10 Facelifts That Worked Brilliantly

Sometimes a car is released and the world goes "oooooooh". But other times, the world goes "OH DEAR LORD WHAT IS THAT?". And for forlorn designers who badly botched it the first time around, a mid-life refresh gives an opportunity to make amends.

Of course, sometimes there's nothing wrong with a car's initial look; it's just that a facelift can make it look even better. Basically what we're saying is, yay for facelifts that improve things, and here are our favourites.

Nissan GT-R

When it was revealed at the New York Auto Show, critics were quick to lambast the 2017 Nissan GT-R’s facelift as being barely noticeable. But they were missing the point: the changes were subtle but very effective.

The new side intakes got rid of those chubby-looking ribbed sections on either side of the front bumper, while the larger grille upped the aggression nicely. It's not a grand overhaul, it's just making things fresher and funkier.

BMW E46 3-series

Yep, once upon a time BMW actually did facelifts that were noticeable to the naked eye. A prominent example was the E46 3-series, which received a well-judged nip and tuck that included sleeker headlights and larger, more shapely kidney grilles.

The pre-facelift cars look quite dated now, but the updated cars still look fresh even today. Many die-hard E46 fans still prefer the original look, but this is OUR article and we declare that those people are WRONG.

Jaguar XF

The pre-facelift Jaguar XF wasn’t exactly ugly, but changes in 2011 freshened up the BMW 5-series rival considerably. This was mostly thanks to the original, goofy headlamps being chucked in the bin, replaced by a much slimmer set that brought the XF’s design much closer to that of the C-XF concept.

The XF R’s transformation was the most dramatic, with the shouty super saloon gaining a radically altered front bumper with chunkier intakes.

Peugeot 306

Like the pre-facelift XF, the ‘Phase I’ Peugeot 306 is still a handsome thing, but its headlights and slatted front grille firmly linked it to Peugeots of the past. The Phase II brought the styling in line with the curvier 406, with a new grille, bumpers and curvier headlights.

The Phase III update was more minor, but it resulted in the 306 GTI-6 lending its fancier front bumper to ‘lesser’, sporty-ish models like the D Turbo XSI. Isn’t that generous?

NB Mazda MX-5

After the ‘Mk2.5’ facelift, the second-generation Mazda MX-5 was still a cutesy-looking thing, but a new front bumper, new-ish headlights and some new wheel options freshened the car up while adding a little dash of aggression. The Mk3’s design dropped the cuteness levels even further, but the 2.5 that came before it was certainly a step in the right direction.

BMW E39 5-series

Maybe it was something about the early 2000s, but BMW was on a roll with its design and its tweaking game. Just before the E46 got its LCI (that’s Life Cycle Impulse if you want to be technical), the E39 5 Series was given a working over for the 2001 model year.

It took the kidney grilles from the mighty M5, the now-iconic angel eye headlights, featured on a BMW for the first time, and some LED tail lights, too. It made an already swanky car look even sharper for the new millennium.

Mercedes W212 E-Class

The W212 Mercedes E-Class emerged in 2008 and was an excellent executive car, but had a very curious headlight treatment with split lamps that never quite looked right. As a result, it was completely overhauled in 2013, both to rectify its visuals but also to compete with newer rivals from BMW and Audi, namely the F10 5 Series and C6 A6.

The revised E-Class had new one-piece headlights that dramatically improved the look, but the overall facelift was at a level akin to a whole new car in terms of new features and development costs. And it looks all the better for it.

Ford Focus Mk2

There was a certain chunky appeal to the Mk2 Ford Focus of 2004, especially in ST form, but it wasn’t what you’d call pretty. But at the 2007 Frankfurt Motor Show, Ford whipped the covers from the facelifted version, which had some fairly serious surgery.

The new look reflected other, more recent Fords of the time, such as the Mondeo and everyone’s favourite MPV, the S-Max, and had new panels everywhere except the roof. The obvious difference was the new headlights that swooped back towards the A-pillars, but the overall effect was of a much more elegant car than before.

Ford Capri Mk1

Everyone thinks of the 1978-onwards Mk3 Capri when they think of Ford’s legendary coupe, but the iconic dual-headlamp look was first pioneered by the facelift to the Mk1, way back in 1971.

The first Capri had headlights that, understandably, looked like they came from the 1960s. But when it was overhauled, Ford fitted quad headlights to the 3000GXL model, and they were also later featured on the RS3100. The Mk2 Capri ditched the quads entirely, for some reason, but they were back with a vengeance on the Mk3 and the rest, as they say, is history.

Subaru Impreza GD

The turn of the millennium saw the second-generation Subaru Impreza make its debut, and boy was its face a challenge. The bug-eyed headlights divided opinion between those who hated them and those who really hated them (although opinions have softened over time).

Subaru heard the complaints and in 2003 revealed the facelifted model with radically different headlights that quickly earned the nickname Blobeye. A marked improvement, but Subaru wasn’t done fiddling and overhauled the Impreza’s face again in 2006 with the Hawkeye-look lights, which were fine but maybe a bit more anonymous. If you can call a car with gold wheels and a massive spoiler “anonymous”.