I’ll start with the Porsche 997, the 996 looked alright imo, but it looks “like a 90s Porsche”, the 997 made it look sleeker and more modern. Still looks good today.
As for cars that looked worse after a facelift? Maybe the facelifted 6th gen Camaro? The 6th gen looked great pre-facelift, but they did something weird with the headlights and now it looks so-so…
The 2nd generation Saab 9-3. Pre facelift, facelift. IMO the facelift still looks pretty modern.
Ah, that’s a good one.
Literally looks the same
Sn 95 to new edge mustang
Lexus IS, the facelift is PERFECT
A shame they still have halogens on the rear. I don’t think many people would actually care, but for such an expensive car
I think people are confusing facelift for generational changes.
For a mid-cycle update with a big improvement, I’d go with the 4th generation Firebird. Those 98-02 ones look so much better than the 93-96 ones.
For the worst “facelift”, I’d go with the 2nd generation Impreza. Bug-eye to blob-eye was okay, but the additional facelift to hawk-eye was… woof.
I was waiting for someone to mention the 4th Gen Firebird refresh. Don’t get me wrong, I like the 93-97. But 98-02 look better to me. So much in fact that I passed on a 97 that had some work done to the LT1 in order to get a bone stock 98 with the LS1. Plus having a blank canvas was higher up on my list of priorities.
You don’t like the hawk eye impreza? How come?
Its amazing how on a car sub, so many people here don’t know what a redesign or new generation is.
I’ve had big arguments around 350Z -> 370Z on here.
Same people are having 400z -> 370z arguments now. If they’ve actually seen any of them in person yet is a different story though.
370Z -> 400Z isn’t a facelift, it’s a butt reduction.
Automotive BBL.
I worked for a Nissan dealer, and I don’t know where one thinks it wasn’t a generational change. Especially given 350z & 370z received several “refreshes” within those models life times
2003: 350Z debut 2005: introduction of the VQ35DE Rev-up 2006: projector headlights/LED tails, new front bumper/lip, VQ35DE Rev-up in all models, many options added to lower trims 2007: VQ35HR debut, reportedly changed ~80% of parts numbers compared to the DE engines, Nismo 350Z debut. New hood for all models 2008: Final year of the 350Z
370Z:
I find it hard to believe Nissan would replace 80% of the engine parts, then replace it with the 3.7L the following year
The VQ35DE to the VQ35HR engine changed nearly 80% of the parts.
VQ35HR and 37VHR are effectively the same engine in terms of bottom end. Stroke increased for the extra displacement, bore stays the same. The differences dual-intakes, and VVEL were added for better intake & head flow and maybe a few other things also.
The HR series of the VQ architecture went from 07-2022 in the G/Z cars. It wasn’t a redesign of the engine but more of a final touch
Did the Infiniti M35X receive this new version as well in 2007?
We own a 2007 M35X
Yes, agreed 100 percent. People just liked shitting on Nissan I think. They don’t share any body panels and have a different wheelbase. But I think it’s a case of people not paying attention vs those of us that are.
I’m even one of them myself to a degree, but if you looked anything past a Reddit comment it’s pretty evident the 370z was a major change.
In the G35 -> G37 it was an even more noticeable change as there was a serious effort to deliver a proper interior. Early model G35’s rattled out of the showroom like a 15-year old Chrysler.
The G37 felt like the only time that brand was truly competitive to the European brand comparables. G35 was their first swing, G37 felt like a hit, and Q50 was a bunt
How do you like your M2 comp? A friend of mine not long ago got a 6MT F80 comp, and had M2 comp on their shortlist too. Ended up blowing his budget (and some) on a can’t say no deal for that F80.
It’s funny, i was never a huge fan of the G37, but they’ve been really growing on me recently. I always thought both the 350Z and the G35 were better looking than the G37/370Z, but stepping up their game in refinement speaks to me more these days now that i’m older.
I have a friend who bought an IPL new with a six-speed (and got a great deal on it.) I think his intention was to keep it around long term which feels like a pretty good choice. It offers a lot of stuff that is getting harder and harder to find.
The M2 Comp is pretty great! I’ve had it for more than 4 years and 30K miles. It’s my daily and replaced my old 350Z. I owned both cars for a short while and it was a really interesting experience driving them back-to-back.
The M2 Comp is obviously much faster in a straight line, it’ll easily out grip the Nissan and it turns in way faster…but I have to give Nissan’s engineers credit: it feels like the Z had more travel and felt as though it was inherently working with a lower center of gravity. Some of it may be the seating position too, which is lower and further back in the Z.
The beauty of the M2 is it’s rear diff. It’ll let you slide, but more importantly be nice and progressive when regaining grip when ending that slide. The car does always want to be sideways though, that’s just kind of its personality.
Downsides are the ride quality which is just barely on the right side of “i’ll tolerate it” and the gas tank. Oh man, i miss that big old gas tank in the Nissan. The BMW has a 13.2 gallon tank and has 405 hp. I live at the gas station.
On the other hand, it makes an absurdly practical car for the city. Great visibility, easy to park, a nice big trunk, back seats you can put people in, the list goes on.
The z33 to z34 was a major change. For better or worse though, they still shared the same aesthetic motif, so I can understand where the sentiment comes from.
For me, the biggest electronic change was adding automatic rev matching, which was the first time ever on a production car.
It blew my mind the first time I drove one. However, it’s been adopted by all manufacturers a decade later so many people forget what it was like before.
People rightfully focus on the GT-R during that era more, but people forget how much of a benchmark setting car the 370z was in 2008.
The 4th gen Firebird face-lift did a pretty good job of fixing the overly long look of the '93-'96. The slightly toned down, less pointy lines look great in black.
The facelifts to the NC Miata are by far the biggest improvement I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t even consider buying the early model.
The facelift is too generic Mazda fun that was looking for my taste. Rear lights are much better though and the 2nd facelift is also good looking
Came here to say this. I have an NC2 and was absolutely unwilling to buy an NC1 for any price.
Really? The NC1 wasn’t great, but I never thought the Mazda smile looked right on the Miata.
991 to 992 is not a minor difference though lol
Anyway to answer your first question, ‘99 Escalade to the legendary ‘02 one
Also the first ‘91 gen Lexus GS to the next ‘97 GS was also one hell of a glow up, still one of my all time fav cars ever
2nd one not sure
by facelift I mean a minor update to a car, not a generational one
I’ll start with the Porsche 997, the 996 looked alright imo, but it looks “like a 90s Porsche”, the 997 made it look sleeker and more modern.
Bruh, that’s a new generation.
Anyway, mine would be the F20 BMW 1 series. I consider the pre-facelift one of the worst looking BMWs ever (though they’re trying hard these days to knock it down a few spots), while the post-facelift looks great.
Little bro knows nothing about Porsche. 997 was a monumental upgrade in interior design and especially materials. The overall mechanical quality also improved in a big way.
The G series is the ugliest 911 generation to me.
E65 BMWs as well. Pre facelift looked goofy and frumpy. Post facelift looks much better and still good today.
The monochrome 2005 and older look pretty good, uts the ones with chrome strips on the bumpers that looked really odd.
Regardless though the E65/E66 was the car that made me fall in love with BMW. Specifically a 2006 750LI that was white with a beige interior. It was forsale by the local Subaru dealership at a special sales event that they had at the local mall, out area didn’t have alot of 7 series status cars and while my parents were looking for a new car I wander around looking at what they has, saw it from across the lot and it was love at first sight. Then I sat in it and it made my titties hard.
Now I own 2 BMWs. A 2006 X3 and a 2013 X5.
Sure it’s not a facelift but it’s not an entirely new car. The 997 was a heavily revised 996 but everyone in this thread seems to forget that.
But it is a new generation.
Never debated that. Just saying it wasn’t the quantum leap like 997 to 991
OP doesn’t know about Porsche .1 and .2 nomenclature…
Or Mk1/Mk2 for 996 models
Yes, like they said, 996.1 and 996.2…
1988 to 1987 Mazda rx7 was good but the 89 to 91 looked much better. Better rear tails, updated interior mats, body matching rub strips and a small update to that beautiful rotary engine.
Same generation vehicle (s4 vs S5)
The 2017 Lincoln MKZ facelift made an ugly car attractive. The 2006 SAAB 9-5 facelift made an attractive car ugly.
As a 08 9-5 owner I resent that. Yet also agree. My old 01 was a much prettier car
What cars looked better after a facelift?
1953 Buick Wildcat to 1954 Buick Wildcat
What cars looked worse after a facelift?
That 54 Wildcat is crazy! I’m not sure the Challenger is just a facelift, that seems like a pretty drastic redesign, but I don’t know when the generations are considered as changing.
haha. they took them Mitsubishi Galant lambda Coop and tried to rebrand it. it’s not even a redesign it’s an entire different vehicle with the badge slapped on.
I kind of meant it as a joke because it’s often regarded as one of the top 10 mistakes in Automotive History.
The 2010 facelift for the Infiniti G37, specifically the sedan. The G35 coupe looked way nicer than its sedan counterpart. As for the g37, 2010 onwards, i feel like that flipped to the sedan looking nicer. Sometimes still miss my G37.
I think the Mk8 Ford Fiesta ST looked better before the facelift.
Mk7 to Mk7.5 Golf. Especially the GTI and R, the taillights are really nice on the facelift. The LED headlights for both versions look equally good however.
As the owner of a 2016 Honda HR-V, I think the 2019-22 models are horrid. Those chrome-looking grilles look dirty even when clean.
The new Prius looks much better after its facelift.
