The worst car you've ever driven...

[coppice]

Tango13 said:

I briefly drove an original split screen Morris Minor, by modern standards it was horrible in every possible way but I'd imagine pretty much everything back then was equally awful so I'll give that one the benefit of the doubt.

Not universally awful - but very different. What cars like the Minor had- and very few, if any, modern cars have - was unassisted and very direct steering. a chassis which offered oversteer on demand at safe speeds. a very pleasing and mechanical gearchange and,most of all, real character. These are usually teh feature sthe PH community craves, or is that only where there is 300plus bhp as well ? I wouldn't want to commute in one, nor crash , but given the choice of a Minor or an Adam , an Up or an Aygo to tour through Scots Borders (other venues are available) Longbridge's finest would be on my list .

[Trabi601]

coppice said:

Not universally awful - but very different. What cars like the Minor had- and very few, if any, modern cars have - was unassisted and very direct steering. a chassis which offered oversteer on demand at safe speeds. a very pleasing and mechanical gearchange and,most of all, real character. These are usually teh feature sthe PH community craves, or is that only where there is 300plus bhp as well ? I wouldn't want to commute in one, nor crash , but given the choice of a Minor or an Adam , an Up or an Aygo to tour through Scots Borders (other venues are available) Longbridge's finest would be on my list .

The original Minor had a horrible pre-war side valve engine. Can't imagine that would be much fun.

[coppice]

True - I had forgotten that but A series was perky enough.

[Poisson96]

I know fellow MMOC members with very early cars who have ejected passengers on very bad hills so it could go up due to low power.....and they are a Cowley product in the main, none built in Longbridge

My later spec car can be leisurely at times up hills but is fun to drive regardless

[Jimmy Recard]

DegsyE39 said:

I can only speak from experience of two vauxhalls a corsa b and a mk4 astra, Corsa gave me back pain the astra was like sitting on old bits of wood hateful hateful hateful... ste handling understeering dross.

Only beemers i can make comparisons with are the e38 and e39 both with sports leather seats, And both exceedingly comfortable even when doing 300 odd miles or more.. Saab 9-5 seats piss on these and anything else for that matter though.

Regards.

Ah, that'll be why our experiences don't tally. My main experience of BMW is lower spec 3 and 5 Series without leather or even sometimes without lumbar support. I find it extraordinary that you'd have to pay extra for that!

Whereas with Vauxhalls it has been a mixture of low and high spec. Some with poor or average seats, some with excellent seats. Mostly depending on trim level and options.

[DegsyE39]

Jimmy Recard said:

DegsyE39 said:

I can only speak from experience of two vauxhalls a corsa b and a mk4 astra, Corsa gave me back pain the astra was like sitting on old bits of wood hateful hateful hateful... ste handling understeering dross.

Only beemers i can make comparisons with are the e38 and e39 both with sports leather seats, And both exceedingly comfortable even when doing 300 odd miles or more.. Saab 9-5 seats piss on these and anything else for that matter though.

Regards.

Ah, that'll be why our experiences don't tally. My main experience of BMW is lower spec 3 and 5 Series without leather or even sometimes without lumbar support. I find it extraordinary that you'd have to pay
extra for that!

Whereas with Vauxhalls it has been a mixture of low and high spec. Some with poor or average seats, some with excellent seats. Mostly depending on trim level and options.

Actually jimmy apologies im full of st haha.. Just remembered i test drove an omega around christmas... Seats where like you say excellent even if the rest of it was ready for the scrapper, Ive always fancied a carlton or a senator and i can imagine these are quite peachy

Regards.

[Tango13]

coppice said:

Tango13 said:

I briefly drove an original split screen Morris Minor, by modern standards it was horrible in every possible way but I'd imagine pretty much everything back then was equally awful so I'll give that one the benefit of the doubt.

Not universally awful - but very different. What cars like the Minor had- and very few, if any, modern cars have - was unassisted and very direct steering. a chassis which offered oversteer on demand at safe speeds. a very pleasing and mechanical gearchange and,most of all, real character. These are usually teh feature sthe PH community craves, or is that only where there is 300plus bhp as well ? I wouldn't want to commute in one, nor crash , but given the choice of a Minor or an Adam , an Up or an Aygo to tour through Scots Borders (other venues are available) Longbridge's finest would be on my list .

I know what you're saying. The brakes were about as effective as shouting 'Whoah your bd' and the seats were fixed so no adjustment foward or back, not good if you're 6'2" in your socks. The lack of seat belts would've turned the slightest bump into a trip to A&E if the engine had the best day of its' life and wheezed the car up to a sufficient velocity to actually do some damage.

However, it also had a push button starter so all of the above can be forgiven

[hoegaardenruls]

I've driven some pretty shocking hire cars in my time, and some that just had no redeeming features at all

Rover 218 SD - Mk 2 car, diesel but non-turbo so gutless
Peugeot 307CC - absolute c**p
Chrysler 200 Convertible - awful multitronic gearbox
Golf 1.4 (Mk6) - absolutley gutless, and anticipation only gets you so far especially when some tw*t pulls out on you on a long uphill stretch
Golf 2.0 TDI (Mk7) - so bland, it felt like I was driving some sort of white goods

But the one that takes the biscuit is a 2005 Chevy Monty Carlo, that had a volume control under my right foot and wheels that didn't feel like they were connected to the steering thanks in part to 15" wheels and massive profile rubber - Floaty McFloatFace. Never have I been so glad to hand a car back, as I drove it from Boton-Montreal-NewYork-Boston, and it's no looker either..

[ianb67]

DJP said:

I nominate the Suzuki SJ410.

Didn't go, didn't stop and the handling was positively dangerous.

Awful, simply awful.

Second that. A real death trap that felt like it was going to tip over when you went around any kind of bend. Felt safer on an Alton Towers rollercoaster. Later found out they regularly did tip over - no idea how they were ever allowed on the roads.

Not far behind was a Chevrolet Captiva SUV hire in the States - you only had to shift in your seat and it unsettled the whole suspension, truly terrifying.

The Capri 1.3 deserves a mention for being so sad. Yep, they really made them, and it was the only Capri I knew that you couldn't lose the back end. OK, not without a lot of application.

[Poisson96]

ianb67 said:

Second that. A real death trap that felt like it was going to tip over when you went around any kind of bend. Felt safer on an Alton Towers rollercoaster.

Probably as rollercoaster are safe and miles safe than driving

[WishYouWereaZonda]

Interior quality means a lot to me, so I have to go with the 2012 BMW 120 I had for a year.

EVERYTHING in that car rattled, chirped or squeaked, including the steering wheel. Only thing that was relatively quiet was the floor mats. Got rid of it shortly after BMW corporate called me up and told me that if I wanted a car that didn't rattle, I should not have bought a BMW.

So I won't make that mistake again.

[Artey]

WishYouWereaZonda said:

Interior quality means a lot to me, so I have to go with the 2012 BMW 120 I had for a year.

EVERYTHING in that car rattled, chirped or squeaked, including the steering wheel. Only thing that was relatively quiet was the floor mats. Got rid of it shortly after BMW corporate called me up and told me that if I wanted a car that didn't rattle, I should not have bought a BMW.

So I won't make that mistake again.

"What? That's impossible. You clearly made this up, you haven't owned a BMW have you. What's your history of cars please. I call custard on that. If cars were a god BMW would be the main daddy of them all. You retard."**

• in case you haven't realised it's a sarcastic pisstake on PH's BMW fanboiz what I did here.

[Shakermaker]

DegsyE39 said:

Actually jimmy apologies im full of st haha.. Just remembered i test drove an omega around christmas... Seats where like you say excellent even if the rest of it was ready for the scrapper, Ive always fancied a carlton or a senator and i can imagine these are quite peachy

Regards.

I can confirm that both the Carlton and Senator are possibly the two most comfortable cars I have ever owned and driven. And I am definitely on the PBCD scale of things, but my ability to be comfy even in the back of either of these cars was wonderful.

The Carlton got used for several long-distance trans-European events and would remain lovely

The Senator was my daily for a few months just till the MOT ran out and the rust took full hold but did a smashing job.

The Omega I had owned previously was also great.

Vauxhall really did do well at this sector in the 80s/90s even if it never translated down, for me, in the lower-spec cars such as Cavaliers, Novas and Astras I have owned and driven.

[Ste1987]

Having worked in the motor trade, I've driven many snotter trade-ins. However one car that springs to mind was an old-shape Vauxhall Meriva. Had a to drive that quite a distance to a specialist as the power steering had failed. Yeah, never driven a car without power steering before, wasn't fun.

[skyrover]

Ste1987 said:

Having worked in the motor trade, I've driven many snotter trade-ins. However one car that springs to mind was an old-shape Vauxhall Meriva. Had a to drive that quite a distance to a specialist as the power steering had failed. Yeah, never driven a car without power steering before, wasn't fun.

Driving a car with failed power steering is not the same as driving a car without power steering as you are fighting against the hydraulic system as well as the wheels.

[mattlad]

skyrover said:

Ste1987 said:

Having worked in the motor trade, I've driven many snotter trade-ins. However one car that springs to mind was an old-shape Vauxhall Meriva. Had a to drive that quite a distance to a specialist as the power steering had failed. Yeah, never driven a car without power steering before, wasn't fun.

Driving a car with failed power steering is not the same as driving a car without power steering as you are fighting against the hydraulic system as well as the wheels.

I can remember driving a Vauxhall with faulty electronic power steering that worked when you turned the wheel one way but not the other! That was weird......

Edited for grammar!

Edited by mattlad on Friday 10th June 13:17

[Ste1987]

skyrover said:

Ste1987 said:

Having worked in the motor trade, I've driven many snotter trade-ins. However one car that springs to mind was an old-shape Vauxhall Meriva. Had a to drive that quite a distance to a specialist as the power steering had failed. Yeah, never driven a car without power steering before, wasn't fun.

Driving a car with failed power steering is not the same as driving a car without power steering as you are fighting against the hydraulic system as well as the wheels.

Ah fair enough. Like I said, never driven a car without power steering

[skyrover]

Ste1987 said:

skyrover said:

Ste1987 said:

Having worked in the motor trade, I've driven many snotter trade-ins. However one car that springs to mind was an old-shape Vauxhall Meriva. Had a to drive that quite a distance to a specialist as the power steering had failed. Yeah, never driven a car without power steering before, wasn't fun.

Driving a car with failed power steering is not the same as driving a car without power steering as you are fighting against the hydraulic system as well as the wheels.

Ah fair enough. Like I said, never driven a car without power steering

I once drove an old American ford Thunderbird which had massively overboosted power steering (you could steer it with your little finger) which stopped working as I was cruising along a country road.

It was almost impossible to steer... the wheel was actually bending in my hands as I struggled to find somewhere to stop.

[TORQ]

Having driven a few cars the singular worst one in memory was a Vauxhall Belmont - circa '89 model. It was so unspeakably horrid in every way. Always hated Vauxhalls ever since.

[vmackie]

Top spot for me is an early 1750cc Allegro, impossible to select any gear with any confidence, and as you fought with the gear lever the strange "rectangular" steering wheel made you wander all over the road.

Possibly made worse for me as at the time the only car I had driven was a relatively low mileage Mk1 Escort.

About twelve years ago, the drive up the coast road from Dubrovnik, ruined by a small squareish Vauxhall MPV (Meriva)? hire car. Heavy steering, epic understeer, etc. etc.