The 10 Ugliest Cars Ever Made

Some cars are considered beautiful from the moment they’re revealed, like the Jaguar E-Type. Others take a while to warm on us after a polarising debut, such as the Ferrari F50.

Others are frankly ugly from the start and only look worse to any normal human eyes as time passes. Looks are subjective and debatable, but we’ve picked 10 of the ugliest cars that simply cannot be argued with.

BMW XM

It’s felt like BMW has purposely tried to be controversial with some of its recent cars, and you’ll find split opinions on most. The bucktooth grille on the M3 and M4 shocked most of us upon its reveal but we’ve seemingly got used to it as time has passed, while the i7 is a bit of an eyesore at the front yet pretty sedate elsewhere.

We’re fairly convinced, though, that there’s not a single soul on earth outside of BMW’s design department that has looked at the XM and thought ‘Yep, that looks good’. The hideous hybrid looks to have been modelled on a pig from Angry Birds and its attempt to honour the M1 supercar with engraved roundels feels like an insult to its heritage.

AMC Pacer

There’s a lot wrong with the AMC Pacer on a technical level. It was far too heavy for a compact car thanks to a choice of gigantic inline-six engines or even a V8, yet had no power to compensate for that. The result was atrocious fuel economy, too.

All that aside, it’s also just a bit hideous. Its beady headlights should be endearing but that’s ruined by the gopping chrome bumper, and the bulbous rear just looks like a complete afterthought. Even a starring appearance in Wayne’s World couldn’t save it.

Yangwang U8

There’s a very real risk of this kind of listicle just turning into a lump of Chinese EVs, and you often get the impression the audacious looks are part of the point. That’s almost commendable in some cases, but certainly not the Yangwang U8.

Side on, it looks like someone’s just copied the Land Rover Defender (not that we would ever want to accuse Yangwang of such a thing…) and then gone absolutely mad on the front and rear. We’re not really able to find the words to describe the chaos that is those head- and taillight designs, so we’ll leave the superlatives to your own imagination.

Fiat Multipla

Oh the Fiat Multipla, it gets a hard time, doesn’t it? As a tool, it’s a remarkable thing and an impressive feat of engineering. Despite having a footprint not all that much bigger than a supermini, it’ll easily seat six – and offer plenty of clever space-saving solutions when there’s fewer of you.

However, it was always let down by its looks. It’s just unquestionably an ugly thing, but as time has passed, that has become a reason to love it.

Nissan Juke (first-generation)

Sometimes, intentionally weird-looking cars can have a quirky charm but others just come across as a bit too much. See the Nissan Juke for example.

You’d think the big round lights should be its foglights rather than the headlights, but you would be wrong, which leaves you wondering what the point of the separate angular cluster at the top is. The boomerang rear lights look like an attempt to mimic the 370Z, yet just look sad. It probably doesn’t help that the Juke has become a de facto choice of drivers doing 40mph in a 60, and then continuing at 40 in a 30 over the years…

Pontiac Aztek

It wouldn’t be an ugliest cars list without a Pontiac Aztek, right? Since day one, the Aztek has been considered a hideous thing that looks like the result of about three designers all meeting in the middle without once speaking with each other.

In its defence, and similarly to the Multipla, it was a very functional thing, but its looks were unforgivable – and even Breaking Bad couldn’t save its reputation.

Chrysler PT Cruiser

Retro styling is becoming the chic thing again. The Fiat 500 pulled it off so well, and now more manufacturers are resorting to throwbacks to appeal – take a look at the new Renault 5 and upcoming Twingo, the Alpine A110 and at a stretch the Hyundai Ioniq 5 for examples.

Yet it doesn’t always pay off, as the Chrysler PT Cruiser proved. Designed to be a throwback to the ‘30s, it just looked fat, sad and especially disappointing next to the VW New Beetle. Time hasn’t been much kinder to it either.

Human Horizons HiPhi Z

Like the Yangwang, the HiPhi Z feels like a car styled purposely to chase the audacious taglines and appeal that way. It just goes too far though, looking like a knock-off Gundam mecha in the process.

None of it is cohesive, and the roof-mounted radar array looks little more than an afterthought. Customisable LED signs on the side will be amusing for all of five minutes, but where do you go with them after drawing rude symbols on them? All told the HiPhi Z is a calculated mess.

Ssangyong Rodius

Somehow, the Ssangyong Rodius managed to be both incredibly boring yet utterly hideous. The slab-sided MPV is plain from most angles, yet completely ruined by the seeming afterthought of a rear window.

Meanwhile, the front end looks like a very sad mix of early ‘00s Mercedes S-Class and Lancia Ypsilon. Thankfully, the Rodius has fallen into obscurity and the chances of seeing one on the road today are pretty slim.

Toyota Prius (first-generation)

The Toyota Prius has had some perhaps unfair labelling over the last couple of decades. It’s long been a technical achievement in efficiency and reliability and has no doubt come in handy as an Uber for most of us in a time of need. The new one even looks pretty good, too.

However, the first-generation car could be described as nothing else but ugly. Its aero-efficient styling did no favours for its appeal, and the weird pointy-nose grille left it with a face only a mother could love. Equally, the first-gen Honda Insight proved a hybrid at the time could be both efficient and cool.