What's the most disappointing car to drive?
Discussion
From your experience...top 3 for me in no particular order.
1) 1st gen Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W168?). The mighty A160 Elegance was my first company car and being 23 I thought that a new Mercedes might be quite nice. Not the prettiest thing but I quite admired the packaging (good interior space for the footprint) and the high driving position offered 25 years ago what people seem to like today but in all other respects it was pretty terrible. Gutless and yet quite thirsty and did not ride or handle well and I found it very uncomfortable. The other cars that I had access to out of work (my 205 GTi 1.6 and my mum's mk1 Ford Ka) both put the Mercedes to shame for a fun driving experience.
2) Fiat 500 1.2. My wife and I actually owned this car for 3.5 years. Fantastic piece of design and felt special to be in for a "cheap" car and it was reliable in our tenure, engine and gearbox were fine but the steering and ride were terrible to the point where I drastically had to reduce my cross-country pace on a bumpy road as it just pogoed around everywhere. Not bad on the motorway though. It was disappointing though, as my first car was a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting and that had fantastic steering and felt far more resolved.
3) Original Range Rover Evoque. My MIL used to have one of these and I thought it looked fantastic, so was really excited when she let me have a go in it. I have driven Freelanders/Freelander 2s in the past and quite enjoyed them but this was very disappointing. It rattled a lot and the automatic transmission and engine didn't seem very well mapped. Altogether my similar vintage mk7 Golf was a far better driving experience (and considerably cheaper).
Those 3 are probably the most disappointing but I've also been pretty underwhelmed by low powered 3-Series (E36/E46) that I've driven in past. I found the equivalent Mondeo/Passat more enjoyable to drive.
So what car(s) in your opinion have been the most disappointing to drive?
1) 1st gen Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W168?). The mighty A160 Elegance was my first company car and being 23 I thought that a new Mercedes might be quite nice. Not the prettiest thing but I quite admired the packaging (good interior space for the footprint) and the high driving position offered 25 years ago what people seem to like today but in all other respects it was pretty terrible. Gutless and yet quite thirsty and did not ride or handle well and I found it very uncomfortable. The other cars that I had access to out of work (my 205 GTi 1.6 and my mum's mk1 Ford Ka) both put the Mercedes to shame for a fun driving experience.
2) Fiat 500 1.2. My wife and I actually owned this car for 3.5 years. Fantastic piece of design and felt special to be in for a "cheap" car and it was reliable in our tenure, engine and gearbox were fine but the steering and ride were terrible to the point where I drastically had to reduce my cross-country pace on a bumpy road as it just pogoed around everywhere. Not bad on the motorway though. It was disappointing though, as my first car was a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting and that had fantastic steering and felt far more resolved.
3) Original Range Rover Evoque. My MIL used to have one of these and I thought it looked fantastic, so was really excited when she let me have a go in it. I have driven Freelanders/Freelander 2s in the past and quite enjoyed them but this was very disappointing. It rattled a lot and the automatic transmission and engine didn't seem very well mapped. Altogether my similar vintage mk7 Golf was a far better driving experience (and considerably cheaper).
Those 3 are probably the most disappointing but I've also been pretty underwhelmed by low powered 3-Series (E36/E46) that I've driven in past. I found the equivalent Mondeo/Passat more enjoyable to drive.
So what car(s) in your opinion have been the most disappointing to drive?
Hippea said:
One that stands out for me is a 2016 Nissan Juke CVT hire car, it was woeful
Quite variable CVTs aren't they? Toyota not bad in my experience, I've driven some Honda CVTs that were pretty hateful but the last 2 hybrid Hondas (Civic/CRV) that I drove were actually pretty good. I've driven some awful and some OK Nissan CVTs but I don't think they're that reliable. In general I think that I prefer a dual clutch or a torque convertor automatic though. I actually think that the 2nd generation Juke looks pretty decent but I have yet to drive one. It's down to expectation though, did you expect the Juke to drive well?This is about disappointing cars, not just rubbish cars.
For me I think it would be the DB11 I drove on one of those airfield days, great car and a great place to be but everything felt very easy and much less of an event than I had imagined. It had so much grip that it was almost boring to drive (relatively) slowly around the track.
For me I think it would be the DB11 I drove on one of those airfield days, great car and a great place to be but everything felt very easy and much less of an event than I had imagined. It had so much grip that it was almost boring to drive (relatively) slowly around the track.
I once had a 2018 Subaru Forester as a hire car. Bear in mind these are supposed to compete with premium suvs (Tiguan for example) it felt cheap, there was no flat 4 warble, and the cvt transmission was hateful.
The angle of the throttle pedal gave me ankle pain within 15 minutes, and I even hated the key which having a blade like something from the 80s kept jabbing me in the leg when in my pocket
The angle of the throttle pedal gave me ankle pain within 15 minutes, and I even hated the key which having a blade like something from the 80s kept jabbing me in the leg when in my pocket
I got given a Toyota Corolla Verso petrol Auto as a rental at Copenhagen airport in 2007 and it was a hateful POS. 
There was delay of at least a second after pressing the accelerator before it began to move and when it did it was an asthmatic thing that just sucked all enjoyment out of driving.
Next time I went they tried to give me a Golf Plus. I asked if there was anything else nearly ready and ended up waiting half an hour to get a Hyundai i30!
My destination was 200+km from the airport so I didn't want another horror, although the VW couldn't have been any worse than that Toyota.
There was delay of at least a second after pressing the accelerator before it began to move and when it did it was an asthmatic thing that just sucked all enjoyment out of driving.
Next time I went they tried to give me a Golf Plus. I asked if there was anything else nearly ready and ended up waiting half an hour to get a Hyundai i30!
My destination was 200+km from the airport so I didn't want another horror, although the VW couldn't have been any worse than that Toyota.
Any CTV self charging hybrid, especially the Subaru forester I had as a hire car
Awful gearbox that just wines all the time, revs the engine so much and is so loud and never in the right gear with a pointless hybrid system then seemed to cut the engine in as soon as you touched the pedal unless you where going down hill
See also the Kia Nero hire car I had that was the same, and every taxi Toyota Prius I’ve ever been in
Awful
Focus ST170 I looked at, gutless with tall gearing, at a time when turbo charging hot hatches was the norm, had the same issue with a mk7 fiesta zetec s
Awful gearbox that just wines all the time, revs the engine so much and is so loud and never in the right gear with a pointless hybrid system then seemed to cut the engine in as soon as you touched the pedal unless you where going down hill
See also the Kia Nero hire car I had that was the same, and every taxi Toyota Prius I’ve ever been in
Awful
Focus ST170 I looked at, gutless with tall gearing, at a time when turbo charging hot hatches was the norm, had the same issue with a mk7 fiesta zetec s
white_goodman said:
From your experience...top 3 for me in no particular order.
1) 1st gen Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W168?). The mighty A160 Elegance was my first company car and being 23 I thought that a new Mercedes might be quite nice. Not the prettiest thing but I quite admired the packaging (good interior space for the footprint) and the high driving position offered 25 years ago what people seem to like today but in all other respects it was pretty terrible. Gutless and yet quite thirsty and did not ride or handle well and I found it very uncomfortable. The other cars that I had access to out of work (my 205 GTi 1.6 and my mum's mk1 Ford Ka) both put the Mercedes to shame for a fun driving experience.
2) Fiat 500 1.2. My wife and I actually owned this car for 3.5 years. Fantastic piece of design and felt special to be in for a "cheap" car and it was reliable in our tenure, engine and gearbox were fine but the steering and ride were terrible to the point where I drastically had to reduce my cross-country pace on a bumpy road as it just pogoed around everywhere. Not bad on the motorway though. It was disappointing though, as my first car was a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting and that had fantastic steering and felt far more resolved.
3) Original Range Rover Evoque. My MIL used to have one of these and I thought it looked fantastic, so was really excited when she let me have a go in it. I have driven Freelanders/Freelander 2s in the past and quite enjoyed them but this was very disappointing. It rattled a lot and the automatic transmission and engine didn't seem very well mapped. Altogether my similar vintage mk7 Golf was a far better driving experience (and considerably cheaper).
Those 3 are probably the most disappointing but I've also been pretty underwhelmed by low powered 3-Series (E36/E46) that I've driven in past. I found the equivalent Mondeo/Passat more enjoyable to drive.
So what car(s) in your opinion have been the most disappointing to drive?
Im initially confused as to why you thought any of those 3 vehicles would be anything but disappointing? Theyre just inane tools?1) 1st gen Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W168?). The mighty A160 Elegance was my first company car and being 23 I thought that a new Mercedes might be quite nice. Not the prettiest thing but I quite admired the packaging (good interior space for the footprint) and the high driving position offered 25 years ago what people seem to like today but in all other respects it was pretty terrible. Gutless and yet quite thirsty and did not ride or handle well and I found it very uncomfortable. The other cars that I had access to out of work (my 205 GTi 1.6 and my mum's mk1 Ford Ka) both put the Mercedes to shame for a fun driving experience.
2) Fiat 500 1.2. My wife and I actually owned this car for 3.5 years. Fantastic piece of design and felt special to be in for a "cheap" car and it was reliable in our tenure, engine and gearbox were fine but the steering and ride were terrible to the point where I drastically had to reduce my cross-country pace on a bumpy road as it just pogoed around everywhere. Not bad on the motorway though. It was disappointing though, as my first car was a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting and that had fantastic steering and felt far more resolved.
3) Original Range Rover Evoque. My MIL used to have one of these and I thought it looked fantastic, so was really excited when she let me have a go in it. I have driven Freelanders/Freelander 2s in the past and quite enjoyed them but this was very disappointing. It rattled a lot and the automatic transmission and engine didn't seem very well mapped. Altogether my similar vintage mk7 Golf was a far better driving experience (and considerably cheaper).
Those 3 are probably the most disappointing but I've also been pretty underwhelmed by low powered 3-Series (E36/E46) that I've driven in past. I found the equivalent Mondeo/Passat more enjoyable to drive.
So what car(s) in your opinion have been the most disappointing to drive?
If the thread is about being disappointed from a car when you were expecting more rather than cars that are just crap then for me it has to be the Mercedes w210 that I owned for 4 years, on paper it should have been perfect, 6 cylinder diesel, navy blue with cream leather.
That was the good points, the reality was that it was so unreliable that I was surprised when it worked, the bodywork dissolved, it cost a fortune to keep on the road and it wasn't anything special to drive, Germanic Teutonic excellence my @rse.
That was the good points, the reality was that it was so unreliable that I was surprised when it worked, the bodywork dissolved, it cost a fortune to keep on the road and it wasn't anything special to drive, Germanic Teutonic excellence my @rse.
John D. said:
I drove a Juke hire car once as well. Was appalling.
Don't think I've ever driven a car I expected to be great and been disappointed though.
Actually, having driven quite a few Fords over the last 20 years and found them fantastic to drive, I was a bit disappointed with a couple of Fiestas that I drove recently. A mk8 that I had as a hire car had poor/poorly calibrated steering for a Ford, too light and too sharp requiring constant correction on the motorway and a 1.25 mk7 was just a bit meh. I was convinced that it was the car that I was going to buy for my wife (I didn't want an Ecobbom) but we bought a Clio instead (more fun), although it has had a few issues that we probably wouldn't have had with the Fiesta!Don't think I've ever driven a car I expected to be great and been disappointed though.
Keith-9fc7j said:
white_goodman said:
From your experience...top 3 for me in no particular order.
1) 1st gen Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W168?). The mighty A160 Elegance was my first company car and being 23 I thought that a new Mercedes might be quite nice. Not the prettiest thing but I quite admired the packaging (good interior space for the footprint) and the high driving position offered 25 years ago what people seem to like today but in all other respects it was pretty terrible. Gutless and yet quite thirsty and did not ride or handle well and I found it very uncomfortable. The other cars that I had access to out of work (my 205 GTi 1.6 and my mum's mk1 Ford Ka) both put the Mercedes to shame for a fun driving experience.
2) Fiat 500 1.2. My wife and I actually owned this car for 3.5 years. Fantastic piece of design and felt special to be in for a "cheap" car and it was reliable in our tenure, engine and gearbox were fine but the steering and ride were terrible to the point where I drastically had to reduce my cross-country pace on a bumpy road as it just pogoed around everywhere. Not bad on the motorway though. It was disappointing though, as my first car was a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting and that had fantastic steering and felt far more resolved.
3) Original Range Rover Evoque. My MIL used to have one of these and I thought it looked fantastic, so was really excited when she let me have a go in it. I have driven Freelanders/Freelander 2s in the past and quite enjoyed them but this was very disappointing. It rattled a lot and the automatic transmission and engine didn't seem very well mapped. Altogether my similar vintage mk7 Golf was a far better driving experience (and considerably cheaper).
Those 3 are probably the most disappointing but I've also been pretty underwhelmed by low powered 3-Series (E36/E46) that I've driven in past. I found the equivalent Mondeo/Passat more enjoyable to drive.
So what car(s) in your opinion have been the most disappointing to drive?
Im initially confused as to why you thought any of those 3 vehicles would be anything but disappointing? Theyre just inane tools?1) 1st gen Mercedes-Benz A-Class (W168?). The mighty A160 Elegance was my first company car and being 23 I thought that a new Mercedes might be quite nice. Not the prettiest thing but I quite admired the packaging (good interior space for the footprint) and the high driving position offered 25 years ago what people seem to like today but in all other respects it was pretty terrible. Gutless and yet quite thirsty and did not ride or handle well and I found it very uncomfortable. The other cars that I had access to out of work (my 205 GTi 1.6 and my mum's mk1 Ford Ka) both put the Mercedes to shame for a fun driving experience.
2) Fiat 500 1.2. My wife and I actually owned this car for 3.5 years. Fantastic piece of design and felt special to be in for a "cheap" car and it was reliable in our tenure, engine and gearbox were fine but the steering and ride were terrible to the point where I drastically had to reduce my cross-country pace on a bumpy road as it just pogoed around everywhere. Not bad on the motorway though. It was disappointing though, as my first car was a Fiat Cinquecento Sporting and that had fantastic steering and felt far more resolved.
3) Original Range Rover Evoque. My MIL used to have one of these and I thought it looked fantastic, so was really excited when she let me have a go in it. I have driven Freelanders/Freelander 2s in the past and quite enjoyed them but this was very disappointing. It rattled a lot and the automatic transmission and engine didn't seem very well mapped. Altogether my similar vintage mk7 Golf was a far better driving experience (and considerably cheaper).
Those 3 are probably the most disappointing but I've also been pretty underwhelmed by low powered 3-Series (E36/E46) that I've driven in past. I found the equivalent Mondeo/Passat more enjoyable to drive.
So what car(s) in your opinion have been the most disappointing to drive?
With regards to the Fiat 500, small low-powered Italian/French hatchbacks are often quite enjoyable to drive and indeed, although less refined, my Cinquecento Sporting did drive a whole heap better than the 500. Other small, cheap hatchbacks such as MINIs, Suzuki Swifts and our 0.9 TCe Clio are also pretty fun to drive in comparison.
For me, none of these 3 cars lived up to my expectations (I drove a colleague's C-Class at the time and it was in a different league to the A-Class) and drove how I would expect a Mercedes to drive. For those suggesting stuff like the Juke/Mokka/2008/Corolla Verso, my question would be were you expecting it to drive well? I probably wouldn't but I was expecting the A-Class/500/Evoque to drive better than they did.
Mine was my 2017 Merc C250d.
I know it was an exec estate and I shouldn’t have expected much but I had a 2014 320d before that and that was a head and shoulders better car.
The engine was coarse, didn’t feel all that fast and wasn’t that good on fuel. The suspension was too stiff for how it handled and it seemed to have a rubbery feel to drive.
Probably the worst were the fake leather seats which split at 65k miles and had to be replaced.
Headlights were terrible despite being the better LED ones, stereo was pants and it eventually needed £1400 spending on new sensors which made me send it to WBAC.
I know it was an exec estate and I shouldn’t have expected much but I had a 2014 320d before that and that was a head and shoulders better car.
The engine was coarse, didn’t feel all that fast and wasn’t that good on fuel. The suspension was too stiff for how it handled and it seemed to have a rubbery feel to drive.
Probably the worst were the fake leather seats which split at 65k miles and had to be replaced.
Headlights were terrible despite being the better LED ones, stereo was pants and it eventually needed £1400 spending on new sensors which made me send it to WBAC.
VW Golf Mk8. You could tell that VW was cutting costs everywhere after diesel gate and having to pay out billions. The Mk8 golf I had was absolutely terrible in quality and infotainment system. If you looked around inside you could actually see where they had cut costs. The 1.5 engine was lethargic and not very fuel efficient, it rode well between that was it and for how much it cost it was traded in as soon as I could.
It really is as people say they are done for with the Chinese and Koreans quality/price.
It really is as people say they are done for with the Chinese and Koreans quality/price.
Anything diesel.
Big surge of torque, and you think, ohhhh yes, here we go!
Nope, that was your whole lot.
Old people think they're good because they drive cars as if it's the 1950s, not daring to rev them, and are rewarded with somewhat reasonable torque.
Honourable mention to turbo Subarus. Yeah, they're pretty decent, if you've never driven anything better.
Big surge of torque, and you think, ohhhh yes, here we go!
Nope, that was your whole lot.
Old people think they're good because they drive cars as if it's the 1950s, not daring to rev them, and are rewarded with somewhat reasonable torque.
Honourable mention to turbo Subarus. Yeah, they're pretty decent, if you've never driven anything better.
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