There are car icons and there are cars that merely coast off iconic status. Well, I’m playing the iconoclast right now, and I invite you to do the same. We just asked what you thought was the most overrated car on sale today, but I’m going to up the stakes. What do you think is the most overrated car of all time?
I could tell you it’s the Wrangler, which is an extremely competent car that was originally designed to be good at one thing, only for drivers to turn around and use it in ways that went beyond the scope of its intent. The poor thing has been catching up ever since.
But no, I’m going to come at what many folks consider is the king of American cars, because someone should just say it. The Corvette is overrated, and I’m thinking of the fifth-generation (C5), specifically.
Let me draw your focus (or ire) to the fifth-gen ’Vette for these two reasons: design and ergonomics. The C5's engine was reportedly great — Z06 amirite — but the overall package is just bland. The design is minimalist without good reason. It looks bloated somehow, despite its clean lines!
How does that even happen? I’d praise that achievement alone, if the interior didn’t bother me so much. Because, oh, boy, the interior is bad. It is utterly underwhelming. It’s not that much better than the inside of a Camaro from the same time period. It’s not even better than the interior of a Tahoe or Yukon.
The Corvette’s design is mostly boring and the interior is unimpressive. That means I don’t want to look at the car, and I don’t want to spend any time inside it. So much for performance, then. If we’re talking comparable cars, I’ll take the Viper, thanks.
The only thing(s) I like on the C5 are the tail lights. Those are fine. And there is one Corvette that is pretty cool. The second-gen ’Vette is better than it gets credit for, but that’s peak ’Vette. In any case, that’s my take. How about you? What hill will you die on? What is the most overrated car of all time?