Good things come in twos. Peanut butter and jelly, Calvin and Hobbes, pizza and more pizza — you can never have just one. Sometimes, though, one of those good things is just a little bit better than the other. Earlier this week, we asked you for the automotive twins that were better than their siblings, and today we’re combing through your answers.
Fiat 124 Spider
I’ll take the Fiat 124 over a Mazda Miata any day. More power and MUCH better looking.
There’s only one issue with the 124 Spider, and it’s the redline. It never revved out the way the ND does, and it just felt like it was running into a wall when the rev limit hit. Fix that, and it’ll be perfect.
1967 Mercury Cougar
67-70 Mercury Cougar over 67-70 Mustang
Although I fully admit this is a judgement call.
First off, I find the Cougar styling cooler because the Mustang look is more common with Ford still riffing off of it. But I do agree the Mustang is iconic.
As for value, it’s pretty much a wash,with both cars being similar in pricing at the same option levels today.
But to me, the deciding factor is the engines. The Cougar was set a step above the Ford in pricing. You could option a Mustang to be as nice as any Cougar, but you couldn’t strip a Cougar to be as cheap as a Mustang. As a result, if you look at a Cougar of this era, it will have a V8, and most likely a 351 at a minimum. While Mustangs still sold a lot of I-6s back then. I think that all or almost all convertible Cougars came with Big Blocks.
So, for me, I would take either, but I would lean towards the Cougar as a starting point because I like the style a bit more and know that any random one I look at is configured for a V8, even if the engine is missing.
How often do you get a car with a front end that’s all mustache? That’s the Cougar. This car is your dad.
Chrysler Imperial
The early 80's Chrysler Imperial:
with the classy grille, hideaway headlights and bustleback trunk is a much better looking car than the Chrysler Cordoba gen of that era:
(Again the Chrysler Corp shows their fetish for the cross-hair grille...ugh.)
I understand that this isn’t what the 6000 SUX is based on, but... you see it too, right? That’s not just me.
Saturn Sky
Saturn Sky over the Pontiac Solstice. When it comes to convertibles the Sky was the nicer looking of the two. On top of that the Saturn doubled as a nice Opel GT
This is the least controversial take of all time. The Sky just looks so, so much better than the Solstice. No competition, you’re just right.
Eagle Talon
Eagle Talon over Eclipse and Laser. I don’t know why but it always seemed the better looking of the cars.
This, on the other hand, is a controversial one. None of the DSMs are bad, so long as you don’t need them to run every time you want to drive them. That Talon front end, though, certainly may be bad looking.
BMW Z4
By all accounts, the BMW Z4 is a fantastic sports car; but it’s twin the Toyota Supra gets all the press, even if it is bad press, precisely because the Supra is a BMW z4 under the sheet metal.
Counterpoint: The Supra looks and sounds better. I rest my case.
Ford Flex
Maybe not twins, but cousins - The Ford Flex shared the FWD D4 platform with the Ford Explorer
The Flex was less ‘butch’ than the Explorer; it looked more like a station wagon than a truck, the ride was nicer since it didn’t have to pretend to be an off-road rock crusher, and the Flex had more interior room.
Plus I thought the white roof was a cool touch that harkened back to the days before air conditioning was ubiquitous. And I prefer the squared-off styling of the Flex to the blob-tastic Explorer of that generation.
The white roof on the Flex was always one of my favorite features to pick out on the roads as a kid. I think called it a twin to the Explorer is a stretch, but I’ll give it to you for the white roof.
Buick Regal TourX
How about a more recent one?
The Buick Regal TourX
For most of Europe, the Opel Insignia, was just another boring German sedan/estate car.
For us Americans, it was the last great station wagon, that doesn’t have Pleiades star cluster M45 on it’s hood.
This is an interesting one, where the car didn’t really change but its context did. The Opel Insignia wagon is the Regal TourX, but Europe is not America. That alone makes us appreciate it more.
Mitsubishi 3000GT
Mitsubishi 3000GT > Dodge Stealth
The stealth wasn’t bad, but it was definitely more goofy looking in the front and rear. I don’t think they will even come close to the future selling power of a good example 3000GT VR4
VR-4 just sounds better than R/T. All other things aside, the Mitsubishi got cooler names than the Dodge. This is what matters.
Mazda Mazda3
First generation Mazda 3 over it’s Ford Focus brethren. That car was well put together, a blast to drive, and it’s styling has held up much better than that of the Focus.
Mazda’s really had the whole styling game nailed from day one. Has it ever made a bad-looking car?
Lincoln Mark VII
84-92 Lincoln MK VII over Thunderbird. One looks classy one looks like a Pep Boys threw up on it.
To be clear, the one that “looks like a Pep Boys threw up on it” isn’t the one with chrome accents everywhere and a spare tire bump in the trunklid? Okay. Just checking.
Mercury Tracer LTS
Although there are many much more prestigious twins/triplets to consider, as I was looking for my own first real car at the time I’m quick to recollect the early 90's sporty shitbox era of Ford Escort GT / Mercury Tracer LTS / Mazda 32Protege3.
I will go with the Mercury now only because the brand doesn’t exist anymore.
(In reality, I opted for a lovely CRX Si at the time)
I can’t come for this pick too hard, since it’s based on sentimental value, but... are you sure?
Suzuki XL7
How about best out of a Quadruplet? GM along with Suzuki made the Chevy Equinox, Pontiac Torrent, Saturn Vue and the Suzuki XL7 on basically the same platform. While I owned an 07 Vue with the Honda sourced V6 for nearly 13years, I did get to drive the Suzuki variant and it was far better. Suzuki took the platform and did some suspension tuning and managed to get a third row. The interior felt quite a bit better than the GM siblings too. Overall it felt like Suzuki had made a real effort to make a much better vehicle.
I was over here reeling from remembering the Saturn Vue existed, when you hit me with the even wilder sibling: The Suzuki. Show of hands, who thought about the XL7 more than twice before today?
Honda Element
The Honda Element has always been an amazing example of what happens when you emphasize the U in SUV. Definitely moreso than it’s platform-mate, the CR-V
The Honda Element may be the first example I can recall of a vehicle’s marketing actually working on me. I don’t even like the beach, and I wanted to take an Element surfing. I also cannot surf.
Ford Versailles
The Ford Versailles over the VW Santana. During some years VW and Ford in Brazil formed a joint-venture called Autolatina, which produced these pairs of twins:
VW Santana and Ford Versailles
VW Apollo and Ford Verona
VW Logus and Ford Escort Sedan
VW Pointer and Ford Escort Hatchback
But by far the Fords were much more comfortable and refined. Plus, the Versailles with velour interior, sunroof (a rarity in Brazil at the time) and that sweet ass heckblende in the back looks so much better than the Santana
You’d take the Ford Versailles — a car named after a building so opulent that its neighbors beheaded its residents — over the Volkswagen Santana? A car that’s a hot one, like seven inches from the midday sun?