Worst car I have ever driven....
Discussion
Top 3:
Toyota Yaris - Hybrid, with a CVT gearbox. Hired it in Italy to go from Bologna to Florence, then Siena and back to Bologna. Trying to drive it on the Autostrada at Italian speeds was terrifying. Pressing the accelerator only increased the amount of noise under the bonnet, rather than forward motion. Brakes were incredibly grabby too, so brushing the brake pedal removed loads of momentum. Took the lip spoiler off it on an unmarked road on Google Maps, and screwed it back on in a supermarket carpark. Treated every gravel path to our accommodation like a rally stage, including a 4 wheel drift into a weird mafia hideout next to a disused railway line. Returned to the airport and the only comment was that it was Very Dirty. Did do a handbrake turn in the carpark at Mugello though, so not all bad. Probably the best of the worst cars that I've driven.
Astra Hire Car (circa 2014 Vintage). Absolutely awful in almost every conceivable way. I can't understand why someone would look over the alternatives, then decide that this is the car for them. Bonkers.
Citroen C3 Picasso. Hired it to go from Lyon Airport to the Alps on a skiing holiday. I'd been promised winter tyres and a roof rack for skis. It didn't have either of them. 3 cylinder, 1 litre engine was just about passable on the motorway with 3 people and a boot full of gear - providing you didn't let the speed drop below 120kph, as it took forever to get back to 130kph - but when we'd gone to Carrefour in Chambery for supplies for 6 (Beer, Cheese and Crisps) it was absolutely hopeless. Needed second gear to get up the road to the resort, and if you followed the shift lights on the dash, it stalled. Terrible stereo, terrible engine noise, terrible ride quality, terrible handling and terrible car. To be avoided.
Toyota Yaris - Hybrid, with a CVT gearbox. Hired it in Italy to go from Bologna to Florence, then Siena and back to Bologna. Trying to drive it on the Autostrada at Italian speeds was terrifying. Pressing the accelerator only increased the amount of noise under the bonnet, rather than forward motion. Brakes were incredibly grabby too, so brushing the brake pedal removed loads of momentum. Took the lip spoiler off it on an unmarked road on Google Maps, and screwed it back on in a supermarket carpark. Treated every gravel path to our accommodation like a rally stage, including a 4 wheel drift into a weird mafia hideout next to a disused railway line. Returned to the airport and the only comment was that it was Very Dirty. Did do a handbrake turn in the carpark at Mugello though, so not all bad. Probably the best of the worst cars that I've driven.
Astra Hire Car (circa 2014 Vintage). Absolutely awful in almost every conceivable way. I can't understand why someone would look over the alternatives, then decide that this is the car for them. Bonkers.
Citroen C3 Picasso. Hired it to go from Lyon Airport to the Alps on a skiing holiday. I'd been promised winter tyres and a roof rack for skis. It didn't have either of them. 3 cylinder, 1 litre engine was just about passable on the motorway with 3 people and a boot full of gear - providing you didn't let the speed drop below 120kph, as it took forever to get back to 130kph - but when we'd gone to Carrefour in Chambery for supplies for 6 (Beer, Cheese and Crisps) it was absolutely hopeless. Needed second gear to get up the road to the resort, and if you followed the shift lights on the dash, it stalled. Terrible stereo, terrible engine noise, terrible ride quality, terrible handling and terrible car. To be avoided.
Cant really think of anything really really bad, I normally see the merit in anything
Rascal vans are bad, I once had to move one 3 metres from the road to a driveway, mounting a curb int he process, said curb then made van start to topple over.....All this whilst the engine was revving @ 2k thanks to a manual choke . I used to drive them a bit as well, not bad, and an ace use of space and a great exercise in design that lasted the test of time (in what it could accommodate, not looks) . However I got the feeling that any type of accident would kill you , you could probably have an accident in a modern small van like my connect and get out without a scratch, if you were in a Rascal you would be dead.
Rascal vans are bad, I once had to move one 3 metres from the road to a driveway, mounting a curb int he process, said curb then made van start to topple over.....All this whilst the engine was revving @ 2k thanks to a manual choke . I used to drive them a bit as well, not bad, and an ace use of space and a great exercise in design that lasted the test of time (in what it could accommodate, not looks) . However I got the feeling that any type of accident would kill you , you could probably have an accident in a modern small van like my connect and get out without a scratch, if you were in a Rascal you would be dead.
Very possibly more to do with how the cars had been looked after but:
1. Mk4 Astra, base spec diesel. Was a company pool car. So many rattles.
2. Mk2 Focus hire car in Ireland. would turn corners, just went straight on for a bit
3. Skoda Fabia, Courtesy car. Not many of the buttons worked, nor the speakers and everything rattled
4. 2010 Porsche 997 C4s. test drive when i was looking to but one. Everything rattled.
1. Mk4 Astra, base spec diesel. Was a company pool car. So many rattles.
2. Mk2 Focus hire car in Ireland. would turn corners, just went straight on for a bit
3. Skoda Fabia, Courtesy car. Not many of the buttons worked, nor the speakers and everything rattled
4. 2010 Porsche 997 C4s. test drive when i was looking to but one. Everything rattled.
Where do I start?
Vauxhall Cavalier of 1980's vintage. Absolute bog standard model with windy up windows. It was a company car and was just awful. I remember it being so light at the back that it used to lock up the rear wheels if you as much as looked at the brake pedal
Renault Twingo (original version). It was a Hire Car so was brand new. I drove down the Amalfi Coast in it from Naples. It had a constant misfire and cut out on almost every corner (scary along that coast road). It was so bad that I actually managed to get a refund from the Hire Company!
Another Vauxhall I'm afraid. The Astra. I had one on hire for a month. It was another bog standard hatchback. I've no idea what engine it had but I didn't realise that cars could still be made with so little power. It was painfully slow.
Here's where I get controversial. Maybe?
Maserati 3200 (with the 'boomerang' lights). I had a brief drive in one and it had just about the worst gearbox I've ever experienced. One of those 'flappy paddle' boxes (I've owned other cars with similar 'boxes' and I like them as a rule). It was so jerky on up and down shifts that it was barely driveable. I was assured by the owner (a mate) that it was fine and didn't want to offend him or his 'pride and joy' so was polite when asked what I thought of his car.
Ferrari 355 (manual box). I just didn't get it. Maybe it was one of those 'never meet your hero' moments. I had the opportunity to borrow one for a day and my excitement at the prospect had been building up for weeks but it somehow disappointed me.
Vauxhall Cavalier of 1980's vintage. Absolute bog standard model with windy up windows. It was a company car and was just awful. I remember it being so light at the back that it used to lock up the rear wheels if you as much as looked at the brake pedal
Renault Twingo (original version). It was a Hire Car so was brand new. I drove down the Amalfi Coast in it from Naples. It had a constant misfire and cut out on almost every corner (scary along that coast road). It was so bad that I actually managed to get a refund from the Hire Company!
Another Vauxhall I'm afraid. The Astra. I had one on hire for a month. It was another bog standard hatchback. I've no idea what engine it had but I didn't realise that cars could still be made with so little power. It was painfully slow.
Here's where I get controversial. Maybe?
Maserati 3200 (with the 'boomerang' lights). I had a brief drive in one and it had just about the worst gearbox I've ever experienced. One of those 'flappy paddle' boxes (I've owned other cars with similar 'boxes' and I like them as a rule). It was so jerky on up and down shifts that it was barely driveable. I was assured by the owner (a mate) that it was fine and didn't want to offend him or his 'pride and joy' so was polite when asked what I thought of his car.
Ferrari 355 (manual box). I just didn't get it. Maybe it was one of those 'never meet your hero' moments. I had the opportunity to borrow one for a day and my excitement at the prospect had been building up for weeks but it somehow disappointed me.
Perdua Nipper back in 1998, 1.2 Corsa manual about 5 years ago. Both should have been fast tracked into the sea!
Icing on the cake though was a 2008 (new at the time) Astra 2.0 convertible with the hard top. As much go as a turgid rice and the body flex of a peeled banana!
Icing on the cake though was a 2008 (new at the time) Astra 2.0 convertible with the hard top. As much go as a turgid rice and the body flex of a peeled banana!
Edited by Marlin45 on Monday 25th February 11:21
In no particular order: 04 plate Vauxhall Corsa SRi, any Peugeot 307 / mk 1 308 / 107 / 108, P Reg Ford Escort 1.1, N Reg Ford Fiesta non-turbo Diesel. For all the usual reasons, ergonomics, performance, comfort, design, reliability, cost of running and utter lack of enjoyment,
But in contrast the 53 plate Focus 1.6, and N reg Mondeo estate were quite a bit of fun.
But in contrast the 53 plate Focus 1.6, and N reg Mondeo estate were quite a bit of fun.
SWMBO's Fiat Punto, just awful in every measure. Driving it like an Italian doesn't help either. It's the 1.4 petrol which has no torque anywhere, gearing is too close together so 70mph is nearly 4,000rmp, no consideration to NVH (with a long motorway stint feeling like you've done 10 rounds in the ring with your arms sellotaped to your side), the interior is horrible and falls apart and it's always got niggly little issues, currently anything below 10 degrees C means the right hand indicator won't stay on and it's always misted up when it rains.
You know there is something wrong when it was better to take the 25yr old Skyline for a longer trip because the NVH, interior, and ride comfort were better ffs.
It does have it's benefits, I finally now understood the motoring journalist comment "the back does not feel connected to the front".
Other contenders are the entire Vauxhall range, our company deal means that when renting or using the pool cars there's a 90% chance of getting one so I've driven many different models and spec and they've always been rubbish, Mokka and the Astra are the worst.
You know there is something wrong when it was better to take the 25yr old Skyline for a longer trip because the NVH, interior, and ride comfort were better ffs.
It does have it's benefits, I finally now understood the motoring journalist comment "the back does not feel connected to the front".
Other contenders are the entire Vauxhall range, our company deal means that when renting or using the pool cars there's a 90% chance of getting one so I've driven many different models and spec and they've always been rubbish, Mokka and the Astra are the worst.
Had a 2013 Fiesta as a courtesy car for 6 weeks while my nearly written off 3 series was being repaired.
When I had to go down to 2nd to get up a local hill I googled it to find out exactly why it was so slow, had something like 59hp and a 0-60 of over 16 seconds.
Felt as slow as a 2CV with none of the charm.
When I had to go down to 2nd to get up a local hill I googled it to find out exactly why it was so slow, had something like 59hp and a 0-60 of over 16 seconds.
Felt as slow as a 2CV with none of the charm.
Edited by 9vienna9 on Monday 25th February 11:45
jonm01 said:
It does surprise me when you get a hire car that is a latest generation vehicle just how poor they are. Just basic stuff like brakes and steering. It's the 21st century FFS
I had a Vauxhall Grandland X for a couple of days last year. It only had 70 miles on it so it couldn't have been knackered, but it was exactly as you describe- every single control input was dreadful, more like operating a microwave oven than a car. About as much tactile feedback as a ceramic hob. It made the hilariously ropey, slightly crashed Mitsubishi ASX I had in Spain feel like a Range Rover."Worst" car is probably unfair for what I'm driving at the moment, but it certainly is eye opening.
My Audi TTRS is off the road getting repaired after someone drove into me, and I've been gifted a 16-plate Honda Jazz as a courtesy car. Now, I appreciate that a car is a car, but this car feels like a motorised lawnmower with a car shell on it.
I genuinely didn't realise they made cars this slow any more. Trying to get up a hill, any hill, involves the car advising me that I should change up, but if I do that it immediately wants to go back down a gear again because it's too gutless to actually move forwards in said gear. Driving up a hill is a choice between almost redlining in one gear, or being unable to move in another.
Pulling out of junctions has become an exercise in deciding who I want to inconvenience the least, the people behind me or the people I pull out in front of. It doesn't matter how far behind they are - they'll be on me before I can get the ol' Jazz up to speed. 1st and 2nd just exist to annoy me.
I actually feel more dangerous in this car than I do at speed. At least I can make snap decisions in the TT, in this Jazz I have to plan every maneourve before I set off.
I've got a newfound level of sympathy for people that appear to be doddering along on the road now. It's not their fault, they're just driving a lawnmower.
My Audi TTRS is off the road getting repaired after someone drove into me, and I've been gifted a 16-plate Honda Jazz as a courtesy car. Now, I appreciate that a car is a car, but this car feels like a motorised lawnmower with a car shell on it.
I genuinely didn't realise they made cars this slow any more. Trying to get up a hill, any hill, involves the car advising me that I should change up, but if I do that it immediately wants to go back down a gear again because it's too gutless to actually move forwards in said gear. Driving up a hill is a choice between almost redlining in one gear, or being unable to move in another.
Pulling out of junctions has become an exercise in deciding who I want to inconvenience the least, the people behind me or the people I pull out in front of. It doesn't matter how far behind they are - they'll be on me before I can get the ol' Jazz up to speed. 1st and 2nd just exist to annoy me.
I actually feel more dangerous in this car than I do at speed. At least I can make snap decisions in the TT, in this Jazz I have to plan every maneourve before I set off.
I've got a newfound level of sympathy for people that appear to be doddering along on the road now. It's not their fault, they're just driving a lawnmower.
jonm01 said:
It does surprise me when you get a hire car that is a latest generation vehicle just how poor they are. Just basic stuff like brakes and steering. It's the 21st century FFS
Nailed it. Surely there should be a minimum level of performance in this day and age?I would like to nominate a PH favourite, the VW Up! as the worst car I've driven recently. It was given to us as a courtesy car while the girlfriends T-Roc was in for a service.
To say it was dreadful would be paying it a complement. It was the poverty spec model with the 1.0 3 pot NA engine which couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. It struggled on anything other than the flat or downhill and drank like a fish. The interior was terrible, I didn't know that bare painted metal was still a thing for car interiors and the radio/ infotainment wouldn't of looked out of place in a 2006 Renault Clio.
Not even the tide would take it out for a second go I'm sure...
I suppose one good thing I can say about the car was that the 5 speed manual was leagues ahead of the 6 speed manual in the T-Roc.
I don't think I could ever forgive the service advisor for giving us that piece of German s
t after being assured that a Polo courtesy car was reserved for us.
For a first car I would definitely advise that you look in the direction of one of the 106/ C1/ Aygo models or the Twingo rather than the VW offering.
To say it was dreadful would be paying it a complement. It was the poverty spec model with the 1.0 3 pot NA engine which couldn't pull the skin off a rice pudding. It struggled on anything other than the flat or downhill and drank like a fish. The interior was terrible, I didn't know that bare painted metal was still a thing for car interiors and the radio/ infotainment wouldn't of looked out of place in a 2006 Renault Clio.
Not even the tide would take it out for a second go I'm sure...
I suppose one good thing I can say about the car was that the 5 speed manual was leagues ahead of the 6 speed manual in the T-Roc.
I don't think I could ever forgive the service advisor for giving us that piece of German s
t after being assured that a Polo courtesy car was reserved for us. For a first car I would definitely advise that you look in the direction of one of the 106/ C1/ Aygo models or the Twingo rather than the VW offering.
Worst car I drove was a 2001 Toyota Yaris 1.0
I borrowed it from a friend as my Impreza was out of action for a while. After the first day I gave it backed to them and got the bus the rest of the week.
It was so slow it felt dangerous to drive. I remember pulling out at roundabouts with plenty of space and suddenly you'd be holding people up. It also had a horrible thrashy engine note when flooring it (which you had to do most the time).
It was a toss up between this and a mk1 Mx5 (automatic) I was given as a courtesy car while my manual version was in for a service. It was a shockingly bad transmission; it blunted performance, held on to gears for too long, kicked down when you didn't want it to and made you feel sick with its jerky changes.
I borrowed it from a friend as my Impreza was out of action for a while. After the first day I gave it backed to them and got the bus the rest of the week.
It was so slow it felt dangerous to drive. I remember pulling out at roundabouts with plenty of space and suddenly you'd be holding people up. It also had a horrible thrashy engine note when flooring it (which you had to do most the time).
It was a toss up between this and a mk1 Mx5 (automatic) I was given as a courtesy car while my manual version was in for a service. It was a shockingly bad transmission; it blunted performance, held on to gears for too long, kicked down when you didn't want it to and made you feel sick with its jerky changes.
StefV said:
Chrysler Sebring.
Had one as a rental, when I returned it I told them the suspension must be broken as it did not feel right at all, just floated all over the place. I was scared driving it at 60 on the highway.
Was told, nope, they are all like that.
Googled it afterwards, and it returned "worst car ever", according to Clarkson's review.
This. Had a convertible as a hire car in mid/late 2000s - utterly awful. Still the worst car of any age/ mileage that I have ever driven. Slow, noisy, terrible interior, ugly, rubbish soft top. And at only 5,10 I was unavoidably looking straight into the top of the windscreen surround. I remember the auto box being especially crap too. Had one as a rental, when I returned it I told them the suspension must be broken as it did not feel right at all, just floated all over the place. I was scared driving it at 60 on the highway.
Was told, nope, they are all like that.
Googled it afterwards, and it returned "worst car ever", according to Clarkson's review.
JD82 said:
StefV said:
Chrysler Sebring.
Had one as a rental, when I returned it I told them the suspension must be broken as it did not feel right at all, just floated all over the place. I was scared driving it at 60 on the highway.
Was told, nope, they are all like that.
Googled it afterwards, and it returned "worst car ever", according to Clarkson's review.
This. Had a convertible as a hire car in mid/late 2000s - utterly awful. Still the worst car of any age/ mileage that I have ever driven. Slow, noisy, terrible interior, ugly, rubbish soft top. And at only 5,10 I was unavoidably looking straight into the top of the windscreen surround. I remember the auto box being especially crap too. Had one as a rental, when I returned it I told them the suspension must be broken as it did not feel right at all, just floated all over the place. I was scared driving it at 60 on the highway.
Was told, nope, they are all like that.
Googled it afterwards, and it returned "worst car ever", according to Clarkson's review.
Durzel said:
"Worst" car is probably unfair for what I'm driving at the moment, but it certainly is eye opening.
My Audi TTRS is off the road getting repaired after someone drove into me, and I've been gifted a 16-plate Honda Jazz as a courtesy car. Now, I appreciate that a car is a car, but this car feels like a motorised lawnmower with a car shell on it.
I genuinely didn't realise they made cars this slow any more. Trying to get up a hill, any hill, involves the car advising me that I should change up, but if I do that it immediately wants to go back down a gear again because it's too gutless to actually move forwards in said gear. Driving up a hill is a choice between almost redlining in one gear, or being unable to move in another.
Pulling out of junctions has become an exercise in deciding who I want to inconvenience the least, the people behind me or the people I pull out in front of. It doesn't matter how far behind they are - they'll be on me before I can get the ol' Jazz up to speed. 1st and 2nd just exist to annoy me.
I actually feel more dangerous in this car than I do at speed. At least I can make snap decisions in the TT, in this Jazz I have to plan every maneourve before I set off.
I've got a newfound level of sympathy for people that appear to be doddering along on the road now. It's not their fault, they're just driving a lawnmower.
What an absolute load of sMy Audi TTRS is off the road getting repaired after someone drove into me, and I've been gifted a 16-plate Honda Jazz as a courtesy car. Now, I appreciate that a car is a car, but this car feels like a motorised lawnmower with a car shell on it.
I genuinely didn't realise they made cars this slow any more. Trying to get up a hill, any hill, involves the car advising me that I should change up, but if I do that it immediately wants to go back down a gear again because it's too gutless to actually move forwards in said gear. Driving up a hill is a choice between almost redlining in one gear, or being unable to move in another.
Pulling out of junctions has become an exercise in deciding who I want to inconvenience the least, the people behind me or the people I pull out in front of. It doesn't matter how far behind they are - they'll be on me before I can get the ol' Jazz up to speed. 1st and 2nd just exist to annoy me.
I actually feel more dangerous in this car than I do at speed. At least I can make snap decisions in the TT, in this Jazz I have to plan every maneourve before I set off.
I've got a newfound level of sympathy for people that appear to be doddering along on the road now. It's not their fault, they're just driving a lawnmower.
jonm01 said:
It does surprise me when you get a hire car that is a latest generation vehicle just how poor they are. Just basic stuff like brakes and steering. It's the 21st century FFS
Nailed it. Surely there should be a minimum level of performance in this day and age?te - Come back to the real world and climb down off that TTRS shaped high-horse of yours.Just because you made the financial decision to burden yourself with a depreciating, expensive, fast car much more capable than your driving abilities and road conditions allow doesn't mean the rest of the world needs to do the same. Are you suggesting the whole country should fly around in performance cars? (this is coming from someone who likes performance cars, I just don't expect the whole world to be the same)
Its one thing to say that you think your TT drives better / in a different league of performance than the much cheaper Jazz (designed to ferry people to the shops) that you borrowed but the drivel about having a 'newfound level of sympathy' is just plain ridiculous.
You do realise that an overwhelmingly large percentage of people on the road drive cars with the same or lesser performance than the probably 100bhp Jazz that seemed to disappoint and scare you so much? How does the public cope, give them all a TTRS for the sake of safety!
Edited by Rick1.8t on Monday 25th February 15:08
You're doing it wrong if you think a Jazz is dangerous! Never had any issues pulling out of junctions.. the shift lights are nonsense though.
I have one as my work daily and think its great. never thought it was underpowered (I've driven a 1.0 fiat Uno with 50bhp!) happily cruises at 80... yes it's not the most refined thing but I enjoy driving it as much as my other car (530i).
Super practical and decent MPG. sorry if I can't afford a £50k sports coupe for carting the kids around in and going to work every day
I have one as my work daily and think its great. never thought it was underpowered (I've driven a 1.0 fiat Uno with 50bhp!) happily cruises at 80... yes it's not the most refined thing but I enjoy driving it as much as my other car (530i).
Super practical and decent MPG. sorry if I can't afford a £50k sports coupe for carting the kids around in and going to work every day
Edited by lufbramatt on Monday 25th February 15:27
Maybe there was a bit of hyperbole in there. It is quite a culture shock though, and feels quite a bit slower than the car I had even at 17 (Astra GTE).
I will concede though that perhaps my perspective is off.. post teenage years I've only really ever had performance motors (TTRS, 458, R34 GTR, etc)
Rick1.8t: In your zeal to hit the reply button you missed the bit where I said someone crashed into me. My driving skills are beyond reproach!!!11
I will concede though that perhaps my perspective is off.. post teenage years I've only really ever had performance motors (TTRS, 458, R34 GTR, etc)
Rick1.8t: In your zeal to hit the reply button you missed the bit where I said someone crashed into me. My driving skills are beyond reproach!!!11
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff