Cars you really want to get out of

[Roman Moroni]

I'm normally quite a good passenger.

However, I was riding shotgun with someone for a number of days as a few of us went out to a motorsport event in central Europe. He was driving a highly modified car putting out around 500bhp (which at the time was a fair amount}. Over the days I came to realise his wasn't a very good driver.

We left late, so was up against it getting back to the Eurochannel in time to get the train we was booked on. He decided to make a bit of progress, it was tipping it down, I started to get edgy as he was driving really close to vehicles in front of us to get them to pull over. He then decided to go up against someone in a Cayman; he started swerving from lane to lane, sometimes along the hard shoulder, at speed in the rain. Eventually I had enough and shouted 'FFS, are you trying your best to kill us??" It did have the desired effect but there wasn't much conversation for the rest of the journey.

Now, the reason I'm being vague is because this person is a regular poster on PH. He doesn't know I'm on here. He portrays himself as a bit of a driving God and regales stories about his trackday prowess, whilst in truth he's quite an average wheelsman.

[Chromegrill]

ingenieur said:

Also not much of a fan of cars where the driver has to clear a space for you because their car is such a mess inside.

I don't often need to give anyone a lift but I always keep rhe inside tidy just in case. I have never understood why some people seem to treat the interior of their car as an extention of their dustbin.

[Chromegrill]

Mr Tidy said:

Near-death experiences in foreign taxis spring to mind - as soon as we got to our destination I couldn't wait to get out!

Done that many times. The most memorable was probably in 1996, in Jo's, central Nigeria in a Mercedes W123. Or rather two W123s, as the "car" turned out to be very obviously two rather badly soldered together as a cut'n'shut. You could see the joint flex and hear it creaking every time it (they?) went over a pothole.

It/they are probably still running.

[quinny100]

A few years ago a few pals and I were heading off to Marbella for a long weekend. As there were 5 of us and we would rather spend our money on beer than 2 taxis or airport parking, one of the lads arranged for his cash in hand “odd job man” to take us in his aged Toyota Previa. He turned up 45 minutes late and in a vehicle that had clearly seen some action.

As the tallest I shotgunned the front seat. Upon entering the vehicle I was hit with 2 pungent odours - the first emanated from our driver who obviously hadn’t troubled a bath or shower for a few days. The second I’d noticed but the smell intensified massively as he moved off - petrol. It must have had a significant leak.

Had he arrived on time I might have told him to stop and I’d have called a taxi, but as it was we would only just scrape getting to the airport in time for check in closing. I spent the entire 15 mile journey with the window open and my hand on the door handle ready to bail out, with my eyes on stalks looking for smoke or flames! Never have I been so glad to get out of a car. I got my Dad to pick me up on the way back.

A second one has come to mind, not strictly a car but a Transit minibus. On holiday in Turkey and went parascending in Olu Deniz. The minibus picked you up in town and drove you up the mountain, it wasn’t anything like a proper road and there was sheer drops either side through parts of the track as it meandered round hairpins with the back end sliding around on gravel and the suspension bottoming out as this 20-something Turkish lunatic did his best Ari Vatanen impression. Running off a mountain attached to a parachute was rather tame in comparison to the minibus ride!

Edited by quinny100 on Wednesday 18th May 23:48

[panholio]

Mate of mine used to have a Peugeot GTi-6 which he supercharged. Was 400bhp + when done. Absolutely insane thing, retained the characteristic French feeling of solidity, except it would now hit 160mph without even remotely trying.

Went in it once.

[ARHarh]

lornemalvo said:

dogdayafternoon said:

Most cars with CVT gearboxes (Lexus excluded as haven't experienced one of theirs yet). Even as a passenger it frustrates me to hear the engine working like that.

CVT gearbox is the single reason I haven't bought a Lexus RX450h. I already have a 1999 Lexus LS400 (slush box) and that is sublime.

Don't let the CVT box put you off, when driven normally you don't notice it, at least that is the experience with my RX400h. Its only when pushing on that the box becomes apparent, but then its a massive barge so you don't drive it like that 90% of the time. Much worse is the feeling you get when you get the brake pressure just right that it suddenly changes from electric regen braking to real brakes or the other way round.

[lornemalvo]

I once hired a Lada Niva in the Canaries, with my wife and in laws aboard. Coming down a steep hill at a sensible speed with a massive drop to the side the car started to slide towards the edge, possibly due to sand on the road. I tapped the brakes, but it got worse. By now I was really bricking it and the only thing I could think to do was to tap the gas and turn away. It worked and I swear it was the only thing that saved us, although it was totally counter intuitive, and it was close. I'm not even sure my in laws realised how close they had come, because it all happened in a couple of seconds but when I pulled into the first layby drenched in sweat, that may have given them a clue. Perhaps I was expecting more from the 4 wheel drive credentials of the Lada, but I was taking it steady in either event and driving no differently.

Edited by lornemalvo on Thursday 19th May 08:42

Edited by lornemalvo on Thursday 19th May 08:43

[r1ch]

panholio said:

Mate of mine used to have a Peugeot GTi-6 which he supercharged. Was 400bhp + when done. Absolutely insane thing, retained the characteristic French feeling of solidity, except it would now hit 160mph without even remotely trying.

Went in it once.

Sounds like fun

[ingenieur]

Chromegrill said:

ingenieur said:

Also not much of a fan of cars where the driver has to clear a space for you because their car is such a mess inside.

I don't often need to give anyone a lift but I always keep rhe inside tidy just in case. I have never understood why some people seem to treat the interior of their car as an extention of their dustbin.

Yeah, they usually say "oh, just put that on the floor" and start scrubbing the seat to knock the stuff off. And I'm just thinking if the stuff is on the floor, where are my feet going to go?

[Rich Boy Spanner]

Previous work colleague who bought an Audi A4, some petrol 4wd, and decided to show me his and the cars capabilities by driving out of Manchester Airport at 90 MPH in the rain towards the tight right hander that goes onto the M56 towards the city, then telling me 'it's OK, it has 4WD so it can corner really fast'. Never got in a car with him again and heard all his tales of people 'crashing into him' for no reason whatsoever. Total bellend.

[Bobupndown]

ingenieur said:

Yeah, they usually say "oh, just put that on the floor" and start scrubbing the seat to knock the stuff off. And I'm just thinking if the stuff is on the floor, where are my feet going to go?

Had a colleague like that. Her car was disgusting. Picture emptying your bin, your wardrobe and your child's toy cupboard into a car and giving it a good mix. Nice!

[Sim75]

Five that spring to mind...

A limo back from Heathrow having just flown in on a redeye from Melbourne.
I woke up to find the driver sleeping more soundly than I was, in the fast lane of the M25

A test drive in a Corrado G60. The owner thought that two 18 year olds would enjoy a joy ride. So he cranked up the bass tube and floored it. Everywhere.

A very drunk friend of a friend behind the wheel of an XR2 in 1992. To this day I don't think i've ever come closer to death. We didn't realise he was pissed at the time, not until we were doing 90 through a 30. He's not with us now, drugs took care of that.

A 4x4 over the dunes in the UAE. It looks great, and is for a short while. But you soon realise it has the same effect on the body as being in a small yacht in a force 9 gale.

My Grandads Maxi when he picked me up from school. Poor sod had to watch me dive into the footwell and not surface until we got home. Kids tell it like it is, and it was his pride and joy.

[lornemalvo]

A Hillman Minx owned by my Dad, which I "borrowed" from time to time. I almost killed myself and three mates when descending a steep hill, I discovered brake fade

[swisstoni]

ARHarh said:

lornemalvo said:

dogdayafternoon said:

Most cars with CVT gearboxes (Lexus excluded as haven't experienced one of theirs yet). Even as a passenger it frustrates me to hear the engine working like that.

CVT gearbox is the single reason I haven't bought a Lexus RX450h. I already have a 1999 Lexus LS400 (slush box) and that is sublime.

Don't let the CVT box put you off, when driven normally you don't notice it, at least that is the experience with my RX400h. Its only when pushing on that the box becomes apparent, but then its a massive barge so you don't drive it like that 90% of the time. Much worse is the feeling you get when you get the brake pressure just right that it suddenly changes from electric regen braking to real brakes or the other way round.

I’ve stuck about 100k on our RX450h. The engine speed seemingly bearing no relation to what was going on was quite an odd sensation initially. But after that you forget about it and just enjoy your bombproof barge for what it is.

[Nico Adie]

Nigerian fella I used to work with who had a diesel Suzuki Baleno with a leaking exhaust manifold that he ran on vegetable oil. Drove like a maniac, cabin filled with a mix of exhaust fumes and eau de chippy. Did one journey with him, more than enough.

Edited by Nico Adie on Thursday 19th May 15:23

[Genuine Barn Find]

My wife booked a hotel for a holiday to Sri Lanka. lovely place and was looking forward to it….. until the day before we were due to fly when i was casually looking at the paperwork.

“Darling?”

“Yes”

“I’m just checking details for the hotel booking and there must be a mistake with the transfer time from the airport. Did you check before you booked?”

“No”

“Oh”

(picture the camera sequence with Martin Brody on the beach during Jaws at this point)

Our 6 hour private transfer to the hotel was undertaken by a very pleasant chap in his Kia.
He spent most of the journey turned round facing me, whilst telling me about how safe Sri Lanka’s roads were. This is while we contended with 3 abreast overtaking (on single carriageway roads), cows, Tut Tuts, overladen farm vehicles, overladen everything really…. and some elephants.

My beautiful wife fell asleep soon after leaving the airport, and remained so for much of the journey. For me, the reality was my face hidden behind my hands.

There was also another occasion where i was passenger in a white Audi Quattro who had picked my friend and i up at calais as we were
hitch hiking to Paris. The car suddenly picked up speed and was heading towards the back of a lorry. I looked over to find the driver fast asleep at wheel. That was an exciting 10 seconds!

[COM31E]

I remember the first time I was passenger with my ex in her car.

I gave her the choice of letting me drive home, or I'd call for a lift, as she wouldn't drive me again until she A) put her phone down, B) slowed the fk down and C) used her mirrors.

In the entire time we were together she only drove me one other time, and that was after I'd concussed myself, ironically, in a car accident.

After the drive back I discovered she'd completely worn out the tyres and brakes on a 25k, 2 year old Citroen C1. If anyone is familiar with this type of car, their OE Michelins last about 50k, so hard is the compound. At this point, I'd done 40k on my diesel auto barge brake pads.

[Dr Interceptor]

Driving down to Portugal in 2019 in my then brand new Mustang, I let my friend Gary drive for a bit.

Had to politely explain that when the picture of a car on the instrument display glowed red, he was too close to the car in front.

My Dad is a bit of a 'late braker' - when coming up to a stationary vehicle, he'll accelerate all the way up to it, then brake and stop at the last seconds. I can have several 'heart in mouth' moments on even a short trip.

[Gad-Westy]

Cambs_Stuart said:

so called said:

Had a few of those in India.

Example, two lane motorway between Lucknow and Kampur.
First issue - Our taxi has no rear seat belts.
Second - We are overtaking a truck when I note a truck coming the wrong way in our lane. fk
Third - a car starts overtaking the oncoming truck so now we have both lanes with potential head on collisions.

Outcome was that we completed our overtaking maneuver just as the oncoming car completes his and we all pass each other without issue.

Why am I working in India ?

Edited by so called on Monday 16th May 17:33

Mine are also in India, mainly Delhi (Manesar). Being in a cab that did a U turn across a highway, 4 lanes of traffic going each way. Regularly seeing the drivers of massive 3 wheeled goods vehicles (Like a Piaggio ape's big, ugly brother) asleep at the wheel. 4 lane roads being turned in to 7 lane roads in rush hour. Drivers on the wrong side of the road making progress against the traffic like a salmon swimming upstream. Overtakes that made me question my driver's desire to live.
Driving from Delhi to Agra in smog so thick it was like being inside a ping pong ball, with the driver swerving round people walking in the road.
The first drive from the airport to the hotel was stressful. After 3 weeks it was perfectly normal. I gave the driver that looked after us a good tip. He got us to every destination on time, with no accidents.

On my first trip to India, I was in an accident within 30 seconds of leaving the airport. My taxi driver just pulled out in front of someone. Minor scrape but it was a taste of things to come. Had two or three further bumps on a journey that took less than an hour. Wasn't that scary though because I don't remember going much faster than 15 mph anywhere. Nobody seemed to care about bumping into each other and the horn appears to mean 'hello' or I'm breathing out now. I imagine their motorways are horrifying. And why did every taxi I got in have the rear seat belts deliberately tucked into the rear seats so that they couldn't be used?

I found taxis in Saudi and Italy more scary though. Saudi because the speeds are really high, aggression is high and attention levels rock bottom. Awful place to be a passenger. They have some horrible accidents there. Italy is notable for the frankly phenomenal speeds that can be achieved in tight city centre streets. And taxi drivers who seem to think that the harder you grab the door handle, the faster you'd like them to go.

And there is the mother in law of course. Once stopped on the give way line at the end of a slip road to enter a free and fast flowing M62. There had been plenty of gaps to move into, she just didn't even look to do so and just drove merrily up to the dashed line then stopped before entering from stand still in a 1.0 corsa with four adults on board. Horrifying.

[Nyloc20]

This will sound odd to most of you but whenever I’m a passenger in an SUV or 4x4 I can’t wait to get out. I understand that many people will feel more secure and better protected than in a normal car and like the view from being high up but it doesn’t do it for me. I’ve borrowed a friend’s Macan and relative’s Range Rover for long test runs and more standard stuff like a Kuga and my brother’s Forester but I can’t escape the sensation of lurching around much of the time. I like to be as close to the ground as safely possible, no doubt from many years of driving sports cars, hot hatches and saloons.I don’t know anyone else who feels the same.