I don't mean here to compare different classes of languages. Even within systems programming languages, C has a lot of things that could be (and are) done better today.
What I meant is, that modern systems programming languages (like Rust for example) can avoid various issues by using all that was learned in programming languages design until today. C can't do that since it's stuck with its legacy requirements. This is quite an objective downside, and not just a matter of taste.