Some cars get hate for no other reason than “everyone else hates it so I will too.” You don’t want to be a follower, but you also want to avoid being skewered for your lame tastes on car Twitter. For me, the car I’m a little embarrassed to like is the 5 Series Gran Turismo. Yes, it’s a rolling example of BMW trying to fill every niche it can, but it did what it did well. It’s comfortable, luxurious, roomy (the back seat has leg crossing legroom) and it has decent cargo capacity. Would I buy one? That’s a whole different set of issues.
We asked readers what cars they were embarrassed to admit they liked. Here are their answers.
Welcome back to Answers of the Day, our daily Jalopnik feature where we take the best 10 responses from the previous Question of the Day and shine it up to show off. It’s by you and for you, Jalopnik readers. Enjoy!
Audi TT
I have always thought that the first-gen TT was amazing inside and out and would age extremely well. For a long time it seemed like people didn’t view it as a serious Audi, but I think that over time the consensus has swung back the other way.
Suggested by: Seagdor
Cadillac ELR
Mine is the Cadillac ELR. Massively overpriced, wrong wheel drive, slow, and most of the car reviewers hated it. But every time I see one of these, I think, “how much are those on the used market now?”
Suggested by: bigmodernmess
Saturn Sky
I’ve always had a soft spot for the Saturn Sky.
Suggested by: ILOVESTUFF
Jaguar S-Type R
The much derided Jaguar S-Type. Especially in R form.
Suggested by: ncbrit
Buick Cascada
A rebadged Opel that makes me want to cruise around with no sense of urgency or place to be.
Suggested by: David E. Davis
Mitsubishi Eclipse (3rd Gen)
3rd-gen Mitsubishi Eclipse. I bought one new in 2000, bright red GT with a 5-speed manual. The V6 sounded great with the stock exhaust, clutch was like a rheostat for torque, shift action like a rifle. Parted with it after 8 mostly trouble-free years (voracious appetite for wheel bearings) and 165km once I could no longer get the hood to open. Bit of a pig on an autocross course, but that represented maybe 3 of the 265,542 km.
Suggested by: FistFullofNeutral
Honda Insight (1st Gen)
People make fun.of it for being tiny and slow, but I really want a first generation Honda Insight. Purity of design for a single purpose vs. most modern vehicles that are bloated and designed to do everything.
Suggested by: gelmon
Volkswagen Eos
I’m not a convertible guy, but I enjoyed these things so much. The folding mechanism was a work of art (and it had a working sunroof!), and when paired with the VR6, it was glorious sounding with the top down.
Suggested by: FijiST
Chrysler Crossfire
It was my first car (other than a v6 Dodge Dakota to haul around my dirtbike to MX tracks). it was small, had decent handling and power for a 17 year old , impressed da ladyz and I got away with parking it in the teachers parking lot at my high school cause no teacher thought a 17 year old would be driving a brand new sportscar. the few times I did get caught by a teacher, they just nodded and didn’t say anything.
Yes it was based on a old MB SLK with a fairly lethargic V6 and it was god awful in Ontario’s winter. but I loved it and it taught me a lot about car control. even the lease was zero down and a pittance for a high school job. had it for 4 years and I regret giving it up at the end with only 40k km’s. mine was in Alabaster white on black leather.
Suggested by: MZR-Canuck
Nissan Versa (1st Gen)
Hope I don’t get roasted too bad for this, but the first gen Nissan Versa will always have a spot in my heart. I had a manual “brownish” one right after college and it was the perfect car for me at the time: good on gas, cheap parts and lots of space to carry the equipment needed for my job. I sold it to another engineer five or six years ago and he still has it and loves it for the same reasons I do.
Suggested by: Pablo Mejia