Design Details: Body Cladding 

"Amoore100" (amoore100) 01/26/2017 at 22:05 • Filed to: Design Details, Volvo, Great Wall, body cladding

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SUVs are all the rage nowadays. Once unpopular and unfashionable station wagons are being turned into crossovers to be sold in droves to the unsuspecting American public. What is one of the most distinctive factors of this SUV movement? Body cladding. A modern rendition on two-tone paint jobs (next week’s theme), black plastic has become an almost ubiquitous way to market vehicles as rugged from the tiniest city car to the most massive people carrier. Which have been the most successful renditions of this, and whose attempts to conjure up an aura of ruggedness have fallen flat on their faces?

The new V90 XC manages to look rugged and pretty—no simple task

Meanwhile in China, this Great Wall pseudo-crossover has figured out exactly how not to do body cladding

So what do you think Oppo?

What are the best/worst/most distinctively styled examples of body cladding in the automotive world?

Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) > Amoore100 01/26/2017 at 22:13

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Only acceptable body cladding:

gmctavish needs more space > Amoore100 01/26/2017 at 22:14

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I’m just going for the most cladding

Amoore100 > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 01/26/2017 at 22:19

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Amoore100 > gmctavish needs more space 01/26/2017 at 22:21

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J_P_Cars10s > Amoore100 01/26/2017 at 22:21

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I’m here to tell you that I love the black plastic cladding on my 4th gen Outback. It’s a base 6MT with General Grabber AT2s on the stock steelies. Safe to say it doesn’t get used like most Outbacks. The cladding really does a good job of protecting the lower part of the body from scratchy vegetation and rock strikes. Deep gouges in the unpainted portion of my front bumper? No big deal. Snow drift into a bush growing through cracks in an abandoned lot? Pshhh it’s a rally car!

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Amoore100 01/26/2017 at 22:29

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More than a little biased but the narrow, black plastic flares for the 3rd gen 4runner are really good I think.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > gmctavish needs more space 01/26/2017 at 23:12

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I like how on the crapvalanche you can actually see the unprotected body under the cladding,

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > Amoore100 01/26/2017 at 23:16

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The worst cladding is the one that isn’t even actually there. Just graphics( not sure if paint or vinyl) that kind of look like cladding. Or maybe this is just cladding going full circle back to two tone.

The biggest sin is calling this trim level a “Sport”

facw > Amoore100 01/27/2017 at 00:05

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I liked the body cladding when I had a Previa:

You get added protection from chips and scrapes, and if installed properly from rust as well. And I don’t think it is a bad look.

Amoore100 > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 01/27/2017 at 01:21

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Agreed. Later ones also had it with varying levels of success.

Svart Smart, traded in his Smart > Bman76 (hates WS6 hoods, is on his phone and has 4 burners now) 01/27/2017 at 01:27

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Is that cladding or were there separate lower panels made of plastic? The plastic looks flush with the adjacent metal panels...

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Amoore100 01/27/2017 at 07:55

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Yeah the 4th gen doesn’t look so good with it. The base 5th gen does look ok with the plastic though.

Amoore100 > Svart Smart, traded in his Smart 01/28/2017 at 01:02

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I think you are right. One time in the Marin Headlands I came across a Vehicross with the rear bumper torn off, and it looked like this:

So yeah, not body cladding but gives the effect all the same.

Amoore100 > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 01/28/2017 at 01:04

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There are 5th gens with plastic body cladding? I can’t seem to find any evidence—which sucks because that sounds rather awesome. Only thing that Google turns up are solid-color 4Runners.

Amoore100 > HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles 01/28/2017 at 01:05

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Ugh. I hate those, and I think it’s ok to classify them in the “body cladding gone wrong” department. Honestly, if they had given it the true Outback treatment it would have been much better.

Amoore100 > facw 01/28/2017 at 01:07

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I forgot about those, and I love Previas to bits! I agree that the body cladding added visual interest, certainly helped to make it look more rugged and less egg-like.

It’s such a shame the next one became beige as hell and was just a smaller Sienna basically.

Amoore100 > J_P_Cars10s 01/28/2017 at 01:09

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I really don’t think there are many ways to make an Outback look bad. Sure, it’s not the most attractive car, but there’s something endearing about every Outback out there!

Darn it, now I want one!

RT > Amoore100 01/28/2017 at 09:04

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There’s Subarus in the comments and a a Volvo in the OP, but considering that this Oppo - where did all the Allroads go?

Actually coming to look at it now, it’s pretty subtle about it.

Amoore100 > RT 01/28/2017 at 13:16

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Indeed, there is a marked lack of VAG products here.

Then there are the ones which are, uh, quite a bit less subtle.

J_P_Cars10s > Amoore100 01/28/2017 at 16:39

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Still availible with a manual through MY14!

I’d go with a 2010-2012 if I were doing it over again. Avoid the oil burning FB25.

J_P_Cars10s > J_P_Cars10s 01/28/2017 at 16:42

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Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Amoore100 01/28/2017 at 17:15

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It’s very subtle.

I think it was only on the really early 5th gens.