How do you identify a car when you see it on the street? Some cars, like Porsche’s 911, have an unmistakable body shape; others, like BMW’s dies-soon i3, might feature a funky kink in the waistline that makes them easy to spot.
But let’s be honest, many cars are styled to closely follow design conventions that results in them looking disappointingly similar. This isn’t a new thing. Pick a bunch of mass market cars from any time in history, be it the 1910s or the 1990s, and while you’ll come across one or two that stand out, most look pretty much indistinguishable to anyone not into cars and car culture.
Now, as in the past, it’s the grilles and badges that help us identify most cars, but without the help of those details, could you really tell one new car from another? The key difference these days versus the pre-smartphone era is that advances in lighting technology means designers are also able to come up with unique (or so they believe) light signatures to help us identify their products.
Related: Lit Grille Designs Are On Fire Right Now
Take a look at these 10 images of vehicles stripped of most of their major identifying design motifs and see if you can correctly identify the cars in question.
Car #1
Our first car looks a bit like a rental-spec Audi A3 but you need to aim further downmarket to guess correctly. To be fair to the company behind it, this is one of its older models and new vehicles from the same stable have put real effort into carving out their own recognizable faces. Scroll down to find out what it is…
Answer: Hyundai Accent
Car #2
This luxury brand was once famous for its sedans and coupes, but doesn’t sell a single traditional four-door these days, unless you live in China, of course. Maybe the weird lip at the bottom of the grille will help you make the link, or the lower deck of lights that makes the car look like it’s been up for 72 hours straight.
Answer: Lincoln Corsair
Car #3
Grille or no grille, this is clearly a car that tries to take its sense of style seriously. This particular SUV hasn’t been the hit the company hoped, but maybe its little brother will be more successful, and its parent firm’s bold electrification plans could still make the marque go stellar.
Answer: Maserati Levante
Car #4
How you doing so far? Too easy? Then maybe you’ll find identifying this tiny subcompact a little tougher. This brand’s recent cars all have a distinctive front end treatment that makes it look like someone’s used a ridiculous waist-slimming Instagram filter on their grilles, but that’s not much of clue when all you’ve got to go on is a back end shot showcasing a rear diffuser whose aero properties are about as real as a desert hallucination. Scroll down to find out…
Answer: Mitsubishi Mirage
Car #5
This hybrid SUV is known as the Harrier in other markets and comes only with all-wheel drive. But it also usually comes with a socking great badge located right between those mean-looking lights to help identify it, or at least its maker.
Answer: Toyota Venza
Car #6
Take your time, study the remaining details, and the identify of this premium SUV might leap out at you. But even if it doesn’t, it’s shocking to see how boring this car looks shorn of its grille and badge considering the company’s back catalogue includes one of the most beautiful cars of all time. Scroll down to reveal all…
Answer: Jaguar E-Pace
Car #7
Let’s throw a curveball into the mix. Identifying cars from the outside is one thing, but spotting one from the inside is trickier for all the but the geekiest car nerds. But maybe this car’s sporty instrument layout and BMW-influenced dash layout might give you a clue. Scroll down to see-exactly how right or wrong your guess is…
Answer: Mazda CX-5
Car #8
This minivan has a distinctive design flourish in its central light bar, but we’ve removed it along with the badges to makes things a little harder. Hope you have a ball trying to work it out!
Answer: Kia Carnival
Car #9
Our penultimate car’s grille outline suggests it could be a Cadillac or Genesis, but do those lights look right to you if either answer is correct? Scroll down to check the identity of this sensible, but luxury-infused domestic SUV.
Answer: Buick Enclave Avenir
Car #10
We have a feeling that those chrome blades cutting deep into the headlights might help your mind’s eye pin this one down, even though we’ve removed its entire grille area. Scroll down to compare your answer…
Answer: Honda Insight
