Biggest disapointment/overrated car experience

[Mr Lobster]

Saab 9-5. Really wanted to like it. Sat in it, looked at it and it all seemed to be what I wanted. I was seriously considering spending proper money to get a relatively new one.

 

And then I drove it. Wooden chassis, numb steering and I was left massively disappointed with the entire car. That was the end of that.

[Spiny Norman]

It would be really easy just to pick on some of the cars that were never meant to offer much driving pleasure like the then-new but tragically awful Mk5 Scrote Diseasel estate I once got offered as a company car (I refused.. ) or just plain old and shagged, like the 2 and three-quarter cylinder VW Jetta I once picked up for £110....

 

But I'd single out the Volvo C70 Coupe I had last year as one of the most disappointing cars I've ever driven.

Looked lovely, well built body and interior, comfy inside and the best car stereo I've ever heard bar none, but it was awful to drive.

OK, so I shouldn't have bought the 2.4 N/A version with only 170bhp but in a car that weighed nigh on 2 tons with me and a buddy and some fuel on board it was embarrassingly slow and the general driving experience was definitely old school wobbly Volvo rather than brisk luxo-coop.

[RoadworkUK]

Mitsubishi Lancer FQ320.

 

Very fast, of course, but that's obvious. Sublime handling, but then that's its job. Otherwise, horribly snatchy, flimsy and nasty. Also bedevilled by that tacky "go on, race me" image that had every feral hairy-palmed benefit cheat in the land eyeing it up enviously. Most embarassing to be seen in. Not to my taste.

 

Kia Rio Mk2

 

I wanted this to be a charming underdog; unfairly derided and ultimately harmless. Wrong. It's rank. Kia Rio is to car as Britains Got Talent is to music. And it smells like a beach cafe full of decomposing buckets and spades. A no-holds-barred rectal prolapse of a car.

[MrDuke]

Only real disappointment I've had was driving a mate's Mk2 RS2000. Yes, it was quite quick and fairly well-balanced, but I just couldn't get 'into' it, never really felt any excitement or buzz. It was the one car I thought I'd fall in love with, but I just felt a bit 'meh' afterwards.

 

The most shockingly awful car I can remember was a Mk5 Escort turbo tractor, one of the pool cars at the place where I did my apprenticeship (it would've been nearly new at the time) - my aging high-mileage Nova 1.2 was blisteringly rapid by comparison. I remember the horrible feeling of putting my foot to the floor when pulling out at busy junctions, and the car resolutely advancing at walking pace while angry horns blared/oncoming cars swerved to avoid me. Then, after taking my place in lane, the turbo would kick in with a vengeance at about 4500 revs and I'd nearly ram the car in front. I also had my first proper prang in it, wiping out a K10 Micra in the works' car park while reversing out of a space. Awful, awful car.

[e287yba]

My now-wife had a P-reg Punto 55S when I moved in; a characterful car to drive despite being an 1100, just on the right side of bland (as far as I would ever go down the "buy a white good and drive it" road, anyway). It also had a playful habit of eating clutches and gearboxes in one sitting, as well as blowing head gaskets, so - after a £400 bill for another new head gasket and head skim FFS! plus a whining wheel bearing - it was time to go. I would have kept the thing on as it owed me but, no, herself visited the local Honda dealer.

 

Cue a 56-plate base model Jizz 1.2, 10 months old when she got it in July 2007. Some car mag's (or was it "car mags'" ) "Car Of The Year" for several years by all accounts, but...

 

Subjectively, it goes as well as a 1.6 Maestro but where is the soul??? AWOL. Yes, it is very quiet, very refined in terms of noise (there isn't any, really), and very economical. There's no real impression of moving; you don't engage in your journey .

 

But oh! the ride and the seats! Just 20 minutes of crashing across the lunar landscape of main roads round here is enough to render me unable to leave the vehicle in less than 5 minutes due to the back pain. We took it across France in 2008, very cheaply (66mpg for 300 "taking it easy" miles on back roads, one day)but Oh My Goodness the sciatica ater an hour! Yes, it's great for booze cruises with its square boot, but if your back's screwed by driving - or sitting in - the damn car then you can't go shopping comfortably...

 

The power steering - light at parking speeds it suddenly goes sickeningly heavy - but feel-less - above about 15mph. A bit like an £8000 arcade game (now about £4K?).

 

Which brings me on to a friend's Rover 75 Diesel, a few years older but worth only a little less. That was pretty remote to drive for someone committed to '80s tin, like an arcade game where it was a case of looking out of the windows and not getting any sort of significant feedback - seat of the pants, engine noise or road noise, or any real impression of travelling at significant speed on the straights or in the bendy bits. With the perceived constant need to look at the speedo rather than know I was travelling at around such-a-speed, I found it bland; it just went where it was pointed and be damned, including rather blatant abuse in corners .

 

I even drove it back from Whaley Bridge to Bolton with what we now suspect was a deflating front tyre once, and the damn car just shrugged it off... But the 'flap flap flap' sound as my mate drove off after dropping me at home gave the game away (to me, anyway ), and he got about another 3 miles out of it (he couldn't sense it either) before the smoke and shuddering started (oops ) followed by the inevitable wait for Recovery because Project Drive later 75s have a can of foam which doesn't work on shredded tyres !)

 

A Montego 2.0i Vanden Slap Auto was also mildly disappointing, largely because of an engine that grumbled away most/all of the time rather than making the "we're in this together, me old fruit!" noises of a 1.6. But at least it only cost me £50 and it lasted 5 months . It was torquey and great for getaways and shorter overtakes than you'd usually go for, but my goodness it was incessantly talky too...

[Guest]

Citroen DS3 Racing

 

Went like fuck in a straight line, utterly hopeless on anything resembling a corner. Fuck all ride quality. Left me thinking 'what can I put this engine in?'

 

Fiat 500 Abarth

 

As above, but with a better interior and an even worse ride. Went over a catseye and it felt like someone had blown the NSF wheel off. Ridiculously snatchy, overservoed brakes with ABS that cut in far too early.

 

Audi A1 Diesel

 

On \ off spasmodic power delivery. Fuck all traction on damp roads. Tiny powerband, inordinately cramped cabin, stupidly bolstered seats, pointlessly crashy ride. Oh right, it's a Sport, how stupid of me not to realise. Pointless stop \ start system that wouldn't do the latter at lights. Bollocks.

 

VW Golf Mk5 \ Mk6 (every fucking variant I've tried)

 

Do not understand. Willfully average. Average interior. Average economy. Average handling. Average build quality. DULL AS FUCK.

 

Vauxhall Zafira - last model but one

 

Fucking appalling gearchange, shit stereo, suspension made of wooden blocks. Flat seats. Shit fuel economy. Gutless.

 

Vauxhall Movano \ Renault Trafic.

 

Shit, shit, shit.

 

Vauxhall Astra - whatever generation the latest one is

 

Stupid pillars. Crap gearchange. 'Sporty' suspension. Still managed to be better than those Golfs. Stunned.

 

Peugeot 206CC

 

Floppy.

[Pete-M]

Lexus LS400 Mk1

 

Great engine and box. Didn't rate the car much at all. Totally generic Japanese controls, nasty leather seats, quite good Nakamichi stereo.

 

I really don't get what all the hype was about. Yes it was very quiet, but it just felt like they'd tried to make the thing as inoffensive as possible - instead of making a proper luxury car. Absolutely nothing about it said "This is special", everything had a mass produced feel to it. It felt like it was well made, but with the least amount of human effort possible. It worked well enough but had nothing to interest me at all. Electric height adjusters for the front seat belts is the only thing I remember chuckling at. Even the leather on the seats looked like it had been processed to take all the individuality out of it, and there was no smell of leather at all.

 

Shame, but if I ever own one it'll be to use as an engine donor.

 

2008 BMW 318d

 

Drove this a week or so ago. Proper rep-spec, full leather, 18" wheels, rear pimp glass, xenons and that was it. Debadged, naturally. I thought it was pretty lousy. Loud engine compared to a Merc C220 CDi or Skoda Superb. The ride quality was absolutely atrocious. Dismal. It was a low mileage properly looked after job, but with the ride quality being so bad it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of low mileage examples of these appear on the used market soon for cheap money. Surely nobody would drive something that rides that badly if they had a choice? Steering was pretty good on it, and it handled well on smooth roads, but the thing bumped and thumped everywhere. I checked the tyre pressures three times in 50 miles I was that sure there was something wrong with it. The pressures were spot on. I know the run flats aren't good for ride quality, but I simply can't believe that BMW thought that the ride was good enough to unleash on the motoring public. Utterly crap. It had 'modern BMW unpredictable clutch syndrome' as well. Nasty car to drive. I drove it back to back with a '58 plate Merc C220 CDi which felt like a car from two or three classes up.

[Largactil]

Subaru Impreza STi Type R

 

 

I bought a three year old example, back in 2000, when the automotive press were still in love with them and they didn't have quite the same image.

 

The Type R was the two door import version they later anglicised into the P1. Mine had been fettled to 360bhp, weighed 1200kgs, and was extremely short geared. It went like absolute stink, but had very little in the way of steering feel which made it tricky to push on through the twisty bits.

 

Final straw, was when I did a car club 'just for fun' sprint at Kames in Ayrshire. Out of forty-odd cars,I came second last on the timing, beating only a 90's Rover Mini Cooper.

 

The suspension was too stiff & crashy, steering inert & numb, the gearing was too short, it was underbraked, and with the adjustable diff in its 30/70 default setting, it produced sphincter clenching power-oversteer whenever you prodded the throttle a fraction too far with any steering lock on. (Even worse in the wet).

 

Chopped it in for a 120bhp Elise S2, which was eleventy-thousand times better to drive, even if it had a third of the power...

 

(Then a woman came along, who found better ways to spend any disposable income I might have had, and modern flashy sports car ownership is a dim & distant memory... )

[Rocket88]

All this shows how subjective an experience driving is. I've got a Rover 75 Tourer diesel, and out of the 300 odd cars that I've owned, it's one of my favourites.Relaxing to drive, seats are great, cabin is a nice place to be, quick enough, with decent fuel economy.

Agree totally about Mk 5 Escrotes, one of the nastiset cars I've ever driven, especially without power steering.

Lexus 400 was another major dissapointment. Loaded with toys, which all still worked, but totally inert to drive, and the price of bits was horrific.

Agree totally ref Fiat 500 Abarth, ride quality is diabolical.

[STUNO]

Rover SD1. Maybe my mistake was buying the 2.6, but as with the Capri, I thought it would be practical. The single most unreliable car I have ever owned, bar none. And I've had some shit! I never even got to find out if it was needlessly thirsty, comfy over a distance, liable to struggle up hills... One day I should probably try a V8.

 

 

*Am I ill? I just said something positive about a BMW!!!!!

 

In defence of Rover SD1...I have a V8 as a daily driver, absolutely reliable, very comfortable, repairs over the last 3 years= front shocks and distributor cap and has always passed the test with a clean sheet. Absolutely needlessly thirsty but it sounds great at full throttle

[Pete-M]

I'm gonna defend the SD1 as well. Ok, they can be a little bit temperamental on the odd occasion, but if you get a good V8 one, they're ace.

 

My 2.6 was utterly crap.

[cms206]

Disappointments... I've had a few...

 

Proton Saga

 

I really wanted to like it, really I did, but I just could not get on with it at all. Lifeless steering, extremely wayward handling and dreadful fuel consumption did it for me - in fairness it was quite comfy, easy to drive, looked the shit, had right hand indicators and the best headlights I've ever known, it was all just a bit Japanese. Drove the same as my mate's K10 Micra, my other mate's K11 Micra... all just a bit dull.

 

VW Golf Mk4

 

I don't know why, I just didn't like it. It was admittedly a mingebag 1.4 petrol but it just felt lifeless. Drove just like an Octavia in fact, but I didn't expect much from the Octavia so I wasn't disappointed. The best Golf, nay the best VW I've ever driven was a 1.6 diesel Mk2 van.

 

Vectra B

 

I am still at a loss how they started wtih the Mk3 Cavalier and ended up with this. I wanted to like it as I think the earlier ones are quite a handsome thing, but what an utter pile of skitters.

 

E30 318is

 

I don't understand anyone who would purposely buy a BMW without a straight six. The entire point of a BMW of this age is the straight six.

 

E91 320dSE M-sport Tourer

 

Two weeks in it taught me that dibble must have no end of back problems. Didn't like the steering, didn't like the ride and especially didn't like the black headlining. Probably the most over-rated car experience I've had.

 

Peugeot 308SW

 

I actually liked driving the 407. Didn't think this would be much different. Was wrong.

[Morgan84]

Vauxhall Vectra SRi 2002 >

 

Dull very boring interior,dull grey seats with no style whatsoever.Another boring bland dashboard,but even worse is the equipment list - yes,keep fit windows in the back ! In this modern day and age of more expensive cars,and 'progress and improvement', you would think the days of crap spec would have been long gone. To be honest,from the inside,it felt like it was a base model - V6 models SRi just as boring and yawnsome

 

In the 80s and early 90's, SRi meant it was something a bit special - now its just mundane

A Ghia badge used to mean something extra special inside,with nice luxury touches - not any more,in fact Ghia is extinct,but the last Focus/Fiesta/Mondeo Ghia models weren't at all special,just had a fancy badge !

GTi used to be special,now its boring just like a SE or a Match model

 

Why don't they give us something really special with soul anymore ???

[cms206]

Vauxhall Vectra SRi 2002 >

 

Dull very boring interior,dull grey seats with no style whatsoever.Another boring bland dashboard,but even worse is the equipment list - yes,keep fit windows in the back ! In this modern day and age of more expensive cars,and 'progress and improvement', you would think the days of crap spec would have been long gone. To be honest,from the inside,it felt like it was a base model - V6 models SRi just as boring and yawnsome

 

In the 80s and early 90's, SRi meant it was something a bit special - now its just mundane

A Ghia badge used to mean something extra special inside,with nice luxury touches - not any more,in fact Ghia is extinct,but the last Focus/Fiesta/Mondeo Ghia models weren't at all special,just had a fancy badge !

GTi used to be special,now its boring just like a SE or a Match model

 

Why don't they give us something really special with soul anymore ???

 

 

Mores the point, what designations are still in use now? Can you still buy, for example, a Focus LX? The only ones I can think of off the top of my head are Vauxhall (SXi, SRi) and Proton (GLS etc). I couldn't tell you the difference between a Style and a Titanium, both are just meaningless words.

 

Sorry for the off topic drift...

[Pete-M]

E30 318is

 

I don't understand anyone who would purposely buy a BMW without a straight six. The entire point of a BMW of this age is the straight six.

 

Problem with E30s is that unless you have a 325i manual, they're slugs. I'd have a 318is over a 320i, mainly because although the 2.0 is smooth as anything it's got bugger all poke. At least the 318is is a grin.

[oman5]

Rover SD1. Maybe my mistake was buying the 2.6, but as with the Capri, I thought it would be practical. The single most unreliable car I have ever owned, bar none. And I've had some shit! I never even got to find out if it was needlessly thirsty, comfy over a distance, liable to struggle up hills... One day I should probably try a V8.

 

 

*Am I ill? I just said something positive about a BMW!!!!!

 

In defence of Rover SD1...I have a V8 as a daily driver, absolutely reliable, very comfortable, repairs over the last 3 years= front shocks and distributor cap and has always passed the test with a clean sheet. Absolutely needlessly thirsty but it sounds great at full throttle

 

 

Yeah, I'll have to defend it too.But in this case, as with any BL product, quality was variable to say the least. which means that get a good one, and its very good. get a bad one...

The SD1 was my default 300 quid banger in the late '90s and I owned every version except the rare diesel.

The 2600 was pretty good, but you had to have the manual version, autos were shite. on a run it would get 30+mpg and they were not much slower than the V8. I used mine for 3 years then my dad had it for a further 4 years, it got scrapped when the body was finally too rotten to do anything with, and the engine was still going strong on 170k.

V8 is of course the best one, even so again you needed the manual box and SU carbs rather than strombergs, and ditch the FASD at the first opportunity. No SD1 is something you can simply drive and forget, constant fettling is a given.

[Pete-M]

Carbs? Pah, screw that. Injection every time.

[oman5]

Carbs? Pah, screw that. Injection every time.

 

 

Yeah, excepting the Vitesse obviously, I wasn't THAT flush back then-insurance was a huge jump from a 2600 to a VDP efi or vitesse for a young pup like I was at the time.

[Autoplas]

Two spring to mind

 

Audi A4 2.0 TDi Sport Avant

 

Had a brand new one for a week as a hire car recently, went really well for a 2.0 (used to a larger engine) and was well set up suspension wise. Build quality was usual Audi, nice stereo and plastics.

 

Negative points ? At 6'4" it was nigh on impossible for me to get into, having to fold my head into my chest to clear the ridiculously small door opening, the cabin was soooo cramped with no lateral legroom and minimal steering wheel adjustment, the suspension while set up well was bone hard and gave you backache in conjunction with the bone hard seats. Finally due to the low roofline the windscreen resembled the armoured drivers viewing slit on the front of a Panzer VI Panther tank - got too close to some traffic light and had to put the drivers window down to see the lights. It ended up sitting on the drive with me continuing to use the Merc while Renault sorted the Grand Scenic.

 

Porsche Boxter 2.5 & then 2.7

 

Back when the Boxter first came out two management wankers where I used to work ordered the new Boxter which was launched with the 2.5 engine. One ordered silver one a crappy dark blue. I drove the silver one shortly after it arrived, and my god was it slow. From memory it was listed at around 7.0 seconds to the 60 but it felt like a whole lot longer. The other downside was it was a swine to get into with the roof up but you looked like a tit with the roof down. The owner of the silver one never drove his car in an urban area (he lived in London) with the roof down 'in case someone gets in and attacks me'. That says it all really doesn't it. In later years he bought the 2.7 (still unimpressed) then the 3.2s which drove great in its defence.

 

To the guy who mentioned the Sapphy Cosworth, it must have been badly set up because they were/are still an absolutely riot to drive. I had a Sapphy and a RS Cosworth 3 door and while I vastly preferred the Whale Tail the sapphy was still a great car.

[Cavcraft]

Some genuine surprise at some of the choices here. Not having a go or trying to start an argument, but what did people expect from stuff like Maestros, Astras, Escorts and SD1s etc? Surely they were always going to be pretty shit anyhow, even when new?

 

I have a theory about BMWs and VAG stuff by the way: I reckon because some people talk about them like they're the absolute greatest car in the world and are fantastically brilliant that when drivers of supposedly rubbish cars try them they actually find they're perhaps not a million times better than their own car.

I'm NOT saying German cars are crap but (mostly) they're not actually the bees knees either, so I can kind of see why some people are disappointed with them. In actual fact most German cars are fine and some are great fun to drive, it's just that they're not always worth the premium they sometimes seem to attract over similar 'lesser badged' cars.

 

Edit:

Also reckon there's more fun to be had in crap cars. Lost count how many times I've bought a car with a rubbish reputation because I needed wheels and actually found it really good to live with. My first Maestro was like that, really expected it to break down every fifty yards and fall to bits everytime I drove it but it was dead reliable and as an everyday runabout it was more than capable.

[dollywobbler]

With the Maestro, I wasn't exactly expecting laugh-a-minute motoring, but it did seem perfectly designed to rob any joy from driving. Compare it to rivals such as the Citroen BX or Honda Civic - both an absolute hoot in 1.4 form - and you see what I mean.

[Betaphile]

Stuff about punishing ride in a 3-Series

This reminded me of a relative's US-spec W202 Merc C240 I borrowed while on holiday there. To be honest, it could have been a decent car in terms of performance/handling/space/economy/etc. I don't really remember since the only memory I have is of a driver's seat that absolutely murdered my back after half-an-hour. It's not like I have a sensitive spine either - I have never felt such discomfort in any other car. I know about the German rep for firm pews but this was beyond a joke. Utterly shocking chairs - fit only for Gitmo.

[Betaphile]

Problem with E30s is that unless you have a 325i manual, they're slugs. I'd have a 318is over a 320i, mainly because although the 2.0 is smooth as anything it's got bugger all poke. At least the 318is is a grin.

I think this was one of the big disappointments when I tried my various 320s. The on-paper output is decent for the era - around 130hp - which is why it surprised me when I found it so slow. And I'm not even what you'd really call a 'press-on' driver either, but I remember thinking my HPE would easily dispose with them both in-gear and off the line, despite giving away at least 15 horsepower. It's the lack of torque that's the killer on 'em - one assumes the torque curve approximates Keira Knightley's chest.

[freebird]

XJ6 4.2 on a 1985 C plate.

I borrowed it for the day from my mate who dabbled in cars. I was so looking forward to the superb magic carpet ride comfort, the stonking performance ( for a big heavy car) and being cossetted by all that lovely beige leather.

It was the most overrated and biggest pile of cack ive ever driven. Performance was adequate, fuel consumption was frightening if you wanted to get a lick on, power steering that gave zero feed back and, for me, it felt slightly claustrophobic, almost like the cabin was too narrow. The car wasnt old chod either, it wasnt even ten years old when i borrowed it.

The only people that could possibly have thought it a good move to buy one new would have been die hard Jag fans or knob heads. For the money, there must have been loads out there better, Christ a well specced Granada would have been better and cheaper.

[Cavcraft]

I had an XJ6 S3 4.2 auto and loved it. Ok, it rusted like no-one's business and wasn't cheap to run but it was absolutely ace to drive.

[Spiny Norman]

I thought I wanted a Jag until I drove several examples of the breed. Slower, noisier and far less comfortable than I was expecting and an object lesson in crap ergonomics and poor space utilisation.

I don't want a Jag anymore.

[Station]

Mk1 & mk2 Escorts - does anyone have good memories of these? I thought they were awful, I have no good memories of these at all.

 

BMW 325 - was rapid, but was expecting a bit more. It didn't feel that much better considering how praised they are. Also engine tone isn't as nice as V6/V8.

 

Everything else has been fine.

[freebird]

Mk1 & mk2 Escorts - does anyone have good memories of these? I thought they were awful, I have no good memories of these at all.

I loved MK1s. Comfortable with everything to hand, maybe it was one of the first ergonomically designed car for the masses....or maybe it wasnt. I loved the gearchange and the noise of the crossflow, which sounded more like a demented sewing machine. As a 60s design they were on another Planet to the Anglia. I, sort of, appreciated, the REAL cooking models but, personally, a nice 1300GT/Mexico would have been the ultimate. Not too fast, plenty quick enough while still retaining the essence of the Escort.

MK2s I never drove, except in van form. The saloons,to my eye,were uglier and characterless. The vans were ace tho, I dont think there was one in the Country that hadnt been driven with a weight in the back it was never designed to carry. Most were mega abused but stupidly reliable, perhaps they are the only Escorts left it wont cost you a kidney to buy, if you could find one.

[John F]

Mk1 & mk2 Escorts - does anyone have good memories of these? I thought they were awful, I have no good memories of these at all.

 

My first car was a Mk 2 Escort 1.3L, and it was a riot to drive. Slow and pretty basic, but in terms of handling it was really well balanced. I used to love playing with it in the snow. At the time I used to dream of owning a Mexico or RS1800 / 2000, but I wouldn't have one at today's prices..!

 

Also feel I have to defend the Discovery TDi a bit - yes, they're slow (and pretty noisy in 200 TDi flavour), and there's the known rot problem, but they're a very capable off-roader and have good road manners for the type of vehicle they are. A good workhorse, and more civilised than a Series or a Defender (although in some ways, not a 'real' Land Rover ).

[RichL]

Autoplas... Totally agree about the Cosworth; I have been a passenger over many miles in my mates 350 brake Sapphire and even had the pleasure of driving it on his wedding day. It is properly set up and is one minute a refined cruiser and the next a complete animal. Love that car.