QOTD: What car has surprised you recently?

"William Byrd" (thedriver) 08/14/2013 at 11:06 • Filed to: QOTD, SURPRISES

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You ever have a notion that you just really don't like a specific car? Then you see one and have that moment of surprise and think "hmm, not bad". If so, which ones?

I was behind an Acura ZDX yesterday and have, in the past, resoundingly disliked the oddly proportioned cousin of the Honda Accord CrossTour (which I'm pretty sure I will never like). The ZDX, in black, sort of reminded me of an X6, another car I waiver on, in a good way. Really interesting integration of the red reflector/light into the exhaust area.

Another one was oddly enough another Acura, and an older one. The RL.

I'm not sure if it was modified or not, but it had a sort of menacing look, smoked headlights, just had an overall look of badassery. It's not the car above, just found a black RL to post.

So what cars have surprised you in person recently?

highmodulus > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:09

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Hyundia Equus- it looks much nicer in person.

. . > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:09

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Lancia Delta. The more I see them, the more I like how they look.

highmodulus > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:10

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Hyundia Equus- looks a lot better in person than the photos would have you believe.

MonkeePuzzle > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:14

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William Byrd > highmodulus 08/14/2013 at 11:14

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Good one, that actually made my list recently and I forgot. There is a very, very nice looking black one in the parking lot at work. Amazing how classy it looks.

ColoradoTaco > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:15

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To me, that Acura is exactly the same car as the Accord thing, just a more expensive badge. Both are awfully ugly.

For me I'd say the Hyundai Veloster has really grown on me. Pretty aggressive looking hatch back, available with turbo is definite plus.

Aya, Almost Has A Cosmo With Toyota Engine Owned by a BMW. > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:15

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Nissan Sunny with commercial tires.

A.K.A My city's Taxi.

My friend bought that thing for his son, but he don't want it. So I decide to try it.

The car feels like it has no grip at all. And the brakes has worn out so you have to push it very hard.

The good thing is the car seems love to sliding towards the parking lot's wall. Which is scary. And awesome.

Jagvar > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:17

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What? Oh yeah, it's not a boring turd anymore!

William Byrd > Jagvar 08/14/2013 at 11:20

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Good one. The rear of that car has a little something something. Can't put my finger on it, but it's much better than it was.

ncasolowork2 > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:21

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The 1100lb Fiero with a supercharged 3.8L engine. I am just amazed.

Brian Tschiegg > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:26

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The Ford Fiesta ST. I know Ford's have been on an upswing, but I wouldn't have believed you two years ago if you told me that Ford would be making the most affordable, best all-around hot hatch in 2013.

Mikeado > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:31

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Actually, the BMW 5-Series GT surprised me a bit. I'm used to the idea that most modern BMW designs need time to grow on you, but in person it's not quite as fatty as it seems in pictures, plus I can kind of see the point of it. It's like an X6 that doesn't pretend to go off-road, and I think a lot of the interior is from the 7-Series. It's a long-distance car that doesn't try to be sporty, just a long-distance car, which in an age of GTs being hard and high-powered is kind of refreshing. Plus it's very practical, if not quite as much as a 5 Touring.

P.S. I love the RL (or Honda Legend as I know it)!

Saeed > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:32

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i recently drove a Mini coopers s roadster, way better than i expected.

Mattbob > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:37

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Whenever I see the back from far away, I always think its something cool like a tesla (I know it doesn't look like a tesla) I think it might be the spaced out font. Then I get disappointed when its a Lincoln. But I guess that's good for them.

Chairman Kaga > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 11:40

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Sigh.

William Byrd > Chairman Kaga 08/14/2013 at 11:41

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Sad isn't it. I agree though.

Chairman Kaga > MonkeePuzzle 08/14/2013 at 11:45

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A friend of mine has an LTZ and it's a surprisingly good car. Honestly, I'd rather have it than a Civic or a Focus. Better interior, nicer features, and it just feels like a better car. Credit the Europeans?

JasonStern911 > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 12:02

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So ugly...

And yet, it's by far the cheapest rear-wheel drive, 6 speed manual transmission, fuel injected V8...

Matt Urban > Jagvar 08/14/2013 at 12:39

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I was coming here to post this one. Every time I look at it I like it more. Only thing I would really change would be to ditch some of the chrome and put black wheels on it.

Rory > Chairman Kaga 08/14/2013 at 13:09

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When I was in Florida last month I had a rental Focus while my cousin had a Cruze LTZ. I must say , I personally loved the focus for personal reasons but I was hugely Impressed by the Cruze. Its nicely spec'd , has a clean dash and its pretty damn fun.

feather-throttle-not-hair > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 13:15

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Ugh. For shame. Steering was surprisingly accurate and nice. Good throttle response...just a pretty damn good small car to drive.

Now i'm going to go kill myself.

William Byrd > feather-throttle-not-hair 08/14/2013 at 13:22

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It's like we need a support group.

Jalops: "Hi....I'm ____"

Group: "Hi ____"

Jalops: "Well...uh I recently dover a Kia Soul. And I sort of liked it"

Group: "*Gasps*"

Variance > William Byrd 08/14/2013 at 23:11

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I recently saw a Ford Edge Sport in a Kroger parking lot, and I have to admit, for a crossover, it is surprisingly well-proportioned and cohesively-styled. With short overhangs and a squatty stance, it really wasn't that bad-looking at all.

DoubleU > Chairman Kaga 08/15/2013 at 08:06

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Beat me to it. I just bought a Touring Elite....

I don't think anyone "wants" to buy a minivan, but when you get one you realize how incredible they are.

It is the most functional vehicle I have ever owned and some of the interior engineering is amazing.

911e46z06 > William Byrd 08/15/2013 at 20:19

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I rented a car last week, and when the dude brought it around I was like: 'Hey, cool, a Mini. That should be kind of fun, even if it is brown.' It wasn't fun. It wasn't fun at all.

William Byrd > 911e46z06 08/16/2013 at 08:47

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Really? That's surprising. Was it not fun compared to the cars in your screenname? Or not fun compared to a Kia or whatever else your rental was likely to be?

911e46z06 > William Byrd 08/16/2013 at 12:33

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I'm a man who can appreciate a good bad car, especially when it isn't mine. I usually rent from Budget, because they tend to favor Merican cars over the Kias and Hyundais, and in the past I've enjoyed crappy stuff like the Focus and Avenger. I even liked the universally hated FWD beigeriffic Impala. But the mini was just terrible. No feel whatsoever to the steering, the thing was twitchy as hell above 50 mph, the transmission couldn't decide on a gear, and merging was terrifying because it needed about half a mile to get up to highway speeds. It has huge blind-spots and tiny side-views. There was also little annoying stuff like no armrest in the middle and too-big cup holders that ejected a water bottle at every turn. Worst of all, I was in Florida, where the stoplights are suspended above the road, and the windshield is almost straight up and down, so when you pull up to the limit line, you can't see the stoplight because the roof sticks out so far in front of you (I'm kinda tall, 6'1'', but still). So even for a bad car, it was surprisingly bad.

highpsi > Mikeado 08/18/2013 at 05:25

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My sister has one of these. I much prefer a standard 5 series to it. The shape has not grown on me yet.