There have been a handful of changes to the list of ugly cars for 2026. Two longstanding models have gone on to the great junkyard in the sky: the BMW X4 and the Kia Soul. The redesigned Kia Sportage makes its debut appearance, and the Hyundai Santa Cruz climbs back into the last spot (after being pushed off the bottom last year).
As I’ve been saying for several years, the auto industry is currently in a bland phase. There aren’t many truly ugly cars, but there are plenty of uninteresting, boring, unattractive ones. That means some of the entrants near the bottom of this list aren’t that ugly. That doesn’t mean they look good though.
To qualify for this list, a car must be sold in volume to the general public in the United States. Volume is defined subjectively based on my observations (if I see them on the roads, they qualify; if I don’t, they don’t). Vehicles are excluded if they are not sold new in North America, sell in very low volume, or are sold only for exotic, military, commercial, or other special purposes.
10. Hyundai Santa Cruz
There have been some cool car-trucks over the years. The Chevrolet El Camino and Subaru Brat were icons. Hyundai instead decided to emulate the Subaru Baja, which was an embarrassing attempt to turn the Outback into a truck . . . and then they gave it stupid spider-eye headlights.
9. Kia Sportage
I don’t know what’s in the water in South Korea, but Hyundai and Kia can’t seem to stop doing . . . this. The Sportage used to be one of the few Kias that didn’t belong on this list, but that changed for 2026. Those ‘derpy lightning bolt’ lights on the front are even worse than Hyundai’s spider-eyes.
8. Hyundai Venue
Before Hyundai started adding spider-eyes to its crossovers, it used this “extreme eyebrows” style. Just . . . why? The sad thing is that the Venue’s otherwise traditional lines almost work. From the side it looks better than many of its competitors. But that front end is irredeemable.
7. Kia Sorento
The Sorento was Kia’s first application (that I noticed) of the “derpy lightning bolt” running lights that are now spreading like a pestilence across their SUVs and crossovers. Once again, the Koreans have given us a vehicle that looks perfectly fine from some angles and stabs you in the eyes from others.
6. Mercedes GLC Coupe [sic]
The German Potato Brigade of lumpy, mis-named luxury “coupes” from Mercedes and BMW continue to occupy the middle of the list. The GLC Coupe [sic], which is not a coupe, is the least bad of them . . . but it moves one position higher thanks to the overdue demise of the BMW X4.
5. Mercedes GLE Coupe [sic]
The second of three members of the German Potato Brigade is the GLE Coupe [sic], which, like the GLC Coupe [sic], is not a coupe. Words have meanings; somebody should tell Mercedes. Anyway, all the absurdity of the GLC exists in the GLE . . . but bigger . . . and sadder . . . and lumpier.
4. BMW X6
Clone Mercedes’ repulsive GLE Coupe [sic] and slap the worst of BMW’s latest, ugliest design elements on it—ta-da, X6! BMW called this a “sports activity coupe,” and then a “coupe SUV.” They finally removed these taglines, but the copy still says it has a “coupe profile.” No, that’s a potato profile.
3. Nissan Kicks
The Kicks holds its own, maintaining the #3 position it “earned” after last year’s redesign. Nissan makes a lot fewer ugly cars than it used to, but it just can’t seem to let go of the mutated DNA from bad designs like the Juke and Cube. I guess their spirit will live on in the Kicks . . . sadly.
2. Tesla Cybertruck
Plenty of cars that debuted high (low?) on this list over the years were unconventional, but got less bad as I got used to them. I don’t think that’s going to happen with Tesla’s dumpster-truck. Yes, it’s ugly on purpose. That’s the mean reason it’s not in the top (bottom?) spot. But it’s still ugly.
1. Hyundai Santa Fe
Hyundai’s worst instincts all coalesced here—along with some borrowed elements from the worst Fords, Land Rovers, and utility sheds. Those Satellite of Love taillights are especially . . . weird . . . in terms of both shape and placement. The more you look at this thing, the worse it gets.
Dishonorable Mention: Chrysler . . . Again
For my ugly car list in 2020, while we were all living in the COVID-19 pandemic fever dream, Chrysler got a “dishonorable mention” for its anemic and outdated product line. At the time, the venerable American automobile brand listed four products listed on its website . . . which were really only two products. Three of the listed models were the same minivan running on a seven year old platform. The other was a sedan running on a fifteen year old platform.
That was bad . . . really bad. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) had allowed Chrysler to “atrophy until it is almost nothing” and was “an afterthought, a mere remnant, a shadow of what it once was.”
FCA merged with the PSA Group in 2021 to form Stellantis, a multinational car company that sounds like the name of a drug (ask your doctor if Stellantis is right for you; side effects may include the wanton destruction of once-beloved car companies). Their Chrysler brand now lists only two models on its website . . . which are both just the same old minivan on the same old platform.
It has been six years since I said FCA should let Chrysler die: “Better to live on in our memory than to hobble along for another year—let alone another decade—in this sad state.” Somehow it has gotten even sadder under Stellantis. The Pacifica (or Voyager or . . . Pacoyager?) is a nine year old minivan riding on a thirteen year old platform . . . and it’s the only thing Chrysler sells.
Please, put this company out of its misery.