These are 16 of our favourite car facelifts

Gavin Braithwaite-Smith

July 31, 2024

The best car facelifts
© Ford
Facelifting an existing car is more affordable than launching a new one, which is why manufacturers are so keen to put their cars under the knife. A subtle nip and tuck, along with some new colours, trim levels and wheels, is designed to tempt punters into believing they’re looking at something new. Here, we take a look at some of our favourite facelifts.
Citroen DS
© Citroen
How do you improve on perfection? It’s a tough task, but Robert Opron – who went on to design the SM, GS and CX for Citroen – achieved the unthinkable with the DS. In fairness, the ‘Goddess’ was practically at pensionable age by the time the Frenchman worked his magic on the 1968 facelift, which included headlights that looked so right, it was as though they’d been there since 1955.
Triumph 2000 Mk2
© Triumph
Styled by Giovanni Michelotti, the 2000 was Triumph’s executive saloon for the 1960s and a direct rival to the Rover P6. Though successful, by 1969 it was showing its age, so Triumph once again turned to Michelotti, who penned a restyle that enabled the 2000 to live on until 1977, spawning Britain’s first fuel-injected family car (the 2.5 PI). The Mk2 also previewed the styling of the Triumph Stag.
Subaru Impreza
© Subaru
Some people still have nightmares when thinking about the second-generation Subaru Impreza (GD), known informally as the ‘bugeye’. There were two official facelifts, or three if you include the Peter Stevens-designed and Prodrive-developed UK300, with its WRC-style headlights. Stevens also penned the ‘blobeye’ facelift (pictured), while Andreas Zapatinas was responsible for the ‘hawkeye’.
Volkswagen Passat B5.5
© VW
Forget the retro brilliance of the B1 Passat and the coolness of the B3 to consider the B5.5 Passat. As its name suggests, the 2001 B5.5 was a styling and mechanical overhaul of the B5 Passat. Keeping up at the back? As a facelift, it worked because it seemed like it was meant to look this way from the start.
Skoda Felicia
© Skoda
It’s hard to believe that underneath the Felicia lies the Skoda Favorit. This was the first Skoda to benefit from Volkswagen’s input and the Germans gave it a fresher and altogether more conservative feel. That said, we can’t help but find the Favorit more appealing.
Ford Scorpio
© Ford
You have to feel some sympathy for the Ford Scorpio, as underneath that ‘challenging’ styling there was a thoroughly good executive car waiting to get out. Not that anybody cared, because the unfortunate Scorpio was the subject of much ridicule. In 1998, shortly before we said goodbye to the big Ford, it was given a subtle but effective facelift. However, it was too little, too late.
Alfa Romeo 166
© Alfa Romeo
Oh how we miss the Alfa Romeo 166. A reminder of days gone by, when an Alfa Romeo would stop you in your tracks and force you to collect your jaw from the floor. The 166 was always a pretty car, but the 2003 facelift simply heightened our levels of lust. Now it had a face to match its sublime interior.
Reliant Scimitar SST
© Reliant
Giovanni Michelotti died in 1980, four years before Reliant launched the Scimitar SS1. This made it his last design to reach production. Motor magazine described elements of the styling as ‘dumpy’ and ‘dated-looking’, before calling it ‘unique’. William Towns was given the task of restyling the SS1, and some features of his SS2 concept made it to the SST (pictured). Even better was the Sabre of 1991, but by then, Mazda had launched the MX-5…
Renault Clio
© Renault
The second-generation Clio was as cute as a button, but the facelift of the early 2000s freshened it up for the new millennium. Trick xenon lights were a nice option at the time, too. It’s a shame Renault didn’t take the opportunity to freshen up the interior.
Peugeot 306
© Peugeot
Launched in 1993 as a replacement for the 309, the Peugeot 306 shared a platform with the Citroen ZX. Penned by Pininfarina, the 306 was available as a hatchback, saloon, estate and convertible. Few cars in its sector drove as sweetly or looked as elegant as the 306, with the facelift of 1996 serving only to heighten the appeal.
Jaguar Mk2
© Jaguar
The Jaguar Mark 2, more commonly known as the Jaguar Mk2, must rank as one of the most successful facelifts of all time. Arriving in 1959 as an updated version of the car launched in 1955, the Mk2 was good enough for Autocar to declare: ‘The changes made for 1960 without doubt represent together the greatest improvement so far achieved between a Jaguar model and its predecessor – short of a wholly new design’. It was good enough for cops, robbers, racing drivers and Oxfordshire detectives.
Proton Satria GTi
© Proton
If this isn’t an example of a properly cool facelift, we don’t know what is. Underneath the really-rather-good Satria GTi (launched as the Proton GTi), you’ll find a rather dull Proton Compact. Which in turn was essentially a tepid Mitsubishi Colt/Mirage. Sure, a hot hatch makeover isn’t technically a facelift, but we think Lotus deserves a mention in the Satria GTi’s 25th anniversary year.
MG ZT
© MG Rover
Another prime example of what can be done when you put your mind to it. The Rover 75 was a fine car, but it was no performance weapon. So, we have to tip our baseball caps to MG Rover for creating the ZT, and indeed the ZS and ZR.
Ford Sierra
© Ford
The original Ford Sierra caused such a stir when it was first unveiled that the people of Britain thought the country was being invaded by aliens. Ford was in trouble, with the Cavalier winning the race to woo sales reps, something that wouldn’t have happened to the Cortina. Action was needed, which is why a facelift was rolled out in 1987. The population of Britain breathed a collective sigh of relief.
Rover SD1
© Rover
Whichever way you look at it, the Rover SD1 was a fine-looking machine. It evolved quite wonderfully throughout its life, at least when the workers weren’t on strike. The facelift of 1982 was particularly successful, with the Vitesse model looking rather splendid.
Alfa Romeo 33
© Alfa Romeo
Launched in 1983, the Alfa Romeo 33 had tough boots to fill, having the unenviable task of succeeding the Alfasud. In hatchback form, the 33 was designed by Ermanno Cressoni at Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, while Pininfarina handled the Giardinetta – later known as the Station Wagon. It was facelifted in 1986, before Walter de Silva revamped the exterior for the Mk2 (Nuova 33) in 1990.