The Wrong Cars for Manly Men
Could you imagine squeezing into a Fiat 500 or a Volkswagen Beetle? Well, unless you're a lady, the gentlemen would probably opt to skip. After all, men on the road often want bigger, intimidating cars—the ones that look imposing, the ones that match their masculine image. If it has an unusually cute design, a tiny footprint, or a reputation for being painfully slow, just like the 20 rides on this list, it's a hard no.
1. Nissan Cube
Few vehicles look quite like the Nissan Cube, and that alone can make it a difficult sell. Men want their cars attractive! They want rugged and handsome, an extension of themselves. That means, unfortunately, the Cube's perfectly boxy proportions are just not it.
2. Fiat 500
The Fiat 500 has plenty going for it, but its one lack? Its size. It's tiny and rounded—two things that are sure to turn most men off. For those who prefer tougher-looking vehicles, squeezing into a little 500 might not provide the image they’re after.
3. Chrysler PT Cruiser
The PT Cruiser might have that masculine chisel, depending on how you look at it, but its design still isn't one that wins everyone over. While some men may have happily driven one back in the day, it's likely a memory they'd rather leave in the past.
4. Smart Fortwo
The Smart Fortwo certainly makes excellent use of limited space, but just like the Fiat, it has a flaw: its size. You probably wouldn't be able to convince men to go from full-size pickups and SUVs to this tiny thing! Drivers who want more road presence (and more cargo room) likely wouldn’t line up for this one.
Johannes Maximilian on Wikimedia
5. Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet
Perhaps one of the strangest vehicles Nissan has ever sold, the Murano CrossCabriolet has unusual proportions: it combines a tall SUV body with a folding fabric roof. Handsome as it might look at one angle, you'd likely take that back just as fast at another angle. Even men who appreciate convertibles may decide they’d rather have a conventional roadster.
6. Chevrolet Spark
For the fellas dreaming of a muscle car or a pickup truck, the Spark is about as far in the opposite direction as they can get. There’s nothing inherently wrong with the Spark, of course, but that's only if you ignore its compact dimensions and economy-car reputation. Men, though, typically want more oomph.
7. Mitsubishi Mirage
As relatively affordable as the Mitsubishi Mirage is, performance and interior refinement have never been its strongest suits. It just so happens that those are the two things that matter a lot to men on the road, meaning they'd probably pick something with considerably more personality.
8. Toyota Prius
Few cars are as instantly recognizable as the Toyota Prius, if not for its name, then for its shape. And yet, while it's attracted millions of buyers, some men still say nay to it, preferring aggressive styling or far more entertaining performance instead.
9. Mazda MX-5 Miata
You'd think the Miata would be a pretty popular sports car with both the ladies and the gents, but being smaller than average, it's been more well-known among the former than the latter. Plenty of men love their Miatas, of course, but most still won’t consider one because they want their sports car to look more imposing.
10. Volkswagen New Beetle
"The Volkswagen New Beetle is my dream car!" says no man ever. Its distinct rounded body aside, even the colors gave the car an especially cute image that male drivers aren't keen to embrace. The Beetle might be a great car, but its design is a little too much for masculine tastes.
11. Kia Soul
The Kia Soul is no ordinary hatchback, and that's precisely why it's not all that popular with men. Unless you're okay with its overly quirky styling, it's not hard to see why someone with conservative automotive tastes will find the Soul’s shape difficult to warm up to.
12. Mini Cooper Convertible
The regular Mini Cooper turns enough heads, so remove the roof, and you can see how it stands out even more. Being the complete opposite of understated, any driver who wants something traditionally masculine may find twist their face at this one.
13. Nissan Juke
From the weird headlight arrangement to the swollen fenders, it's easy to see why the Juke doesn't have many dedicated fans. At least, not very many who are male and would be proud to own this strange vehicle. Most guys want clean styling, and driving this one down the street would probably earn some odd looks.
14. Fiat 500L
Would the Fiat 500 finally be a manly choice if it were juust a bit bigger? Well, apparently, it's still a no for the men. The 500L’s combination of a high roof, short hood, and rounded details gives it an unconventional silhouette that any man who already thinks the standard 500 is too cute probably won't be tempted by its larger cousin.
15. Toyota Yaris
The Yaris has spent much of its life being affordable, efficient, and doing pretty much exactly what you'd expect out of it. Nice as that sounds, dedicated enthusiasts might think one thing: boring. It's a boring car, sorry. Guys who want their car to feel exciting may therefore not waste their cash on a basic Yaris.
16. Honda Fit
Practicality is the Honda Fit’s strongest trait, thanks to its surprisingly flexible interior and compact exterior dimensions. Visually, though, it's lacking. For men who love distinct styling over lots of cargo room, the Fit is a hard, hard sell.
17. Suzuki X-90
With two seats, removable roof panels, and a tiny rounded body, the Suzuki X-90 has an especially unusual package. And while that combination might sound attractive to some people, most men want the opposite: a rugged off-roader or a conventional sports car, none of which the X-90 fulfills.
18. Pontiac Aztek
Men may either choose the Pontiac Aztek specifically for its controversial design—stacked front lighting, plastic body cladding, an unconventional rear end—or they might avoid it entirely. Oftentimes, it's the latter. Although the Aztek has gained some retro appreciation over the years, plenty of men still wouldn’t want to be seen behind its wheel.
19. Subaru B9 Tribeca
The first thing you might notice about the original B9 Tribeca is probably its three-part grille. In fact, it's a look so distinctive that it proved controversial, and the front end was significantly redesigned only a short time later. Men shopping for older Subarus may therefore steer clear of the oddly styled Tribeca.
20. Scion iQ
Toyota’s Scion brand once offered the iQ as an ultra-compact solution—in other words, it was a comically small thing, especially when parked beside modern trucks and SUVs. If there's one thing you should know about male drivers, they want big, big cars, meaning the iQ was instantly in the skip pile.
