Yes i’m aware of the tautology in the title. But are you aware how many small (well quite large small) cars look the same these days. I was looking at this story on autoblog today about a sporty Kia. Then I thought cool! Just like the V8 Hyundai, the Koreans are finally going for the heart with their wares, and not just the wallet. Well that is all good except for the fact, they should do it with a clean slate. Because this car looks cool, like a VW Golf, and the new Subaru Impreza, and the BMW 1 series, and the Mazda 3 …

new kiaHell there’s nothing wrong with being derivative. Or for that matter doing something out of spite. But ALL small cars are starting to have the same silhouette. When the first Golf came out, it bore a resemblance to the Peugeot 307 (so did the Corolla).

This can only mean one thing. Small cars are going bloody gang busters all over the world and no one can shift enough product. So smaller players are trying to get their hustle on and bring out products quick smart to get some of that sweet, sweet market share. Mmmmm. Why waste R&D dollars when there’s such a good recipe already out there?

It’s bloody dissapointing, not only that when Kia put their best foot forward (finally) it looks like a 3 way between a Lexus, VW Golf and a Mazda 3. What really sucks is that the Subaru Impreza just looks like everyone else now. Except for its flat four boxer engine, it may as well be this Kia (pictured right).

That’s right Japan’s most individual brand, the Saab of the orient, has finally got a blue pinstripe suit and an office gig. Toyota has come in and now the bright spark is making coffee for the corporate types at Toyota. So I guess the other culprit is all these big corporate mergers. Now that there are only so few owners, all the cars are beginning to look the same. Because hey man, if they won’t buy you out, you can’t beat ‘em, so join em!

R.I.P. the individual unique hot hatch. Maybe Peugeot will save us yet with something as good as the GTi6 was in the nineties.