"Performant" is not the same as "well designed". What you feel is a pleasant UX, which is art, or closer to it at least, and would fit your analogy drawn against a chair or a car.

However what we're discussing here is how the code and otherwise hidden implementation is designed and built. OP is not a UX designer, OP is a software engineer, and should not waste time building things that are "beautiful" in that capacity.

UX and systems design are almost entirely unrelated, and should not spend time in one another's domain.