How many facelifted cars look better than the original?

[Spiny Norman]

It happens with every model, 4 or 5 years into its life, the management decide it needs a bit of a freshen-up. A nip here a tuck there, automotive botox, if you will.

Thing is to me at least, the success rate of these mid life facelifts is pretty low. Previously pert little bumpers come over all 42DD, headlamps get more bejewelled and various extra bits of plastic attempt to give the old girl a bit extra sparkle.

 

Before Peugeot hired designers based on how cute their guide dogs were they famously announced that they couldn't improve the 205 so they pretty much left it alone. If only others followed the same road....

 

One example, the good old Marina.

 

Turned into this... Maybe a better car, but didn't look it.

 

There must be some cars that looked better after a facelift, surely? Any suggestions?

[Junkman]

No facelift ever was an improvement.

[Amazo]

Capri MKII/III? Yeah, I know Ford said its a new model, but that didn't fool anyone.

 

[retrogeezer]

some of them looked better at the time but in retrospect definitely do not.

 

There was 3 slightly different versions of the Marina before the Ital as well, the obvious early ones with the body coloured front grill and different dash, then the one above and then another one with different bumpers and rear lights (when it also got the 1.7 engine I think)

[fotorabia]

My Mercs pre facelift meaning before 1980..then they straightened the headlight which i dont really like..

FOR

AGAINST

 

[chaseracer]

Avant:

 

Apres:

 

But, I grant you, neither is exactly a looker...

[R9UKE]

No facelift ever was an improvement.

 

Agreed

 

 

[Pete-M]

Scorpio Ultima facelift, the ones with the black headlights. I like those.

 

Mk3 Capri looks better than the Mk2 to me as well, but I like quad lamps.

[Lacy]

Triumph 2000; I reckon Mk2 looks much better than mk1 but Range rover......early 2 door looks about a million times better than later 4 door. The purity of the original was destroyed when they tried to make it desirable to the Chelsea housewives.

[Micrashed]

Avant:

 

Apres:

 

But, I grant you, neither is exactly a looker...

I thought the same, I had the mk2 and prefer its looks over the mk1. I might just have to get another but really want one with the full length fabric sunshine roof....

[Shep Shepherd]

 

[Cavcraft]

Struggling to think of any face lifted cars that look/ed better than the original. In fact it's almost a crime in some cases, I'm looking at the SD1 (sorry but newer ones look horrible), the Marina to Ital, Princess to Ambassador, the beautiful S1 XJ6 to S2 and my favourite, the Silver Shadow 1 which are just about the best looking cars of ever.

[whiskeyonesix]

We could throw the Aussie Ford Falcon AU into this mix.

 

Here's a base-model Series I. Absolutely hated by pretty much everyone at it's launch. It is of course Proper Autoshite.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's a Series III. High-spec bonnet and grille, clear rear lenses and top-end console and dash meant that...well, some people bought it at least....

 

[chaseracer]

Hell yeah!

 

 

 

God NOOOOOO!!

 

[HillmanImp]

Triumph GT6

 

I think the change to the rear on the mk3 was a MASSIVE improvement.

Mk2

Mk3

 

I think the front end of the Mk1 was great, the Mk2 not that n1ce but the mk3 was great again but in a different way to the Mk1.

 

 

Obviously its all subjective.

[Ben_L]

Ford Fiesta Mk6 Pre;

 

 

Post;

 

 

Rover 800 Pre;

 

 

Post;

 

 

Renault 11 Pre;

 

 

Post;

 

 

All look better untouched from the day of design. In my humble opinion......

[Joseph]

 

...to this:

 

[michael t]

The mk1 onion... no thanks

 

 

The mk2 ye go on....

 

[trigger]

^ I disagree, the Mk1 was a great looking car, and the pre chrome grill Rover 200/400's also looked better then their counterparts.

[Wilko220]

Sure some will disagree but IMHO this was a good facelift

 

 

 

I also quite liked this little refresh to what in all other respects is rather an awful vehicle.

 

 

[catsinthewelder]

I think that this

 

 

looks far and away better than this

 

[Partridge]

 

[Wilko220]

Not sure I'd agree there, Mr Partridge - although the facelift definitely worked better on the 75 than it did on the 45...

[barefoot]

 

 

Work that out!

[trigger]

The facelift Rover 75 did look better but man who thought the 25/45 would look better with those smoothed boots?!

[Partridge]

Not sure I'd agree there, Mr Partridge - although the facelift definitely worked better on the 75 than it did on the 45...

 

I’m still not sure what to think of the facelifted 75s myself...it’s an issue that everyone feel strongly about, mind.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

I'd nominate the Alfa 166 as looking better with the facelifted front end - it just looked gawky in its original form.

 

And the Jaguar X300 looks about 38693865 times better than the XJ40. And in many ways, I prefer the Series 111 E Type to the original - as long as it's Regency red or Sable with chromed XJ steels.

[Joseph]

Who doesn't agree on this one? Probably everyone will disagree!

 

 

[HMC]

Jags mk1 vs mk 2- reshape the glasshouse, add some chrome surrounds and beef up the track a bit et voila

also whilst on jags, pininfarina's tweaking of the xj6 into series 3 guise

[Richard]

The Mk2 Capri was much better looking than the Mk1 or the Mk3.