AutoLooks 2017 Automotive Design Reviews

2017 Best and Worst Designs

The results are in and a rebirth company has claimed the title.

2017 AutoLooks Best

Another year and another best list for us. Sure this year there were more vehicles over the 50% mark than any other year and I guess that would be a good thing. The one great thing for this year was that automotive design language is finally starting to change. I guess we can thank the BMW i8 for the change from bubbles and hard edges, to futuristic caves and crevasses. And its not just the sports and high performance markets which are utilizing these design features. It's the CUV, sedan and hatch markets as well. Just take a look at the all new Toyota C-HR, Nissan Maxima and Nissan Micra. They all utilize this new design language and all we can say, is its about time. 2016 came off as a improvement in automotive design, but 2017 seems to be the year of change.

   A change from one owner to a new as the focus of winner this year. With the fall of Gumpert emerged a new company named after Gumperts famed exotic the Apollo. And with this came a wave of updated changes to the original Apollo which is now the Apollo N. Next to those changes the new board decided to commission a new supercar which would set their brand as a force to be reckoned with. And did they ever, as their new supercar won our A+ award for best design. Say hello to the Apollo Arrow hypercar. It's not just a supercar, but a hybrid supercar. That will help it really get noticed in out ever changing green world.

   Next to the newly formed company we did see a few other oddities this year. First was the collaberation between Aston Martin and RedBull. Sure Aston is know for is cars already, but why would they jump into bed with RedBull. Well why not when RedBull has one the top F1 teams out there.

After that we celebrated the 100th anniversary of the birth of the founder of Lamborghini. Then we said hello to an awe inspiring supercar from Mexico. One that not only change the design language of superscars, but what they are also made out of. Take a look at the Inferno Exotic Car and see what type of liquid metal its made out of. This could be the change we are all waiting for, for future supercars.

   To round out the top 10 we saw the standard coupes supercars, exotics, roadsters and GT's.

2017 AutoLooks 10 Best:

#1 Apollo Arrow - A corporate name change brings some new hypercar rule
#2 Lamborghini Centenario - 100 years of waiting paid off well
#2 Lamborghini Centenario Roadster - 100 years of hair blowing goodness
#4 Mazzanti Evantra Millecavalli - Another change creates a worthy supercar
#5 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato - High end shows bring high end results
#6 Aston Martin RedBull AM-RB-001 - Combination of the best of both worlds
#6 Inferno Exotic Car - A new name and new technology
#8 VFL Force 1 - The right thing to do as a coachbuild company
#9 Toyota C-HR - If your going after a tough crowd, then make it tougher for them
#9 - Infiniti Q60 - Rebirth of a legend
#9 - Jannarelly Design 1 Roadster - What the best designer do on their days off

1st Runner Up: Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport - A+ winner making a comeback
2nd Runner Up: Mazda CX-4 - What happens when China wants a coupe

For 2017 it seems that most companies are starting to move away from slight improvements in their design, to total rebuilds. Sure the new CR-V is still built on the same platform as the old, but its design is a major improvement over the past generation. Next to this we saw the all new C-HR come to market, with its all inspiring design. Guess Nissan is starting to change the way the other Japanese brands design cars.

The best part of 2017 was that it wasn't a year about improvements, it was a year about change, and we look forward to that change carrying on into 2018.

2017 AutoLooks 10 Worst:

#1 Global Vehicle Trust OX - Rusty winner only by design, not function
#1 Rayttle E28 - It went for both worst awards, and took them both
#2 Ford Ka+ - Really it was never meant to be on top
#3 Datsun Redi-Go - Green with envy
#4 Cowin C3R - The early 2000's are back in China
#5 Mini Clubman All4 - All too outdated design
#6 Mitsubishi Mirage G4 - From bad to worse
#7 Mahindra Quanto - Pininfarina did not help with this one
#8 Daihatsu Canbus - It almost is a bus
#9 Fiat Mobi-Cross - The cross didn't help it look better
#10 Cenntro Automotive Metro - Versatile in everyway, but that's it
#10 Honda Brio - A model which needs to grow up

1st Runner Up: Fiat Mobi - Yes its a bit better than the Cross version
2nd Runner Up: Honda Ridgeline - We can now say that the original was better looking

2017 AutoLooks Worst

2017 worst may have been a slight change from other years. We not only had two top winners, but we also had a knock down vehicle win our top award. This probably helped the OX from being the top winner on its own. Its accomplice was none other than a copycat and again from China. Sure this should come as no surprise as China has become a hotbed for knock off automotive designs. This is evident on our Copy Cat list below.

   We decided to name the top two cars on our list the best of the worst as the Rayttle may have a better score than the OX, the OX is more functional. Sure the OX is not good to look at and is the most basic design since the Mobius II, but its main use is way better than most. Who would say no to a Vehicle that can be broken down onto two skids and can be shipped into any country. On top of that it can be rebuilt by the most basic mechanics.

   This is where the OX beats the Rayttle. But on the other hand the Rayttle is a bit better looking. But that is where it all stops. The Rayttle is a pure bred knock off of a Renault Twizy. That is where the Rayttle hits the make and makes it the top of our list.

Next to that the rest of the best of the worst for 2017 came as no surprise as most of the companies listed are no strangers to the bottom of the design pool. The only major oddity on our list was the introduction of a Mini model. Of course this could be because they have not significantly changed their design language since their re-introduction.

   Some of best of the worst come as no surprise as most are updates to already poor models or just not enough attitude added to a new model. Datsun almost had it right with the Redi-Go, well that's if they didn't use the outline of a Tata Nano.

   Fiat who already had a bad year with recalls, tried to bring people back to their dealers with the odd looking Mobi and Mobi-Cross. Sure they would make a great tuner car, but on their own they are just horrible. Bad lines, cheap plastic and more than one chin on its rear.
   Well besides those disappointments, much of the rest was all the same. A Honda, a Van and a couple of hatchbacks.

Everett J.
AutoLooks.net

2017 AutoLooks CopyCat Award Winners

2017 Changan CS75 - CopyCat of Ford Explorer
C - A good model to copy and with the change hear, its no really noticed

2017 Lifan Xuanlang - CopyCat of Ford C-Max
D - They got it right and made just enough changes to sqeeze it by

2017 Rayttle E28 - CopyCat of Renault Twizy
A - Only a symbol change is not enough and it was a bad design to begin with

2017 Zhongxing Terralord - CopyCat of Nissan Titan
B - The name is better, but the original truck wasn't

2016 Year End Review:

A+ Cars for 2017: 11/313
Rusty Cars for 2017: 53/313
Average Percent: 55.32%
Top Three (3) Companies: Toyota with 14 new designs, Honda with 13 and Renault / Chevrolet with 11
Death: Scion
Birth: Electra Meccania (Canada), Girfalco (Canada), ArcFox (China), Wey (China), Zhiche Auto (China), Windbooster (China), Zinoro (China), Sono Motors (Germany), Inferno (Mexico), Varsovia (Poland), Zarooq Motors (U.A.E.), VL Automotive (U.S.A.)