Car facelifts that lacked the visual charm of their previous models

Mahindra Bolero, when launched, had a very macho appeal and a crude, simple, yet elegant design. Now, I feel it has a chrome-filled cartoonish face.

BHPian AYP recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

This thread is to point out the instances of a manufacturer spoiling the looks of their car in the process of facelifting it. Let me do the honours:

Skoda-

The Octavia MK2 (Laura) pre-facelift, was my favourite and still continues to be my favourite among all the Octavias. While most of my classmates used to drool over the Civic, the Laura was the one which had my heart, especially the L&K in red shade. The PD motor was music to my ears. The facelift though, spoiled the look completely with its bulbous headlamps.

The beauty-

The beast-

Don’t take me wrong. The Laura facelift was a beautiful car by itself but when compared to the pre-facelift, it paled completely.

Mahindra-

The Bolero when launched, used to have a very macho appeal about it. It had a crude, simple, yet elegant design. The Bolero of today still has that macho appeal but gone are the simple and elegant design elements and instead we have a chrome-filled cartoonish face.

The OG-

The new Bolero with dollops of chrome (just what most Indians want)-

Here’s what BHPian Mr.Boss had to say about the matter:

Personally, I’m not convinced with the Zen facelift. Though the change is very minimal, the old jellybean shape is still a looker.

Here’s what BHPian dhanushs had to say about the matter:

For me, it’s the Verna. An already bad-looking car worsened!

Old Variant

New Variant

Here’s what BHPian saikishor had to say about the matter:

Maruti S-Cross comes to my mind immediately after reading the title of this thread. The original one especially in the top alpha trim looked elegant IMO but the facelift didn’t have the same elegance as the previous model.

Here’s what BHPian GreyNomad replied:

It’s actually the opposite. The first-gen SCross bombed primarily due to its looks. The refreshed version actually did decent numbers and the front fascia redesign and the Nexa Blue colour contributed to it.

Only if they had plonked that sweet 1.6D into the facelift model!

Here’s what BHPian rishi.roger had to say about the matter:

The first car that immediately rings a bell is the latest Hyundai Verna. Haven’t seen a worse facelift than Verna in quite some time.

Also, the new Nexon looks more like a raised hatchback (which it really is) than an SUV character in the previous design.

Also, I disagree with the post stating that the S-Cross facelift looked worse than the original. In fact, the facelifted S-Cross looked times better. IMO, a facelift well done to a car that deserved applause. Such a shame, it didn’t sell for long.

Here’s what BHPian mgastor2022grey had to say about the matter:

My vote is for the Hector Plus (6 and 7-seater versions). It had such a beautiful and some sort of Mercedes-inspired grille at the front. Even though the car was slightly out of proportion, it was very handsome and nonetheless a looker.

Later, MG decided to ‘facelift’ the car by giving it fake-silver jewelry and some chrome-bling to make it ugly! I hate the big grille. Wonder why car makers are doing it.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

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