New cars are finally getting the missing piece

There seems to be a new car announced or launched on a daily basis at the moment. It’s unsurprising, when you consider just how many manufacturers there are on the scene, but there is also a growing number of new cars that have something I think has been missing for several years: a bit of personality.

I’d consider myself a car enthusiast. I’m more in tune than the average Joe/Jane on what cars have been announced, where they’ve come from, what they’re replacing, and so on. Over the past few years, however, most conversations I’ve had about new cars has followed this formula:

“Hey, have you seen this new car?”

“Yeah, looks a bit boring.”

“Agreed, there’s not much interesting about it.”

But more recently, over the 12-18 months, cars have been announced that have actually got me talking - the new Renault 5, Alpine A290, Kia Picanto, Suzuki Jimny, and Fiat Grande Panda to name just a few - and there’s an ongoing theme with these cars too.

These cars aren’t high-end supercars that you see on the roads once in a blue moon, but cars that you could feasibly use for daily life. I will admit that supercars – for the most part – have kept their soul throughout the years, but the more common cars that you see multiple times a day on the roads all fell into a sterile blueprint.

But, for the first time in the about a decade, I’ve seen a Renault, or Fiat, or Kia – or any other everyday car - that has made me think “Wow, I really want to drive one of those”.

And when I think about it, the missing ingredient in many new cars is exactly that: a bit of mojo. It seemed like manufacturers were scared to have fun, putting out safe aerodynamic curve after safe aerodynamic curve, focussing so much on what tech they can pack into the cabin or under the bonnet, and forgetting that driving can actually be fun.

In my opinion, we’re finally exiting this grey zone of anonymous motoring. New cars are being designed to stand out again, to be fun again. Maybe I’m just sucker for retro-futuristic stylings, but beyond than that, I’m just excited that new cars are finally interesting again.