[Closed] Worst car in the world?

Surely that is simply a foot operated parking brake? We have one of those, very easy to use.

fiat 126bis

Fiat cinqueququento mk1. GF years ago wanted one. Test drove, horrible, horrible, horrible, everything about it was horrible.

Astra mk3, crap for the obscenely bad ergonomics, where the seat was in position to kind of average out the pedals and steering wheel. Horrific. As mentioned in this thread I think.

rover 200, with the peugot 2L diesel. Where they clearly took the peugeot diesel and "fitted" a different turbo. Which didn't manage to span the rev gap between gears. Hill start up an extended incline? 1st gear, 2nd gear, up into 3rd aaaaaannnd down into 2nd again, and up into 3rd aaaaand down into 2nd...

OTOH, a mk1 VW jetta in metallic gold with biscuit wheels and an 1100 with about 7bhp was awesome - nothing went wrong in about two years (except the autochoke, and the cabin heater never did anything except "hot") and it was driven full-power-everywhere (mostly without exceeding the speed limit). I paid £50 for it. To be fair it had no electrical features so about as simple as things got. I also had similarly sterling service from several poverty spec mk3 escorts, bought for absolute buttons, which should have been as crap as crap can be, but both managed to be reliable transport for ages without going wrong. mk3 fiesta XR2 was great cheap fun too, despite its intrinsic naffness.

A new entry from me: Renault Scenic II. On the subject of electronic parking brakes, ours has just failed. For the fourth time. This year.

My VW Passat had an electronic handbrake. It was a royal PITA. Below 4 deg C it refused to disengage. I have the tyre marks on the drive to prove it! I think manual handbrakes should be mandatory.

I'm currently in France on holiday and have a diesel Citroen C3 rental. Crikey. It is a crock of shit. I'm convinced there's an anvil under the bonnet given its lack of puissance. Truly awful.

Wife's 2010 Astra had one in the boot. Replacement Golf doesn't, not does my Avensis.

Yay Skoda.

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Edit though:

I give you.... the Nissan Almera!

I had a Primera of the same era; despite a neurotic ABS sensor, it was an absolutely sublime (petrol) engine and a completely reliable workhorse. Sold it for more than I bought it for, which is a win on the bangernomics front 🙂

Might get flamed on here, but... Landrover Defender 90.

No head room, no leg room, sat bolt upright due to bulkhead. Shit heater, shit radio installed at some kinda crazeee angle in the dash. Trim fitted badly, body fitted worse.
N/A diesel engine gave 55bhp and couldn't pull up hill without using 2nd gear. Finding 2nd gear involved the ritual sacrifice of a Leeds virgin (bloody hard to find one, apart from me BITD) and the manipulation of a 2 foot long lever into a minute slot while immersed in a bucket of gravel.
Couldn't fit anything in the "boot". At all. If anyone was sat in the boot, you could fit even less in.
Windows would self open (i.e., drop).
Doors wouldn't lock reliably.
25mpg on a good day.
Horrible understeer.
Dad then got a TDi engine fitted which did pull well, but only exacerbated the understeer.
Once (and only once) pulled off a 4-wheel drift in it on the Leeds ringroad on a very wet, very quiet night. How I didn't kill myself in it, I'll never know. On the other hand, if the oldies had a "normal" car I would probably have wrapped it around a lamppost so I guess I should be grateful.
Awful car. Would I have another? Yes.

Princess... I have the pics from the concept drawings, I'll post them up, they are as pretty as the P1800 (and its concept drawings were way better than it was too)

My dad had a 126Bis, brilliant little cars for pootling round town! He swapped it for one of the last original shape Pandas 😀

Yay Skoda

I love mine for this simple little thing:

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Simple genius.

My nan bought one of these:

[img] [/img]

Only drove it once and it was awful. Got scrapped after she lost her week's shopping due to the entire boot floor disappearing on the way home from Safeway!

Mum had one of these:

[img] [/img]

Terrible to drive, it died after we couldn't get hold of a rear 3/4 window for it and the damp got into the electrics. Not even available from Suzuki!! It's now doing sterling work as an autograss car 😀

Worst [s]car[/s] van is my MK7 Transit, never wanted to buy it but couldn't afford a Sprinter. As an engineer and someone who services/tinkers their own cars - it was clearly designed on CAD with no concern for however would spanner them down the line with multiple annoying design flaws.
Also massively uncomfortable - I can't drive it for more than an hour without getting massive shoulder/neck pains. A European roadtrip was absolute agony.

Rusting before my eyes despite being waxoyled and stored under a covered yard.

Best car is our aged volvo v70 - curry hook, and car park ticket holder (as above). Designed with thought about who would work on it in years to come. A joy to spanner.

Might get flamed on here, but... Landrover Defender 90.

No head room, no leg room, sat bolt upright due to bulkhead. Shit heater, shit radio installed at some kinda crazeee angle in the dash. Trim fitted badly, body fitted worse.
N/A diesel engine gave 55bhp and couldn't pull up hill without using 2nd gear. Finding 2nd gear involved the ritual sacrifice of a Leeds virgin (bloody hard to find one, apart from me BITD) and the manipulation of a 2 foot long lever into a minute slot while immersed in a bucket of gravel.
Couldn't fit anything in the "boot". At all. If anyone was sat in the boot, you could fit even less in.
Windows would self open (i.e., drop).
Doors wouldn't lock reliably.
25mpg on a good day.
Horrible understeer.
Dad then got a TDi engine fitted which did pull well, but only exacerbated the understeer.
Once (and only once) pulled off a 4-wheel drift in it on the Leeds ringroad on a very wet, very quiet night. How I didn't kill myself in it, I'll never know. On the other hand, if the oldies had a "normal" car I would probably have wrapped it around a lamppost so I guess I should be grateful.
Awful car. Would I have another? Yes.

No flaming here. Without doubt the worst vehicle I have ever driven was a works 110 Defender. Unforgivably bad in virtually every way. To think people were spending vast sums to secure the last examples blows my mind. Hateful, awful.

bearnecessities - Member

I had a Primera of the same era, it was an absolutely sublime

😯

I will allow "not completely sh*t" (as I said, the almera was somewhat redeemed by the genius curry hook), but [i]sublime[/i]? We need to have a serious talk about your aspirations! 😀

Actually, the worst car I've has was a Mk1 freelander. Absolutely terrible in almost every way. According to wikipedia:

The floorpan was based on that of the Austin Maestro, and minor components such as interior door handles were Maestro items.

Might get flamed on here, but... Landrover Defender 90.

Landys need to be kept in context. First and foremost a working vehicle, it really had no place on the roads! I used to have an old series LR and it really was back to basics (minus the basics).

A gearbox with a huge gearstick meant locating gears was hit and miss. Steering so vague I often wondered if it had just completely disconnected. And brakes, well it took quite some stopping - four drum brakes with no servo wasn't the best way to stop a two-ton vehicle.

But for short journeys, an absolute hoot to drive. And off-road just fantastic fun.

I'd have another in a heartbeat.... 🙂

I had a Defender when I lived in London (there [i]was[/i] a genuine reason for it!). For what it was, I couldn't fault it, and was the last car I owned that I could fix myself. The lorry wheel grooves on the M25 used to send it mental though.

Not sure if anyone's voted for the old Vitara. Nearly every farmer round our way has one, so they're good for something in stock form, but mine came with factory 'fat boy' wheels and was lethal on wet roads. I had to take mini roundabouts and sharp bends at walking pace or it'd just spin.

I too have owned a S2 Landy fitted with a diesel Perkins engine so it would tow Shire Horses, agree with keeping them in context.. not many vehicles would be able to tow a FatNed in a box out of a Show field after rainfall..
Crap on the road though, but then 40mph is just bearable. Odd isn't it but I have quite a soft spot for that Landy all these years later, even though most of it didn't work and the windows would fall out if it was windy.....

Odd isn't it but I have quite a soft spot for that Landy all these years later

I feel the same for my old Landy also!

and the windows would fall out if it was windy.....

Mine was the same. Also had the rag top so it was so draughty that shutting a window had very little effect. And heating? Turning the heating on just meant putting a jumper on...

the best thing about building your own 90 is you can fix all these faults....

the heater in mine will roast a chicken 😉 its when you see how they are built and what they use for air flow - and how badly built they were thats when you see the captain obvious fixes to stop the hot air leaking out everywhere before it get into the cab !

tbh it sounds like you all drove ragged dying landies ..... which are probably still all running now 😀 i couldnt believe the difference in how mine drove after rebuilding it with new/refurbed parts - as in the steering made more than suggestions at steering , the throttle made it go (i doubled the power) and the brakes nearly stuck you through the windscreen where as before they were merely suggestive at best - a comfort factor if you will 😀

Honda Civic.

Not sure if it was the i-shift box, the rear window or just overall. It's a not very nice car though.

Whether it's the worst in the world may be a big ask... but it wasn't nice

tbh it sounds like you all drove ragged dying landies ..... which are probably still all running now

Mine was ex-military so undoubtedly had some ragging. And yes, still probably going strong somewhere 🙂

My 75 SIII 109 pulled the loaded skip lorry out of the quagmire the bikewash left at last weekends BDS.
It's my transport to events, it's my tent (full canvas hood) and more often than not I help ferry other marshalls, poles, crash mats etc around. If someone asked to swap it for a VW van I might be tempted just so I could sell it and get another couple of old Landies going.

I wouldn't drive an old car. I don't want to die in an accident...

I had a series 2 land rover for a while and while it was noisy, had a huge turning circle, and had no synchromesh on second, you could drive with impunity on packed snow which cars couldn't begin to think of driving on. It's all about expectations again. However, I would have expected it to take a shallow ford in its stride. The reality was that the distributor wasn't remotely sealed and the drum brakes took a quarter of a mile of gentle drying before they'd stop the beast. And being petrol from the dark ages it was a bit of a Georgie Best (and not in a good way).

I wouldn't drive an old car. I don't want to die in an accident...

Yet you ride a bike which is far more likely to get you killed per km covered.

There's risk compensation, I was lot more cautious in a Lotus 7 than a G4 Escort. In the Lotus death or serious injury was probable, in the Escort only my wallet would have suffered. This is one of the problmes with air-bagged X5 drivers, they have a sense of invulnerability that is dangerous for everyone else on the road. Ignoring the fact only ****s buy big beamers.

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May I offer the Metro Turbo?

Fast enough to get you into trouble, but with brakes and suspension not quite good enough to get you out of said trouble. The only car I've ever managed to get airbourne (ahem...)

Nickc
You can't be trying too hard if that's the only car you have had airborne :D..
I would like to go back a few threads and with regard to the Rover 200 ..if it's the 216 with the British Leyland engine then I would agree ..pile of shite.
However the 213 had the superior Honda engine and was a great little car ..I had one as a company car once from new ..

I was enjoying coffee outside at a local café, when I noticed a late 1990s Mercedes E class parked on the pavement next to me.

Now, the previous generation E class (W124) seems to be one of those ageless, classless type cars that keep going for ever. Customers paid a premium on the understanding that even with poverty spec (steel wheels, no radio) that the car would outlast you and as such was the chariot of choice for many a European taxi driver.

This model, of 1999 vintage suffered from rampant rust and had multiple perforations in the bodywork. The trim appeared to be hanging off in places and the paintwork was pretty shoddy. It's not unique, virtually every single W210 I've seen is rusty, with peeling paint.

Had this car been sold as a Rover, I've no doubt that we'd be slagging it off as the epitome of crapness. I feel very sorry for everyone who paid a small fortune for one of these, expecting it to last a decade or more.

it's not unique, virtually every single [s]W210[/s] late 90s german car I've seen is rusty, with peeling paint.

W210s are horrendous for this, mate's dad had all doors, wings and boot lid replaced on their 4 year old E. Having done that the strut tops started going. Their contemporary A-class went similarly. VW polos & golfs from the same era were also self-destructing rust buckets.

I remember reading the [url= https://www.daimler.com/innovation/next/en/ ]M-B techical magazine[/url] at the time & it was full of cost-cutting measures like shoving the seats full of shredded coconut husks as it was cheaper than foam.

The floorpan was based on that of the Austin Maestro, and minor components such as interior door handles were Maestro items.

Yep that era of Mercedes are pretty rough. The boss went all Gerald Ratner and publicly said that their customers no longer wanted to buy a car and maintain it for 30 years or more, they wanted a new one every 5 years so made them cheaper.

Seems even those who did want a new one every 5 years still wanted one they assumed would last decades - they're not terrible, but they were noticeably cheaper feeling that the older ones and buyers didn't like seeing Mercedes on the road with rusty bodies etc, especially 10 year old ones.

Jeez, I had to drive a brand new Maestro diesel for a couple of weeks and I really couldn't believe how bad it was! Truly, truly awful car, with not one redeeming feature!

2CV's and Defenders are fun, perfect for their intended use and infinitely rebuildable.

Loved our Mk1, drum braked, 998cc Fiesta, but yes the floor fell out.
Brilliant car, as was our Daewoo Nexia, Shedric, which took us and the bikes everywhere and had the decency to blow up outside my favourite pub.

nickfrog

I think they'll be grateful for you avoiding them and might consider a side benefit of their car as being the ability to easily annoy reverse snobs and narrow minded people who judge others they don't know based on the car they drive. I don't blame them !

Sorry, missed your post.
🙂

Honestly, it's not reverse snobbery.
No issue with people buying nice cars, it makes me smile to see them being used.

It's just that particular type of car offends me (not really, obviously, but let's go with it) on almost every level.

A totally shallow, completely merit free retrograde step which logically can only reflect the character of those that choose them.

I own a fat, ugly, cheap Doblo.
😀

it's not unique, virtually every single W210 late 90s german car I've seen is rusty, with peeling paint.
ftfy
W210s are horrendous for this, mate's dad had all doors, wings and boot lid replaced on their 4 year old E. Having done that the strut tops started going. Their contemporary A-class went similarly. VW polos & golfs from the same era were also self-destructing rust buckets.

I remember reading the M-B techical magazine at the time & it was full of cost-cutting measures like shoving the seats full of shredded coconut husks as it was cheaper than foam.

BMW's aren't exact;y great for rust proofing - the E46 and E39's have issues. Lots of E46's around with rusty wings.

Rich_s - Member
...
Awful car. Would I have another? Yes.

POSTED 4 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POST
PJM1974 - Member
I was enjoying coffee outside at a local café, when I noticed a late 1990s Mercedes E class parked on the pavement next to me.

Now, the previous generation E class (W124) seems to be one of those ageless, classless type cars that keep going for ever. Customers paid a premium on the understanding that even with poverty spec (steel wheels, no radio) that the car would outlast you and as such was the chariot of choice for many a European taxi driver.

This model, of 1999 vintage suffered from rampant rust and had multiple perforations in the bodywork. The trim appeared to be hanging off in places and the paintwork was pretty shoddy. It's not unique, virtually every single W210 I've seen is rusty, with peeling paint.

Had this car been sold as a Rover, I've no doubt that we'd be slagging it off as the epitome of crapness. I feel very sorry for everyone who paid a small fortune for one of these, expecting it to last a decade or more.

er, edited to slightly reduce the size of quote...

Original Mini with A-series engine.

What sort of lunatic puts the radiator sideways? No other car before or since was such a flawed guff-crumpet.

Thats only a minor design flaw compared to having the gears sitting in the sump, the distributor poking out of the grill virtually, the carbs sitting on the exhaust manifold. Yet one of the most iconic if not the most iconic car ever built. I've loved all of mine and will have another one as soon as I can persuade my wife that we really need a mini van!

IIRC the Freelander was developed in 18 months, so you should cut it some slack.

I own a fat, ugly, cheap Doblo

tremendous cars, I miss ours

I agree to a point (Mercs quality did go downhill at that point), however feel compelled to point out that it's 18 years since 1999 - well over a decade, in other words.
To be fair though these days you'd expect most cars to last that long. A premium car like a Merc should be solid and last quite a bit longer, not just a luxury car for 5 years until too much starts going wrong and it becomes a cheap car for the brave (wo)man.

There's a lot of late 1990s vintage Rover 75s and Alfa Romeo 156s that are still going strong. Both seem to be more resistant to rust than an E class of the same era. I used to own an example of the latter!

Fast enough to get you into trouble, but with brakes and suspension not quite good enough to get you out of said trouble.

The VW Polo G40 was like that, fast, relatively easy to get big HP gains, lightweight but lethal. Were rare due to being a silly price when new and became even rarer after many were crashed. Oh and the superchargers had a bad habit of lunching themselves. Well sorted examples were great fun to drive though and obviously much better build quality than Metro's, but subpar for VW's of the time, they were assembled in Spain!

The only way to really sort the brakes was to fit a Passat master cylinder, ideally a bigger servo and do a rear hub conversion to MkII Golf disc brakes 😀

My brother had a G40, it was a cool little car and despite being about 25bhp down on my 16v Golf it was nearly as quick.

rover 200, with the peugot 2L diesel. Where they clearly took the peugeot diesel and "fitted" a different turbo. Which didn't manage to span the rev gap between gears. Hill start up an extended incline? 1st gear, 2nd gear, up into 3rd aaaaaannnd down into 2nd again, and up into 3rd aaaaand down into 2nd...

Rover never used a Peugeot engine, all theirs were based off the Perkins lump.

I suspect you had an SD which didn't have the intercooler. Was a bit narrow on the powerband but it did only have 86bhp.

Bombproof though.

For me it's a Renault Clio MK3 (I think), odd speed sensitive steering, non fold flat rear seats, head went, tiny drain holes for the area under the windscreen which block every 3 months with leaves so the wiper motor flooded and shorted, plus the pollen filter soaked, then dribbled into the passenger footwell which I thought was the sunroof.

There is a litany of things that went wrong with it but I suspect the previous owner wore spurs and a Stetson.

@ P-Jay - I had one. Brilliant little Q cars, bloody fast for such a small engine and sounded like a jet fighter under power. The wide powerband of supercharged cars makes them so nice to drive.

G40's needed quite a bit of fettling (suspension and brakes) to get them right and the brakes were just not fit for purpose, they were dangerous in car that light and fast. VW uprated the front discs without any of the other braking system components, such a half arsed bodge IMO.

It should be a car that had no right to be on the road, that was particularly dangerous or badly thought out to such a degree that it was extremely difficult or challenging to drive.

It's a thing. Getting the steering to fit on RHD cars is a challenge and many corners often get cut. Also, you've got to account for the front wheels and footwells and a transmission tunnel.
Vauxhalls seem to have an issue here. I drove a late model Zafira and noted that the wheel was still offset. I had the dreaded backache within twenty miles and I had to drive the hateful, sodding thing to Ayr from the south-eastern tip of England.

Anything, simply anything by Ford or Vauxhall currently. They are all built to an exacting budget, and look and feel like that whatever you are in.

My first car was a 1972 hillman avenger, appalling vehicle.
My second car was a 1975 hillman avenger which was much better because it had a vynl roof.