9 New Cars That Actually Look Good
The Small Car
Insouciant and affordable, the original Renault 5 was a classic of 20th-century design. When its number was retired in the mid-90s, many thought its iconic silhouette was gone forever. Then, in 2021, the French carmaker dropped an all-electric prototype with a familiar sloping rear. Consumers rushed to it like Nicole returning to Papa, and the Renault 5 E-Tech is now in production with deliveries starting next year. The old personality is still there – headlights wink as you approach with a key – and there’s no more fun to be had driving an EV around the city or the back roads of Provence.
Visit Renault.co.uk
The Medium Car
For the first 15 years of its life, the Peugeot 308 was a family car so unassuming you’d barely notice it if it rear-ended you. But something’s happened to Peugeot recently. It’s changed its logo and clearly wants to start catching some eyes. Tighter lines and a sporty grill have given the third-gen 308 a new edge. With the VW Golf not what it once was, and the Ford Focus forever doomed to be a Ford Focus, this is the hatchback for us.
Visit Peugeot.co.uk
The Big Car
Avert a mid-life crisis and a possible motorbike accident by trading in your monochrome German super saloon for an Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio. An Italian head turner when it arrived in 2017, it had a few updates earlier this year, but the good looks – including the raffishly cocked front number plate – are untouched. It’s still quick too.
Visit AlfaRomeo.co.uk
The Small SUV
Small enough to be an urban runaround, tough enough to take offroad, the Suzuki Jimny has a cult following that’s been swelled by its boxy silhouette and old-school design cues. That following has been frustrated by recent wranglings around its emissions – Suzuki turned it into a commercial vehicle to avoid some of the most stringent regulations, but has now stopped selling it in the UK. There’s a red-hot second-hand market, though. Or you could make it your next holiday rental, or hang tight for an electric version due in 2030. In the meantime, the sensible yet stylish option is the new-for-2024 Alfa Romeo Junior.
Visit Suzuki.co.uk
The Medium SUV
The Macan is Porsche’s biggest-selling car in the UK. There are no secrets to its success: this is a premium marque offering high performance, easy driving, quality interiors and – crucially for this list – a sleek exterior. An electric Macan arrived in 2024, and for the next few years you can take your pick between the two.
Visit Porsche.com
The Massive SUV
The question with a big SUV isn’t whether you want to make a statement, but what sort of statement you want to make. The Jeep Wrangler has timeless outdoorsy appeal, while the Mercedes G-Wagen brings a more urban swag. Right now, though, we’re all over the Toyota Land Cruiser that lands in Europe this autumn. The stylings are retro, but not novelty. It’s a car that looks like you could take it anywhere and, thanks to its proper 4x4 chassis, you actually could.
Visit Toyota.co.uk
The Convertible
Doors that open upwards not outwards? We’re sold. But there’s so much more to Maserati’s latest open-top two-seater. It’s got the curves to match the golden-era Italian sports cars of the 1960s, and the performance to be competitive at Monza. All you need is a quarter of a million pounds to splash on one.
Visit Maserati.com
The Luxe Car
Aston Martin is billing the DB12 as the ‘world’s first Super Tourer’. They might be putting it in a new class of its own, but what we’re appreciating is the classic design. The DB12 still looks like an Aston Martin. The grill is there and so are the languid lines that once made Aston the most desirable of the luxury British marques.
Visit AstonMartin.com
The Super Car
An understated supercar might be an oxymoron. But, in an era when a lot of its rivals look like they’ve been hot-wired off the set of Fast & Furious, there’s a lot to love about the time-honoured stylings of the Porsche 911 Turbo S. The first 911 launched in the 1960s and the through lines from that debut model to today’s 200mph Turbo are right there in front of you. Including the ducktail rear wing.
Visit Porsche.com
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