Worst car of the last 20 years

Cosmo K

What is in your opinion the worst car of the last 20 years? For me, absolutely no question, its the Opel Vectra B or Mk2 Vectra, the one that was built between 95-2002.

eringobragh

MK2 Punto (Got there first!!)

peasant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lada_Samara

Max_Damage

Austin Metro

RobAMerc

Max_Damage wrote: »

Austin Metro

Ho ho - now thats gonna be hard to beat !

Maybe the Maestro was worse no ?

mike65

Ford Escort mk4/5

Mike.

Anan1

Cosmo K wrote: »

What is in your opinion the worst car of the last 20 years? For me, absolutely no question, its the Opel Vectra B or Mk2 Vectra, the one that was built between 95-2002.

I have to agree that that car was a right pig.

JoeA3

Definitely, the Mk5 (?) Escort (1990-'93) was a total pig. Engineered by accountants! My God, Ford have come a long way since that. Sure, the likes of Lada were crap, but they were priced accordingly and everyone knew they were rubbish and expected nothing else.

These days its much harder to nominate truly terrible cars... The average buyer cannot go too far wrong really, there's nothing much awful out there. Even the Koreans produce reasonably decent enough stuff now.

furtzy

JoeA3 wrote: »

Definitely, the Mk5 (?) Escort (1990-'93) was a total pig. Engineered by accountants! My God, Ford have come a long way since that. Sure, the likes of Lada were crap, but they were priced accordingly and everyone knew they were rubbish and expected nothing else.

These days its much harder to nominate truly terrible cars... The average buyer cannot go too far wrong really, there's nothing much awful out there. Even the Koreans produce reasonably decent enough stuff now.

Couldn't agree more. Awful awful car and not cheap either. Its seconded by the MK1 Punto.

ambro25

RobAMerc

ambro25 wrote: »

Sorry I can't agree there, it was ugly but it wasn't a bad motorcar to be fair - the ride and handling was actually quite good.

legs11

has to be a hyundai accent (all of them from any era....)

always the last car in a line of traffic.

id rather walk:)

unkel

Max_Damage wrote: »

Austin Metro

I think we have a winner

mike65

The Metro was launched in 1980. The nominations should be kept to new cars since 1987.

Mike.

Hallowed

mike65 wrote: »

Ford Escort mk4/5

Mike.

Totally agree with this. My Dad had one and about the only thing it did was get from A to B. Without style, looks performance or any of the other good stuff!!!

eringobragh

Max_Damage wrote: »

Austin Metro

I stand corrected!!

BrianD3

Lada Samara, crap car alright but then again it was very cheap and it was never supposed to be or claimed to be a decent car.

I'll nominate the Volvo 440. A car that was marketed as being "good", was priced accordingly but didn't have much going for it compared to its class rivals.

bazz26

Lexus SC430.

Yes it was reliable but the styling, ride and comfort were woefull. Suited the Americans though.

ambro25

RobAMerc wrote: »

Sorry I can't agree there, it was ugly but it wasn't a bad motorcar to be fair - the ride and handling was actually quite good.

You are jesting, right?!? :eek:

I'd agree with the Metro, though... were it not for the 6R4, so I can't

JHMEG

That bubble-shaped Opel Corsa that was around for what seemed liked 10 years , well 1992 to 2001 or something.

Or the Fiat Tempra. Or Uno. Or Ritmo. Or all 3.

TwoShedsJackson

JHMEG wrote: »

That bubble-shaped Opel Corsa that was around for what seemed liked 10 years , well 1992 to 2001 or something.

Or the Fiat Tempra. Or Uno. Or Ritmo. Or all 3.

I think the Ritmo launched well before 1987, at least I seem to recall our next door neighbour having one back in what I think was the early 80s - she had the one with the amazing electrics, i.e. any time the horn was pressed, the speedometer needled jumped about 30 mph

JHMEG

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

I think the Ritmo launched well before 1987,

It did, but was in production till 1988, so just makes it in. Showing my age here!:o I remember the gardaí got a load of them, but they were all gone within a year, or so it seemed. Iirc rust was a major problem.

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

at least I seem to recall our next door neighbour having one back in what I think was the early 80s - she had the one with the amazing electrics, i.e. any time the horn was pressed, the speedometer needled jumped about 30 mph

Cooool!

E92

JHMEG wrote: »

It did, but was in production till 1988, so just makes it in. Showing my age here!:o I remember the gardaí got a load of them, but they were all gone within a year, or so it seemed. Iirc rust was a major problem.

What was a Ritmo? I never heard of one of them ever.

As the worst car, the Nissan Serena by as country mile for me. The 2.0 diesel took 31.5, yes 31.5 seconds to hit 60 mph!They "improved":rolleyes: on this with the 2.3 diesel, that "only" took 27.8 seconds for 0-60! The vectra B was meant to be appaling too.

PRND

I had a 1.7, low pressure turbo diesel Astra from 97 and it was an absolute hound. Mk3 perhaps? I can't believe someone was paid money to design a car that looked like that. Not long after I bought it the water pump went and did 1500 sterling worth of damage to the engine.

alias no.9

E92 wrote: »

What was a Ritmo? I never heard of one of them ever.

One of the worst victims of rust ever

alias no.9

I nominate the Kia Rio

Zonda999

I know theyre out of the same boat but i thinh the hyundai accent is worse,suspension, brakes, fuel consumption. Just a crappy korean piece of s***
They'll probably rustin time as well

junkyard

Any Alfa-Romeo, over-rated, overly complicated and unreliable pile of junk. They're the Fianna Fail of the car world, loads of promise, past glories that never happen but are strangely etched on their supporters minds and will turn on you and cost you a fortune.

colm_mcm

bazz26 wrote: »

Lexus SC430.

Yes it was reliable but the styling, ride and comfort were woefull. Suited the Americans though.

Have to pull you up on that bazz, they're uber-comfortable. not great handling, but very comfortable. Have you driven one? Not too many about

colm_mcm

Skoda Felicia as it was relatively more outdated than the Favorit.

Victor_M

I'm torn between the current Vectra and a Daewoo Nubria, both of which I've had as rental cars and both of which have nearly killed me, due to a total and utter inability to accelerate, corner, travel at any speed or stop!

On second thoughts, I'll give it to the Vectra as the greatest pile of $hite as it pretends to be a good car, and lures you into a false sense of safety.

Even the indicators on the Vectra are $hite.

2347

Renault Laguna. Nice features but they last about a day and then it bursts into flames.

mildews

2347 wrote: »

Renault Laguna. Nice features but they last about a day and then it bursts into flames.

Either that or the little guy inside on the dynamo buggers off and you cant start the damn things

Max_Damage

mike65 wrote: »

The Metro was launched in 1980. The nominations should be kept to new cars since 1987.

Mike.

Well the Metro Mk1 was in production from 1980 to 1990.

Maybe the Fiat Regatta could get a honorable mention?

As for Lada's there were not as bad as everyone thinks. It's just many owners never bothered to service them regularly. Just look in Russia, and many other ex-Soviet countries, there are still plenty of 20+ yr. old Lada's going around, in the harshest of conditions.

One of the worst victims of rust ever

The Fiat Ritmo's used to rust in the showrooms FFS!

Dampsquid

Landrover Freelander 1.8. Anyone that owned one will understand

Kali

Austin-Rover Montego.

Max_Damage

Kali wrote: »

Austin-Rover Montego.

Petrol models: Yes
Perkins diesel model: No
MG version: No

Esel

TwoShedsJackson wrote: »

I think the Ritmo launched well before 1987, at least I seem to recall our next door neighbour having one back in what I think was the early 80s - she had the one with the amazing electrics, i.e. any time the horn was pressed, the speedometer needled jumped about 30 mph

Must have had the rare Abarth nitrous kit fitted in the factory! They wired it to the horn. :eek:

vengeance52

legs11 wrote: »

has to be a hyundai accent (all of them from any era....)

always the last car in a line of traffic.

id rather walk:)

I second this. otherwise the punto

JHMEG

esel wrote: »

Must have had the rare Abarth nitrous kit fitted in the factory! They wired it to the horn. :eek:

ROFL!

Back then, on a quiet night I think you could hear Ritmos rusting.

The sad thing is I can still vaguely remember the TV advert from the time.

Max_Damage

JHMEG wrote: »

ROFL!

Back then, on a quiet night I think you could hear Ritmos rusting.

The sad thing is I can still vaguely remember the TV advert from the time.

This one?

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=CAI9490QmeQ

JHMEG

Max_Damage wrote: »

This one?

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=CAI9490QmeQ

No, not the one. Jeez I'm gonna need hypnotism to get this one out, but iirc the Cliffs of Moher were in the ad (was obviously made for Irish market). Or maybe I just imagine the salt air rusting them away on the cliffs...

Wishbone Ash

Cosmo K wrote: »

For me, absolutely no question, its the Opel Vectra B or Mk2 Vectra, the one that was built between 95-2002.

Victor_M wrote: »

I'll give it to the Vectra as the greatest pile of $hite as it pretends to be a good car, and lures you into a false sense of safety

I agree. A truely awful car in every way. Mrs Wishbone Ash had one and I can't think of one redeemable feature on it!

RobAMerc wrote: »

Sorry I can't agree there, it was ugly but it wasn't a bad motorcar to be fair - the ride and handling was actually quite good.

I had one. They're not much of a looker but fabulous interior, comfort, handling etc. A bit like driving around in your sitting room.

BrianD3 wrote: »

I'll nominate the Volvo 440. A car that was marketed as being "good", was priced accordingly but didn't have much going for it compared to its class rivals.

....and had a Renault engine! ........enough said!

E92 wrote: »

As the worst car, the Nissan Serena by as country mile for me. The 2.0 diesel took 31.5, yes 31.5 seconds to hit 60 mph!They "improved":rolleyes: on this with the 2.3 diesel, that "only" took 27.8 seconds for 0-60! The vectra B was meant to be appaling too.

I drove a 2.3 diesel on an errand for work. My God, what a piece of crap. It definitely was the most sluggish vehicle I have ever driven (agri vehicles excepted).

JHMEG wrote: »

Back then, on a quiet night I think you could hear Ritmos rusting.

Bring it to a beach and it didn't need to be quiet to hear it rusting. It could be heard over the waves!

Remember that silly air intake thing on the bonnet? It was usually the first bit to rust away and fall into the engine bay leaving a silly looking hole! :eek:

astraboy

junkyard wrote: »

Any Alfa-Romeo, over-rated, overly complicated and unreliable pile of junk. They're the Fianna Fail of the car world, loads of promise, past glories that never happen but are strangely etched on their supporters minds and will turn on you and cost you a fortune.

So a 156 or 147 is a worse car then a Punto, the woeful MK4 escort, the vectra? Come on, yes Alfas are a handful but they are great to drive, their pros outweigh their cons IMO.

For me the worst car is the BMW 3 series compact. They never looked right. People bought them for the badge alone.

E92

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

I drove a 2.3 diesel on an errand for work. My God, what a piece of crap. It definitely was the most sluggish vehicle I have ever driven (agri vehicles excepted).

Just to make it clear, I've never driven a Serena, so ~I don't know what they are like to drive, but I do know that unless it has go kart like handling(which I very much doubt) it still remains the worst car I've ever had the misfortune of being in. I'd rather be waiting for 40 mins for a bus(like I did today, just to be clear I turned up on time for a 1550 bus in Cork today, the bus goes every 25 mins and that never showed up, there was one at 1615 which came at 1630)and be inconvenienced like that than ever go in a Serena again. It really is that bad.

Other cars I've had the misfortune of going in include the Skoda Estelle, which is the worst car without fail I've ever been in, it makes the Serena seem like a limo by comparison, and I couldn't stand the Volvo 340 either (but as these are more than 20 year old designs, I didn't include these as the thread was the worst cars in the last 20 years IIRC).

As for rusty cars, wasn't the Lancia β the car famous for being heard rust on a quiet night well before the Ritmo was(back in the 70's I think the car was on sale then)?(the Ritmo has POS written all over it btw just looking at the thing).

My family had a Mk5 Escort, and it was reliable if nothing else.

pburns

For pure unreliability and dodgy electrics - Megane Mk I or Laguna MkII?
I had bad experiences with the former!

The early '90s Escort definitely - although they inproved it drastically with that rushed facelift (I read - before my car owning days)

Nissan Tilda has to be a contender today. I know it's probably reliable and well kitted out but...I mean COME ON - it's such a MUTT!!

One of the worse cars I ever drove was a Hyundai Lantra - but it was a knackered LHD estate and the Koreans have come a long way since then...

Eoin

astraboy wrote: »

So a 156 or 147 is a worse car then a Punto, the woeful MK4 escort, the vectra? Come on, yes Alfas are a handful but they are great to drive, their pros outweigh their cons IMO.

Don't bother, he's just trolling as usual and looking for a reaction.

astraboy wrote: »

For me the worst car is the BMW 3 series compact. They never looked right. People bought them for the badge alone.

I was going to say the same, but narrow it down to the e36 compact. The e46 compact was a far better car.

bazz26

colm_mcm wrote: »

Have to pull you up on that bazz, they're uber-comfortable. not great handling, but very comfortable. Have you driven one? Not too many about

What I really meant by comfortable was the ride. Never driven one but I did read many reviews of it. It received a terrible receiption here in Europe. Lexus had to make tweeks to the car a year after launch. This included suspension, steering and tyre upgrades. Car never really recovered from a sales perspective over this side of the Altantic. The Americas love it though but I reckon it was originally designed for them anyway.

Not one of Lexus's better moments.

junkyard

eoin_s wrote: »

Don't bother, he's just trolling as usual and looking for a reaction.

I'm not trolling I have owned most of the range at one time or another mostly as trade-ins, and they have broken my heart and my wallet. I'm just saying it how I see it. It seems to me if you make a stand about any make of car which a few are infatuated with you get slated. I'm not just against Alfa's, Mercedes-Benz and Volkswagen are down there in the gutter with them too in my book. I remember, as an apprentice panel beater, a truck load of Alfa's arriving at our garage to patch up the rust BEFORE they were delivered to the main dealers, granted they have sorted the rust problem, but it's about bloody time. All they have to do now is sort the electrics and the mechanicals.

unkel

E92 wrote: »

As for rusty cars, wasn't the Lancia β the car famous for being heard rust on a quiet night well before the Ritmo was

Most cars suffered from rust back in the day. Cheap Italian cars suffered way more than most. Didn't it have something to do with the left wing Italian government doing a deal with the commies and exchanging old production lines (remember the FIAT based Ladas?) for cheap sh!te steel?

colm_mcm

the steel was supposed to be regular quality but it turned out to be reclaimed steel from ships or submarines or something!

It was called "technology for steel" where FIAT sold the tooling and technology for the 124 in exchange for loads of steel, seemed like a great deal for FIAT till they realised how crappy the steel was.