Which Car Looks Suspiciously Like One of its Rivals or Competitors?

Photo: Volkswagen

Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve always thought that the fifth-generation Volkswagen Jetta and the ninth-generation Toyota Corolla are basically the same car.

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I’ve long suspected that Volkswagen found a way to tap into some Jungian collective unconscious that applies to The Cars, and unknowingly (or gasp! knowingly) turned the Jetta into the Corolla’s doppelgänger. And I want to know what other car looks suspiciously like one of its rivals from competing carmakers. Or what car model just resembles another model a little too much?

It can be a past or current car. There’s neither a year limit nor specific segment we’re looking for. And it can be either an ICE-equipped car or an EV. Just tell us what car looks a lot like which other, in your opinion. Think of cars like the new Honda HR-V and the previous Ford Escape. Maybe you think the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model Y look identical in profile. For better or worse, many modern cars now look similar.

Now that crossovers are in, a lot of cars resemble each other because it’s easy to design a vehicle that looks a lot alike to any other on the road…when you apply certain constraints, or are after the same benefits — such as cargo space and elevated ride height. The things that crossovers are known for, and that designers can only draw so many ways.

Maybe that’s why they resort to creases and lines, or LEDs and freakishly big grilles — anything else to distinguish their cars and give them a unique visual identity. I guess I just want to know if I’m the only one who looks at the VW Jetta Mk.V and thinks it looks just like a Toyota Corolla that went through a Volkswagen phase.

It would have had to have been something VW did, since the Jetta came out later than that specific generation of the Corolla. Both cars look like distant cousins, to me, at best. Or, at worst, it looks kind of like VW slacked off on a compact sedan group project around the early to mid-aughts, while Toyota did all the work.