What's the worst car you've ever driven?
What's the worst car you've ever driven?
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Discussion

E90_M3Ross

Original Poster:

36,729 posts

242 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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My car is currently in getting new front tyres and some other bits, and one part delivered was incorrect, so I'm currently driving around in a 1 litre Peugeot 108 automatic. I think I can safely say it is the worst car I have ever, ever driven.

Not just because it is painfully slow (which it is, 15.9 to 100kmh!!) but it feels incredibly poorly and cheaply made. The doors sound like a tin can, the ergonomics are just horrendous, the controls are terrible - brake pedal is over servo'd (touch them and you almost go through the windscreen, but they little more if you press firmly, like they're an on/off switch), there is no steering feedback, the gearbox genuinely feels worse than the one my 23 year old 7 series had - I know it's made "on the cheap" but even the NS wing mirror has to be manually adjusted.....my 1982 BMW 3 series had electrically adjustable mirrors FFS.

I've driven many cheap cars over the years but hand on heart, this is the most hateful piece of st I have ever driven. My mate used to have a 2004 Seat Ibiza with a 1.2, and that was leagues better in terms of quality and just FUN. It was good to chuck it around, this is just hateful, I suspect the automatic gearbox doesn't help (5 speed.....and it's a 2017 car!?!?). I would say my very first car, a 1996 Rover 214i was a much better car.

So....over to you!

Super Sonic

14,507 posts

84 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Also a pug, 405 auto. The e window switches kept falling out, if I bumped my head on the a pillar the trim would fall off, and it would randomly go into R when selecting D. The only European car I've ever bought.

Cfnteabag

1,261 posts

226 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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My wife convinced me to get a secondhand Honda FRV a few years ago, the one with 3 seats across the front, as a sensible family car.

It was a hateful thing, horrible to drive, nasty thirsty engine, horrible gearbox. Would understeer for days if you even considered pushing on. Seats were uncomfortable.

I hated that car and took great pleasure in selling it!

E90_M3Ross

Original Poster:

36,729 posts

242 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
quotequote all
Super Sonic said:
Also a pug, 405 auto. The e window switches kept falling out, if I bumped my head on the a pillar the trim would fall off, and it would randomly go into R when selecting D. The only European car I've ever bought.
That reminds me, another irritating thing about this is every time you put it in reverse it gives a loud, high pitched warning tone. It's like it's saying "WOAH THERE, BE CAREFUL! Are you sure you want to go backwards!?"

A500leroy

8,496 posts

148 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Daewoo Lanos.

Gigamoons

18,084 posts

230 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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I think worst links to expectations.
Still remember borrowing a newish MY2000 Mercedes ML 270cdi with zero options ticked, manual gearbox.

Utterly awful and couldn’t wait to give it back.

Riley Blue

23,205 posts

256 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Fiat Strada, a company car 'cos the MD's BiL had a Fiat dealership. The Strada had no redeeming features whatsoever and it was green, a colour I've hated for cars ever since.

Bobupndown

2,974 posts

73 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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A Kia Rio so called 'courtesy' car.
I've driven older heaps years ago but didn't hate them as much as the soul destroying Rio. A nasty cheap horrible car. Really dismal. Was so glad to hand that back.

Gary C

15,288 posts

209 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Oh thats simple

Thing is, most cars do what they are designed for and few actually fail on that

but

The MGF is the most awful, miserable, detestable car for utterly failing to be what it pretended to be. Seriously bad.

Felt like I was sitting on it rather than in it, ok I'm tall so could forgive that a little, but my god the handling. It was hard to tell if it was understeering or if the wheels were missing ! No feedback, no communication. Totally dead and inert. Took a new one for a test drive, up the road, first corner, turned around and back to the garage.

Now, in a cheap shopping trolley that might have even been ok, but in a supposed 'mid engined sports car !!' it was dire and unacceptable

Hateful little turd.

Geertsen

1,940 posts

89 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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E90_M3Ross said:
My car is currently in getting new front tyres and some other bits, and one part delivered was incorrect, so I'm currently driving around in a 1 litre Peugeot 108 automatic. I think I can safely say it is the worst car I have ever, ever driven.

Not just because it is painfully slow (which it is, 15.9 to 100kmh!!) but it feels incredibly poorly and cheaply made. The doors sound like a tin can, the ergonomics are just horrendous, the controls are terrible - brake pedal is over servo'd (touch them and you almost go through the windscreen, but then little more if you press firmly, like they're an on/off switch), there is no steering feedback, the gearbox genuinely feels worse than the one my 23 year old 7 series had - I know it's made "on the cheap" but even the NS wing mirror has to be manually adjusted.....my 1982 BMW 3 series had electrically adjustable mirrors FFS.
My mother in law has a 2017 Mazda 2 that I had to drive recently and these are the key points that I have taken away from her car too. The doors literally sound like you’re banging on the side of an empty oil drum when you close them and the brakes were utterly absurd; they were either off or on, no in-between.

rallycross

13,757 posts

267 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Possibly Range Rover v8 top spec with LPG kit - what a price of crap to drive and badly made thirsty (even with lpg conversion) but slow no good at corners also unreliable - why do people still buy these?


If not the above then an early 90’s Ford escort mk5 non turbo loaned to me by a garage had no pas no power and was horrible in almost every respect a real low point for Ford.

Milkyway

14,608 posts

83 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Easy winner for me... My ‘93 Proton Mpi.
Big car / small engine, a Mitsubishi 1.2 / triple valve. It was a sweet & quite refined engine, but had to work it hard to maintain progress.
The killer though was the handling, almost convinced that the steering wheel wasn’t actually attached to anything. It just wallowed everywhere & made long journeys depressing.

The Datsun Stanza’s handling could be a bit ‘unpredictable’ as well. It could produce understeer or oversteer, it certainly made for entertaining journeys... shame really, it was a nice car apart from that.

NB: Learnt to drive in my Dad’s Chevette... But then things got better,
( Still not as bad as the Proton though).

Edited by Milkyway on Saturday 1st July 15:21

Leins

10,470 posts

178 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Peugeot 307. Awful thing

amongst all the faults, probably the most annoying was an indicator that self-cancelled with such ferocity that it switched on for the opposite side, combined with a relatively inaudible indication sound

Whoever was I charge of bringing this car to market really didn’t seem to like their job very much, and I can only assume they didn’t bother driving a 306 in advance

LunarOne

7,325 posts

167 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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It's either the beaten up old VW Polo 1.0 or the ancient Peugeot 205 with no letters after its name, probably also 1.0 which I had as a loaner car when having work suspension refresh work done at an independent garage in the mid 1990s. Both gutless, both had barely any braking, and both had awful clutches and gearboxes. But I suspect that's why they were being used as a loaner. By contrast, the best indy loaner discounting the E39 BMW 530i (which was expected to be good) was an old Volvo 340DL, probably a 1.4. That had pretty bouncy handling but it went well, was comfortable and a hoot to drive. I remember not wanting to give it back!

GetCarter

31,287 posts

309 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Lada Riva. No clock, no radio, no torque and worst of all, no power steering - so a three point turn needed Herculean muscles.

whimsical ninja

263 posts

57 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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I recently drove a Land Rover for the first time - a recent model Discovery Sport. Disgusting car, nothing good to say about it. Prior to that, probably a 2 series

David5150

12 posts

39 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Crysler P T cruiser - utter heap

Don't know how the made it so bad. Heavy and an engine / drive train that just drank fuel with literally no power.

Only time I've returned a hire car and pleeded for any other car.

E63eeeeee...

5,766 posts

79 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Hyundai Tucson. Heavy, gutless engine, so uncomfortably slow to launch on the dual carriageway roundabouts around Heathrow. Nasty, uncomfortable interior. Pretty miserable to drive. Had it for less than 12 hours as a courtesy car on the way to the airport, never want to see another one.

Slowboathome

4,461 posts

74 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Toss up between:

- old Landrover Defender - shocking steering and an unnerving problem whereby the transmission seemed to wind itself up
- Lada Riva, relatively new, absolutely shocking
- Datsun Stanza. Horrible handling

Killer2005

20,610 posts

258 months

Saturday 1st July 2023
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Corsa D. Under powered, poorly built, terrible interior.

All around awful, no idea why anyone would go near one.