Top 10 Most Inconspicuous New Vehicles

The Volkswagen Jetta is a nice enough looking sedan, but it seems to have been produced straight from a generic fabrication mould; no flair allowed here thank-you-very-much. The most distinct aspect of this German compact is the taillights, at night, when they are illuminated.

The first generation Toyota Highlander redefined what anonymously could look like for a crossover utility vehicle. Although things have gotten a little edgier (pun intended) for the second generation Highlander, slap any manufacturer badge on the front end and it would be easy to confuse most people as to exactly what vehicle it is they are looking at.

It is hard for a vehicle this massive to be anonymous, but when the styling of Chevrolet’s full-size pick-up trucks hasn’t dramatically changed since Reagan left office, it is easy to just view these workhorses as a ‘pickup truck’ rather than a ‘Silverado’. Next year we get an all-new Silverado; spoiler alert – it looks basically the same.

It is not good when a luxury car looks anonymous. Even worse is when it is a flagship model. But, the Volvo S80 is so long in the tooth it is starting to sprout a tusk. Thankfully a new S80 is on its way next year but, like the Silverado, it will not deviate far from the current vehicle.

Subaru had a commercial in 2011 named ‘Mediocrity’. It depicted an average family sedan that was ordinary, plain and normal in every way; basically, the very definition of mediocrity. Anyone else see the irony here?

Looking like a shrunken, yet bloated 2013 Altima, the new Nissan Versa is another vehicle that is not offensive in its styling, but lacks any real distinct styling cues. When television commercials create ‘face-less cars’ to avoid licensing fees, this is how they usually look.

The poor Corolla always seems to get picked on. With styling designed not to offend, it easily blends in with traffic just the way many owners want it to. Or, maybe it is all part of an evil master plan for world domination – hide in plain sight. Next time you are driving, make a point to count the number of Corolla’s on the road; you’ll be surprised. Bonus game; calculate how many are beige.

If it weren’t for that split grill synonymous with Chevrolet vehicles, this crossover could have easily been manufactured by any company, anywhere in the world, at any point during the past 10 years, and fit right in.

See the Chevrolet Equinox description, replace the word crossover with sedan, and we have the 200. This Chrysler receives bonus anonymity points for having a front end that, at first glance, looks void of any badging.