Worst car in the history of the world?
Discussion
Having just seen the latest Top Gear DVD, I agree with the criteria i.e. rubbish but not cheap and manufactured by a company who should know better but I'm not sure if I entirely agree with the outcome!
The title went down to the wire between the Peugeot 308 and Lexus SC430, with the Lexus getting the nod because it was quite expensive new I guess. Now the 308 doesn't look as good or drive as well as a Peugeot ought to but having delivered new Peugeots for one summer, I wouldn't say that it's a bad car. The diesel engine is good, it's fairly safe, practical and comfortable and drives OK (although perhaps not as well as a Golf or Focus). With regards to the Lexus, I guess you spend that kind of money on a convertible to look good and feel good. It doesn't look good and would be a bit embarassing to be seen in but it does have a V8 and would be fairly comfortable and well-equipped I would imagine.
Any hatch-based cabriolet made since about 1992 is just as embarassing IMHO especially the coupe-cabriolets (the 307 and 308CC are particularly hideous).
Also, there have been some pretty tragic coupes available - Probe, Tigra, facelifted Hyundai Coupe, Calibra anyone? (although the Calibra did at least look good in its day)!
How about some of the early SUVs when they first became popular - I'm thinking Vauxhall Frontera, Ford Maverick (don't look great and not great performers on or off-road).
The Audi A3 has always puzzled me. A more, expensive, less good Golf with a worse ride, although perhaps that doesn't make it a bad car (after all you could argue that a Golf is a more expensive, less roomy Skoda Octavia).
I'm sad to say that 3 of my top 6 worst cars of all time have been makes that I have sold new in the motor trade. So here they are. What, in your opinion is the worst car in the history of the world?
6. VW Fox - not a bad car but not a good VW. It just didn't feel as well built as a VW should be (Lupo and Up! much better). A bit bland and didn't have the appeal of other cars in the class. However, the Polo engines were OK and it was a very roomy car and a reasonably-priced VW, so sold fairly well.
5. Toyota Yaris - my mother-in-law has one and I can't see why they are so popular. Tiny boot, cabin feels cheap and nasty, the engine feels gutless and the controls feel horrid (I would usually choose to drive rather than not drive but when we go to visit the in-laws, I don't bother).
4. Fiat Grande Punto 1.2 - looked good and I like small Fiats but this car had no brio whatsoever and I had a miserable drive in a rented one from Dundee back to Manchester.
3. Seat Altea FR - I never drove it (it belonged to a friend). It was fairly quick but looked a bit weird and the awful ride (for a so-called family car) would have had my wife and daughter vomiting within a few miles (totally unfit for purpose).
2. City Rover - the only car that I was truly embarassed to sell and at the launch the Rover people seemed a bit embarssed by it TBH. Inside it felt like a 1980s Hyundai, awful paint finish, horrible farty old Peugeot engine and treacly steering. The batteries seemed to lose all charge over the space of about 10 minutes, so we used to break down frequently on test drives. Fortunately, our company had a multi-franchise, so if I couldn't interest them in a nearly new Rover 25 instead, I would try to sell them a new Suzuki. However, they still sold fairly well to the stubborn OAP Metro-driving brigade. All I can say to those people who bought one is sorry! Fortunately my boss didn't hate me enough to give me one as a company car!
1. Mercedes A-Class (1st gen) - this narrowly beats the City Rover to 1st place as it cost twice as much but was almost as useless. My first job out of university was selling Mercedes. I was looking forward to getting a Mercedes as a company car but they gave me one of these. It didn't look great, wasn't at all comfortable or as well built as you expect a Mercedes to be, awful ride and handling and rubbish performance. Apparently, a 10 year old A-Class is practically scrap now as they are unreliable and expensive to fix. My mum's basic Ford Ka (which was about a third of the cost) was much nicer to drive. Fortunately, I still had my 205 GTi to keep me sane but after having four A-classes as company cars (the A140 Auto was probably the worst), I gave up on Mercedes and went to sell Rovers instead (my Rover 25 was a much nicer car)! Shame on you Mercedes, as the contemporary C and E-Classes were in a totally different league!
So what in your opinion, is the worst car in the history of the world, all things considered?
The title went down to the wire between the Peugeot 308 and Lexus SC430, with the Lexus getting the nod because it was quite expensive new I guess. Now the 308 doesn't look as good or drive as well as a Peugeot ought to but having delivered new Peugeots for one summer, I wouldn't say that it's a bad car. The diesel engine is good, it's fairly safe, practical and comfortable and drives OK (although perhaps not as well as a Golf or Focus). With regards to the Lexus, I guess you spend that kind of money on a convertible to look good and feel good. It doesn't look good and would be a bit embarassing to be seen in but it does have a V8 and would be fairly comfortable and well-equipped I would imagine.
Any hatch-based cabriolet made since about 1992 is just as embarassing IMHO especially the coupe-cabriolets (the 307 and 308CC are particularly hideous).
Also, there have been some pretty tragic coupes available - Probe, Tigra, facelifted Hyundai Coupe, Calibra anyone? (although the Calibra did at least look good in its day)!
How about some of the early SUVs when they first became popular - I'm thinking Vauxhall Frontera, Ford Maverick (don't look great and not great performers on or off-road).
The Audi A3 has always puzzled me. A more, expensive, less good Golf with a worse ride, although perhaps that doesn't make it a bad car (after all you could argue that a Golf is a more expensive, less roomy Skoda Octavia).
I'm sad to say that 3 of my top 6 worst cars of all time have been makes that I have sold new in the motor trade. So here they are. What, in your opinion is the worst car in the history of the world?
6. VW Fox - not a bad car but not a good VW. It just didn't feel as well built as a VW should be (Lupo and Up! much better). A bit bland and didn't have the appeal of other cars in the class. However, the Polo engines were OK and it was a very roomy car and a reasonably-priced VW, so sold fairly well.
5. Toyota Yaris - my mother-in-law has one and I can't see why they are so popular. Tiny boot, cabin feels cheap and nasty, the engine feels gutless and the controls feel horrid (I would usually choose to drive rather than not drive but when we go to visit the in-laws, I don't bother).
4. Fiat Grande Punto 1.2 - looked good and I like small Fiats but this car had no brio whatsoever and I had a miserable drive in a rented one from Dundee back to Manchester.
3. Seat Altea FR - I never drove it (it belonged to a friend). It was fairly quick but looked a bit weird and the awful ride (for a so-called family car) would have had my wife and daughter vomiting within a few miles (totally unfit for purpose).
2. City Rover - the only car that I was truly embarassed to sell and at the launch the Rover people seemed a bit embarssed by it TBH. Inside it felt like a 1980s Hyundai, awful paint finish, horrible farty old Peugeot engine and treacly steering. The batteries seemed to lose all charge over the space of about 10 minutes, so we used to break down frequently on test drives. Fortunately, our company had a multi-franchise, so if I couldn't interest them in a nearly new Rover 25 instead, I would try to sell them a new Suzuki. However, they still sold fairly well to the stubborn OAP Metro-driving brigade. All I can say to those people who bought one is sorry! Fortunately my boss didn't hate me enough to give me one as a company car!
1. Mercedes A-Class (1st gen) - this narrowly beats the City Rover to 1st place as it cost twice as much but was almost as useless. My first job out of university was selling Mercedes. I was looking forward to getting a Mercedes as a company car but they gave me one of these. It didn't look great, wasn't at all comfortable or as well built as you expect a Mercedes to be, awful ride and handling and rubbish performance. Apparently, a 10 year old A-Class is practically scrap now as they are unreliable and expensive to fix. My mum's basic Ford Ka (which was about a third of the cost) was much nicer to drive. Fortunately, I still had my 205 GTi to keep me sane but after having four A-classes as company cars (the A140 Auto was probably the worst), I gave up on Mercedes and went to sell Rovers instead (my Rover 25 was a much nicer car)! Shame on you Mercedes, as the contemporary C and E-Classes were in a totally different league!
So what in your opinion, is the worst car in the history of the world, all things considered?
Liquid Tuna said:
I reckon this thread is gonna go the same way as the last one did about a week ago with people nominating a veyron, or an impreza, or a delorean (yes, I know, a delorean, WTF is wrong with people!!).
Probably because its the same old s
t posted time and time again ;0) 
For me it's the Smart car - Partly because its the exact opposite of its description, but mostly because it seems to attract truly awful drivers who float around in their little bubbles believing they're an asset to human kind. You may argue that it's the drivers whom i take exception to, not the car, and in part, you would be right. But my problem with the car is that it attracts awful drivers like flies around dog eggs. No other car i've noticed pulls in such a noticeably high proportion of tossers. Worst of all, these people are almost always smug about their choice of crap car. Which is something i can not abide.
For this reason, I'm voting Smart.
For this reason, I'm voting Smart.
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