their concept car.  I believe this is a plug in.
 I actually sat in the Smart Car and I'll have to say that I was not impressed.  I could swear I heard a rattle as I closed the door.  Again, this would probably be good if I just did city driving...but I don't.
 And a shot of the front.
 The Kia Sol.  For the most part, I'm not a fan of crossovers but this one isn't too bad I guess.
 And then we get to the Nissan.  I do not like the extra headlights on the hood.  Reminds me of a frog or something.
 Just so you don't think that I only hate imports...here's a Chevy Spark.  This is a car that embodies everything that is wrong with modern sub-compacts to me.
Well at least the folks at Smart admit that it's not a car.

So if I had to pick a winner of the bunch, I'd have to go with the iQ.  Scion is a division of Toyota and Toyota is normally pretty good at making smaller cars.  I don't understand why they would go the route of the Smart Car and make an ugly econo-box.

4 comments:

Christopher List said...

The uncar...

Admitting your problem is the first step.

Christopher List said...

I've got to agree with you. That Scion was pretty bad. Though the tinny rattle of the door on the Smart Car when you got in was frightening.

Anonymous said...

ugly or not, the appeal is for city folks who regularly fight for parking

Mikoyan said...

I don't have a problem with small cars per se, I just wish they didn't have to be so ugly. And like I said in my post, if I lived in a city where parking is an issue (like New York or Chicago), something like the Smart Car would be great. But again, I think the car companies would be wise to quit treating small cars like econoboxes and snazzing them up a bit.