On the topic of older Passats, the 2002-2004 W8 comes to mind. On paper, it sounds pretty awesome, a basic family sedan with a big eight-cylinder engine, 4WD, and even a manual... until you realize it was one of the most unreliable vehicles of the decade. I'd have more faith in a base-spec Chrysler Sebring having less issues than a Passat W8 after a few years.
Furthermore, the original Passat, which came out 45 years ago by now, is pretty interesting looking.
1999-2003 Nissan Maxima SE. Powered by a 3.5L V6 making 264hp, which was pretty good for its time. With the optional 6-speed manual, it could do 0-60 in 5.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 156mph. I've never really thought about this generation of the Maxima very much, but 20 years later, I quite like it, I must say.
1999-2003 Nissan Maxima SE. Powered by a 3.5L V6 making 264hp, which was pretty good for its time. With the optional 6-speed manual, it could do 0-60 in 5.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 156mph. I've never really thought about this generation of the Maxima very much, but 20 years later, I quite like it, I must say.
I loved this car back in the day. Oddly enough I never see this gen Maxima on the road anymore, let alone the gen before this one which was cool too. I wonder about their reliability.
It's a shame that all these awful 90s Korean cars had great Guigiaro styling (I'm assuming that was done by Italdesign too), whereas the US only got awful cars that looked like the 1995 Taurus.
I think it would be safe to say that for most people, the 2018 Hyundai Elantra Sport is a "boring" car...
But just like @R1600Turbo , (sorry man I am not trying to offend you) I think this car looks fantastic compared to it's competitors at the time...
This is such an under-rated car...
The Korean gave us what we wanted, and yet no one bite.
Its unfortunate, but I personally love the look of this car:
It seriously looks like a Audi A3...
I think I would have bought one if I needed a car then...
Asking this since you are Slavic... how did Daewoo end up so popular in Eastern Europe? I remember reading somewhere that Daewoo was one of the best selling brands in countries like Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, etc, in the 1990s and 2000s, with the kei-car Tico being the best seller. Daewoo sales in western Europe don't even come close. Daewoo being so popular in eastern Europe seems unlikely to me.
Asking this since you are Slavic... how did Daewoo end up so popular in Eastern Europe? I remember reading somewhere that Daewoo was one of the best selling brands in countries like Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, etc, in the 1990s and 2000s, with the kei-car Tico being the best seller. Daewoo sales in western Europe don't even come close. Daewoo being so popular in eastern Europe seems unlikely to me.
I'm not actually Slovak but I have lived in Slovakia for 6 years.
If I was to form a calculated opinion on it, I'd quite simply say that they were very cheap at a time (just after the fall of communism) when people behind the iron curtain simply couldn't afford to buy a car from reputable marques "in the west". Volkswagen took an interest in Skoda in 1992 but it wouldn't be until years later that Skodas actually became good and reliable.
Things like Polonez, Skoda, Yugo, Dacia and Lada were very popular not through any quality or brand loyalty but because they were cheap and available. You have to consider that in iron curtain countries, the things that became popular were whatever was produced in that country or region. Otherwise, it probably wasn't available. And the first companies to start building their own factories in former iron curtain countries were companies like Suzuki (Hungary) and Daewoo (Romania), which might explain the popularity of models like the Espero.
You still see a fair amount of pre-Volkswagen Skodas over here like the Favourit and Felicia. This car, the 1990s Suzuki Swift/Cultus, is unbelieveablycommon in Hungary. I cannot stress enough how common it is; I saw it so often (before I knew Suzuki had a factory there) that when I was in Budapest, I decided to count how many there were along two residential, back-to-back streets and I got to 34 before I stopped counting. That is not an exaggeration.
Don't get me wrong, nowadays you see all sorts of modern cars in this part of Europe as with anywhere else. Particularly VAG products and Skoda in particular. Slovakia now produces more cars per capita than anywhere else in the world* when it previously built almost nothing but back in the immediacy of post-communism, it was a race to the bottom amongst the cheapest, least reputable foreign car companies.
*
VAG: Volkswagen, Skoda, Audi, Porsche, Bentley
JLR: Land Rover
PSA: Peugeot, Citroen
Kia
Of course, this is just based on me piecing my knowledge of living here and being interested in cars. I'm happy to be corrected or backed up.
Usually I haven't been a fan of the Ford EcoSport, then I discovered the existence of the Active model. When you add a blacked-out styling kit and large plastic cladding, it looks like a mini Ford Ranger Raptor:
Then there is the Storm variant sold in South American territories which emphasizes this effect further. It has all-wheel drive with 176hp:
I do get a little bit excited when I see these on the road. It hasn't aged that badly and the performance is decent even by today's standards. It's a factory sleeper in many ways because it gives many of the JDM icons a run for their money.
In My country the best car that I ever saw (and the first, and probably last supercar I will see) was an Audi R8. I think that you imagine how boring cars are here.
Volkswagen Gacel/Senda, 1983-1996
Actually, the one in the photo is made in Argentina. It's the last restyling, made from 1983 to the end of its production, in 1991 but the Falcon was made here from 1963 (the 1962 model was imported from the US). 28 years of production. Wow, for today's standards it's a looot!
2013-2015 Buick Verano Turbo. On the outside, it looks like a very bread-and-butter saloon, very rental car-esque. But it has much more performance capabilities than its looks would suggest. It was powered by a 2.0L turbocharged I4 making 250hp and 260 lb-ft of torque, allowing for a 0-60 time of 6.0 seconds and top speed of 154mph. Even better, a six-speed manual transmission was offered for the Turbo. Why should this car be appreciated? Because its the literal definition of a sleeper... Buick didn't even attempt to make the Verano Turbo appear sporty, let alone differentiate it from the standard Verano. If you step on it, it certainly doesn't go like your grandpop's Buick.
I used to run to this car at the NY Auto shows. The feel of the seat fabric: So plush. The view over the dash: Could see the floor in front of the car. The simplicity of all the switches and the thickness of the manual shifter. It’s basically a grown up Integra, but I loved the low and wide design over the sedans.
However, even with the power unit lacking oompf, it had pop up heads.
