Best/Worst car you have ever driven?

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Best: A 1987ish Porsche 911. Didn't really get to do anything on it, but it felt so perfect. It was slightly modified, and just the low seating position, light steering but not powered, and a nice, direct gearbox. Just felt "right". Only complaint is (iirc) the gas pedal mechanism is a bit funky, feels weird under your foot. The sound was epic.

Worst: Any form of the Chevy S10/Blazer. Absolutely loath everything about those vehicles. The biggest pos of a car in the world, I cannot understand why anyone would want to own one for any reason whatsoever. I'd ride a bike to work before driving an S10. Man I hate those things. I've also performed extensive work on a number of them, only furthering my hatred.
 
Surprisingly not great: The Fiat 500 TwinAir. In Fiat's haste to make something economical and fun to drive, they seem to have forgotten to make it either economical or fun to drive. Steering wheel seems to be attached with magic, and I got an average of 27MPG at one point.

Quite bad: The Renault Clio 1.2, Extreme. Drove my friend's one, back in the day. Gearbox was ...interesting, clutch was ...interesting, steering was ...oh, it doesn't seem to ...hang on a minute ...no that can't be ...well what's the point of...

Biblically awful: The Vauxhall Corsa, 1.0, Life, ecoFlex. (AC). Hired for 24 hours to drive my flatmate to Manchester in an attempt to cheer her up, post break-up. Within 10 minutes I was more depressed than her.


I won't go into what I actually enjoyed. I'll only end up singing the praises of the Prius, and then people will throw things. And of course my car, but ever since a one Mr Antony Ingram told me a tale about a Ford Orion steering rack held up with one screw I haven't quite driven that as confidently as I'd like.
 
Jondot
Biblically awful: The Vauxhall Corsa, 1.0, Life, ecoFlex. (AC). Hired for 24 hours to drive my flatmate to Manchester in an attempt to cheer her up, post break-up. Within 10 minutes I was more depressed than her.
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That does remind me that the Corsa 1.4 I drove before buying the Panda was pretty awful. It was actually quite nice at motorway speeds, as it had a good ride quality, and was fairly quiet. And you didn't have to operate the steering or gearbox, which were both atrocious.

Not entirely sure of the point of a supermini that's better on the motorway than it is in town where the majority of superminis are used, but that's what the Corsa is.

I won't go into what I actually enjoyed. I'll only end up singing the praises of the Prius, and then people will throw things. And of course my car, but ever since a one Mr Antony Ingram told me a tale about a Ford Orion steering rack held up with one screw I haven't quite driven that as confidently as I'd like.
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:lol:

Err, yep. Sorry about that...

Though to correct, it wasn't the rack, but the wheel itself. Was only attached securely to the steering column with one of the recommended four bolts. And in fairness, once they tightened it up it steered a lot better...
 
homeforsummer
Not entirely sure of the point of a supermini that's better on the motorway than it is in town where the majority of superminis are used, but that's what the Corsa is.
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Explains what makes the 1.0 so terrible then. It can't get out of its own way quickly enough to work on the highway. :lol:
 
Best. Lancer Evo 9 MR

Worst: A mate's old beat up Corolla. I remember that it would sometimes refuse to accelerate even though you pressed down the accelerator, regardless of gear.
 
homeforsummer
That does remind me that the Corsa 1.4 I drove before buying the Panda was pretty awful. It was actually quite nice at motorway speeds, as it had a good ride quality, and was fairly quiet. And you didn't have to operate the steering or gearbox, which were both atrocious.

Not entirely sure of the point of a supermini that's better on the motorway than it is in town where the majority of superminis are used, but that's what the Corsa is.
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Rotary Junkie
Explains what makes the 1.0 so terrible then. It can't get out of its own way quickly enough to work on the highway. :lol:
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Pretty much! Or a junction, or around a parked car, or up a slight incline. Probably wouldn't be so bad if the Corsa didn't weigh as much as I think the Mercedes Benz Actros.


Zenith013
Is there a "Best Avatar Award" here? I laugh out loud every time I see Jondot's.
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Why thank you :sly:
 
Jondot
Pretty much! Or a junction, or around a parked car, or up a slight incline. Probably wouldn't be so bad if the Corsa didn't weigh as much as I think the Mercedes Benz Actros.
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It wasn't much better with the 1.4 I drove. Particularly since I drove it back to back with the Panda I now own, which weighs a good 100kg or more less, and has a good 10-15bhp more. And a decent gearbox. And steering. And isn't a Vauxhall.
 
Ok, based on what I'm about to call the worst I feel like I need to supply a resume of the various cars I've driven and am comparing these cars to:

1971 VW Beetle - manual
80's Ford Econoline Van V8
'93 Ford Explorer
'90's Jeep Wrangler - manual
'80s Chrysler Ares K - manual
'80s Chrysler LeBaron
Mazda 3
Toyota Rav 4
Volvo XC90
Toyota MR-2 (first Gen) - manual
Mazda Miata MX-5 (first Gen) - manual
Mazda Miata MX-5 (third Gen) - manual
Mazda MX-6 - manual
Chevy Cobalt
Hyundai Tucson
2010 Audi A3
Nissan 370Z Roadster
Infiniti G35 Coupe
Infiniti G35 Sedan (first Gen)
Infiniti G37 Sedan
Acura TSX (first Gen)
Acura TL (first Gen)
Infiniti FX35 (first Gen)
2004 BMW 330i
Dodge Neon (first Gen)
'01 Honda Accord
'03 Acura RSX-S - manual
Late '00s Toyota Corolla
80s Chevrolet Celebrity
'00s Lexus RX
Mazda CX6
Mazda CX9
Saturn SL? I think?
'80s Dodge RAM Pickup
'90s Dodge RAM Pickup
'00s Dodge RAM Pickup (diesel)
'00s C240 Sedan
'00s Acura RDX
'00s Acura MDX
'00s Nissan Murano

Ok there are probably others that I have forgotten, but that has to be 90% of them. So with all of those in mind, which car did I hate the most? Which car would I want to drive again the least?

Worst: Lexus RX

That's right, I would sooner slide onto the vinyl bench seat of an that old Ares K than the Lexus RX. I'd rather drive the VW Beetle, the Celebrity, the Econoline.... any of them. They all had better steering than the RX. Never have I been more dissapointed and disgusted with a car than the RX. Granted, if you were going to give me a car, I'd rather you gave me the RX than the Ares, but that's because the RX is worth more and slightly more useful (and looks better and more reliable). For pure driving numbness, the RX takes the cake.

Best: Audi A3

I didn't get to take the 370Z to the twisties, which puts it at a disadvantage. For pure handling I like my 330i (and some of the others) better, but the A3 gets the overall nod due to the DSG transmission (it's no coincidence that it wins and it's the only one on the list with the DSG). It didn't get purchased due to reliability, but it was the best overall driving experience I have had.

Edit:

Cars I forgot to list:
'90s Chevrolet Corsica

Car's I've driven since:
2012 Hyundai Sonata
2011 Chevrolet Impala
E36 328i Manual
14' U-Haul Moving Truck (Ford E350, loaded and unloaded)
 
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I've only driven a handful of cars, but I'll try to pick a best and worst out of the list.

2003 Toyota Corolla CE (daily driver)
90's Toyota Camry
2008 Toyota Yaris sedan
2011 VW Golf TDI Wagon
2012 VW Touareg TDI
2009 Buick Enclave CXL

Out of those, the Yaris is far and away the worst car. It's absolutely boring, and I can't imagine anyone bigger than 5'9" being comfortable in one. I had it for driver's ed, I'm 5'10" and I was really squished in it, the seats were horrendous, it's just a bad car. Good in terms of fuel economy, reliability and maintenance costs, but it's just not a good drive.

The best, it's hard to say. The Golf TDI is a lot of fun, but the Touareg has a fantastic interior and is just a very very nice vehicle. As far as what car I'd want to live with every day, It'd be the Golf. However, the Touareg would be the car I'd want to take on a long road trip. It's tough to say, but I think I'll give it to the Golf for being more fun to drive (although having 400+ ft-lbs of tourque in the Touareg is a lot of fun). For what it's worth, the Touareg does have good feel through the wheel, brake feel is good, and it is really a rather sporty drive for an SUV. The Golf is just more fun, being a car and weighing 2000 pounds less and all that.

Worst: 2008 Toyota Yaris (sedan)
Best: 2011 VW Golf TDI (wagon)
 
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I think every vehicle I have driven has been mostly bad :lol: :indiff: I have a real mini now so I might actually have something with slightly more positives :D
 
Driven or Owned? :sly:

Worst Driven:
My buddy had an old burnt out fiesta. 👎

Best Driven:
2011 wrx sti of course. :P
 
The worst car I drive was a beat up old ford tempo that would not go over 55

The best car I have driven is a 09 Nissan GTR
 
Eric.
Hey now, the Corvette could've been a '53 with a straight six and powerglide.
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From the way these claims normally play out, I have a feeling it was a ZR1 with twin superchargers that ran low 7's on the quarter mile. ;)
 
Obvious troll is obvious, it being his first post pretty much says it all, no?
 
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Best Driven: Audi R8 V10, rented it for 3 days and miss it bad.

Worst Driven: Nissan Sunny, for my drivers test.
 
Best: Formula Palmer Audi (single seater)... if it has to be a road car then I'll take my current 996 C2, which is utterly lovely to drive.

Worst: Kia Rio (model from around 10 years ago) that I got given by a bodyshop when my then 120d was in for some repair work. Absolutely shocking car. Pulled to the left so badly it needed 1/2 a turn of right hand lock on to go in a straight line, brakes just made it turn 90* left, noisy, no performance, terrible driving position and build quality... it was an abomination.
 
Worst? hands down my mom's "bimini beige" 1977 Cadillac Coupe de Ville d'elegance. You turned the wheel about three times to make a 90 degree turn, and get this:

425 cubic inches/7.0 liters of Detroit iron V8 made all of 180 hp! This Gingrich-esque pig of an automobile needed 16 seconds with its four barrel Rochester carburator wide open to reach just 60 miles per hour! Did I mention that it was able to achieve 14 mpg? Oh, and "bimini beige" is a polite way of saying "pink".

I had quite the reputation in high school~

Best car? Probably my current '85 928S2. I suspect it needs struts, since it burns its rear tires to bits in about 2000 miles. Falken RT615's, 275/40-17's. If I can tame that rear end, it will conquer nearly anything. That is the most user-friendly automobile ever built- I think my mom could turn sub 8 minute runs around the Nordschleif in this car!

The most FUN car I've ever driven? 1986 Dodge Omni GLH Turbo. That thing was total attitude! It was crude, rude, and stupid, but it would destroy a contemporary Trans Am in a race, and only the more hard core '60's American cars could convincingly beat it. And it looked like your grandmothers economy car! A friend bought one, and we spent an evening driving around Daytona Beach street racing, picking fights with RX-7's and Ford Mustang GT's, and it was UNBELIEVABLY fun kicking the rat 5hit out of them! OH MY GOD! When that T04 spooled up, you needed to hold that wheel with BOTH hands, and while the lag was huge, when it came to speed it did it all at once and you were suddenly hurtled forward as if you had been rear ended!

THAT was a fun car.
 
Best: Ferrari 550 Maranello. By a long shot.

Worst: Mitsubishi Lancer Sportback. Though in the cars defense I was driving on a very demanding scenic road. And it was automatic and right hand drive. Two things I am not used to.
 
Several years back, I had a combination best and worst car. It was an old 1987 Honda Civic. It was bought as a winter beater, $100.00. This car had well over 350k on the odometer, every fluid known to man that this car had in it was leaking,the body looked like it was fresh from a Demo Derby. The hood latch was broken, in place were 2 hood pins to secure it down,the passenger side power window did not work,the windshield had a crack going all the way across it, the interior was torn, the dash cracked.It was pretty bad, but this thing ran like it was nobody's business. It got close to 30 mpg and was reliable as all get out, even on the coldest of N.E. Ohio's winter mornings, it fired right up. It never made so much as 1 tick or any type of noise from the engine, it just sat there and purred like a kitten, as smooth as silk.So why was it a best car I ever had ? I never had a car that got 30mpg, this was way to cool. I'm a truck guy, I'm used to low to mid teens as mileage, so this was kind of cool, a high mpg car that had extremely high miles on it and ran the way it did.

Thumbs up to Honda.
 

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