25 Cars That Failed To Deliver On Their Hype In 2020

Cameron Eittreim December 18, 2020

7: 2020 Ford Bronco

Although 2020 was a year that was ripe with issues for the automotive industry Ford decided to release the long-awaited Bronco. The Bronco is an iconic part of the automotive industry, and not just because of the OJ Simpson chase. The market for off-road cars is dominated by Jeep right now and Ford had an ample opportunity to make headway in 2020.

The problem was that the company decided to release the Bronco without a V8 powerplant, which was a staple of the platform. This alienated a lot of enthusiasts who had yearned for a stripped-down V8 powered off-roader like the original Bronco.

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6: Land Rover Defender

Another iconic nameplate that made a return for 2020 was the Land Rover Defender. It has an abundance of features and fits in with the Land Rover product portfolio right now. The problem is that the Defender was nothing like the original model, which still commands an awesome price in the classic community.

The modern Defender was nothing more than a shell of its former self and didn’t even feature the removable top. Sadly, this alienated a good portion of the true die-hard Land Rover enthusiasts who want an SUV they can call their own.

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5: 2020 Mercedes-Benz EQC 400

Mercedes has had a tough time adapting to the crossover market in any meaningful sense, but the EQC 400 is a decent try. Sadly the all-electric crossover came a bit too late in the game and was already overshadowed by Tesla. As most of these automakers try to play catch up with the electric car giant, the EQC 400 is a letdown for several reasons.

The high price tag drives away potential shoppers who are looking to move onto the Mercedes line. With the abundance of technology in the EQC, repair costs are going to be astronomical and at the same time a pain to deal with.

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4: Nissan Sentra

The small car in the Nissan herd has marched on for decades in one form or another. Sadly, the Sentra has never managed to capture the same type of audience as the Civic or the Corolla. It doesn’t mean that the Sentra was necessarily a bad ride, but the competition just offered a better product. This year, Nissan did a full redesign of the Sentra but the car is still lightning years away from the competition.

Noisy CVT transmission and a rental car-inspired cabin have made the Sentra a bargain-basement choice. Sure, it’s a step up from the Mitsubishi Mirage but the Sentra is still lacking in a lot of important departments consumers look for.

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3: 2020 BMW 7 Series

What has been dubbed the Baleen Whale, the new 7-Series is even more ostentatious than the prior generation. BMW has had a tough time marketing the full-size luxury sedan since other automakers began to offer a competing product. The 7-Series has long had a string of reliability problems that can cost thousands to repair once the car is in the secondary market. BMW has tried to give the 7-Series a performance edge but it isn’t enough to justify the price.

With so many exceptional offerings on the marketplace today, the reason to opt for the 7-Series is about zilch. With the high price tag and the lack of features, the 7-Series just seems outdated when you compare it to the competition.

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2: 2020 Cadillac XT6

On the domestic front, Cadillac is still trying to distance itself from the previous decade. The XT6 is a lightweight new crossover that continues to expand the Cadillac footprint. The problem here is that the XT6 has a lack of performance and features that consumers in this price point are looking for. The car just doesn’t stack up to the competition when you look at the whole package, and that is not a good thing.

The XT6 is an upgrade from the Cadillac crossovers of the past, but it still doesn’t justify the high price tag when you look at it. The Cadillac XT6 is a crossover that needs a lot of work in terms of getting it up to par with the rest of the automotive industry.

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1: 2020 Ford Escape

The Escape got a complete overhaul this year, but if it looks familiar it’s because a lot of the styling is similar to the Kia Niro. We’re not sure what Ford was thinking but you can almost mistake the two cars for one another. Aside from that, the Escape has lost a lot of its off-road chops in favor of more road manners. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the Escape used to be a capable off-road companion.

With Ford trying to make inroads in the crossover market, the Escape will remain an instrumental part of this strategy. But the 2020 Escape could have gone in a different direction then the company decided to go with it.

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