My 10 Favorite Upcoming Cars of the 2014/2015 Model Year

I like cars. It's not really much of a secret, and it doesn't have to be. I check three automotive news sites everyday, and, in my free time, I like to design my own cars either on paper or the video game Spore. Whenever my friends wanna figure out this interesting car they saw on the road, they talk to me. It's a passion, honestly, and it's an absurd one to keep since I don't even drive yet.

I wish I could drive... and afford this...

If you know me well enough, then you should know I tend to follow auto shows like a hawk that stalks its prey, except this hawk stalks its prey via websites like The Motor Report, Top Gear PH, and Motor Authority. In fact, if it weren't for the three aforementioned websites, I wouldn't know as much about cars as I do now.

And, since I like cars, I decided to come up with a list of the ten best-looking cars of the 2014/2015 model year/s. Now, I won't be including any cars that were unveiled in the first half of 2013, and I won't be talking about concept cars, either. The cars you are about to see here in this list are just the ten cars that I think look the best. It's all my personal opinion, so, if you don't agree or have your own list, leave your own opinions in the comments below (and PLEASE try and keep them respectful; there's a difference between disagreeing and being a douche).

10. 2015 Ford Focus

A Focus really worth desiring.

Honestly speaking, I never really found the recent Focus models to be all that attractive or appealing. Something about them just seemed too... odd, I guess? However, I am a huge fan of the 2013 Fusion (which they don't sell here in the Philippines, for some odd reason), and was more than happy to see Ford's new Kinetic styling language PROPERLY applied to the small car.

  Not like this mutated thing.

For some reason, the way the Kinetic style was applied to the Focus Electric left a lot to be desired. I, myself, found it even more odd-looking than the regular model. The sharp-edged headlamps of the 2012 Focus didn't really mix well with the trapezoidal grille, which, when placed on the Focus Electric, seemed too small. I never really looked at the Ford Focus as something I would buy.

At least, not until the 2015 update surfaced on the internet.

When the 2015 update surfaced on The Motor Report a month back, I was stunned. The designers did away with the sharp edges and awkward grille proportions and, instead, gave us something that looked like a proper addition to the new Ford line-up – in other words, the 2015 Focus dons the new company uniform well (VERY well, if I may say so myself). Kudos to the design team who came up with this.

09. 2015 Toyota Camry

A refreshing return to smooth lines and polished curves.

The Toyota Camry (in particular, every Camry model from 2002 – 2012) has always been one of my favorites. To me, I've always found it simple yet elegant at the same time. Like I've mentioned earlier, I wasn't entirely happy with the 2012 model update (mostly because I thought it looked somewhat like a carabao). For one reason or another, the designers completely did away with the smooth curves and polished lines of the previous model and went for something more aggressive-looking as opposed to sophisticated (since the Camry just so happens to be a status symbol here in the Philippines).

In short, it looks too boxy.

The boxy styling language might have worked on the Innova, Hilux, and the Fortuner, but on the Camry, it just made it look out of place and didn't work too well. I was sort of wondering when the Camry's designers would return to the fluid lines of the previous model. And, that's where the 2015 Camry comes in.

Verily, fluidity!

Now, when you're looking for a mid-size car, chances are you want something that looks more than what it's worth. In the Philippines, Camry's are priced near the million-and-a-half-mark, and, with that money, I'd want a car that doesn't look like a cow. The new Camry, in spite of looking like a Hyundai i40, is a refreshing return to the premium look of the previous model, which is one of my favorite models... EVER.

08. 2014 Dodge Charger

Mega-Dart? Nah... Think “.50 Caliber”.

Let me just first say this: the current Dodge Charger is my favorite full-size car. It's big, it's powerful, it's macho; it's Americana in a four-door fastback sedan. Think of a double cheeseburger with wheels. That's a Charger for you. However, I was honestly kind of nervous as to how the design team in charge of designing the next Charger facelift would handle the aesthetic of the big car, ESPECIALLY since a lot of MoPar's recent reveals haven't exactly been the nicest looking cars out there (the 2014 Jeep Cherokee, the 2013 RAM Powermaster, the 2014 Chrysler 200). On two instances (the other one, I will discuss in detail later), I was proven wrong.

Don't worry, Mr. Muscle. You're in good hands now.

It really didn't come as much of a surprise to me that the design team behind the 2015 Charger wanted to incorporate the company uniform, so to speak, into the brawny design of the four-door fastback, since just about every car company is doing it nowadays (some, without a doubt, do it better than others). In this case, it meant making the Charger resemble its younger brother the Dart (which is, to date, the most recent addition to the Dodge family). Did it work? To me, yes – and it worked marvelously. Although the Charger looks a bit more premium than muscular now, the new aesthetic certainly makes it stand out a lot better from the full-size sedan market.

It certainly looks like PhP 3.5 million now.

Given that a brand-new, fully-loaded Charger sells in the Philippines for near four million pesos, looking like an Audi A8's gym-nut cousin really helps making the car appear like it's worth the money. While some might not find the new Charger's look all too appealing, I, for one, find it refreshing. And it CERTAINLY looks a lot manlier than its competition.

07. 2015 Kia Carnival

For a family car, it looks pretty bad-ass.

Okay, I'll admit that there are several minivans that I really, really like (such as the U.S.-spec Honda Odyssey and the Toyota Sienna). Although it's been around for a long time, however, the Kia Carnival's never been one of my favorites. On the current model, I found the grille too small and its proportions a bit odd and, well, out of place. It reminded me of the Shaak from Star Wars.

(top, a 2012 Kia Carnival; bottom, a Shaak from Star Wars)
Coincidence? I think NOT!

With the 2015 model, however, it seems that, for the Carnival, at least, Kia's design team has stopped taking design cues from Star Wars and, instead, has started working on making the Carnival (their largest model to date) look less alien and more in-line with the rest of their line-up. The 2015 Carnival (or Sedona, if you're American) sports the new company uniform and a bulkier body that not only makes it more impressive physically, but also tells potential buyers, “Hey, look at me. I'll carry that family around for ya'! I'll carry it real nice.”

It actually looks really capable of doing just that.

The overhaul makes the Carnival look just as capable (if not more) than the rest of its competition, which, in the American minivan market, includes the Honda Odyssey, the Toyota Sienna, the Dodge Grand Caravan, among others. And, in a minivan, capability is something any potential buyer should REALLY look for. In the case of the 2015 Carnival, it not only looks capable, but upmarket and premium, as well.

06. 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban

Who needs the Kardashians when you've got THESE beautiful siblings?

Now, before you start accusing me of wanting to compensate for something, let me first get this out of the way. It's part of Filipino car culture to want a big, powerful, solid wagon in your garage, and the full-size SUV market in this country is, as you probably wouldn't expect, very, VERY competitive. Although a lot of them tend to be poorly driven and notorious for being politician-movers, it's impossible to not be impressed by their size (they are MASSIVE). Apart from that, full-size, truck-based wagons such as the Tahoe and the Suburban are status symbols. A Tahoe alone costs almost PhP 3.5 million while the Suburban costs almost half a million more.

And what better way to flaunt your wealth on the streets of EDSA than cruising around in this?

As much as I do like the Tahoe and Suburban, I really couldn't help but feel that they look a little too... what's the word... soft (?) or tame. That isn't entirely a bad thing. It's just that, given the sheer size of the vehicle, you'd want something that looks like it can eat you alive. You'd want something that looks bad-ass. Take the Toyota Sequoia, for example. It looks like a grizzly bear – something that will eat you alive. If full-size SUV's were animals, the Sequoia would definitely at the top of the food chain. I was sort of waiting on Chevrolet to deliver on my unsaid request for an SUV that looked just as monstrous as the new Silverado.

And, boy, did they deliver.

I really couldn't help but fall in love with this T-Rex of an SUV and its much longer sister (wipe that grin off your face). With a considerably larger grille and a more menacing set of headlamps, the new Tahoe and the new Suburban both have a more aggressive look to them, which only compliments their immense size. And, remember how I mentioned earlier that there are some trucks and SUV's that take styling cues from smaller cars such as sedans? In this case, there are some obvious styling cues in the aesthetic of the 2015 Tahoe and Suburban that were taken from the 2014 Chevy Impala (which, by the way, is a very beautiful car), such as the design of the grille and the headlamps. Did borrowing styling cues from a much smaller car work for such a monstrously large car? Why, yes.

 

05. 2015 Cadillac Escalade

Because, sometimes, I wanna feel like a pimp.

While many environmentalists would often cringe at the thought of buying a large SUV, one can't help but feel intimidated by the sheer size of the Cadillac Escalade. Its presence is almost tangible. Whenever I see one on the streets, my first instinct would be to look in its direction. The Escalade is a symbol of not just luxury, but of the posh lifestyle that comes with being able to afford such a vehicle. Plus, carrying that Cadillac badge doesn't hurt its being a status symbol either. For years, the Escalade has managed to preserve that look.

Can't you see how happy it is being synonymous with the word “wealthy”?

People, especially Americans, love driving around in big Cadillacs. Over the years, the definition of exactly what a “big Cadillac” was changed. While it can be agreed by many that a true and blue “big Cadillac” is a really big sedan like the Sixty Special's of, well, the 60's, the Escalade is, nowadays, a BIG Cadillac; it's THE big Cadillac. It's a universal symbol of luxury that offers size, practicality, and presence with a price tag shy of $90K.

Although, I'd be REALLY interested in buying it if it was free.

The 2015 Cadillac Escalade features the most recent interpretation of Cadillac's trademark Art and Science design philosophy (which, honestly, doesn't look the best on some cars), which can also be seen on the 2014 Cadillac CTS and ATS, as well as the uber-beautiful Elmiraj concept car. Does it work? Yes. While many people would argue that the “one design fits all” philosophy is a bad thing as it makes a lot of cars look plain boring and/or ugly, I tend to look at it as a way for car designers (and those who like to design cars as a hobby, such as myself) to explore their versatility and challenge themselves with making the company look, well, look good on any given car. The 2015 Escalade's designers did just that, and produced an SUV whose presence is tangible.

04. 2015 Chevrolet Colorado 

Game on? Game on. 

In the Philippines, Chevrolet's sales revolve PREDOMINANTLY around three models: the Cruze, the TrailBlazer SUV, and, the workhorse in their lineup, the Colorado pick-up truck. The current model of the Colorado (the one sold locally) was unveiled in 2011 and officially went on sale in 2012. The model found popularity in countries such as the Philippines and Australia (where it is sold with a Holden badge on it as opposed to a Chevrolet badge). To many Filipinos, the introduction of the Colorado (and its SUV platform-mate, the TrailBlazer) was a refresh from all the small cars we've been getting (the Cruze and Sonic) and was a great way to balance out their product range since there really wasn't anything to fill the MASSIVE price gap between the Captiva and the Camaro.

 And it certainly looks better than everything else in the pick-up segment... except its number one rival...

While it certainly does look good and has a reputation for reliability (thanks to it being platform-mates with a certain pick-up called the Isuzu D-Max), it isn't sold in, arguably, the largest pick-up truck market in the world: the United States. Why? Well, the small pick-up truck market is all but dead, with the only small pick-ups being sold there being the Toyota Tacoma and the Nissan Navara. The demand for small trucks in the US is overshadowed by the overwhelming cries for larger pick-ups. GM, however, decided to take a gamble and breathe some new life into a dead segment. And it did so in style.

And why would you ever need to buy a Tacoma when you have this? 

Taking styling cues from the new Silverado and the new Impala and putting them together to make a smoothie of Chevy-greatness, the designers of the 2015 Colorado certainly did a good job of creating a small truck that doesn't look old (the current Nissan Navara's been around since 2007). The end product was a desirable small truck in a market that's been dead for nearly three years now. Will this gamble pay off? Only time can tell. In the meantime, though, let's hope the new Colorado's styling and specs will benefit it in the long run.

03. 2015 Ford F-150 

 Because America, that's why. 

Now, in case you haven't noticed, I have a lot of utes on this list. Why? Well, because I like utes, and a lot of utes look great. The Ford F-150 is no exception (except, maybe the 2004 - 2008 models, but that's probably just a matter of personal taste). The (rather disputable) king of American pick-up trucks is a car with a history that can be traced back to the 40's, and it's been a sales-hungry monster ever since. The F-150 sold just over 750,000 models in 2013 alone, topping the previous year's sales record by a good 120,000. The outgoing model has built a reputation on reliability and toughness, but it's also growing a bit old in spite of constant updates each year.

Like this F-150 Tremor, which packs an EcoBoost 3.5L v6 (you know, to increase fuel efficiency). 

The 2015 model takes styling cues - scratch that - it looks JUST LIKE the Atlas concept from 2012. That's not entirely a bad thing. In fact, it gives the 2015 F-150 a more rugged look, yet at the same time makes it look a bit more elegant and formal - kinda like those villainous goons you can find in comics (you know, those bald, buff dudes in porkpie hats and tuxedos and carry Tommy guns with 'em all the freaking time?) or Triple H when he's not rockin' those black briefs. The 2015 F-150 is also FREAKING HUGE.

 "With this massive truck, no one's gonna have to know I have a three-inch dong!"

Okay, so showing off isn't exactly what full-size utes are for, but who cares, right? Well, Ford does, and they decided to add a lot, and I mean A LOT, more practicality into this truck. The 2015 F-150 is built on a chassis made of military-grade aluminum and high-strength steel. In layman's terms, it's built to kick ass and haul ass. That fact, combined with claims that it's gonna be the most fuel-efficient full-size ute ever made AND the fact that it's got a consistent sales record and is the best-selling truck in the US (and has been for the past how many years), is gonna translate into only one thing: this truck will be a massive sales juggernaut.

 

 
 02. 2014 Mercedes-Benz C-Class

Because the more affordable three-pointed star deserves a spotlight.

As far as German luxury cars go, I've never truly taken a liking to most of Mercedes-Benz's line-up. Sure, they've been praised everywhere for being stylish and for taking luxury to the next level, but to me, something just didn't seem too right about the way some of them looked. The S-Class' headlamps didn't quite appeal to me, and I wasn't exactly an entirely huge fan of the side profile, either. Sure, the car was huge, but its profile doesn't really imply that it is a huge car. The C-Class was the car I found to be the least attractive among its rivals the Audi A4 and the BMW 3-Series. I didn't really like how its headlamps overlapped the hood. It also kinda looked like it wanted to slip something into my drink.

"Rafa's never gonna know I made him wanna drive me."

Given that the only Benz's I liked were the E-Class, the G-Wagon, the GL-Class, the SL-Class, the SLK-Class, and the SLS, I didn't really pay much attention to the C-Class. In truth, I was always more excited about the 3-Series (and the new 4-Series). However, prior to the release of the 2015 C-Class, there was this little something called the 2014 S-Class, and it looked FAN-FREAKING-TASTIC. The new S-Class did away with the funny-looking headlamps and the lack of oomph and became something I'd consider buying (oh, wait, I can't - I'm a college student). When the new C-Class was revealed, I was pleasantly surprise that it looked just like a mini S-Class.

I mean, just look at that wonderful German booty.

The new C-Class looks just as premium as its bigger brothers, which is perhaps most evidently displayed in its new butt, which looks like a scaled-down version of the 2014 S-Class. Another brilliant example of the one-design-fits-all policy, the C-Class openly showcased an entirely new interpretation of an already proven formula. Hopefully, the other Germans take note (I'm looking at you, Audi) and start pushing out some great things of their own.

01. 2015 Ford Mustang & 2015 Dodge Challenger

 If you didn't see this coming, then you're probably not really my friend.

Absolutely EVERYONE who's at least spent an hour talking to me about my interests would know that I love American muscle cars. What can I say? They've got everything a European GT does, except the expensive price tag. Power, check. Size, check. Style, CHECK. American muscle cars wrap power, size, and style into a package that sells in the USDM for less than $40K (in Philippine money, that's expensive). While the market for these cars died out in the 80's following the mass extinction of GM's muscle cars due to the public demand for smaller, fuel-efficient cars (a demand brought upon by the skyrocketing of oil and gas prices), there is still a vibrant market for these cars today, and this market is being kept alive by three of the most iconic names in American car culture: the Camaro, the Challenger, and the Mustang. The rebirth of this market sort of started in the late 2000's when the folks over at Mopar decided that the Mustang has had it too good for too long.

 And so began the newest muscle car war.

The revival is also the reason that the Challenger and the Mustang have both received substantial cosmetic and mechanical updates for the coming model year, with the Mustang's being a complete overhaul while the Challenger's is a facelift.

I'll talk about the Challenger first. Modern muscle cars often draw design inspiration from previous models that have used that nameplate in the past (for example, the current Mustang is based on the 1969 model and the current Camaro is also based on the 1969 model). This is a particular car design trend known as "retro design". The 2015 Challenger is no exception to this. Why? Well, it's because the facelift is pretty much a carbon copy of a 1971 Challenger. Don't believe me?

See the resemblance?

To be perfectly honest, I was pretty anxious to see what would become of the Challenger since, like I mentioned earlier, the new Jeep Cherokee left an undeniably sour taste in my mouth. There was also talk of an "SRT Barracuda" that Chrysler was planning on making (which, from the renderings I've seen on the internet, does not do justice to the nameplate it bears). I was scared that the folks over at Mopar (now under Italian leadership, I might add) were gonna botch things up. Luckily for me, they didn't.

I am a happy spud. 

Now, let's talk about the Mustang, which is (arguably) the most controversial of all the cars I've mentioned here. People love it, people hate it. Those who hate it says it looks like a Fusion (come on, is that really such a bad thing?) and call it "fugly" and "ugly". They don't see the "Mustang" in the 2015 Mustang. I, on the other hand, do. Much like the outgoing model, the 2015 Mustang takes a lot of design cues from the Mustangs of 1969. The 2015 Mustang, however, also incorporates elements of Ford's current company uniform (such as the aggressive headlamps and, well, the aggressive headlamps). The end result is a perfect marriage of past and future.

 

If you seriously cannot see the resemblance, you probably need an eye exam.

I have been anxiously waiting for the 2015 Mustang for quite some time, especially since I was very, VERY fearful that Ford's design team would ruin it by turning into an Evos - or something much, MUCH worse. Its release also came to me as a surprise. I woke up one morning to get ready for class in the afternoon and just decided to Google "2015 Ford Mustang" and, BANG, I see an article on The Motor Report entitled "2015 Ford Mustang Revealed in Leaked Images". I was floored. All my fears of Ford ruining the Mustang were flushed down the drain. I was happy with the way it turned out. While it certainly does wear Ford's company uniform now, it still looks UNDENIABLY Mustang, and if that doesn't convince you the first time around, just get behind the wheel and drive it.

So that ends my list. If you've got your own, feel free to leave yours in the comments.

Images taken from The Motor Report, Motor Authority, and the following websites:

 http://www.macleanclassics.com/71hemichalmain14.jpg

http://www.barrett-jackson.com/staging/carlist/items/Fullsize/Cars/137860/137860_Front_3-4_Web.jpg

(c) Rafa Duran, 2014