[Closed] Best and worst cars you've driven?

Best I've driven is probably Merc E-Class with the big diesel and sports set-up, effortlessly fast, solid, comfortable, would be interesting to remove the limiter

Worst is probably the S1/S2 discovery, they fell apart as we drove along, were gutless tow vehicles, wallowed scary bad, had crap brakes and were really nose heavy when jumping bridges

actually, by the grin it always creates, my best drive could be an old Ford 3000 tractor that we have

Best car I've ever been in was a Metro 6r4 Reg PDP 694X, cost me 50quid for charity about 10yrs ago to go in it but well worth every penny!

best.

Triumph Spitfire, it wasn't fast, the body and chassis would crumble in front of your eyes, they leaked, and the roof was a joke, but it was stupid shit eating grin fun. Some of my best memories involve Spitfires of some description. Alternatively a Westie I helped build with a 2.0l Vauxall lump in it. First time we drove it, we spent the entire time laughing our heads off.

Worst: 1.6 Astra, awful awful uncomfy bland, woefulness

Best - 1962 Series IIA SWB Land Rover - oxidized paint - three engine swaps - every journey an expedition into the unknown. I only once overtook another vehicle. A bus that was stopping to drop off a passenger.

Renault 4 with guessomatic umbrella gearstick. Steering that was like dating - will she? - wont she?

Worst may have been a Citroen Saxo with the pedals in completely the wrong place, causing terrible back pain; or the car I learned to drive in which was a MkII Fiesta 950cc. Actually scratch that, it was a MkIII Fiesta 1.1 Automatic. My wife said to me one day that she thought there was something wrong with it since she braked sharply coming up to a roundabout and the wheels locked. I took it to the same spot and realised that was just how it was made. Normally those cars had terrible understeer, but this one had 50 odd kilos of extra weight forward of the front axle in the form of the transmission. Shockingly bad.

[b]Worst[/b]

Ignoring cheap worn out rubbish that my brothers bought as first cars, it would have to be the Vauxhall Belmont owned by a former girlfriend.

I was confused how a car manufacturer could release a car that couldn't handle or slow down without the brakes locking.

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[b]Best[/b]

Best that I've owned would be a Renault 19 16v. Great handling. Obviously poor French build quality.

Havent driven much but i liked a mrk 2 lotus elise (120bhp?) i had a wee shot of years ago.went out down the Kincraig road from Aviemore in it with the owner and drove it back.lovely feel to it but two up it felt gutless.sounds good with whats behind you but if you blip a car into a lower gear and nothing much happens with all those sporty looks etc.. its a bit of a shocker isnt it?!

moving on.. same again but a 2007? RS4.bike in the back, 2 up and other stuff in the hearse-like boot and it just powers on like the extra weight makes no diffrence. amazing grip. (Aviemore to the heather centre)driven by the owner, a very scarey experience when the owner has the idea in their head that "its near impossible to crash it" due to what all it can take care of ( but he didnt, and did a great job of it!).in the right hands,those cars could go around some other cars twice over.

my car.. pug 106 gti.

nowhere near the power of the Rs4 and not as planted as the elise but driving home after the RS4 experience the drive of it put a grin on my face.Not because it had better grip,went faster or handled better.. it just... you know,put a smile on my face ;O).

so when a car costing 3k compared to a car costing 58k+ give you a better feeling, you know yer onto a winner.

worst: my fathers H reg mercedes 190E 1.8 ::walks off shaking head:::

Best: Alfa 156, I know it's not performance or anything but drove so well and looked great.

Honorable mentions to my (now) wife's 1.4 Nova SR - like an overpowered rollerskate; and to my Mum's 2Ltr MG Maestro which sounds really shit but was the first proper car I was allowed to drive after I passed my test and which nearly killed me several times due to 'overenthusiasm'

Worst: It should be my first own car which was a Fiat 126 which was utterly shit but got me places so probably disqualifies it from this list. So honestly, would probably also be the 156 which went wrong about as often as it went anywhere. I still loved it though (probably because warranty and the company paid the bills!!)

worst was a Nissan pulsar EXA-on loan from a friend for 3 months but he most gutles pos imaginable, apparently the turbo'd model went like stink but this was a 1.6 bobbinsmobile.
best Mk1 lotus elan driven once from Auckland to Rotorua by as many back roads as possible. never took it above about 65 mph but was still thrilled to fits of smiling.

The best was my mates new Audi S8 last week, it was brutal but amazing.

The worst a Chevy sabrine I hired in the US a few years ago...........a dog

Best/most fun - Audi Quattro Turbo Gene Hunt Special just one huge smile.
Worst - US PT Cruiser Convertible wallowy, slow, skittish truly awful.

Worst
Has to be my grandfathers escort van - non turbo-diesel. Felt like it was powered by elastic bands and the brakes did f-all.

My old man had a Volvo 340 for a while. Cripplingly uncomfortable seats, wider wheels and no power steering. Took 2 of us to turn the wheel at parking speeds.

2005 Audi A4 2.0TDi auto. Did everything almost too well and so ended up completely characterless and dull as ****. 80mph felt like being sat in front of the TV with the sound off.

Best
Technically it should be the Audi RS4 Avant I had to deliver across London, but I walked away feeling disappointed. I suspect it would be great on a mountain pass in the Alps, but at sub 30mph in London, it was just pointless.

Fiat Cinquecento Sporting. All the build quality of a wet paper bag, but it handled really well and you could thrash the knackers off it in everyday driving.

My VW Passat estate. I've done almost 100k in it (total 180k) and it's been solid, reliable and efficent. Comfortable motorway cruiser, but it's also been ragged over a few mountains when fully loaded and has risen to the challenge. I would like something that has a bit more life to it though...

Best: 106 Ralye 1.3 , Clio 172 cup & current mini cooper

Worst: bmw 320 coupe & lexus thing. Wifes company cars!

Best: My Triumph 2000 I had when I was 18

Worst: The Peugeot 205 1.1 I got as a company car to replace my Triumph 🙁 then the Escort diesel they gave me when I wrote off the Peugeot double 🙁

Best: Ferrari 355 F1, trackday thing, was amazing even kept it in a straight line in the wet 🙂

Worst: Daewoo Matiz, was dropped off at work as a hire car I was supposed to drive with a boot full of stuff from sheffield to glasgow, needless to say I drove if straight to the hire company and told then where they could park it, and five mins later I drove off in a lovely Alfa 147 for nowt extra.

Best - golf - recent hire car, but then my company car is a vectra and it is awful

Worst - would have said vectra, but i got an Astra Twin Top convertible as a hire car. How anyone would actually spend their own money on it after a test drive i do not understand. Was poor with the roof up but when down i thought the whole thing would shake to bits!

Best to drive, Lotus Elise S1 or Alfa Romeo Bertone GTV Coupe. Both had the ability to put a smile on your face, a good balance of predictable but lively handling without too much power or grip. Able to safely drive them closer to their limits at legal speeds. Driving them both in Sheffield winters was a different story! Best to live with year-round; Boxster S. Fast, fun to drive but comfortable with good luggage space. All sadly missed!

Worst; Mitsubishi Space Wagon. Horrendous Italian hire car which seemed to have embraced the Italian car reliability stereotype despite it's Japanese heritage. Dodgy electrics left is with a window stuck down for 2 hours on a Autostrada after a toll, and again over night through a thunder storm. Needed bailing out afterwards! Also shocking ride and wooly handling. Range Rover Vogue SE Supercharged also a big disappointment. Was expecting it to feel lively; instead was like being sat on a tractor and turned like a car ferry.

matthewjb - Member

Best that I've owned would be a Renault 19 16v. Great handling. Obviously poor French build quality.

Good choice, still own one, an H reg phase 1 model which are becoming very rare. Great drive if not the out and out fastest these days.

I drove a Toyota Yaris always liked the looks of them but by god it's horrible. The inside was made out of the hardest plastic known to man, looking at the digital speedo was like looking down a long tunnel and why put it in the middle. When you hit a pot hole or speed hump a bit quick it sounded like the suspension was going to fall off and imo it didn't handle to well either.

Worst, daf 44, just don't ask

Best, couldn't possibly say, but my god I've driven some nice cars, Aston's, ferrari's, lambo's, nobles, TVR's etc, oh & the odd Porsche 😉

Can I just add to my earlier post by saying how much I loathe my Mk3 - erm Golf - GTi. It's not dreadful per se, but compared to the Mk2, which is brilliant, it's a complete and utter let down and should never have had a GTi badge. It's not fit to wear the shirt...

That the dreadful 2.0 8V engined mk3? underpowered rattly bag of spanners.

That particular engined variant wasn't badged GTi in other territories iirc, it's just that they knew Brits would buy anything with a GTi badge on the back.

Best: RX8
Worst: Montego

Best,, Lotus Elise (fantastic)

Worst,, BMW 1 series/BMW Mini D (both a massive letdown)

The RC30,what a machine! The noise,the build quality,it's sheer presence.One of the best vehicles ever for Joe Public to purchase....Never rode one though.

Best: Honda NSX Type-R (9200 Rev limit V6)
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Worst: 86 'C' (rot box) Ford escort 1.6 Diesel.