Some cars fulfill their intended purpose very well. The Toyota Camry does an excellent job being a reliable sedan, just as the McLaren 720S is outstanding at tearing your face off with speed and technology. But so many other cars have fallen flat because they could have been so much better.
The recent announcement the Lexus was killing off the decent but not quite good enough CT200h sparked a lot of comments as to how it was actually an interesting, sporty looking hybrid hatchback that dramatically fell short of being either fun to drive or more fuel efficient than its Prius cousin.
Lexus could have maybe crammed a small turbo under the hood and paired it with a more updated hybrid system for a fast and frugal premium hot-hatchback. Instead, the brand decided that it just wasn’t worth the effort. Let’s be honest, there aren’t many of us who would be willing to plop down over $30,000 on a Lexus hybrid hatchback, no matter how fun it was.
Now the better option would have been to go the full EV route and have the CT be a premium Chevrolet Bolt fighter. Lexus has the technology and the brand loyalty to keep buyers looking for an EV from jumping ship to GM or the upcoming offerings from BMW, Audi and Tesla, but it seems they would rather focus on really ugly crossovers instead.
What are some other cars that could have been spared if their full potential had been realized?