Part 12 What demonstrates good design?

Great car design is still possible. In the final instalment of this series, Stevens singles out some of his favourite examples from recent years

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HAVING SPENT THE LAST ELEVEN MONTHS pointing out many of the design failings of recent cars, it seems appropriate that I should now discuss what I consider to be pieces of good modern design.

I would say nothing from the class of cars that are laughably and wrongly called SUVs qualifies.

Maserati, Jaguar, Lotus, Aston Martin, Porsche, Bentley, Rolls-Royce, Alfa Romeo, BMW and very soon Ferrari have all produced cars that, if it were physically possible, would have many men spinning in their graves. Alfieri, William, Colin, Lionel, Ferdinand, WO, Henry, Nicola, Karl and Enzo would all be just a whirling blur. Quite why these vehicles-ranging from just below to well above two tons - have to look so crudely contrived remains a mystery. Here are a group of manufacturers that have competed and won at Le Mans and Daytona, in the Mille Miglia and Formula 1, greedily countering the validation of their histories whilst using the excuse that the big profits made from SUVS allow them to carry on making the cars that evo readers enjoy. Oh, so an F8 or a 911 doesn't make a profit? And yet at the other end of the scale the little Honda E, particularly in gunmetal colours, is a perfect example of finely modelled restraint, whilst being instantly recognisable as a Honda. Can this excellent piece of product design really be from the same company that offers the chaotic Civic Type R? I sometimes think that Honda must have two or three studios that quietly get on with doing their own thing without a company design chief having a global vision for the designs.