The worst car you've ever driven...
Discussion
32 years ago, after blowing the engine my Avenger GT, then crashing the 160J SSS that replaced it (twice), I had to resort to a pea green Marina 1.8TC 'Jubilee Edition' as a stop gap (bought for the princely sum of £50).
The Marina was a s
t car to start with, but this one had deteriorated from 'showroom condition' by quite a considerable margin. The front suspension in particular, was in a very bad state, giving the car about 6* of negative camber, and steering so heavy off center is was barely drivable... this was off set by zero traction at the rear unless it had at least 2 people sat in the back... fking terrible.
A body shop lent me a Kia Rio in 2006 as a 'courtesy car', after some idiot ran in to the back of my 120d whilst it was parked outside my house. I drove it 3 miles to work, and then phoned them to come and fetch it... it was shockingly bad... the merest hint of braking, and the car turned 90* left. Plus it was damp inside, it absolutely stank, and every gear change crunched like the 'box was about to fall out. Shed.
The Marina was a s
t car to start with, but this one had deteriorated from 'showroom condition' by quite a considerable margin. The front suspension in particular, was in a very bad state, giving the car about 6* of negative camber, and steering so heavy off center is was barely drivable... this was off set by zero traction at the rear unless it had at least 2 people sat in the back... fking terrible.A body shop lent me a Kia Rio in 2006 as a 'courtesy car', after some idiot ran in to the back of my 120d whilst it was parked outside my house. I drove it 3 miles to work, and then phoned them to come and fetch it... it was shockingly bad... the merest hint of braking, and the car turned 90* left. Plus it was damp inside, it absolutely stank, and every gear change crunched like the 'box was about to fall out. Shed.
A Citreon C3 hire car that I drove from Croatia, through Montenegro and to Durres in Albania, and back. It didn't help that the roads and fellow drivers were horrendous, both the mountain passes and the Albanian motorways. It also didn't help that it was the rattiest hire car you can imagine, 100k km on the clock, bashes on every panel, brakes that made a grinding noise that I kept thinking would fail, a steering wheel you could turn several feet without the wheels moving, crunchy gearbox, non working windscreen washers and no acceleration whatsoever.
I managed to buckle a rim on the terrible roads, and then couldn't get the wheel off to get the spacesaver on. Neither could the nice Montenegrin man in the petrol station, who snapped a lug nut in half trying. Him and his pal spent half an hour with two hammers, and suddenly the tyre could just about hold air ... drove it another 200 miles and handed it back without a word ... nobody noticed ...
Still have the half lug nut in my flat
I managed to buckle a rim on the terrible roads, and then couldn't get the wheel off to get the spacesaver on. Neither could the nice Montenegrin man in the petrol station, who snapped a lug nut in half trying. Him and his pal spent half an hour with two hammers, and suddenly the tyre could just about hold air ... drove it another 200 miles and handed it back without a word ... nobody noticed ...
Still have the half lug nut in my flat
I'd agree that compared the the crap from the 70s nothing modern is really that bad, however it's interesting how many of the terrible 'modern' cars people cite are brand new Vauxhalls. There is a hard core of people who think Vauxhall are only unpopular due to Clarkson (doesn't explain why Opel are failing too), but my experience is that they really are miles off the pace of the competition and closer to the nasty st GM turn out in the US to anything from a proper manufacturer. The Insignia isn't too bad if you avoid the 1.8i but the smaller cars really are st.
t GM turn out in the US to anything from a proper manufacturer. The Insignia isn't too bad if you avoid the 1.8i but the smaller cars really are st.Proton GL ‘Black Knight’ owned by an uncle.
At the time I had an original mini that had a ‘few’ modifications so he gave the keys to his new car and said ‘try that mate, it’s a great handling motor and goes really well’
Now when I say my Mini had a few bits I mean it had fully sorted brakes, lowered suspension, better shocks, fatter tyres, quick shift, single box janspeed stainless exhaust, oh, and a 1071 engine with twin carbs
Best I could manage after getting back and giving him his proton keys was ‘yeah, not bad. I think I prefer smaller cars though’
The Proton was complete and utter st and compared to my mini handled like ocean liner with a broken rudder, took off from the kind like a milk float loaded with concrete, and stopped like.... well let’s just say at the first roundabout I was very lucky nobody was coming (and I wasn’t even going that fast, the brakes were could well have been ok, but compared to what I was used too, terrible!).
I’ve driven a few howlers but the Proton stands out as a lasting memory
At the time I had an original mini that had a ‘few’ modifications so he gave the keys to his new car and said ‘try that mate, it’s a great handling motor and goes really well’
Now when I say my Mini had a few bits I mean it had fully sorted brakes, lowered suspension, better shocks, fatter tyres, quick shift, single box janspeed stainless exhaust, oh, and a 1071 engine with twin carbs
Best I could manage after getting back and giving him his proton keys was ‘yeah, not bad. I think I prefer smaller cars though’
The Proton was complete and utter s
t and compared to my mini handled like ocean liner with a broken rudder, took off from the kind like a milk float loaded with concrete, and stopped like.... well let’s just say at the first roundabout I was very lucky nobody was coming (and I wasn’t even going that fast, the brakes were could well have been ok, but compared to what I was used too, terrible!). I’ve driven a few howlers but the Proton stands out as a lasting memory
Gold Medal - Late '80's Ford Orion 1.4. Indescribably awful, very unreliable, and unbelievably slow POS.
Silver - Dacia Logan 1.2 as a hire car in Macedonia a couple of years ago. Sardine-can on wheels, got overtaken by lorries on hills and handling on corners was scary. Only redeeming feature was a large boot.
Bronze - Peugeot 307SW HDI. Hated it almost as much as my OH who nicknamed it Satan. Incessant beeping and error warnings = torture.
And an honorable mention to a base-spec Hyundai Accent. Also driven some fairly ropey Corsas but IMO nowhere near as bad as the above.
Silver - Dacia Logan 1.2 as a hire car in Macedonia a couple of years ago. Sardine-can on wheels, got overtaken by lorries on hills and handling on corners was scary. Only redeeming feature was a large boot.
Bronze - Peugeot 307SW HDI. Hated it almost as much as my OH who nicknamed it Satan. Incessant beeping and error warnings = torture.
And an honorable mention to a base-spec Hyundai Accent. Also driven some fairly ropey Corsas but IMO nowhere near as bad as the above.
1980 Renault 14 big pile of cp, rust hole in roof from new in less than one year, aluminium suspension parts corroded away the next year, soggy suspension thought you were going to fall out going around corners, horrible soft seats that gave you a static shock every time you got in, floor rusted out in year 3, so off to scrap yard, good riddance.
p, rust hole in roof from new in less than one year, aluminium suspension parts corroded away the next year, soggy suspension thought you were going to fall out going around corners, horrible soft seats that gave you a static shock every time you got in, floor rusted out in year 3, so off to scrap yard, good riddance.Apart for some 70s and 80s dross which was near the end of their mechanical life (now classics!) its a 2016 Vauxhall Zafira we had on hire earlier this year.
For a supposedly modern car in perfect condition what a wallowing understeering gutless POS it was which has put me off the brand forever.
For a supposedly modern car in perfect condition what a wallowing understeering gutless POS it was which has put me off the brand forever.
Mike335i said:
All very subjective though. The brakes are something you would get used to, the clutch is the same, the handling is probably the same as any other European hatchback (and actually in line with continental tastes, if not British), the headlights are probably perfectly serviceable but not xenon / led quality so pant in comparison and the engine is a peach for what it is.
I think something not being liked is now automatically equated to terrible and it just isn't. Go drive a similar spec Peugeot, Hyundai, Kia or Vauxhall and tell me they are really that different.
I drove a Giulietta too and found it fairly abysmal. Its also had some weird transmission noise so took it back to the hire car place and got a Golf TDi; I realised then why so many people buy Golfs. I think something not being liked is now automatically equated to terrible and it just isn't. Go drive a similar spec Peugeot, Hyundai, Kia or Vauxhall and tell me they are really that different.
Worst car in recent years was a Peugeot 207GT, the one with the Cooper S engine. I was very surprised at just how bad it was. I mean really, really poor.
It is amazing that even now mainstream car manufacturers can produce terrible cars that still sell in large volumes.
I know Vauxhall have made some good cars in the past, such as the Carlton 3.0 GSi, Senator and Omega with big engines. I know at least one Police Force still has an on Omega, presumably for training purposes.
However whenever I drive one these days it makes me feel sad. It’s as if 10/10 is where the car designer has achieved perfection, those employed by Vauxhall seem to reach maybe six and call it a day. Perhaps the lure of a pint or an early night calls them away from the office. I am hopeful that now PSA have bought Vauxhall they will lay the brand to sleep.
If I wasn’t interested in cars and wanted a straightforward appliance type car I would car for a Hyundai or Kia rather than a Vauxhall/Peugeot/Renault.
Interestingly several Police Forces are changing from Vauxhall to Ford for non traffic vehicles.
I know Vauxhall have made some good cars in the past, such as the Carlton 3.0 GSi, Senator and Omega with big engines. I know at least one Police Force still has an on Omega, presumably for training purposes.
However whenever I drive one these days it makes me feel sad. It’s as if 10/10 is where the car designer has achieved perfection, those employed by Vauxhall seem to reach maybe six and call it a day. Perhaps the lure of a pint or an early night calls them away from the office. I am hopeful that now PSA have bought Vauxhall they will lay the brand to sleep.
If I wasn’t interested in cars and wanted a straightforward appliance type car I would car for a Hyundai or Kia rather than a Vauxhall/Peugeot/Renault.
Interestingly several Police Forces are changing from Vauxhall to Ford for non traffic vehicles.
Edited by helix402 on Thursday 16th November 23:27
Worst car I've driven has to be the Fiat Cinquecento. Kindly given the use of it whilst on the Isle of Man during the TT, I lasted 15 minutes in it. The main problem was the pedal arrangement. They were that close together I kept pressing the brake and accelerator at the same time. I could have put up with the tinny rattly interior sounds and the fact it felt I wouldn't have survived any kind of crash in it, but I just felt it wasn' t going to end well if I kept driving it in the busy TT visitor traffic that day.
The Chevrolet Matiz I hired on the Isle of Man was a limousine in comparison.
As someone who owns a 2006 Astra which has been faultless in the 70,000 miles I've covered in it, the next generation Astra J is pretty poor in comparison.
My dad had one until recently, a 1.4 petrol which was pretty slow in comparison to previous Vauxhalls both of us have owned. But the worst thing about it was the niggly problems that a 2010 car just shouldn't have. (Bearing in mind the car was 2 years old when he bought it). Water leaking into the spare wheel well, which we never found the source off. Heavy condensation on the inside of the windscreen in damp weather. The sort of condensation you would expect in a 1970s Cortina. And the electronic display for the radio and clock would work only intermittently.
The Chevrolet Matiz I hired on the Isle of Man was a limousine in comparison.
As someone who owns a 2006 Astra which has been faultless in the 70,000 miles I've covered in it, the next generation Astra J is pretty poor in comparison.
My dad had one until recently, a 1.4 petrol which was pretty slow in comparison to previous Vauxhalls both of us have owned. But the worst thing about it was the niggly problems that a 2010 car just shouldn't have. (Bearing in mind the car was 2 years old when he bought it). Water leaking into the spare wheel well, which we never found the source off. Heavy condensation on the inside of the windscreen in damp weather. The sort of condensation you would expect in a 1970s Cortina. And the electronic display for the radio and clock would work only intermittently.
Currently driving a 67 plate smax manual diesel, I emphasize manual as this car would be infinitely better with an auto. Even so the engine is bloody hateful, so horrific, there is a torque limit in first gear which ruins then experience. Just a very unpleasant car to drive, makes me a) long for my c6 back b) realise my c6 is really a rather nice car.
keeef said:
Long Drax said:
Austin Maxi 1750HL. Hated every moment of the few months I owned the thing in 1981.
I've actually got two!Ones a bog standard 1750, but the over is a twin carb 1750 HLS.
They have not grown any prettier over the years. Mine was dull green in colour with a beige interior. Caravaners liked them back in the day. So, good for towing a trailer.
Long Drax said:
What was the thinking behind your acquiring not one, but two of them?
First one needed engine overhaul and second bought for engine was too good to break.Long Drax said:
They have not grown any prettier over the years. Mine was dull green in colour with a beige interior. Caravaners liked them back in the day. So, good for towing a trailer.
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, as they say. Yes, they do a good job towing my trailers.
We had a new green one back in 1980.
https://flic.kr/p/5oHYZo
Edited by keeef on Friday 17th November 08:54
Edited by keeef on Friday 17th November 08:55
Edited by keeef on Friday 17th November 08:56
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