These 13 Cars Don’t Deserve the Hate They Get

Just as many cars have a dedicated fan base, there are models with a dedicated group of haters.

Granted, they may not be among the greatest cars ever, but they’re certainly not as bad as the internet will have you believe.

We’ve compiled a list of 13 cars that don’t deserve all the hate they receive, and some of them are excellent cars we’d love to own.

Chevrolet Corvair

The Chevrolet Corvair was off to a great start, but then Ralph Nader’s book, Unsafe at Any Speed, was published and he basically tore it apart. According to Nader, the Corvair’s swing axle rear suspension could cause accidents when cornering.

Yes, that was true for the first-gen Corvair, but Chevrolet had already replaced the swing axle suspension with a fully independent setup when the book was published. That didn’t matter, though, and the air-cooled, rear-engined Corvair became a punching bag for safety pundits.

2004 Pontiac GTO

In 1964, the Pontiac GTO kickstarted the Golden Era of the muscle car, and exactly 40 years later, Pontiac came full circle and relaunched the GTO. The GTO’s main problem was that Pontiac badge-engineered third-generation Holden Monaro from Australia, and gearheads didn’t like that.

Nevertheless, it was an excellent car. The 2004 model year had a 5.7-liter LS1 V8 engine and either a 6-speed manual transmission or a 4-speed automatic transmission. With 350 hp, it reached 60 mph in 5.3 seconds and finished a quarter-mile in 13.8 seconds. Pontiac upgraded it to a 400-hp 6.0-liter the following year but still couldn’t convince people to buy one.

Chevrolet SSR

Chevrolet’s success is largely because they build sensible cars for well-established automotive segments, and they rarely veer off that path. When they do, strange things tend to happen — like the SSR, a retro-styled convertible pickup truck.

Granted, the SSR was pretty much useless as a truck, and some say it was even worse as a sports car. Still, it looks awesome, and we desperately want one. Gearheads didn’t feel the same way when it first arrived, and it proceeded to flop spectacularly.

Plymouth Prowler

Car enthusiasts would probably have fond memories of the Plymouth Prowler if it had a V8 engine and a manual gearbox. It looked like a custom-built hot rod straight from the showroom floor, but the target market wasn’t impressed by its 3.5-liter V6 and automatic transmission. That said, the six-cylinder engine packed more power than Plymouth’s pushrod V8 engines at the time.

The retro-styled sports car is actually more popular and sought-after today than when it was available in dealerships. The total production number ended at 11,702 cars.

Porsche 996

Porsche introduced the 996 generation of the 911 in 1997, and to this day, we can still hear P-car enthusiasts moan about the headlights not being round.

We’re not saying the 996 is perfect, as it does have some flaws, such as the infamous IMS issue, but that’s not as common as the internet will have you believe. It also has a somewhat cheap-looking interior, but it works fine. At the end of the day, the 996 is a better car than all the air-cooled models that preceded it, but it still gets a lot of hate because it has the same front end as the Boxster.

VW New Beetle

Initially, people loved the New Beetle, but with time, the relationship went sour, and it’s now mostly referred to as a “girl’s car,” which is silly for several reasons.

The most important thing to know about the New Beetle is that it’s not just a less practical Golf. It was built to be fun and never took itself too seriously. It even had some fun, if not overly powerful, engines, such as the legendary 1.8-liter turbo unit.

Toyota Prius

The Toyota Prius is an excellent car. It’s practical, reliable, frugal, affordable… all the things sensible people look for when buying a car. The problem with the Prius is its owners. Virtue-signalling Hollywood elites who claim to save the planet by driving one. As if that will offset the massive carbon footprint of the private jets and luxury yachts.

There’s also the Karens who’ll yell at you for driving a sports car, but the gases from their bean and lentil vegan diet will cause far more harm to the local environment. If Prius owners were likable people, there’s no doubt that the hate would end.

Tesla Cybertruck

Tesla shocked the world when it first unveiled the Cybertruck. Few vehicles are as divisive as this one, and it seems people either love it or hate it.

If you’re looking for a practical work truck to haul stuff with, the Cybertruck isn’t it. However, if you want an electric truck for daily driving duties, it’s probably the best one out there. If you don’t like the styling, then it’s clearly not for you — get a Rivian instead.

Honda Del Sol

We’ll admit that the Honda Del Sol had some annoying flaws. The biggest one was its targa-style roof, which is guaranteed to leak. You can try to fix it, but it’ll soon start leaking again. Another issue is its cutesy looks, which led to many enthusiasts avoiding it, as the Del Sol doesn’t look aggressive enough.

However, it’s a ton of fun to drive, especially if it has the iconic Honda B-series engine under the hood.

Fiat Multipla

It’s easy to see why people badmouth the Fiat Multipla. It looks questionable, to say the least. In fact, some outlets said it resembled “a psychotic cartoon duck,” and it’s found its way onto every list of the ugliest cars ever made.

That said, this controversial vehicle has many things going for it. It has an excellent and spacious interior and even offers decent driving dynamics. Top Gear gave it the Car of the Year award in 2000, and it was voted Top Gear Magazine’s Family Car of the Year from 2001 to 2004.

Lexus SC430

Once Top Gear declared that the Lexus SC430 was the Worst Car in the History of the World, all the haters jumped on the bandwagon.

Nowadays, many of the same people who complained about the SC430 are saying it’s an underrated gem, and they’re right. It offers near-bulletproof reliability, the V8 engine has plenty of oomph, it looks somewhat stylish — at least with the top down — and it’s cheap, too.

Mazda RX-8

We get where the hate for the Mazda RX-8 is coming from. Its rotary engine has gotten a bad rep regarding reliability. In fact, it drinks gas and oil, and chews apex seals like there’s no tomorrow, which means it’ll need a complete engine rebuild every 50-60,000 miles.

However, the Renesis twin-rotor unit is largely misunderstood. Yes, it needs much care and maintenance, but you shouldn’t drive it like a grandma. Drive it like you stole it and redline it at least a couple of times daily, and it’ll last longer. Unfortunately, that does make it even thirstier, so expect the fuel bill to drastically increase.

Pontiac Solstice

A quick Google search reveals plenty of trash-talk about the Pontiac Solstice. Again, it’s not a flawless car, but it does get most of the crucial things right.

The Pontiac Solstice is affordable and looks quirky. If you opt for the GXP version, it packs a decent punch, too, thanks to a turbocharged 2.0-liter engine that produces 260 hp. It can also be tweaked and tuned to produce more, making it a proper Miata slayer.