Worst riding car you've had/been in?
Discussion
[quote=Triumph Man]... Suzuki SJ410 ... /quote]
This is a decent call - I had one as my first car in 1997 ... it was an '84 D plate and ex-farm vehicle... It wasn't that bouncy when we collected it but then I spent an age jet washing all the farm crud off it. Turns out it and it was caked in hay animal feed underneath and gained an epic amount of bounce when it was all washed away! it never returned to its un-bouncy level
This is a decent call - I had one as my first car in 1997 ... it was an '84 D plate and ex-farm vehicle... It wasn't that bouncy when we collected it but then I spent an age jet washing all the farm crud off it. Turns out it and it was caked in hay animal feed underneath and gained an epic amount of bounce when it was all washed away! it never returned to its un-bouncy level
Abarth 595 Competizione with those carbon-backed Sabelt seats - had one as a company demonstrator for a while and I never looked forward to long journeys in it.
Great car but my god is it crashy. We sold my girlfriend's 500C Abarth (with the softer seats and suspension) because of the terrible dampening.
Great car but my god is it crashy. We sold my girlfriend's 500C Abarth (with the softer seats and suspension) because of the terrible dampening.
stickleback123 said:
wsn03 said:
Austin Allegro - f me, if ever something made me decide the country had no future, that was it.
What an absolute heap of s
t. Didn't help that the suspension was collapsed, not that you'd have noticed.
It was just dreadful in every respect....most of all just being seen driving it. Mustard yellow with dog stickers on the windows! Properly destroyed my street cred, but it was a summer job I suppose (owned by the employer). Even the Reliant Robin I drove later was less embarrassing.
I'm not going to disagree with you that the Allegro was a POS for a huge number of reasons, but it would have had excellent ride quality if it wasn't broken. It was one area The Firm always excelled in.What an absolute heap of s
t. Didn't help that the suspension was collapsed, not that you'd have noticed.It was just dreadful in every respect....most of all just being seen driving it. Mustard yellow with dog stickers on the windows! Properly destroyed my street cred, but it was a summer job I suppose (owned by the employer). Even the Reliant Robin I drove later was less embarrassing.
That's interesting and I'll take your word for it. Nothing however could get me through the embarrassment of its mustard yellow paint job, hideous estate looks, and big doggy stickers all over the windows
Probably my up! GTI. I don't mind a hard ride, but there is such a lack of sophistication to the way the up! is damped, and in particular the rebound damping. A change from 195 to 205 section tyres, and a tweak of the pressures helped, but it can still be very harsh over imperfect surfaces.
Every Volvo I've ever been in has given me car sickness too.
Every Volvo I've ever been in has given me car sickness too.
Drums said:
Abarth 595 Competizione with those carbon-backed Sabelt seats - had one as a company demonstrator for a while and I never looked forward to long journeys in it.
Great car but my god is it crashy. We sold my girlfriend's 500C Abarth (with the softer seats and suspension) because of the terrible dampening.
100% Agree. I had a 3 day trip to Italy for a mates wedding and thought I'd scored a winner by hiring one of these. Within 5 mins of leaving Avis's car park I realised I'd made a big mistake. Anything over about 60mph on the motorway was dangerous due to the bouncing around on the poor roads.Great car but my god is it crashy. We sold my girlfriend's 500C Abarth (with the softer seats and suspension) because of the terrible dampening.
ElectricSoup said:
Nissan Juke. Made me feel car sick for the first time in about 40 years.
I was a passenger in one, I didn’t notice it being a particularly uncomfortable ride, but it was really cramped feeling. Wouldn’t want to be in that passenger seat for long (I was about half an hour) As others have said anything Audi/Merc/BMW/Bini with rubber band tyres on oversize wheels. I assume S-Line means no shocks or springs?
My Cayenne S on its 19" Summers isn't great & even on much higher 18" winters it still gets caught out.
I have had two S type Jags, the first an SE on 16" & the second a Sport on 18", I found the sport pretty poor although not as bad as its German equivalents. Although everyone who rode in it thought it OK. Most owned Audi/BMW/Merc though.
My Cayenne S on its 19" Summers isn't great & even on much higher 18" winters it still gets caught out.
I have had two S type Jags, the first an SE on 16" & the second a Sport on 18", I found the sport pretty poor although not as bad as its German equivalents. Although everyone who rode in it thought it OK. Most owned Audi/BMW/Merc though.
I remember being driven down a local road by my brother in his 3 series (2008-ish), not long after I'd broken a few ribs in a bike accident and it being fking agony. It wasn't even particularly badly surfaced but I ended up begging him to drive at about 30mph. I'd driven the same road in my own cars several times since the accident with very little bother. I don't drive or even ride in cars other than my own all that often but when I do I am often surprised at just how bad a ride people will put up with, presumably for the sake of 'sport'.
king agony. It wasn't even particularly badly surfaced but I ended up begging him to drive at about 30mph. I'd driven the same road in my own cars several times since the accident with very little bother. I don't drive or even ride in cars other than my own all that often but when I do I am often surprised at just how bad a ride people will put up with, presumably for the sake of 'sport'.Without doubt it has to be the Golden Dragon XML 6532E3YM.
I believe it came out of China and is a replica of a Toyota mini van. I had to endure a 7 hour trip in this thing across all sorts of terrains in South America and I couldn't believe how terrible it was. The shocks and spring rates were completely mismatched to the vehicle. It felt like it was on leaf springs with shocks.
Hateful vehicle. I managed to dig out a photo of the vehicle I travelled in
I believe it came out of China and is a replica of a Toyota mini van. I had to endure a 7 hour trip in this thing across all sorts of terrains in South America and I couldn't believe how terrible it was. The shocks and spring rates were completely mismatched to the vehicle. It felt like it was on leaf springs with shocks.
Hateful vehicle. I managed to dig out a photo of the vehicle I travelled in
An Audi A6 S-Line on 19" wheels I was loaned for a month.
The ride was so brittle that I actually noticed I'd physically tense when a road imperfection was upcoming because everything transmitted through into the cabin. And noisy at motorway speeds due to tyre roar. Just such an unpleasant mode of transport.
Never had an Audi since.
I've no doubt the higher up models are technologically impressive and push boundaries, but the majority of hum-drum stuff kitted out with stiff suspension and big wheels is, for me, the absolute definition of automotive style over substance.
I understand though that people do like the looks, so cars like this are great for folk who covet that sort of thing.
I don't care what others drive - if product liked, money will be taken, everybody's happy!
The ride was so brittle that I actually noticed I'd physically tense when a road imperfection was upcoming because everything transmitted through into the cabin. And noisy at motorway speeds due to tyre roar. Just such an unpleasant mode of transport.
Never had an Audi since.
I've no doubt the higher up models are technologically impressive and push boundaries, but the majority of hum-drum stuff kitted out with stiff suspension and big wheels is, for me, the absolute definition of automotive style over substance.
I understand though that people do like the looks, so cars like this are great for folk who covet that sort of thing.
I don't care what others drive - if product liked, money will be taken, everybody's happy!
MC Bodge said:
donkmeister said:
MK1 Ford Focus.
Not that it was terrible, but the expectations did not match reality. I suspect every motoring journo of the day got a blowie off the Ford PR team in return for writing glowing reports of sublime and accurate handling, which meant I was expecting something amazing instead of well... Average.
Whereas if they'd said "meh, it's a small hatchback so it's quite light, s'alright I suppose" then I'd have probably been happier with it.
So not actually the worst riding car?Not that it was terrible, but the expectations did not match reality. I suspect every motoring journo of the day got a blowie off the Ford PR team in return for writing glowing reports of sublime and accurate handling, which meant I was expecting something amazing instead of well... Average.
Whereas if they'd said "meh, it's a small hatchback so it's quite light, s'alright I suppose" then I'd have probably been happier with it.
The chassis was actually very, very good and, as far as I am aware, that view is fairly universal.
Opinions vary of course, but I have driven oh so many of them of varying trims and engines over the years and it genuinely was average when compared to what Fiat, Vauxhall and Peugeot were putting out at the same time. You'll appreciate that I'm going to trust my own experience of the car over what a schmoozed journo says following a 10 mile test drive on roads picked by Ford.
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