As the actor Rodney Dangerfield once said famously “Its awful hard to get any respect around here” and for some vehicles that is certainly the case. So often we fall in love with one particular car or the way a certain SUV is built that we forget about some of the others that may be a little different, but certainly deserve their just due. Why do these vehicles get ignored? Sometimes because they play in segments where they really don’t belong, other times it because they are not quite what we expected. Regardless of the reason, here are ten vehicles that have not gotten but do deserve your respect, or at least more of it.
Chevrolet SS (manual transmission)
There are two versions of the SS, one with an automatic and one with a manual transmission. This car is a certain sleeper in the car world as a high powered sport sedan that is powered by a V8 engine that gives all the power you could ever want in a sedan. Not only does this sport sedan make for a great drive, but when the manual transmission and magnetic suspension are aboard the SS is better to drive than many luxury models, even the sport luxury models, and certainly will take on all challengers to show off a car that demands your respect.
The Ford Flex has been and interesting enigma for many years. This urban SUV is great for city driving and gives you the size you want from an SUV with the maneuverability to handle all city challenges that can be sent its way. With three rows of seats, this is a great vehicle to take all your friends out for a weekend of fun, or to haul the kids around all week, giving you one an SUV that could have easily been a new minivan from Ford instead of this great SUV.
This car is small, poky and ready to be tossed all over the place. If you want to turn donuts in a parking lot, or take turns at speed this is one of the cars that can do exactly what you want to be able to do. With only 160 horsepower under the hood you can understand why this car doesn’t get much respect, but it really should. As an inexpensive and loud-mouthed competitor in the world of cars that are begging for attention, the Abarth is a phenomenal car to drive as a small sports hatch that is a lot of fun.
It may seem strange that in the sport and power lineup from Mercedes-Benz there would be a car that needed to get more respect, but this one for some reason is often overlooked. Many consider the styling outdated, but this is really a gorgeous car that can take on an evil look when covered in black paint. As for performance, 557 horsepower and 664 lb.-ft. of torque makes the ride in the beauty with the top down all the way up to 155 mph will possibly be most fun ride in your entire life along with giving you a way to show this awesome car the respect I so richly deserves.
The X6 M is one of the few SUVs in the world that is built for the track and can easily take on many of the top performing sports cars and blow right past them. With a low center of gravity this SUV doesn’t show any real danger of flipping over on the track like most other SUVs but instead powers by as a vehicle that deserves your undivided attention and guarantees you will respect it. Sit behind the wheel and you certainly will know you have stepped into a vehicle full of awesome power.
The Land Rover Discovery is known as the LR4 in the US but will become the Discovery once again next year. This is one model that has been around since 2009. Even though it’s getting older this model is still a great SUV to drive and although overshadowed by the other SUVs from Land Rover this one is closer to what Land Rover is all about. The boxy style and great off road ability make the LR4/Discovery one of the most engaging drives in the entire automotive market.
The Fiesta has been scoffed at for many years and has been the car that only those at the very bottom of the purchase price spectrum to be a slow and very poky little hatchback. The Fiesta ST actually does demand your respect and comes with a manual transmission and a great new EcoBoost engine that makes this little power and performance player to be a lot of fun on the road and get around town easily and quickly and is now a whole lot of fun at a price that is not at the bottom of the range anymore, but certainly is still very affordable.
The Transit with the 3.5-liter twin turbocharged EcoBoost V6 is one of the most fun to drive vans you will ever see. Yes, it’s a van and vans aren’t by nature any fun to drive, but this one certainly is. This van has been tested in a quarter-mile test with ten grown men inside and still achieved ninety mph. Driving one on a track around a figure-eight also will put a huge smile on your face and even if you feel it’s not much to look at, this van can give you all the fun and excitement you want as long as you give it your respect.
Even though Jaguar has moved on the XE, the XF is one amazing drive. This amazing sport luxury car is has gone after the Cadillac CTS and Lexus GS and come out well ahead of them both. This amazing car makes for a great performance model that can easily take over the road or blow by others at the track. Give the XF the respect it deserves and see what can do before they are all gone, which certainly will be very soon.
This truly is an enigma on this particular list. This car seems to be a stand out against all others in its class with a gorgeous style, plenty of great features, a very active engine and suspension and every attribute you could want for the larger sedans. What this car unfortunately does not have is sales, which seems odd and lends me to believe it doesn’t get the respect it deserves. The sales are so slight compared to the Camry that the number is actually about 400,000 less. Give the Mazda 6 the respect it deserves and go buy one today, you won’t be sorry you did.
When you think of a vehicle that has a stale styling the Jeep Wrangler must come to mind. This iconic look has been around for decades, generations and even through a few wars. Even though the Wrangler has been around for a long time (nearly 66 years) the build has proven that through the test of time this awesome vehicle has been the right style for the job it was asked to do which is to simple go over everything. Whether you admire the Wrangler or not, it deserves your respect as the original and long standing go anywhere vehicle.
Respect is certainly supposed to be earned and not just given, these vehicles all deserve your respect for a variety of reasons. Whether you find them attractive or not is really not the question or issue, these vehicles all have something to offer that make them amazing to drive or to own and can lead their class for performance of a nature that you can really love and admire while giving your new ride the respect it deserves.
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