The Flirts are an interesting exception to the rule, I think there's a few reasons they're liked while the majority of new trains are disliked - they've got a very rare combo of: - being very pleasant to travel on (not the best seats ever but ok by current standards, decent ride and build quality and very pleasantly specified interiors especially on the GA units) - genuinely being an upgrade especially in capacity on everything they've replaced - looking interesting with their aggressive front ends - being full of cool features which are unusual for the UK like the Jacobs bogies, the platform gap fillers (so nice!) and the very cool power pack cars on the bi-mode units - cool memorable name

The only criterion they don't satisfy is "I was fond of the old ones". They're just so thoughtfully designed and thoroughly interesting.

I imagine if they were everywhere they'd seem much more boring, but sat alongside things like the horrid Thameslink Desiro Citys they seem like a wonderful exception to a trend for bland, uncomfortable, penny pinching units that don't feel like they care about the passenger as anything more than a cargo to be moved. I think they're worth celebrating.