Best & Worst Cars You've Personally Driven

[BUTCH1]

Worst one in recent memory is definitely one of our fleet vehicles at work, a 2011 Corolla.
It's just such a bad car I have no idea how anyone could actually own one of these.

Brutal steering feel, mushy gross suspension, most tupperware interior I have ever seen. Reminds me of first year relaunch of the Dodge Avenger... it's such a horrid car.

One of my favorites was my friends' 2007 Volvo V70R.. Greatest seats in the world, gorgeous tan/orange colored leater interior, 6 speed manual and 300 HP... That is such a wonderful car, I absolutely loved it.

Since the Corolla is a entry-level car what were you expecting?. As an A-B type of car it will probably run for 200K without any issues..

 

[GasX]

1967 Mustang Notchback Coupe

It was the worst and the best car I have ever had. Fun to drive in its imprecise steering, v8 powered, 60's technology way and always a conversation starter, but a money sink and no air conditioning in a daily driver is a bitch...

My Ford SVT Contour is a close second on both. It was the best pure driving car I have had, but it had a nigling computer issue that meant I had a check engine light at all times, including when I had to get a state inspection...

 

[deadken]

I still miss my 1983 Volvo 240. It was a 244 (four door) which I like the least visually. But, it was ROCK solid, built like a tank and dead set reliable. I bought it with 242k on the clock, the speedo cable broke at 289k, and I junked it with probably well over 300k on it. To this day, it's still the best car I ever junked. Too little room, time, money....

The worst car I owned was probably my Dodge Shelby Charger I can't remember what year it was... But it was one of the FWD cars from the 1980's. It was the year with the 4 lug wheels. Great handling car, horrible to own. Just unreliable and poor quality / design.

Now, my 1980 BMW 320IS was sweet! Recaro seats (which weren't that great), K-Jet EFI (simple), a wonderful 5-speed, LSD (which I burnt up powerdrifting), and a sunroof too! That was a really simple, light car. It handled wonderfully and had great torque for a 1.8l. If I could find a clean one (I live in the NW (New York)), I'd be on it like white-on-rice.

 

[lakedude]

The worst car I owned was probably my Dodge Shelby Charger I can't remember what year it was... But it was one of the FWD cars from the 1980's. It was the year with the 4 lug wheels. Great handling car,

I had a 1988 Dodge Daytona Shelby Z turbo FWD. Handling was amazing (didn't realize how good till nearly wrecking the next car that didn't handle as good). Traded the 88 in on an 88 because I couldn't deal with the torque steer and horrible snow traction. That car would jump over half a lane if you hit a pothole! I think bumps were okay but potholes were crazy. The steering wheel would just jerk out of your hands! Never kept it long enough to develop problems...

BTW the next car was the Starion which didn't handle nearly as well but was much easier to drive. If you did everything just right the Shelby was amazing but it was a very difficult car to drive.

 

[ultimatebob]

Best? 2008 Audi A8L. Sucker was plush!

Worst? 1982 Plymouth Reliant station wagon. The interior would flood if you drove it though a rain puddle, and you would have to get outside and rock it out of Park if you parked it on a hill.

 

[JKing106]

Of the tens of people I know that have had Hondas, I haven't seen a single one last more than 30k miles without munching its engine. I've seen trannies go, obviously CVs go, and lots of stupid little problems that lead to more problems when you try to fix them. If you get parts from the dealership, they're much lower quality than the original OEM. A lot of them are just completely useless. A friend ate both of his insanely terribly made wheel wells when they touched his tires. Just tore right off the car, as expected. The replacements were so thin that I couldn't believe it. Right from Honda, stamped Honda, and totally worthless crap. He ended up driving the car without wheel wells because the replacements couldn't handle 65mph on the highway. There are just too many horror stories to list.

The best was this same friend and this same car. Three engines, three weeks, less than one thousand miles. Original Honda engines, installed by the Honda dealership. F that S. I'll never drop a dime on them. My friend paid for all 3 and the installs, they said it wasn't their fault because a kid that worked there said they saw him beating on the car. I told him to sue them, but he didn't, fearing he'd just lose when the kid said that again in court.


Also, they cost too much and the parts are very expensive, even though they are literally the worst I've ever seen.

OK, you're trolling. You honestly want us to believe you've never seen, or known anyone who has seen, a Honda motor make it past 30K?

We get it. In your world, American = best, Foreign = shit. I'm not loyal to any car company. I could care less what name is on it. It's just a tool to get from point A to point B. I'm driving a 92 Civic with 213K on the original motor, and the woman I bought it from abused the living shit out of it. When I took the valve cover off at 199K, the valve train was completely and totally black from lack of oil changes. And it's been running like a top with 3.5K oil changes over the last 15k. Honda motors, especially from the early to mid 90's, are notoriously hard to kill.

So, I"m calling bullshit on your little ploy to start some flame attention for yourself here. This is the last bit you'll get from me on the subject, and the last time I'll consider your opinion on anything.

Edit: I didn't see that you and your friends were intentionally redlining them.

 

[MagickMan]

Best: 2009 Gallardo LP 560-4. Think of it as a bright yellow Italian adrenaline pump. It was, almost literally, a 560bhp go-cart with leather seats and AWD.

Worst: A toss up between a PoS VW Type 2 Microbus and a 2005 Toyota Prius. Both handled like a crippled river barge with a broken keel.

 

[mafia]

Best:
-2007 Honda S2000 (current owner. love it! hard to match for the price)
-2003 BMW E46 M3 (test drove it, amazing! only car i would consider trading my s2k for.)
Worst:
-2005 Chevy Malibu (Drivers Ed car, horrible horrible car. I mean, when I see people driving these, I wonder, have they been living under a rock and don't shop around? I've driven the comparable 2005 Accord and Camry. It's like entering another dimension, thats how much better they are, hell even my sisters 2001 Malibu is better. What was GM thinking?!)
-1999 Kia Sephia (blehhhh)

 

[A5]

Best:
2009 Audi S5 at one of those test drive events. Got a ride with a pro driver in a Lexus IS-F at a different event - that was a lot of fun.

Worst:
1999 Ford Contour. This was my wife's car in HS/college until it ate its transmission @ 80k miles. Even when it was functional, it was total garbage from the nadir of American cars, IMO.

Dishonorable mention to the Lincoln Town Car I got as a rental "upgrade" once. Should've just taken the Camry.

 

[HybridSquirrel]

Best car: My STi, Tesla Roadster, Tesla Model S, Aston Martin DB9

Worst car: Fiat 500 (base), Ford Fiesta. Just about any Saturn.


Notable entry for best: S2000, Audi TT, BMW M3, Ford F-250 Super Duty (that thing hauls some serious loads)

 

[biffpreston]

Since the Corolla is a entry-level car what were you expecting?. As an A-B type of car it will probably run for 200K without any issues..

The steering and handling in these newer Toyota Corollas made from 2009 to 2012 is VASTLY worse than any cheap base model economy car that I have ever driven and I have driven many. It is not just worse but has characteristics that I have never experienced in any cheap base model cars from the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000.

It's just an economy car so don't expect it to drive like a Mercedes or Porshe. It's way worse than that. I mean you constantly have to wiggle and wobble the steering wheel while your driving. In every other car I have driven in 26 years the steering wheel self centers in the Toyota Corolla with column mounted electronic power steering you the driver have to manually keep the steering wheel self centered, hence the constant wiggling and wobbling. There is a massive amount of freeplay in the steering wheel. You can turn the steering wheel 30 degrees in either direction and the tires on the car won't move at all and the steering wheel will just stay stuck while your driving along if you take your hands off. As the tires hit bumps it will bump the steering wheel progressively closer to the center. The steering wheel and wheels on the car are obviously out of synch. there is a lag btween turning the steering wheel and the tires actually moving. This is the way the steering system is designed to drive. This is not some defect that's just on my car or just a few. These cars do drive that badly. I mean amazingly sloppy and unresponsive steering on a level that is way worse than just being an economy car so dont expect it to drive like a Mercedes.


There is also not some sort of programming solution either to this problem. It's not a programming problem to begin with but a mechanical one.

It's not a solid connection between the steering wheel and tires on the car it's semi solid. It's not the future of automobile steeing either nor is drive by wire. I've heard people say that drive by wire is the future, which is bologna.

The type of steering system in the new Toyota Corollas and in all of Toyotas vehicles now is called Column Mounted Electronic Power steering and it is positively dreadful. It is not rack and pinion steering and drives nothing like rack and pinion steering. It literally feels like you are driving a car with a broken steering system. No kidding!

 

[biffpreston]

Mafia

Tell me if my description of the steering in the new Corollas is similar to the way your 2005 Malibu drivers ed car drove if you would. I believe it is the exact make and model of steering system in the new Toyota vehicles.

People who have never driven these things have no idea at all how badly these things drive.

 

[mafia]

Mafia

Tell me if my description of the steering in the new Corollas is similar to the way your 2005 Malibu drivers ed car drove if you would. I believe it is the exact make and model of steering system in the new Toyota vehicles.

People who have never driven these things have no idea at all how badly these things drive.

Eh, all I know is that it was bad, but I don't remember the specifics since it was 5 years ago lol.

 

[biffpreston]

Ok Ive never driven any high end cars but I do appreciate cars that handle and steer well. So here's my best and worst.

Best: 2002 Nissan Xterra (Hydraulic Rack and pinion steering, Turning radius wasn't all that great but responsiveness and accuracy of steering input and output was excellent)



1998 Toyota MR2 (early electro hydraulic steering, fun to drive, rented it for a week and had a blast driving it around Seattle)

2011 Nissan Altima (electro hydraulic steering, not as good as the Xterra but not bad, steering wheel is weak returning to center)

Mediocre: 2012 Honda Civic (electrohydraulic steering, geared for a little understeer so handling is adversely affected a bit)

2012 Ford fiesta (true electric assist rack and pinion steering, responsive steering but no engine power)

2012 Subaru Impreza ( not sure what type of steering but not bad on the road, handles a little better than the Fiesta and definately better than the honda.

Worst: 2009 Toyota Corolla With column mounted electronic power steering ( by far and in ways never experienced before the worst pos I have ever had the displeasure of being stuck with, major handling problems, total waste of money, amount of work required to handle the car is absolutely amazing, very tiring to drive)


also Nissan Versa, Nissan Sentra and Hyundai Elantra ( all have column mounted electronic power steering which is usually falsely advertised as power assist electric rack and pinion as Toyota does as well)

My grandmothers 1983 Malibu station wagon with V8 engine and rear wheel drive drove way better than these new cars with column mounted electronic steering, no joke either. Her old Astro Van, which had no engine power at all, drove way better as well. I mean actually more manueverable, believe it or not.

I love good compact and midsize cars that handle well but since the automotive industry has been tinkering with the steering systems in literally all makes and models of cars it has become very difficult to find compact and midsize cars in 2012 that drive and handle well, very difficult.

 

[Throckmorton]

I just test drove a 1995 C4 Corvette and so far it's the best car I've driven technically. Lots of grip and the most power I've experienced. Doesn't fit as well as my Miata did though.


Worst was a Nissan Sentra rental. The CVT was terrible.

 

[BUTCH1]

Best:
-2007 Honda S2000 (current owner. love it! hard to match for the price)
-2003 BMW E46 M3 (test drove it, amazing! only car i would consider trading my s2k for.)
Worst:
-2005 Chevy Malibu (Drivers Ed car, horrible horrible car. I mean, when I see people driving these, I wonder, have they been living under a rock and don't shop around? I've driven the comparable 2005 Accord and Camry. It's like entering another dimension, thats how much better they are, hell even my sisters 2001 Malibu is better. What was GM thinking?!)
-1999 Kia Sephia (blehhhh)

I have a 2005 Malibu LTZ, it rides extremely smooth, has good pickup (0-60, 7.7) excellent 4 wheel disk brakes and handles fine, I mean "horrible horrible car" describes exactly nothing about why you hated it. Could it be possible that a drivers-ed car is a beat-to-death car that got little or no maintenance??. The electric power steering is poor for road feedback but almost all are, if your not racing it through twisties it shouldn't be an issue..

 

[jdcooper]

Best:

- Acura: MDX, Integra GS-R
- Audi: S4 turbo, A3, Q7
- Porsche: 911 (any), Cayman (shockingly good)
- Nissan 350Z (70 - 80% of Porsche performance at 30 - 40% of the price)
- For the money: Ford Focus, Hyundai Elantra

 

[biffpreston]

I have a 2005 Malibu LTZ, it rides extremely smooth, has good pickup (0-60, 7.7) excellent 4 wheel disk brakes and handles fine, I mean "horrible horrible car" describes exactly nothing about why you hated it. Could it be possible that a drivers-ed car is a beat-to-death car that got little or no maintenance??. The electric power steering is poor for road feedback but almost all are, if your not racing it through twisties it shouldn't be an issue..

You don't have to be a driving enthusiast to appreciate owning a car that does not have numb sloppy steering that is absolutely exhausting to drive around. In every other cheap compact car i have driven the car did all the work for me and was very easy to handle. These cars with this ultra cheap primitive column mounted electronic power steering are very unresponsive to steering input. Unresponsive steering is also not dependent on ones personal tastes either. Ive heard 2 or 3 people say the exact same thing Mafia did about people to own Corollas. That people who own Corollas do not know how to drive and with regards to the steering in the cars I have heard people say they werent sure about the tyoe of person who would buy a new Corolla with EPS. I didn't take it offensively though. I learned a lot from this experience. I'm an A to B driver that appreciates it not being a struggle to get from A to B and then C and D and E and F and so on. These cars with column mounted electronic power steering are a struggle to drive in city traffic I mean absolute struggle to manage and handle. It is extremely fatiguing to drive these cars in a really nauseating way. There are only 4 companies that out this garbage under the hoods of their cars as well. Toyota is the worst, hyundai, kia and nissan has it in 2 models, the versa and sentra. I have a feeling Nissan is going to get rid of this steering in those 2 models soon. Chevy dropped the column mounted steering this year in 2012. They go rid of it. There were 2000 complaints on the steering in the Cobalt and a ton of complaints with the Malibu as well. There are currently 600 or 700 complaints about the same type of steering in the 2009 and 2010 Corollas with some newer complaints on the 2011 and 2012. It's a terrible primitive very poorly performing electric steering system.

If your living in a small town and don't like to drive very much I can see the steering not being as much of a problem. I still would have no desire to own something that I didn't even come remotely comfortable or safe for that matter driving out of town.

 

[CraigRT]

Since the Corolla is a entry-level car what were you expecting?. As an A-B type of car it will probably run for 200K without any issues..

I was expecting a decent car. I have a 2011 Civic, direct competitor... Better in every single way. That other car is a rolling pile of shit.

 

[mafia]

I have a 2005 Malibu LTZ, it rides extremely smooth, has good pickup (0-60, 7.7) excellent 4 wheel disk brakes and handles fine, I mean "horrible horrible car" describes exactly nothing about why you hated it. Could it be possible that a drivers-ed car is a beat-to-death car that got little or no maintenance??. The electric power steering is poor for road feedback but almost all are, if your not racing it through twisties it shouldn't be an issue..

It was the 4 cylinder model. LTZ is top of the line so they may have improvements. But the BASE model, for all I know, was horrible.

 

[BUTCH1]

You don't have to be a driving enthusiast to appreciate owning a car that does not have numb sloppy steering that is absolutely exhausting to drive around. In every other cheap compact car i have driven the car did all the work for me and was very easy to handle. These cars with this ultra cheap primitive column mounted electronic power steering are very unresponsive to steering input. Unresponsive steering is also not dependent on ones personal tastes either. Ive heard 2 or 3 people say the exact same thing Mafia did about people to own Corollas. That people who own Corollas do not know how to drive and with regards to the steering in the cars I have heard people say they werent sure about the tyoe of person who would buy a new Corolla with EPS. I didn't take it offensively though. I learned a lot from this experience. I'm an A to B driver that appreciates it not being a struggle to get from A to B and then C and D and E and F and so on. These cars with column mounted electronic power steering are a struggle to drive in city traffic I mean absolute struggle to manage and handle. It is extremely fatiguing to drive these cars in a really nauseating way. There are only 4 companies that out this garbage under the hoods of their cars as well. Toyota is the worst, hyundai, kia and nissan has it in 2 models, the versa and sentra. I have a feeling Nissan is going to get rid of this steering in those 2 models soon. Chevy dropped the column mounted steering this year in 2012. They go rid of it. There were 2000 complaints on the steering in the Cobalt and a ton of complaints with the Malibu as well. There are currently 600 or 700 complaints about the same type of steering in the 2009 and 2010 Corollas with some newer complaints on the 2011 and 2012. It's a terrible primitive very poorly performing electric steering system.

If your living in a small town and don't like to drive very much I can see the steering not being as much of a problem. I still would have no desire to own something that I didn't even come remotely comfortable or safe for that matter driving out of town.

The complaints stemmed from the units suddenly failing, Chevy has extended the warranty on these models. I don't get "primitive" either, each model has it's own computer that controls the amount of boost the EPS employes. In a small parking lot they are awesome, if your buying a Malibu or a Corolla is sport driving at the top of your list anyway?.

 

[BUTCH1]

It was the 4 cylinder model. LTZ is top of the line so they may have improvements. But the BASE model, for all I know, was horrible.

What is "horrible ", exactly what about driving did you hate??

 

[biffpreston]

It was the 4 cylinder model. LTZ is top of the line so they may have improvements. But the BASE model, for all I know, was horrible.

There is not a car on the road with Column Mounted electronic power steering that does not have extremely sloppy driving characteristics, unresponsive steering and no feedback from the road. Those are unchangeable characteristics. I hear people talking about shocks and struts and all sorts of other stuff. With this kind of steering none of that matters despite what anyone says. You can place this particular type of electric steering in any vehicle from a Porshe to a Rolls Royce and those cars are going to drive and handle like crap on wheels. Put it in a car with the finest quality components and it will still drive terribly. Nothing will conpensate for the sloppy looseness and unresponsiveness.

You don't drive these cars around with Column type EPS you struggle to slop them around. Hard to control hunks of metal with atrocious steering and handling deserving of a lawsuit against the companies that sold them to unsuspecting customers.

 

[mafia]

What is "horrible ", exactly what about driving did you hate??

I can't go into specifics because it was 5 years ago lol. But I knew it was below standards to what I was used to. Try driving in a 2005 Honda Accord V6, you will see how much better it is.

 

[phucheneh]

I've driven a lot of cars. It's hard to say 'best,' especially when you factor in value. i.e. the newer Mazdas are the best 'drivers cars' in their price range, imho.

Best: Probably a stick-shift G37 with a sport package. Closest to a GT-R I'm gonna get, but not exactly that comparable. But they're REALLY competent handlers with a decent little engine. And not overly rough. I've also driven C6 Corvettes, and they feel like the suspension is welded solid.

Worst: Too many to make a complete list. The overall standout is the more recent Impala. Steering is heavy but dead, gas pedal is unresponsive, brakes feel like trash, handles like an 80's Cadillac. In a competent ~150hp or more car, I would laugh at a speedtrap set by these shitheaps...they're not catching you. Their high sales volume is from selling large quantities to government agencies and rental companies at a good (but not good enough) discount.

edit: I would rather try and pursue suspects in the Daihatsu Aveo than the Impala. And the former is still quite a turd.