7 Iconic Cars That Get Too Much Hype

Nobody likes crap cars that get overhyped, but there’s another side to this: Too much hype can actually ruin truly great cars. We can’t let that happen!

Christopher Smith

29 Jul 2016

Let’s talk about hype, or at least my definition of hype because let’s face it - there are a million different ways to go after this. The phrase don’t drive your heroes immediately springs to mind, simply because more often than not, they let you down. But that’s not my definition of hype. It might have a role to play, but this phrase is really about disappointment and that’s not the same. I say you can be positively giddy driving an overhyped car without experiencing the least bit of disappointment. Or at least you can in my bizarro world where birds slither like snakes and Richard Hammond has a goatee.

Hype isn’t about being disappointed with a car. It’s all about expectation, and more specifically, unrealistic expectation. If you have unrealistic expectations built up through unrelenting hype, odds are you’ll be disappointed behind the wheel no matter how good the car actually is. Still not following me? Have you ever taken a drink of coffee expecting it to be hot, only to find it cold? It tastes the same, but I bet you poured it out anyway. Either that, or you took a second drink with the expectation it would be cold.

With the psychology out of the way, know that I like every car on this list. Scratch that - I love every car on this list. Taken in context, they are thoroughly enjoyable to drive. But they’re also victims of relentless hype that too often elevates these cars to hero status in the eyes of many. Let’s all just step back, take a moment, and stop going all Hollywood blockbuster over these rides. They’re great cars, but too much love will inevitably lead to unrealistic expectations. These fab rides deserve better.

The Quattro revolutionised the rally scene and arguably brought all-wheel drive performance to mainstream motoring. People watch vintage Group B rally vids over and over just to hear that screaming inline-five soprano.

Those same people tend to forget that the road-going Quattro wasn’t quite as robust - American market versions only made 160bhp, and the weight penalty for all-wheel drive tasks that output even further. Don’t get me wrong, they’re still brilliant to drive. But even the 197bhp Euro models disappoint new fans expecting to blast away in a furious AWD launch.

2. Ford Mustang

For years I mocked Mustangs because, well, they’ve been overhyped for decades as being the definitive American pony/muscle car. The Mustang faces a double-edged sword from people that hate them for being overhyped, and people who buy one and soon discover it’s not the end-all-be-all in performance.

I bought my first Mustang as a pseudo joke, to drive through winter and write about my experience. I’m now on Mustang number three because they actually are fun to drive, and I don’t expect it to be anything more.

3. Nissan Skyline GT-R

I’m going to single out the R32, R33 and R34 for obvious reasons. I’m sure things are bit different with my ‘Murican perspective - we never got the Skyline when the rest of the world did, so only now are we able to experience its awesomeness.

That also means we’ve spent the last 25 years hyping up that experience without realising that A. it’s still a Nissan, B. the steering wheel is on the wrong side of the car, and C. it’s performance, while impressive 15-20 years ago, is only slightly above average today.

4. BMW M3

I’ve had occasion to speak with many people who were seriously let-down after driving an E30 M3 for the first time. Same for the E36, E46, and so on. M3s are among the finest knife-edge luxury performers in the world, but they’ve been so overhyped over the last 30 years that people are sad to learn they don’t always set the quickest times during track days, or worse, that they sometimes break down and require maintenance. You know, like every car does.

5. Toyota Supra

I think people tend to view the A80 Supra as a supercar instead of just an awesome ‘90s Japanese sports car, and that’s the problem. In stock trim the A80 Surpa turbo is plenty fast, and it handles extremely well. But people have come to expect Supras to achieve low earth orbit while smoking high-end Ferraris off the road. How often do you even see Ferraris on your daily travels? And as for the ungodly performance, that only happens after thousands upon thousands of cash in mods, which also leads to numerous component rebuilds. Or you can choose to spend supercar money for one already modded, but such purchases often lead to buyer’s remorse as soon as something breaks.

Like the Supra, RX-7 hype falls to the 1990s with the boosted FD models. Unlike the Supra, the Mazda isn’t quite as robust at handling major modification, and the rotary is a temperamental engine to say the least. The expectation here is that, after seeing drifting videos, numerous project builds and the original Fast and Furious film, people jump into an RX-7 for prolific BRRAAAAPP and killer sports car moves.

Most are aware that the rotary has special needs, but I’ve read far too many horror stories of buyer’s remorse and utter RX-7 hatred because they didn’t really understand how to handle the engine. This unique car deserves better, and if we can tone down the hype, people will be more prepared to properly care for - and enjoy - this awesome sports car.

7. Ford Focus RS

This car just came out; how can it be getting too much hype? I can answer that question in two words: Drift Button. How else can you explain Australian media going mad over the RS and its hooning influence, saying the car should be banned? I mean, this is the country that stuffs torque-monster V8 engines into rear-wheel drive utes with no weight in the back.

The world’s motoring community is certainly buzzing with this latest Focus incarnation and its button to help people drive sideways. I’ve had the chance to speak with a couple new RS owners in the States who’ve recently took delivery of their hot hatch, and thus far it’s all smiles. But I have big concerns that, if the RS hype continues, there will be scores of ex-Mustang owners angry about giving up their V8 for a slower hatchback. Or worse, scores of totaled Focii after drivers discover the Drift Button doesn’t automatically turn them into Ken Block.

Comments

Once the JDM fanboys get here, I’m going to make some popcorn…

Jokes aside, you nailed it. Especially true for the Supra.

hide yo kids, hide yo wife and hide yo’self, cause the fanboys are coming. i can see the dust clouds over the horizon. vape covering the sun and millions of moms droping of their kids so they can attack you for insulting their gods. it’s gonna be rough. locks bunker door

go get your popcorn….

Supra and r34 are overrated eh? show one other 6cyl engine under 3L that can handle 700hp realibly on factory internals….besides the bmw n54…. im waiting

My username explains a lot, but I wholeheartedly agree with this. Hit the nail on the head.

I’m a JDM Fanboy, and i’ll agree that all of that is true. but i’ll argue that with the M3s it’s about the sheer driving pleasure, not lap-times, and that Godzilla got that nickname for a reason.

Any car a rapper name drops in a song. Without rappers people wouldn’t want “a new buggati” or “a Lamborghini with (cringe) suicide doors”

Ikr. I’m sure people who daily them regret the decision at some point in their life.

I wish I could give you two points

Have you ever seen a chevy with the butterfly doors?

I cringe at people who call them “Lambo doors”. But I’d still sell body parts for an Aventador.

Pharrell Williams rapped about the NSX.

Like the game Watch_Dogs. A game that was so over hyped, it had it’s bollocks fall off.

Honestly I’ve never heard anyone hype about the Audi Quattro.
Here’s my list. 1. Toyota Supra 2. Nissan Skyline R34/R35 GT-R 3. BMW M3 4. Audi RS6.

I have to agree, there is no solid fanbase for the S1 Quattro, yes AWD Audis are popular, but not overhyped.

It depends on your feelings with the car before driving.
When I first drove an e46 it was a dream come true and the best car I’ve ever driven.

How can you compare a car’s performance that was released 20 years ago to the performance of cars today? If the Skyline isn’t a good car then by that logic the Ferrari F40 is utter crap, even the Enzo is slower than the 488 for god’s sake. That logic effectively renders every classic performance useless. It’s called progress.

I see your point, but what I think he’s trying to say is that some people think a skyline is really good even today. On the paper it isn’t bad at all, AWD, inline 6 with turbo and lighter than a r35 gtr… but nowadays there are faster cars, but some people live in the ilusion that the GT-R’s are faster than any or almost any other cars, while they aren’t, I think that’s what the autor of this post was trying to say. Cheers :)

Some of those cars deserve their hype because they are legends. FOllowing the logic of this article, any car not available in the States or any great car that is older than 20-30 years is crap and we should all go buy a V6 Camry.

I’ve never seen an F40 praised for its performance against modern cars to be fair.

There is just one flaw in your logic. I never said the Skyline isn’t a good car. In fact, I said it’s a great car. This isn’t a list about progress. It’s a list about cars that are overhyped. Thanks for reading, commenting, and helping explain my point :)

Because the F40, McLaren F1, Porsche 959, Jaguar XJ220, and Diablo can still compete with a good amount of supercars today, in terms of performance. No they aren’t the monsters they once were but they laid the foundation of what a performance car or supercar should be in the 21st century. The fact that they can still at least compete with the modern day supercars is nothing short of amazing.

My top ones would be the Veyron and the R35 GTR. Both are good cars, yes, but they’re Waayyyy too overhyped, and made out to be so much better than they actually are.

For the R35 I agree no reason to explain there but for the Veyron just no. I am pretty sure that most of the people having the money to own a car like that think it is a special thing to have one.

Tbh I got into this post thinking “here we go again, an american bashing on euro and jdm car” but gotta say I agree with all of them, especially the focus rs which I adore (n=but not the rx7s. I am a fanboy and i stick by it) Also I would add the veyronand r35 to the list well because of both the fanboys and the non carguys saying “it’s the best car in the world”