Depressing cars
Discussion
Osinjak said:
An A3 S-line 3.2 V6. Sounds great on paper, an absolute pain in the arse to live with. I drove it up to Skye (from Camberley) and back and after that refused to drive unless I really had to and in the last two months of ownership, didn't drive it at all. The suspension was rock hard and it really was all or nothing, the throttle was so sensitive that you just couldn't drive it around town for fear of looking like a right t
t. Hated the thing and was glad to get shot of it.
My similar R32 Golf had a hair-trigger throttle too. Caused a red face over speed bumps a few times as I kangarood about.t. Hated the thing and was glad to get shot of it.Sometimes in life you have to make sacrifices to allow you to do something else. I had to sell my Clio Trophy back in 2008 whilst I got on the property ladder, this meant getting a company car; a focus TDCI Style. Not a bad car as a tool to get me too and from work but it was so depressing to drive. After four years of ownership I was glad to see that back of it.
I think the only car I've owned that I truly hated was a 1988 Ford Sierra Sapphire 1.8L - I could live with sub 30mpg I was getting a bit of speed as the payoff, but that thing was nominally 90BHP ... and felt like 40 of those had escaped. Doing anything under the bonnet was like going back in time (imperial fasteners, well ok, but spark plugs with tapered seats? where are we, the 1930s?), and the poverty spec meant absolutely no gadgets.
It was a German built example & I couldn't fault it for reliability & running costs, but the handling was dreadful, it couldn't do two things at once - like steer and brake at the same time, or accelerate & corner, I even swapped ends going in a straight line on a constant throttle once. After far to long I did get shot of it, but did warn the new owners that if they drove like it was like a modern car it'd turn round & bite them ... Mr New Owner shrugged that off, and apparently was on the receiving end of a massive yelling & extended sulk when Mrs New Owner (who, inexplicably, liked it) found out he totalled it after a week.
ps Having typed that out, I realised that probably wasn't the worst car I've ever had - that honour goes to the 1993 Citroen ZX 1.9TD that followed the Sierra - bought for 1100 quid, I spent 2k on repairs over the next 11 months, then had an unfortunate Armco interface scenario when the "passive rear wheel steering" went very active after hitting a bump part way round a damp bend. Insurance payout was £500
It was a German built example & I couldn't fault it for reliability & running costs, but the handling was dreadful, it couldn't do two things at once - like steer and brake at the same time, or accelerate & corner, I even swapped ends going in a straight line on a constant throttle once. After far to long I did get shot of it, but did warn the new owners that if they drove like it was like a modern car it'd turn round & bite them ... Mr New Owner shrugged that off, and apparently was on the receiving end of a massive yelling & extended sulk when Mrs New Owner (who, inexplicably, liked it) found out he totalled it after a week.
ps Having typed that out, I realised that probably wasn't the worst car I've ever had - that honour goes to the 1993 Citroen ZX 1.9TD that followed the Sierra - bought for 1100 quid, I spent 2k on repairs over the next 11 months, then had an unfortunate Armco interface scenario when the "passive rear wheel steering" went very active after hitting a bump part way round a damp bend. Insurance payout was £500
Tannedbaldhead said:
If that's how we feel about overly focused hot hatches imagine how Caterham drivers feel about their cars on a cold wet miserable day or when they're just not in the mood.
Quite. It would take someone extremely hardcore to want a Caterham for everyday use.To be honest though, I don't really approve (not that anyone cares) of this common view that sports and supercars should be everyday useable. Que the typical "Top Gear" test where they conclude a sports car is useless because you can't carry a fridge in the back or that its laptimes aren't great in the pouring rain - that really isn't the point of them!
MY 2009 A3 sportback 1.9TDI is pretty depressing, the ride is too firm and the seating position is awful, never feel comfortable either too high/low or too close/far away. Then comes Crawling/Rolling speed issue... a speed in which neither 1st gear or 2nd gear is suitable, basically your moving too fast for 1st and too slow for second.
You're probably thinking "wow this guy has a lot of first world problems"... but they do actually bother me. I'm not sure if that gear thing applies to other cars as I have only owned two cars.
You're probably thinking "wow this guy has a lot of first world problems"... but they do actually bother me. I'm not sure if that gear thing applies to other cars as I have only owned two cars.
Tanned;
I guess that rush is just harder to access but more heightened when it happens.
Even our hatch, which is miles from hardcore, tends to stay on the drive when it's foul weather. In nicer stuff it's lots of fun of course but an R500 would be epic.
Slightly related is surfing; now I surf at a fairly high level, it takes really nice (and very rare) waves to achieve that buzz. Whereas less experienced surfers have fun in a much wider range of conditions.
I guess that rush is just harder to access but more heightened when it happens.
Even our hatch, which is miles from hardcore, tends to stay on the drive when it's foul weather. In nicer stuff it's lots of fun of course but an R500 would be epic.
Slightly related is surfing; now I surf at a fairly high level, it takes really nice (and very rare) waves to achieve that buzz. Whereas less experienced surfers have fun in a much wider range of conditions.
I have owned 2 Corsas and for what they are they are a good car. Cheap and reliable.
The most depressing car I have driven is a Citroen Picasso hire car. It was a boat and was ridiculously slow. It got cold quickly because it was so big and just boomed at motorway speeds. Why someone would buy one I have no idea.
The most depressing car I have driven is a Citroen Picasso hire car. It was a boat and was ridiculously slow. It got cold quickly because it was so big and just boomed at motorway speeds. Why someone would buy one I have no idea.
Focus derv. Ticks all the boxes on everything needed when looking for first new car.
Just took all the fun out of driving for me. Recently got myself an impreza for a self birthday present. Get so much enjoyment out of driving again. Sometimes the ride can be a bit harsh. But I forgive it for all the fun it gives me.
Just took all the fun out of driving for me. Recently got myself an impreza for a self birthday present. Get so much enjoyment out of driving again. Sometimes the ride can be a bit harsh. But I forgive it for all the fun it gives me.
While far from a depressing car, I got a bit down about using my E30 318iS as a daily hack. The car never really got a chance to "shine", as it was just trudging around a motorway, sitting in traffic, or worse still being parked in supermarkets
What had seemed like a great idea in advance, to have a really interesting car to brighten up the daily grind, eventually necessitated a change of plan as the weather turned a bit nastier at the end of last year, and so it got swapped for a much newer Golf to do all the hard graft. I see that someone in the thread has already said that the Golf itself is a depressing car to have, but I couldn't be happier!*
And unlike that unwanted family pet of yore, the little iS really did go off to live in a household where it would be loved and cherished
'* Still keep thinking of Abarth 500s though!
What had seemed like a great idea in advance, to have a really interesting car to brighten up the daily grind, eventually necessitated a change of plan as the weather turned a bit nastier at the end of last year, and so it got swapped for a much newer Golf to do all the hard graft. I see that someone in the thread has already said that the Golf itself is a depressing car to have, but I couldn't be happier!*
And unlike that unwanted family pet of yore, the little iS really did go off to live in a household where it would be loved and cherished
'* Still keep thinking of Abarth 500s though!
Vladimir said:
Any MPV.
Just means you've given up and hate everyone else on the road.
So many more interesting ways to carry a few people and their clobber around.
Oh give over Clarkson, you have a van with a bog in it that you paid 40 grand for, dont know how a 40 grand van is any Just means you've given up and hate everyone else on the road.
So many more interesting ways to carry a few people and their clobber around.
more interesting than an MPV.
I have driven a Caravelle and it wasn't a patch to drive on the Galaxy we have (and rarely use) and no more interesting.
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