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  1. Five ugly cars needing their facelifts
  2. Ford Scorpio, Good body, bad face
  3. BMW 7 Series, Flame surfacing not so hot
  4. Saab 9-5, A chrome spectacle
  5. Fiat Multipla, From pretty odd to oddly pretty
  6. Subaru Impreza, Addicted to surgery

Fiat Multipla, From pretty odd to oddly pretty

Fiat's unique take on the people carrier is the second product of Chris Bangle's off-piste pencil on this list. The 'three-plus-three' MPV was almost terrifying in its ugliness, yet, somehow, that imbued it with an appeal unmatched by anything else - a quirk that ensured the 1998 Multipla became the choice for the thinking family. That's despite a front-end that eschewed headlights in favour of six pocket-sized torches.

And so the Multipla went on, happy about being aesthetically challenged against a tide of blandly inoffensive family boxes. But then came facelift time in 2004 and Fiat, out of the blue, made it all normal, like any other people carrier. Gone were the torches and the mismatching upper section, replaced by regular headlamps and a windscreen that actually looks like it fits the car properly, for shame. Still, Fiat must be doing something right because it's still on sale today, 11 years later.

Mark Nichol