You pay a lot for a sports car. Speed and power are not sold cheaply. Thus, you expect everything to be in top-notch condition, the car to look like a supermodel, and the interior to feel as close to a luxury yacht as possible. But that is not always the case.
Manufacturers have time, and again disappointed sports car lovers in areas not even a whiff of failure should be noticed. The most unforgivable is powertrains that can’t even compete in a sloth race. But then, in as much as some people think it hardly matters, a bad interior is usually a major turn-off for most sports car enthusiasts. And that's why these 9 cars are featured here. Some of them were among the most desirable sports cars money could buy, but their interiors left too much to be desired.
9 1999 Qvale Mangusta
In the ‘90s, the automotive industry was all about new and interesting concept cars. The Qvale Mangusta was thus launched to be exactly that. The company promised a marque whose interior would startle even the pickiest of enthusiasts. But that was not quite true.
The Qvale Mangusta’s interior was directly ripped from the Ford Mustang. And that was not the only bit that appeared Ford-inspired. So many parts of this marque were not designed from scratch as advertised. To make matters worse, at its price, there were better-looking and better performing sports cars on the market.
8 1991 Mitsubishi Galant VR-4
Back in the ‘90s, Mitsubishi was still very fresh on US soil. But the company was ready to establish itself as a formidable force. The Galant was thus launched as Mitsubishi’s first large family sedan. It competed directly against Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. The VR-4 was born out of its rally expertise. Thus, it was supposed to be a rocket on the road.
Granted, the exterior of this marque was polarizing. Many enthusiasts later described it as a sleeper car that was somewhat underrated. But it’s its interior that didn’t do it justice. It had a straightforward design that didn’t tickle the fancy of most buyers.
7 1995 Lotus Elan M100
Back in the ‘90s, Lotus was performance-oriented, and the Elan M100 was the company’s focal point. And you can’t discredit its design in its entirety. The exterior of this marque looked fantastic. Straight off the bat, the Elan M100 looked like a performance roadster. But the interior was a totally different story.
Many drivers described the Elan M100’s interior as a big mess of things you don’t want and things you need. But somehow, Elon Musk found inspiration in this car when building the Tesla Roadster, Tesla’s first shot at an electric vehicle. Maybe that has to do with the amazing driving characteristic of this marque.
6 1997 Honda Civic del Sol
The Honda Civic Del Sol was a simple build. Honda just picked the standard Civic and chopped its back off. This compact Civic was then sold to the public in the ‘90s, with no significant performance improvements being made on the machine.
But this was a car meant for enjoying the open air and breeze as you hurtle down country roads. But there was a problem. Passers-by would stare at an ugly interior filled with all the Honda Civic features you want but crammed up in a small space.
5 1992 Isuzu Impulse RS
Isuzu has not been receiving a lot of limelight when it comes to passenger cars in recent years. But this company was previously known for building formidable passenger cars. Their RS trim, in particular, was one to die for, save if you desired nice-looking interiors.
The big problem was that Isuzu was not a compact car company at the time. Thus, they didn’t have an idea of how to make the Impulse RS more appealing from the inside. Despite this, since it was based on a nice platform lifted from the I-Mark Sedan, it achieved modest sales success.
4 1996 Mazda MX-3 V6
Between Mazda and Nissan, someone copied the other’s homework. The 1996 Mazda MX-3 V6 and Nissan NX2000 looked oddly similar. But that didn’t stop Mazda from proceeding with the production of this vehicle. The marque was also special.
The V6 engine used in the MX-3 was the same one hooked under the hood of the MX-6. Thus, drivers were getting the performance of the MX-6 and the versatility of a hatchback.
But that’s where the joy ended. The interior of this car was crammed up with the available cargo space being too small to fit a briefcase.
3 1992 Volkswagen Corrado G60
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Back in the ‘90s, Volkswagen was struggling. The company’s reliability ratings were at an all-time low, and very few people were still talking about the “bug” design. Then, there was the Fox compact that initially sold in volumes then received a huge backlash thanks to its bad reputation.
The Corrado G60 was thus launched with a lot of expectations. VW promised impeccable performance and they were not wrong. Drivers had a Porsche 911 in their hands save for one thing – the interior. According to most enthusiasts, it was a bad mismatch of all other Volkswagen models featuring a Jetta, Golf, and Passat.
2 1998 Saab 900 Turbo Convertible
The 1998 Saab 900 Turbo Convertible is surely a beautiful car with unique styling. But that can be said only for the exterior. Moreover, this style was uniquely Saab, something that polarized a lot of buyers. But the company would keep this design language straight from the 900 Turbo to other models until the company’s demise in 2010.
The interior was a horrible mix of skewed nuts and bolts. The key placement was the first thing that you’d notice appeared odd. The designers somewhat found it logical to have the ignition key placed between the two front seats. And that was just one of several other “uniquely Saab” oddities.
1 1997 Subaru SVX
The Subaru SVX managed to make itself the poster car of everything a sports car shouldn’t be. And the first on the list was its harsh styling that attracted very few and fearful buyers. The passenger and driver’s windows were oddly designed, to begin with. The rest of the interior looked like a cheap take on an already cheap interior with harsh plastic filing the dash, the seats, and the roof.
The upmarket model featured leather seating. But even when saddled on some cow skin, you couldn’t easily reach any of the dials or switches in front of you. The factory sound system closed the bad interior deal with noises not even a frog would be proud of.