Best: My current car a Maserati Levante S GranSport - it is superb. Close second: TVR Tuscan S - so quick, so loud, so scary.
Worst: Ford Cortina Mk4 Ghia - utterly boring - what was I thinking? Close second: Audi RS4 Convertible - fabulous engine but chassis made out of jelly, very poorly put together, inherent suspension fault (many owners removed the originals and replaced with KW coilovers) and other stuff I haven't got room to mention.
And another category - Most fun: a Lancia Beta Coupe 1600.
Had some shockers to be honest A land rover discovery forever going wrong cost a fortune to keep on the road including a 2.5 k gearbox rebuild! An audi a4 that used to try and kill me regularly by engine cutting out in the outside lane Current volvo just had a 3.5k engine repair/rebuild Best cars Ha a skoda 1.9 Octavia that I clocked up 199,000 miles going to all the away games Mega reliable never broke down or went wrong still it occasionally 10 years after selling it My 1st car mk1 escort Mexico My 2nd mk 2 rs2000 How I would love to have them both back now/probably remembering through rose tinted glasses/but back then just spray some wd40 over the engine/electrics and away you went again no ecu or sensors to pug in and list dozens of fault codes
6th - 207 = Piece of S*** Unreliable and expensive to fix. 5th - 106 - Fun, but not reliable. 4th - Mazda 2 - Completely soul-less, but looked okay and was cheap. 3rd - Puma - Loved this car at the time of having it, but not economic and very feminine. 2nd - Juke - Has a turbo and all that jazz, but mainly it's safe, economic and comfortable. Has a face it's mother would struggle to love. 1st - CX-5 - Has all the mod cons, despite being a few years old had only 50k on the clock when I bought it in December, not the most eco-friendly. Looks nice, feels nice and once again safe for family life.
WINNER Yamaha XJ6 Diversion 2010, bought it with 2000 miles on the clock, was quick to accelerate, was easy to control, was fun and I miss it so badly, but not conducive to long life plans. No motorbike is really.
had some old bangers back when I was young, worst being a white Fiat Uno, awful car. Bought my missus a Renault Clio once that was probably the worst all round car we've ever had.
Not massively fussy on cars really to be honest, as long as it's reliable and gets me from A - B (having 4 kids and now a puppy also kind of restricts options)
when I first got a car allowance from work and only had 2 kids I bought a Silver SAAB 93 2.0 Sport, had everything on it and I absolutely loved it, had it from nearly new and kept it until child No. 3 was born.
Now drive a lovely top of the range Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2. Gets everyone in it comfortably without looking like a 'people wagon' really lovely car and great to drive. Missus now has a Toyata Aygo mainly for work and I also really like driving that around, only a 1.0 engine but it's like a fun go-kart
Had some shockers to be honest A land rover discovery forever going wrong cost a fortune to keep on the road including a 2.5 k gearbox rebuild! An audi a4 that used to try and kill me regularly by engine cutting out in the outside lane Current volvo just had a 3.5k engine repair/rebuild Best cars Ha a skoda 1.9 Octavia that I clocked up 199,000 miles going to all the away games Mega reliable never broke down or went wrong still it occasionally 10 years after selling it My 1st car mk1 escort Mexico My 2nd mk 2 rs2000 How I would love to have them both back now/probably remembering through rose tinted glasses/but back then just spray some wd40 over the engine/electrics and away you went again no ecu or sensors to pug in and list dozens of fault codes
Ah, that made me want to join in! My worst was a Fiat 128. Accelerator jammed open while doing 70 mph in the fast lane on the Kingston by pass. A bolt had dropped off and jammed in the cable. For good measure the very day I landed a new job with a company car the exhaust dropped off, but under the middle of the car, not at the back.
Best, my current one, Citroen DS5 hybrid. Slinks around town on the same consumption as my wife's Yaris, and then turns into a motorway grand cruiser on holiday. Always loved the DS as a kid, and from a certain rear angle especially, the style reference is clearly visible. Auto gearbox isn't the best, but I'm too old to worry about stuff like that.
worst car (though strictly speaking it was a loaner) Anusol Brown Moskovitz Estate car. It had a two stroke engine, all sorts of levers to operate freewheels and other weird things, it leaked, broke down continuously, was a pig to drive its non existent brakes scared the life out of me, and I went everywhere blowing a cloud of smoke to rival the Queen Mary. If you don't know what they look like heres a piccy, though those with a nervous disposition should look away now.
My favorite was my Astra Coupe which sadly died because of EMU probs.
Worst Austin Allegro Best Vauxhall Carlton Gsi 3000 or in later life the Ssang Yong Rexton
Loved my gsi and wanted the lotus version but never got round to it, that's life I guess.
I remember seeing the Lotus Carlton up close a few times. Used to hang out in a bar in Sheffield in early 90's as a few of my mates worked there and Dalian Atkinson - RIP, used to own one and would bring to the bar. I recall it being the first car I'd seen with a TV in the dashboard.
Worst ford escort estate, rightly ended its life being sold to a gypsy who probably used it for a ram raid
Best either a Mercedes C class or my dear old XR3i. The Merc smashes the dagenham dustbin out of the park for everything apart from sheer joy to drive on a hot, sunny British summer's day. Had everything you want, the Ford smell, a chassis that stuck to the road like glue, a tonneau hood cover that occupied most of the boot, Ford disco lights that only the owner and maintainer of a 1980s Ford can appreciate and more vaginal fluid on the seats than a CSI backlight could handle. And it flew, kept up with some evil european hot hatches (pug 205 GTI, citroen ax gt and the nemesis Golf GTi. And did them all in corners
I've had some nice motors and always picked my next whip carefully on a budget. Next one I'm eyeing up is the A5 coupe or the AMG C Class. I'm not hurrying towards the soul suffocation of a Prius anytime soon
Worst ford escort estate, rightly ended its life being sold to a gypsy who probably used it for a ram raid
Best either a Mercedes C class or my dear old XR3i. The Merc smashes the dagenham dustbin out of the park for everything apart from sheer joy to drive on a hot, sunny British summer's day. Had everything you want, the Ford smell, a chassis that stuck to the road like glue, a tonneau hood cover that occupied most of the boot, Ford disco lights that only the owner and maintainer of a 1980s Ford can appreciate and more vaginal fluid on the seats than a CSI backlight could handle. And it flew, kept up with some evil european hot hatches (pug 205 GTI, citroen ax gt and the nemesis Golf GTi. And did them all in corners
I've had some nice motors and always picked my next whip carefully on a budget. Next one I'm eyeing up is the A5 coupe or the AMG C Class. I'm not hurrying towards the soul suffocation of a Prius anytime soon
Turn to the green side and embrace the environment. I had confirmation yesterday that my EV will be with me in 7-10 days having finally made the journey across the North Sea and I feel really good about it!
Best and worst, my 1990 Merc 300SL. Best because it’s a great car, a future classic and I met my wife through it! Worst because when the electrics start to go wrong they really go wrong! Had to sell it in the end!
First Mini Clubman was a wolf in sheep's clothing First one I bought with my own money was a MGB GT, much nostalgia for that too despite the rampant tin worm, awful build quality, parts were dirt cheap so I learned plenty about how to put em back together, quite the babe magnet bizarrely too. Student era Metro got the same cylinder head workover that the Mini had a decade before - broke the gearbox as a result - rotted like a pear, leaked like a drain but never failed to proceed, cheapest thing to run, parts cost pennies, rebuilt the rear suspension from scrap yard bits. Fastest thing I've ever owned Maserati 3200GT - awful build quality, especially for a motor that they initially wanted something like £75k for new, went like stink 365BHP in just a ton and a half, wonderful noise, good looking from most angles apart from head on to the front, built by morons all the cooling, warning, thermostat, fans on the same fuse - one went the whole lot stops and the engine cooks FFS, rots like a Metro, flaming awful ride on anything other than a perfect road, throttle body fly-by-wire controllers effectively consumable parts at £800 each, unless you've got the contact details of a British genius in a shed who remakes them properly for half that, uber complicated 'intelligent' dampers again designed and installed in house by Maser at the time a tiny business with no resources. Car was 10% away from splendid, unfortunately they were the critical 10%, car is a total lemon as a result. Multiply speed by comfort and the best yet was a XJS V12 convertible - only made by the factory for a very short time, so specific parts availability is zero, also while Jag was briefly independent, so all the techy electrical stuff was just hysterically fragile and shabby, as was the burr elm veneer. Gorgeous, rapid, comfy, quiet, 12mpg if you're careful (!) Got 150000 miles out of a poverty spec Pug 306 (ex)company car, after initial warranty period irritations it never needed anything beyond scheduled servicing which at 20k between oil changes and 75k cambelt changes made for very cheap motoring indeed, one water pump, no clutches, no shockers, fully galvanised so no rust, no coil pack headaches, no drop link bushes, nothing. Astonishingly it was assembled at the old Rootes factory in Coventry, so good old communist midlands workmanship too! The aircon packed in after about 100k miles but in England that's no hardship. What's the opposite of a Friday car? Loved my late 2 door Range Rover, for about 2 weeks, went well enough, great vantage point, doddle to manoeuvre and park, great load lugger, built badly by muppets from shit materials, my god it was a lemon, whole thing seemingly soluble in water despite allegedly having an aluminium alloy body. Ironically now worth a king's ransom, bugger. Worse built from worse materials: Alfa 155 - was a busso V6 so went like a scalded cat and sounded divine, fabulous long distance motor, then it literally cracked across the middle from rot, left it in North Wales and came home by train.
Never never owned a car. Ms AA has a Honda Jazz which I think will keep going until oil runs out.
I’ve only ever owned ‘bikes. Worst was a Kawasaki Z650 which was a box of bombs. Best is my latest, Triumph T100 Bonneville. Beautiful to look at, listen to and ride.
Worst car Austin Allegro, I remember wincing as I drove it off the forecourt. Lumpy, bumpy ride with an engine note that set my teeth on edge. Best car Peugeot 305. It was the car that followed my Allegro and it felt like a Roller in comparison.
Worst car Austin Allegro, I remember wincing as I drove it off the forecourt. Lumpy, bumpy ride with an engine note that set my teeth on edge. Best car Peugeot 305. It was the car that followed my Allegro and it felt like a Roller in comparison.
Worst car Austin Allegro, I remember wincing as I drove it off the forecourt. Lumpy, bumpy ride with an engine note that set my teeth on edge. Best car Peugeot 305. It was the car that followed my Allegro and it felt like a Roller in comparison.
Some people obviously treasure them.....
You see them quite often at classic car shows, most of them are minters now and a lot of the reliability issues can be overcome with modern technology (as can most old cars).
Not my cup of tea but good to see them being preserved and some of the 70's hues, especially the metallic ones, look great.
First Mini Clubman was a wolf in sheep's clothing First one I bought with my own money was a MGB GT, much nostalgia for that too despite the rampant tin worm, awful build quality, parts were dirt cheap so I learned plenty about how to put em back together, quite the babe magnet bizarrely too. Student era Metro got the same cylinder head workover that the Mini had a decade before - broke the gearbox as a result - rotted like a pear, leaked like a drain but never failed to proceed, cheapest thing to run, parts cost pennies, rebuilt the rear suspension from scrap yard bits. Fastest thing I've ever owned Maserati 3200GT - awful build quality, especially for a motor that they initially wanted something like £75k for new, went like stink 365BHP in just a ton and a half, wonderful noise, good looking from most angles apart from head on to the front, built by morons all the cooling, warning, thermostat, fans on the same fuse - one went the whole lot stops and the engine cooks FFS, rots like a Metro, flaming awful ride on anything other than a perfect road, throttle body fly-by-wire controllers effectively consumable parts at £800 each, unless you've got the contact details of a British genius in a shed who remakes them properly for half that, uber complicated 'intelligent' dampers again designed and installed in house by Maser at the time a tiny business with no resources. Car was 10% away from splendid, unfortunately they were the critical 10%, car is a total lemon as a result. Multiply speed by comfort and the best yet was a XJS V12 convertible - only made by the factory for a very short time, so specific parts availability is zero, also while Jag was briefly independent, so all the techy electrical stuff was just hysterically fragile and shabby, as was the burr elm veneer. Gorgeous, rapid, comfy, quiet, 12mpg if you're careful (!) Got 150000 miles out of a poverty spec Pug 306 (ex)company car, after initial warranty period irritations it never needed anything beyond scheduled servicing which at 20k between oil changes and 75k cambelt changes made for very cheap motoring indeed, one water pump, no clutches, no shockers, fully galvanised so no rust, no coil pack headaches, no drop link bushes, nothing. Astonishingly it was assembled at the old Rootes factory in Coventry, so good old communist midlands workmanship too! The aircon packed in after about 100k miles but in England that's no hardship. What's the opposite of a Friday car? Loved my late 2 door Range Rover, for about 2 weeks, went well enough, great vantage point, doddle to manoeuvre and park, great load lugger, built badly by muppets from shit materials, my god it was a lemon, whole thing seemingly soluble in water despite allegedly having an aluminium alloy body. Ironically now worth a king's ransom, bugger. Worse built from worse materials: Alfa 155 - was a busso V6 so went like a scalded cat and sounded divine, fabulous long distance motor, then it literally cracked across the middle from rot, left it in North Wales and came home by train.
The Ali and steel mix is always a problem, they react and corrosion is the result. I dont think they could isolate the two materials very successfully in those early models.
Having an HGV, Class1 i always enjoyed driving trucks more than cars, Best Truck, DAF XF105 FT 510, Worst Scammell Routeman "a sweaty betty" Fibre Glass cab with the engine sitting right next to you.
Having an HGV, Class1 i always enjoyed driving trucks more than cars, Best Truck, DAF XF105 FT 510, Worst Scammell Routeman "a sweaty betty" Fibre Glass cab with the engine sitting right next to you.
Did you ever drive :
Thorneycroft Leyland Foden
My Dad was in the Army and loved Scammell’s, Foden’s and Thorneycroft’s as they were what he would drive as recovery vehicles / tank transporters for the REME / RCT (he was in the REME) - huge beasts - look up Thorneycroft Mighty Antar, Leyland Martian and Foden 6x6
He wasn’t keen on Bedford’s - workhorse lorry for the Army and generally couldn’t cope with your average Squaddie’s treatment of vehicles - regular visitors to the workshop to be fixed
Having an HGV, Class1 i always enjoyed driving trucks more than cars, Best Truck, DAF XF105 FT 510, Worst Scammell Routeman "a sweaty betty" Fibre Glass cab with the engine sitting right next to you.
Did you ever drive :
Thorneycroft Leyland Foden
My Dad was in the Army and loved Scammell’s, Foden’s and Thorneycroft’s as they were what he would drive as recovery vehicles / tank transporters for the REME / RCT (he was in the REME) - huge beasts - look up Thorneycroft Mighty Antar, Leyland Martian and Foden 6x6
He wasn’t keen on Bedford’s - workhorse lorry for the Army and generally couldn’t cope with your average Squaddie’s treatment of vehicles - regular visitors to the workshop to be fixed
Worked for a firm in Sevenoaks in the early 80s Had a Mighty Antar as a recovery vehicle, proper bastard to start and drive. My mate was sent to Tunbridge Wells to recover a Bedford KM, managed to pull the front clean off the Bedford. The Scammell Crusader, with the Rolls Royce Eagle 2 was a proper tool.
Had it 7 years and it never had a problem. Underpowered for motorways but super-reliable and just a nice little car, crazily economical but had to give her the boot after the latest London low emission zone (it being a diesel).
This is my current car, bought with the low expectation that it'd survive the year in one piece (being on 200km)... Transmission has seen better days as it 'slips' out of gear as low speeds and needs to be turned on/off to reset, electrics have a mind of their own (am down to 2/4 electric windows and the chairs sometimes move on their own), it drinks petrol and oil, parts too expensive to bother replacing at this stage, turns like an absolute frigate, bottoms out on speed bumps regularly if you have 4 in the car. It also has this pointless ability to use manual instead of automatic... but as far as I can tell it doesn't actually do anything, cruise control decided to cease working at some point this year. Accidentally put your foot on the brake whilst turning it on have you?... Prepare for "brake failure stop immediately" warning, immobiliser and 20mins of waiting for it to decide it's happy again and you're good to go. Smokes occasionally after moderate exertion (ooh I say), hates hills and turning.
Main feeling is that Volvo discovered what was possible with electrics/technology and threw absolutely everything at this car before testing whether any of it would work outside of the factory.
Best car was my Audi A4 convertible. Loved it. Worst Volvo XC 90. It was the first year it was made. Replaced the brake pads every 15k miles and they eventually told me the wheels and tires were too big
Allegro, Marina, Maxi, Princess - all shocking cars
Indeed. But what is so sad is that the Princess could have been a real success. My dad had one - a 2200. It was a great spacious and comfortable drive with sofa-like seating and hydragas suspension. It was also a modern-looking car. It could and should have been a big seller. Trouble was it was a British Leyland product and therefore suffered from lost production because of strikes; unreliability; shocking build quality; an uninspiring engine and poor boot access. It also - just look at it - was crying out for a hatchback. Which is why Crayford Engineering did a conversion.
Comments
Close second: TVR Tuscan S - so quick, so loud, so scary.
Worst: Ford Cortina Mk4 Ghia - utterly boring - what was I thinking?
Close second: Audi RS4 Convertible - fabulous engine but chassis made out of jelly, very poorly put together, inherent suspension fault (many owners removed the originals and replaced with KW coilovers) and other stuff I haven't got room to mention.
And another category - Most fun: a Lancia Beta Coupe 1600.
A land rover discovery forever going wrong cost a fortune to keep on the road including a 2.5 k gearbox rebuild!
An audi a4 that used to try and kill me regularly by engine cutting out in the outside lane
Current volvo just had a 3.5k engine repair/rebuild
Best cars
Ha a skoda 1.9 Octavia that I clocked up 199,000 miles going to all the away games
Mega reliable never broke down or went wrong still it occasionally 10 years after selling it
My 1st car mk1 escort Mexico
My 2nd mk 2 rs2000
How I would love to have them both back now/probably remembering through rose tinted glasses/but back then just spray some wd40 over the engine/electrics and away you went again no ecu or sensors to pug in and list dozens of fault codes
2007-2008 - Peugeot 106 Zest 2 (1998 R-Reg)
2008-2014 - Fiat Punto Mk2b (2003/04)
2014-2015 - Peugeot 207 (56 plate)
2015 - Current - Nissan Juke (64 Plate - Mrs' Car)
2015 - 2019 - Mazda 2 -- (61 plate)
2019 - Current - Mazda CX-5 (63 Plate)
In order of favour:
6th - 207 = Piece of S*** Unreliable and expensive to fix.
5th - 106 - Fun, but not reliable.
4th - Mazda 2 - Completely soul-less, but looked okay and was cheap.
3rd - Puma - Loved this car at the time of having it, but not economic and very feminine.
2nd - Juke - Has a turbo and all that jazz, but mainly it's safe, economic and comfortable. Has a face it's mother would struggle to love.
1st - CX-5 - Has all the mod cons, despite being a few years old had only 50k on the clock when I bought it in December, not the most eco-friendly. Looks nice, feels nice and once again safe for family life.
WINNER Yamaha XJ6 Diversion 2010, bought it with 2000 miles on the clock, was quick to accelerate, was easy to control, was fun and I miss it so badly, but not conducive to long life plans. No motorbike is really.
Not massively fussy on cars really to be honest, as long as it's reliable and gets me from A - B (having 4 kids and now a puppy also kind of restricts options)
when I first got a car allowance from work and only had 2 kids I bought a Silver SAAB 93 2.0 Sport, had everything on it and I absolutely loved it, had it from nearly new and kept it until child No. 3 was born.
Now drive a lovely top of the range Hyundai Santa Fe 2.2. Gets everyone in it comfortably without looking like a 'people wagon' really lovely car and great to drive. Missus now has a Toyata Aygo mainly for work and I also really like driving that around, only a 1.0 engine but it's like a fun go-kart
And I haven't driven in nearly two years due to a minor discrepancy.
Best, my current one, Citroen DS5 hybrid. Slinks around town on the same consumption as my wife's Yaris, and then turns into a motorway grand cruiser on holiday. Always loved the DS as a kid, and from a certain rear angle especially, the style reference is clearly visible. Auto gearbox isn't the best, but I'm too old to worry about stuff like that.
My favorite was my Astra Coupe which sadly died because of EMU probs.
My god it was a hateful pile of sh*t.
Best:
On long motorway journeys it practically drove itself.
Best either a Mercedes C class or my dear old XR3i. The Merc smashes the dagenham dustbin out of the park for everything apart from sheer joy to drive on a hot, sunny British summer's day. Had everything you want, the Ford smell, a chassis that stuck to the road like glue, a tonneau hood cover that occupied most of the boot, Ford disco lights that only the owner and maintainer of a 1980s Ford can appreciate and more vaginal fluid on the seats than a CSI backlight could handle. And it flew, kept up with some evil european hot hatches (pug 205 GTI, citroen ax gt and the nemesis Golf GTi. And did them all in corners
I've had some nice motors and always picked my next whip carefully on a budget. Next one I'm eyeing up is the A5 coupe or the AMG C Class. I'm not hurrying towards the soul suffocation of a Prius anytime soon
Turn to the green side and embrace the environment. I had confirmation yesterday that my EV will be with me in 7-10 days having finally made the journey across the North Sea and I feel really good about it!
Best because it’s a great car, a future classic and I met my wife through it!
Worst because when the electrics start to go wrong they really go wrong! Had to sell it in the end!
First one I bought with my own money was a MGB GT, much nostalgia for that too despite the rampant tin worm, awful build quality, parts were dirt cheap so I learned plenty about how to put em back together, quite the babe magnet bizarrely too.
Student era Metro got the same cylinder head workover that the Mini had a decade before - broke the gearbox as a result - rotted like a pear, leaked like a drain but never failed to proceed, cheapest thing to run, parts cost pennies, rebuilt the rear suspension from scrap yard bits.
Fastest thing I've ever owned Maserati 3200GT - awful build quality, especially for a motor that they initially wanted something like £75k for new, went like stink 365BHP in just a ton and a half, wonderful noise, good looking from most angles apart from head on to the front, built by morons all the cooling, warning, thermostat, fans on the same fuse - one went the whole lot stops and the engine cooks FFS, rots like a Metro, flaming awful ride on anything other than a perfect road, throttle body fly-by-wire controllers effectively consumable parts at £800 each, unless you've got the contact details of a British genius in a shed who remakes them properly for half that, uber complicated 'intelligent' dampers again designed and installed in house by Maser at the time a tiny business with no resources. Car was 10% away from splendid, unfortunately they were the critical 10%, car is a total lemon as a result.
Multiply speed by comfort and the best yet was a XJS V12 convertible - only made by the factory for a very short time, so specific parts availability is zero, also while Jag was briefly independent, so all the techy electrical stuff was just hysterically fragile and shabby, as was the burr elm veneer. Gorgeous, rapid, comfy, quiet, 12mpg if you're careful (!)
Got 150000 miles out of a poverty spec Pug 306 (ex)company car, after initial warranty period irritations it never needed anything beyond scheduled servicing which at 20k between oil changes and 75k cambelt changes made for very cheap motoring indeed, one water pump, no clutches, no shockers, fully galvanised so no rust, no coil pack headaches, no drop link bushes, nothing. Astonishingly it was assembled at the old Rootes factory in Coventry, so good old communist midlands workmanship too! The aircon packed in after about 100k miles but in England that's no hardship. What's the opposite of a Friday car?
Loved my late 2 door Range Rover, for about 2 weeks, went well enough, great vantage point, doddle to manoeuvre and park, great load lugger, built badly by muppets from shit materials, my god it was a lemon, whole thing seemingly soluble in water despite allegedly having an aluminium alloy body. Ironically now worth a king's ransom, bugger.
Worse built from worse materials: Alfa 155 - was a busso V6 so went like a scalded cat and sounded divine, fabulous long distance motor, then it literally cracked across the middle from rot, left it in North Wales and came home by train.
You see them quite often at classic car shows, most of them are minters now and a lot of the reliability issues can be overcome with modern technology (as can most old cars).
Not my cup of tea but good to see them being preserved and some of the 70's hues, especially the metallic ones, look great.
Worst Scammell Routeman "a sweaty betty" Fibre Glass cab with the engine sitting right next to you.
Thorneycroft
Leyland
Foden
My Dad was in the Army and loved Scammell’s, Foden’s and Thorneycroft’s as they were what he would drive as recovery vehicles / tank transporters for the REME / RCT (he was in the REME) - huge beasts - look up Thorneycroft Mighty Antar, Leyland Martian and Foden 6x6
He wasn’t keen on Bedford’s - workhorse lorry for the Army and generally couldn’t cope with your average Squaddie’s treatment of vehicles - regular visitors to the workshop to be fixed
Had it 7 years and it never had a problem. Underpowered for motorways but super-reliable and just a nice little car, crazily economical but had to give her the boot after the latest London low emission zone (it being a diesel).
Worst - 2005 Volvo S60 AWD 2.5L Turbo (Automatic)... a.k.a. "Vera"
This is my current car, bought with the low expectation that it'd survive the year in one piece (being on 200km)... Transmission has seen better days as it 'slips' out of gear as low speeds and needs to be turned on/off to reset, electrics have a mind of their own (am down to 2/4 electric windows and the chairs sometimes move on their own), it drinks petrol and oil, parts too expensive to bother replacing at this stage, turns like an absolute frigate, bottoms out on speed bumps regularly if you have 4 in the car. It also has this pointless ability to use manual instead of automatic... but as far as I can tell it doesn't actually do anything, cruise control decided to cease working at some point this year. Accidentally put your foot on the brake whilst turning it on have you?... Prepare for "brake failure stop immediately" warning, immobiliser and 20mins of waiting for it to decide it's happy again and you're good to go. Smokes occasionally after moderate exertion (ooh I say), hates hills and turning.
Main feeling is that Volvo discovered what was possible with electrics/technology and threw absolutely everything at this car before testing whether any of it would work outside of the factory.
Worst - Citroen CX