The Canadian/US/UK Electroluxes all have good points. I'm more partial to the Canadian models, as I grew up with them, but I do appreciate the merits of the US/UK models as well. One thing that perhaps made the Canadian/US models "ugly" is the externally mounted cord winder on some of the models; convenient in use, but it sometimes looked like it wasn't meant to be part of the machine at all, despite the color match/trim, etc.
I personally like the more rounded/contoured style of the Canadian/US "painted metal" machines (i.e. the 83/86/87/88/89, E/AE/F/G/R/S/L)...this is beyond a doubt where most of my interest in Electrolux lies. I love the combination of shiny, glossy painted metal with chrome trim and accents.
That's not to say I don't appreciate the "loaf" (is that the right description?) or the "boxy" style. I do feel, though, that starting with the Canadian AP and the US Golden Jubilee, the color choices left a lot to be desired. Everything became brown/tan/beige/cream/off-white/oyster/insert-another-word-for-a-derivative-of-brown. Not exactly the finest period, style-wise, for Electrolux (even though I do have an AP 100 and Golden Jubilee in my collection). Those who like brown shades would undoubtedly disagree.
