The Type 01 is the first model to arrive from Jaguar’s rebirth. The British carmaker was an early entrant to the modern EV market with the 2017 I-Pace, which was fun to drive even if it was too small inside and perhaps completely unreliable. An all-electric sedan was supposed to be next, but a year from the showroom, it was abruptly canceled, leaving the automaker with nothing to sell as old models like the F-Pace ceased production.
“The jag, it looks like a car you’d steal in Cyberpunk 2077,” said one Ars staffer approvingly. Credit: Jaguar
Do EV’s have to be ugly? Are they doing this on purpose so you don’t buy them? What’s going on here?
No, the Renault R5 is really good looking. The new BMW i3 Neue Klasse is as well and as it happens looks almost identical to the ICE version even though its on a pure electric platform.
I kind of like this one. But every time I see I Rivian I have to avert my eyes.
I’ll admit it’s not the worst example taken in isolation, but for heaven’s sake it’s a Jag. It is very likely the ugliest Jaguar ever made.
Companies need to make tiered pricing models, they all ditched the intro level car and left us with bloated driving computers. Bring back the basic car with all normal designs and physical knobs
I’m actually pretty impressed with how cheap EV’s are becoming. The ioniq 3 at €28k is a great deal, and Smart just announced their tiny #2 ev at €20k.
There going for 40k-50k US.
I think the Hyundai Ioniq, the Toyota bZ4X (what an awful name) and the Mazda 6e all look pretty cool. They more or less just look like any other regular ICE car. For some reason the western and Chinese manufacturers keep trying to do something funky and hideous.
I wouldn’t call them beautiful, but yes they are at least passable (except the older ioniq 6’s- don’t like the looks of them). I mean the best of them like the Mazda simply look like average ICE sedans. But it’s sad to see so many manufacturers with track records of making beautiful cars like Audi, Ferrari, and now Jaguar pumping out completely fugly EV’s. I just don’t get it. This is one area Tesla did pretty well. Pity Elon owns it. The one cheaper EV I actually like the looks of is the Smart #1, specifically the grey and red Brabus edition.
Ioniq and 6e both get massive points taken off for doing the stupid tesla door handles
Fair, I’m not a fan of those either but that unfortunately seems to be the case with almost all EVs unfortunately so it’s not like that really matters in this case.
ice cars are how they are because they basically need to be. I’m an anti car but I’m glad EVs are throwing that shitty design criteria out the window and experimenting.
Chinese cars are how they are because that’s what the biggest car market on the planet wants.
if you want something that is boring and uninspiring, Toyota has your back
I can neither afford nor need one if these but id get one :)
Hyundai’s new V model as well
https://thebeep.com.au/car-news/hyundai-ioniq-v-beijing-debut-australia/
https://arstechnica.com/cars/2026/10/europe-shows-a-better-alternative-to-big-suvs-at-the-paris-auto-show/
Most EV manufacturers doesn’t seem to be experimenting:
Doo handles - integrated
Body - Tall SUV
Grill - Missing
Headlights - Slim LED, sometimes a full lightbar.
Readlights - Full lightbar
Hood - Tall
General size - Huge
You know what would be experimenting? Styling EVs like ICE cars.
That frankly looks gaudy as heck but well taste is subjective I guess.
The Hyundai EVs are ugly, but so are Hyundai ICE vehicles. Their whole brand’s design language is very ugly to me.
Kia, on essentially very similar (if not basically the same) platforms, looks way better, but generally costs more.