Really dreadful good cars

[shed driver]

Some cars are universally disliked or looked down on, yet they seem to make good sense as a vehicle.

For example, the fiat multipla is seen as one of the ugliest cars from a main stream manufacturer but if you needed a small six seater there was nothing else around.

Likewise the Citroën Picasso, sold in their millions, still loads around and was a fantastic load lugger with Tardis like interior space. It found fame as the car driven by people who have to ask their own name. For families on a budget it was probably one of the best cars for carrying 3 full size child seats, prams and luggage.

Any others?

SD.

[Bonefish Blues]

I like the Multipla, much to like there.

Lexus SC430. Built of teak, excellent reliability, even sounds nice with a stainless system. Really good in its niche - which is not a sports car. I didn't, because useless rear seats, but other than that...

[RustyNissanPrairie]

Berlingo.
The car nobody wants
The car everybody needs

[Kuwahara]

Agreed on the Picasso , made it possible for a lot of families to get into a new car instead of some rot box ,at the time Citroen we’re discounting all their range.

[bennno]

RustyNissanPrairie said:

Berlingo.
The car nobody wants
The car everybody needs

Agreed with that, cheap as chips, rides well, long lasting, as much space as you’d ever need, reliable, cheap to service and insure

[Deerfoot]

shed driver said:

For example, the fiat multipla is seen as one of the ugliest cars from a main stream manufacturer but if you needed a small six seater there was nothing else around.

Honda FR-V?

[andy43]

bennno said:

RustyNissanPrairie said:

Berlingo.
The car nobody wants
The car everybody needs

Agreed with that, cheap as chips, rides well, long lasting, as much space as you d ever need, reliable, cheap to service and insure

I bought a Kangoo 4wd to go alongside a silly V8 because practical, and who doesn’t love these van type holdalls when you’re bombing round a Canary isle covered in sand? Kids loved it, loads of space, easy to park, cheap to run and would have been great in the winter… except I didn’t get that far.
Utterly woeful. Hated it. Never experienced the feeling of being looked down on by other drivers quite so much. And I wasn’t even wearing sandals. It genuinely lasted a week before I part exd it.

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Deerfoot said:

shed driver said:

For example, the fiat multipla is seen as one of the ugliest cars from a main stream manufacturer but if you needed a small six seater there was nothing else around.

Honda FR-V?

Their production does overlap but the Mulitpla launched six years before the FR-V.

[5lab]

RedWhiteMonkey said:

Deerfoot said:

shed driver said:

For example, the fiat multipla is seen as one of the ugliest cars from a main stream manufacturer but if you needed a small six seater there was nothing else around.

Honda FR-V?

Their production does overlap but the Mulitpla launched six years before the FR-V.

merc r63? Might not have had quite the same list price new..

[Every day a journey]

I nominate the Citroen Ami

[RedWhiteMonkey]

5lab said:

merc r63? Might not have had quite the same list price new..

Not quite the same customer profile I suspect. Regardless of that. Multipla launched in 1998 and the R Class in 2005/06.

[AmyRichardson]

shed driver said:

Some cars are universally disliked or looked down on, yet they seem to make good sense as a vehicle.

For example, the fiat multipla is seen as one of the ugliest cars from a main stream manufacturer but if you needed a small six seater there was nothing else around.

Likewise the Citroën Picasso, sold in their millions, still loads around and was a fantastic load lugger with Tardis like interior space. It found fame as the car driven by people who have to ask their own name. For families on a budget it was probably one of the best cars for carrying 3 full size child seats, prams and luggage.

Any others?

SD.

It's going to be MPVs all the way.

As manufacturers have discovered, an aesthetic nod towards off-road capability, and a slightly less practical & flexible interior, shifts such a vehicle from "angry loser" to "suburban desirability" - go figure.

[Krikkit]

AmyRichardson said:

As manufacturers have discovered, an aesthetic nod towards off-road capability, and a slightly less practical & flexible interior, shifts such a vehicle from "angry loser" to "suburban desirability" - go figure.

Objectively a significantly less capable car for the job, but 4x4s are fashionable and make you look rich, so obviously that's better

[SJfW]

Toyota Previa

School mate of mine's mum had one and for their large family and assorted friends of kids, it was immense. I'm sure there was more than half the rugby team in there on the way home some weekends.

[Studio263]

Every day a journey said:

I nominate the Citroen Ami

The real one or that plastic battery operated rubbish they make now?

I drive a real Ami (an Ami 8 break) as my daily car in the summer, at first people used to think they were ugly but now they tell me how beautiful it is. Almost zero running costs, comfortable, utter reliability (air cooled), ULEZ exempt. If only the metal it was made of was a little more rust resistant...

[GeniusOfLove]

Bonefish Blues said:

I like the Multipla, much to like there.

Lexus SC430. Built of teak, excellent reliability, even sounds nice with a stainless system. Really good in its niche - which is not a sports car. I didn't, because useless rear seats, but other than that...

Both good shouts, a rather eccentric chap I used to work with had a Multipla from new for his horde of kids and said it was a fantastic car.

The SC430 is also a great choice, as I said in the Barge thread recently all the people steered towards the "Best or Nothing" R230 SL by the derision and scorn for the SC430 from bellend motoring journalists probably came to regret their choice of the christmas cracker toy Mercedes

[RDMcG]

Smart ForTwo. I have had mine since December 2004. It should have kept its original name ( City Coupe.). Never leaves the congested city but is perfect for shopping and of course parking.

[Quhet]

The original Zafira surely fits into this category. The seating was really clever and they are an incredibly practical car but spoilt by the horrible council/angry dad image.

Come to think about it, Vauxhalls in general probably all fit into this genre

[ChocolateFrog]

shed driver said:

Some cars are universally disliked or looked down on, yet they seem to make good sense as a vehicle.

For example, the fiat multipla is seen as one of the ugliest cars from a main stream manufacturer but if you needed a small six seater there was nothing else around.

Likewise the Citroën Picasso, sold in their millions, still loads around and was a fantastic load lugger with Tardis like interior space. It found fame as the car driven by people who have to ask their own name. For families on a budget it was probably one of the best cars for carrying 3 full size child seats, prams and luggage.

Any others?

SD.

That Citroen was available brand new for less than £7k at one point towards the end of its life.

I think that was the main reason they were everywhere.

[ChocolateFrog]

AmyRichardson said:

It's going to be MPVs all the way.

As manufacturers have discovered, an aesthetic nod towards off-road capability, and a slightly less practical & flexible interior, shifts such a vehicle from "angry loser" to "suburban desirability" - go figure.

Agree, they're universally hated and derided by the general public.

The Espace was well regarded and no one seemed to care back then but the Multipla for it's looks and the Zafira for its driver profile along with the perceived coolness of vans, particularly the Transportor seems to have killed the breed in the UK.