But, geez, vinyl padded tops once were likewise a luxury look, and good taste has made them nearly extinct. About the best that can be said for the appearance-marring side cladding is that it integrates the running boards nicely into the look. Running boards, though, are ridiculous affectations on a vehicle as easy to mount and dismount as the QX4. That would eliminate most of the garbage hanging off today's trucks like Mom's jewelry dripping off Sis playing grown-up. Less is more.
Elegance means lack of adornment.
Beauty is simplicity. Coach leather bags are almost Spartan, but about the best-looking bags out there. Jaguar cars, icons of automotive beauty, shy from adornment, making their statements with stance and silhouette. Beyond that, vehicles that use cosmetic gimcracks give the impression they are trying to compensate for a lack or hide a flaw. But then reasonable people often disagree on matters of taste, so what makes one gag makes another smile and write a check.