There Are Awards for Best and Worst Cars. What about The Mediocre Cars? Bland car of the year...

pegaxs on 17/12/2017 - 23:57
Last edited 18/12/2017 - 18:31

It seems that every second month there is some “car of the year” category announced. Best in this bracket, best price, best at something. There are also those, “worst of” cars that make their own lists. What I am looking for is cars that fly under the radar. Something so uninspiring and unassuming that the mere fact it goes relatively unnoticed makes it such a neutral car… They are great cars, but just lack that certain appeal to get them noticed…

I’m curious at what people have or think that would be considered the most bland cars of all time. That truely uninspiring car that you just drive. The ride is fine. The styling isn’t too bold. You just get in it and drive it. It’s no trophy car but it’s no s%&tbox either. It doesn’t need fixing and is reliable but it just has no character.

I want truly the blandest of the bland and I want to know why it’s so bland. What is it that makes it a good contender…

I will kick it off with:

Any burgundy Toyota Camry. Apart from being the ultimate grandma car, these things just seem to run forever. They have enough power to propel them and the ride quality is, existent. Quality of fit an finish is quite good. It’s just a car that seems to have no soul. It exists only to (pass the butter) do the minimum it has to do…

Edit:
Since we have a few great contenders on the board, thought I would set up a poll…

Poll Options

  • 136
    Toyota Camry
  • 5
    Hyundai Excel/Accent
  • 4
    Mitsubishi Magna/380
  • 0
    Daihatsu Charade/Mira
  • 6
    Honda Jazz
  • 0
    Ford Laser
  • 0
    Mazda 6
  • 6
    Porsche GT3 RS
  • 14
    Toyota Corolla
  • 4
    Mitsubishi Lancer
  • 3
    Other (see comments)
Automotive

Comments

  • skywards on 18/12/2017 - 18:25

    Any small/medium cars in the following brands:

    Hyundai - special mention to the excel
    Daihatsu - special mention to the charade
    Ford - special mention to the ford laser

    • pegaxs on 18/12/2017 - 19:06

      YES!! I totally forgot about Daihatsu. Even their most exciting car, the Copen, was bland. I own a Charade! How could i not put that in this list? It is reliable, dependable, underwhelimg to drive and just exists to get me to work and back. No one comments on it and it never turns heads, it just sneaks though life doing its thing. The very essence of "bland"… :)

  • Baysew on 18/12/2017 - 20:41

    What is the blandest car of 2017?

    • inherentchoice on 19/12/2017 - 12:25

      The Accent is surely on the shortlist… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtd0zQAbEGA

      • Baysew on 20/12/2017 - 14:30

        You must have linked wrong video.

        Bland and US go together like Baseball, Hot Dogs, Apple Pie and Chevrolet

        • inherentchoice on 20/12/2017 - 15:28

          You must not have watched the video? The Accent features at the start before he then looks at the Mustang.

        • Baysew on 20/12/2017 - 16:30

          @inherentchoice: Glad I didn't waste time to watch some smirking Yank to tell me that compared to a Mustang something else is bland.

  • ChickenTalon on 18/12/2017 - 21:19
    +5

    As someone who has rented just about all of the shit in this shit list (I rent a lot of cars for work). Hands down blandest car would easily be the Mitsubishi Mirage. The current unsweetened rice pudding version from 2013 onwards. Everything truely lame, not bad, but lame.

    Not cute, not cult, just…. nothingness. Just its bland CVT doing who the fk knows what as you bodyroll through the next corner. Makes the Hyundai Accent look sexy and powerful. Unlike Camrys, no one will ever be attached to the latest Mirage.

    • toomuchdogfur on 18/12/2017 - 23:32
      +1

      There was one time I was renting a car in Los Angeles… and they had a Mirage.

      Imagine driving that anemic thing in the land of highways and aggressive drivers. "Do you want me dead?" I thought when I saw it!

  • inherentchoice on 18/12/2017 - 23:33

    I would say Kia Cerato but I think it won lots of awards so from that perspective it isn't exactly mediocre.

  • CharityCase on 19/12/2017 - 00:02

    Suzuki Swift?

  • Vancomycin 1000mg on 19/12/2017 - 04:46

    Holden Barina, what even is that? I drive one at the moment cos my other car is getting repaired, its by far the worst car since my 1994 Toyota Corolla.

  • [Deactivated] on 19/12/2017 - 08:12

    Camry for sure, it's a fleet car, every rental agency most popular car. Make it white.

  • h4zey on 19/12/2017 - 12:22
    +4

    The amount of soul that you have to lose every time your car breakdown/huge insurance cost/huge repair cost of the not-so-bland car.. nah I would rather get this soul-less bland car..

  • test123123 on 19/12/2017 - 17:06

    Toyota all the way!

  • ozzpete on 20/12/2017 - 00:40

    Pre-1996 Toyotas are amazing value+reliability. I had 2 toyota celicas (96' 94') and also a 1994 Toyota Camry . All these had the 5sfe 2.2litre engine.
    The old toyotas were much better built than anything today (even better than the newer model toyotas) . The reason Toyota quality went down, is because they spread out into mass production on a larger scale, and more locations. Therefore, although they were still trying to make great cars, the expansion led to an inevitable lacking of quality control.
    This info comes from Toyota dealer manager of many years.

    • spackbace on 20/12/2017 - 01:25
      +1

      Interesting you say the quality went down, when we're being told it's definitely on the increase. The final cars built in Australia were deemed to be of better quality than a year or 2 before (proof that the workers still worked their asses off to the last day), and just some other fundamentals that we've been told about procedures at the overseas factory.

      • tonywind on 22/12/2017 - 17:08
        +1

        Toyota is awesome quality, i have raced them for years, the quality is in the Japanese built ones:)

  • DannyBoy on 20/12/2017 - 04:40

    I would say early 2000s Hyundai Getz or even the 2007ish Yaris but easily surpassed by this 2017 bland mobile;

    2017 Tata Xenon.
    For a 17' model it looks soooooo boring

    https://m.redbook.com.au/cars/details/?R=955150

  • Windows7forever on 20/12/2017 - 08:19

    Anything Daewoo branded.

    • pegaxs on 20/12/2017 - 09:35

      Talking “bland” not downright woeful… hahaha… can we extend that to cover Daewoo cars that now come with Holden badges?

      • Windows7forever on 20/12/2017 - 15:13

        I drive a 15 year rebranded Holden Astra called a Daewoo. Its falling to part but I love the damn thing. Still under 100k km too.

        • PinzVidz on 22/12/2017 - 00:27

          That would actually be a rebadged Opel. :P

        • spackbace on 22/12/2017 - 01:26
          +1

          @PinzVidz:

          With its own list of problems 😂

  • cushydeskjob on 20/12/2017 - 13:05

    Fiat Freemont. Fix It Again Tony.

  • beesa888 on 20/12/2017 - 17:46

    Any SUV

  • myusername on 22/12/2017 - 17:05

    holden craptiva

  • tonywind on 22/12/2017 - 17:09

    All things KIA:)

    • pegaxs on 22/12/2017 - 17:27

      I don’t know about that… that new Stinger looks like it might be a little on the upper side of bland…

      But yeh, Rio, Cerato, etc… have to agree…

      • tonywind on 22/12/2017 - 17:39

        Upper side of bland and still very average build quality:)

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