These Are The Normal Cars You Find Beautiful

There are plenty of beautiful exotic cars out there, but after a while, all of those start to blend together. Ferraris, Lamborghinis, McLarens, whatever — there isn't that much of a difference between them, and that's what got me thinking about our question from last week.

I wanted to know what you all consider to be the most beautiful normal cars. You know, cars that aren't necessarily supposed to be really pretty. They're cars you're really supposed to buy with your head instead of your heart. It just so happens that they look great, too.

When I posed this question, I really though everyone was just going to say "Mazda anything" and call it a day. To be fair, many of you did, but we also got a ton of other great an interesting answers. I'll be honest, some of you are a lot braver about sharing what you find beautiful that me, but that's part of the fun I suppose.

Anyway, let's take a look at what normal cars your fellow Jalops find the most beautiful.

This was Mazda during their peak "Zoom-Zoom" era. The first Mazda6 was such a solid, handsome design with a perfect mix of curves and edges.

This era of Mazda6 has aged really well. It's sort of unfortunate you don't really see them around anymore. What I'd give to drive an original MazdaSpeed6...

Submitted by: thatguy1

"most beautiful normal car of all time." That's a tall order.

Is a Thunderbird a "normal" car. I'll advocate that it is. I'm voting for the very pretty 1955 Ford Thunderbird. Clean lines, just the hint of fins, the perfect amount of chrome, interiors that were off-white and then accented to match the body colour... they were just... pretty.

Yeah I'll count this. The original Thunderbird was gorgeous. So was the retro one from the early 2000s. I said what I said.

Submitted by: JohnnyWasASchoolBoy

Definitely the 23 Prius. I don't know how Toyota suddenly decided to turn their ugly duckling into one of the best looking cars on the road, but I'm glad they did.

There's a real argument to be made that this is the best looking car on sale today, normal or otherwise. Just look at it.

Submitted by: Tompie913

I rarely thought an SUV could be "beautiful" until I saw the Lincoln Aviator. It's a surprisingly graceful design from an unexpected source.

The gently falling roofline and relatively low ground clearance for an SUV adds a lot of visual length, and it features just the right amount of brightwork to make it look distinctively American.

I rarely ever see these on the road, so I'm not sure how they hold up, but I think their scarcity adds to the appeal. It's a very handsome hauler.

Lincoln's lineup is one of the best looking in the industry right now. Though, to be fair that isn't hard when you only sell four models.

Submitted by: Aldairion

I might be slightly biased here, because my uncle owned Toronados for 20 years, but I think the first Gen Toronado is gorgeous. This is peak GM engineering and styling.

And although my uncle didn't live to see it, i think he would have approved of the First Generation Olds Aurora as well.

YES YES YES 1,000,000 TIMES YES. The Toronado deserves all the respect in the world.

Submitted by: Earthbound Misfit I

I feel like I'm going to catch a lot of shit for this choice but I think the Chrysler 300 is quite beautifully executed. It's a rental fleet staple so about as normal a car as you can get but I think it has the perfect design mix of retro/modded/ordinary looks. It's a family sedan that somehow can look sinister, luxurious and ordinary all at the same time.

SRT-8 300s still look fuckin' badass and I won't hear anything to the contrary.

Submitted by: elgordo47

My most deeply-held belief is that the CD-generation Accord, and the JDM-spec coupe, more specifically, is one of the most beautiful cars to have come out of the 90's.

This accord was a handsome guy, wasn't it? However, it wasn't as handsome as the 10th generation car.

Submitted by: The NSX Was Only In Development For 4 Years

I always thought the 2021 Mazda 6 was a pretty car

Gorgeous car, the Mazda6. Especially in red. The idea of an inline-6 Mazda6 will live on in my head rent free.

Submitted by: darthspartan117

Not usually a German car fan but 2007-2016 Audi A5/S5 is the platonic deal of good looking normal car

The first A5 has aged so well. It's almost impressive that Audi was able to look so far ahead with this design. Honestly, every Audi sort of looks like this A5 now. If it ain't broke, I suppose.

Submitted by: ilikefoodandcars

Here's a left-field choice: Volvo P1800.

It's a collectors car now- duh, look at it- but they made 60k of them and they cost a reasonable 5k in 1960. If there's a prettier non-exotica car out there, I'll eat something inedible.

The P1800 is so goddamn cool!

Submitted by: InsomniacRyan

Another Honda product: the 3rd gen (UA6-UA7) Acura TL (2004-2008) has aged fairly gracefully into the 2020s, imo.

Acura could put this thing on sale today and it wouldn't look out of place.

Submitted by: nanxun

The VW Parati, specially the first gen (which was sold in the USA as the Fox Wagon).

In Brazil it was ubiquitous: A cheap, practical and economic family mover. It has a clean and harmonious design, with great proportions all around. And it looks really great in my opinion.

I never want to yack on anyone's yum. The Fox Wagon is neat. Beautiful? I don't know, but that's just me. Also, how goddamn sick is this press photo? I love it.

Submitted by: edu-petrolhead

It's not "normal" in that it's not a family sedan or crossover, but a sub-$50k (2023 dollars) 2-seat sports car had no business being this timelessly gorgeous.

Yeah, sure. I'll count it. S2000s were sort of cheap when they first came out. We all missed our chance to buy one.

Submitted by: jbssfelix

I haven't thought much about Infiniti's cars in the past, oh...three decades or so, but I must admit that I am a smitten kitten for the Q60. There's just something about it's design that just works for me, like the way the LC500 is to some the only attractive application of the Lexus design language, and I feel of this with Infiniti design. It somehow manages to look aggressive and purposeful while still maintaining soft, svelte lines that flow together in a cohesive package. Also, I think it looks more like it's equally attractive concept car than most when put into production.

I've never had the pleasure of driving one (or, from what I've read, the displeasure), but every time I see one I swoon a bit.

Did an Infiniti Q60 write this?

I kid, I kid. The Q60 is a pretty car... even if it has that weird bump in front of the hood.

Submitted by: paradsecar

Another comment is talking about the generation just after this as peak zoom-zoom, but I feel the peak was right at the end of the previous generation. I know I won't get a lot of support for this but I still adore the last of the Protege 5s from Mazda

Good lord, I forgot this thing existed. Bless you for reminding me. It was a pretty little hatch, wasn't it?

Submitted by: GameDevBurnout

Agree with everyone else on the new Prius, someone in my neighborhood just got one and every time I walk past it I slow down and look at it, it really does look good in person from every angle – probably stands out more than normal given the old one was ugly from every angle.

2 other normal cars I think look good – the Kia EV6, and this one might be controversial – but I really like the looks of the current Ford Explorer. It just has a clean, functional design that I think looks good. And I don't own either of those vehicles, or any Ford or Kia currently, so I'm not biased.

Ford really made the Explorer a handsome son of a gun for its latest iteration. If only the automaker could get recalls under control.

Submitted by: RideOrange

Ctrl-V nearly the entire Mazda lineup from the last ~8 years. Mazda3, Mazda6, CX-9, CX-5, Miata, CX-50, CX-30, CX-90. You could exclude the CX-3 and 3 hatchback, but even they look pretty good from most angles. The MX-30...lets just ignore that one for now.

(Sorry, I don't have 30 minutes to spend gathering all the beautiful photos)

Yeah, we know.

Submitted by: Stephen