Character can be a weird thing - very few people these days would describe an RT as characterless and yet when they were new, that's how some viewed them compared to the trams and 1930s buses they replaced. I suppose it comes down to a combination of history, nostalgia and how individual vehicles age. Some, but not all, of that of course depends on the person. For me, 'character' would apply to most types up to the late 1990s or so (although it's not a huge factor in my interest in buses generally).