These are the cars you’d be willing to forgive for public criticism – Jalopnik

Although some vehicles are critically acclaimed, there is no such thing as a perfect car. We all have different needs and wants, based on what we want from a driving experience, where we live and what we can afford to spend on a car. Certain maligned cars could be ideal under different circumstances. Maybe they were simply ahead of their time because the market was changing in their favor.

We asked our readers earlier this week which cars they would protect from public criticism. The comments in the comments ranged from fun, underpowered runabouts to unique, divisive vehicles. As the number of cars left in Ford’s lineup dwindles, many are reconsidering their feelings about the now discontinued models and those currently in production. Other commentators defended an entire vehicle category that is often ridiculed because their target automakers want to sell them. Without further ado, here are your top picks for cars you shouldn’t be ashamed of.

Ferrari 348. The most underrated, underrated Ferrari. So many reasons it’s great. But reviews at the time focused on the nervous ride, which we celebrate today as “go-kart-like.” They were $100K new, depreciated to $30K 15 years ago, and are now up to $70K and rising.

Submitted by: Closer

Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet.

It was a bold move. It may have been missed, but we should applaud the boldness in this cookie-cutter, private equity, holding company-driven, vanilla corporate world, where safety is the only game.

Submitted by: potbellyjoe

Simple. All minivans. They were saddled with a bad reputation early on as “soccer mom” cars, but only because they are by far the most useful family cars ever. They can carry a lot of people, a lot of cargo, and keep your kids from slamming doors into other cars in parking lots. A much better vehicle for any urban/suburban family than any SUV or pickup.

Submitted by: Thomas Hajicek

The Mustang Mach-E. You have to admit that it’s a solid buy, that it outperforms many of the “real” Mustang variants, and that it does indeed contain hints of the coupe style. If everyone else (BMW, Porsche, MB, etc.) can have four-door crossover SUV coupes, so can Ford. Plus, I suspect calling it a Mustang would likely tick the CAFE requirement and allow Ford to build more of the beloved ICE versions without penalty.

Submitted by: BuddyS

The Chevy SSR. Look, we get it: the V8-powered convertible with stick shift and hardtop doesn’t drive like an S2000 does. That doesn’t mean it’s not cool that they actually made them.

Submitted by: manbearpig

The mighty Prius.

Enthusiasts don’t like it because it’s a car where no one on the design team cared what the enthusiasts thought.

Drive a Prius the way it was meant to be driven and it will teach you how to be a more efficient driver, and you will come out a better driver overall.

Try to drive a Prius like a sports car and it will fight you. Because that’s not what it’s for. It’s like hating a Miata because it’s a terrible rock crawler, or hating a Corvette because it’s terrible at hauling mulch.

Ultimately, the Prius is a great little car that gets great mileage, lasts forever, and gets you where you want to go in surprising comfort.

Submitted by: Ridiculous

The Nissan Juke.

Fun/different styling should result in quirky niche cars that we will look back on with great pleasure 20 years later, and that will not be forgotten within one generation…

Submitted by: Herbie555

The Ford Taurus from ’96-’99.

I had a ’97 in red. They were comfortable, got reasonable mileage for the time and were generally cheap to maintain and repair. They received all kinds of criticism for reliability issues that were largely resolved before the ’96s even came out, especially in the transmission department. If you just drained and refilled the transmission occasionally, they held up well. I did that almost annually because the Mercon had to do it and it cost about $25. General failure statistics showed that replacing the fluid every 3-4 years led to long service life.

And then there was the style problem. Yeah, a bit weird. But not the same boring design as all the others. And in some cases it was very inspired. The absurd-looking dash control pod just seemed silly at first. But after driving it for a few hours, you discovered that the buttons were laid out in paths that your hand naturally followed (arcs, not straight lines), and that there were little details in the design that also provided tactile feedback (i.e., the edge on which the radio buttons sat on top) that made operating the controls intuitive and easy, and could easily be done without taking your eyes off the road – long before moving many of those controls to the steering wheel became common.

(not mine in the photo, rather one from a coworker selling theirs – I sold mine over a decade ago, but last I heard it was still going strong at 25)

Submitted by: Kortjoh

The Fiat 500/Fiat Abarth. These cars have been sold in Europe for many years and have an appearance that others do not have. NO, Fix It Again Tony may no longer be used. These are reliable if they are properly maintained and operated correctly.

Submitted by: Luc Desauniers (Suman)

The Mustang II. It certainly wasn’t the best Mustang. It might be the worst Mustang. But it was the best Mustang for the time, selling like hotcakes and keeping the nameplate alive for later, better versions.

Submitted by: FriscoFairlane

Nissan Altima. Allow me to explain.

People love to mock and criticize those who drive a Nissan Altima, especially if it is dented, damaged, or in some form of disrepair. However, it is often driven by those who need to go somewhere, plain and simple. They need affordable means to get around and most likely understand that car ownership is much more expensive than it deserves.

Submitted by: Alf Excited

In a world dominated by bland, look-alike crossovers, no automaker should be criticized for taking risks and standing out from the crowd. Even if those opportunities failed and ended up falling apart in a bad way. So in that spirit, I would pardon the Pontiac Aztek, the unloved car that took all the wrong risks.

Submitted by: Spinner145

It’s the Aztek, without a doubt. The hatred is forced at this point. In retrospect, it was too early for its time. Looking back, it doesn’t even really stand out from other cars made around the same period.

Submitted by: CWiz6