Given that this section encourages me to break one of my few self-imposed editorial rules – don’t pass comment on styling because it’s too subjective - I shall gladly make an exception. So, here's a list of cars that, to me, looked ropey at first, but now, for some weird reason, look rather appealing.
1) BMW 5-series. I know this has been written about a thousand times or more since the current Five was launched, but I still find it fascinating. In Sport trim, I think this car looks absolutely superb now, and yet I hated more than I could communicate back in 2003.
2) Seat Leon. I thought Steve Lewis and Seat's other design boys had been at the Rioja (and an unusually potent vintage) when I first clapped eyes on this intriguing-looking little hatchback. Now it makes all its rivals look tired and derivative by comparison. Go figure.
3) Porsche's Cayman. Dumpy thing in 2005; now I’m a fan. Perhaps I've unconsciously put a positive spin on the way it looks just because it’s so damned good to drive; whatever the reason, I'm convinced that this is a fine-looking sports car.
And then there's the cars that sit at other end of the automotive spectrum; the ones you like at first, only to go off 'em. In here I'd put the Audi R8, which I like less and less as the days pass, and the Lotus 2-Eleven, which now makes my guts roll.
Feel free to add and annotate this list accordingly; be interesting to see how the recurrent compliments and condemnations stack up.
Technorati tags: Seat Leon, BMW 5-series, Porsche Cayman, ugly duckling, Harris