Come on, everybody knows the MCC Smart is a daft car, its supposed to be. You can't choose that car simply because it is what it is supposed to be - i.e. daft.
It should be a car which is lousy at what it is supposed to be.
i.e. the Freelander which is lousy at everything - well, unless you see anchor and/or paper-weight as being part of its function.
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i am surprised that the kia rio is not in the list, i once test drove the kia rio 1.5 automatic, and it was a horrid car, and when you think its £8000, i would rather get a nearly new car.
(it makes the lada riva look GOOD??)
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Go away - I am trying to whip up support for the Freelander being the worst, I have never driven a Kia Rio and anyway they're not supposed to be super-duper-go-anywhere-off-road vehicles relying on the reputation of earlier models.
David would be turning in his coffin were it not for the fact that a) he's got a real landrover and b) he's neither a vampire nor dead and therefore doesn't have a coffin.
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Mark,
The past few days, being holiday season, has seen several of them axle deep in the sand on the local beach!
Maybe there should be something in the handbook explaining the difference between 4x4 and REAL 4x4!
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I remember a lot of discussion about the Freelander when it was about to be released. The conclusion was that as 99% of freelander miles were going to be performed on road then the worst possible thing that Land Rover could do was develop an off road vehicle. As such they developed a tall 4x4 road vehicle and sold a lot more units because of it. Pity they fitted such dire engines to them.
Back to the worst car of the year...I've driven a few cars over the course of the last year and I can honestly say that there was something I liked about all of them, even a non-TD4 diesel Freelander.
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Second thoughts I think the Audi A2 has a chance. I loved driving the car actually but almost fell over when I priced up the minimum acceptable spec car. An SE TDi with metallic paint and a CD player came to 17 thousand. Incredibly overpriced for a supermini.
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can i ask the people in the trade, do you get many punters asking for cars with bonnets that have to be physically taken off ?
no ? didnt think so
good candidate for worst car i think
also maybe golf simply because of all the henrys and henriettas who still think it is the car to have until they can have a merc/jag like daddy
best practical car is probably one of the small jap built family cars, current 3 door corolla (not the new year one), or similar cos they just dont have probs like euro built cars
still think most useful survey would compare the same car built in different countries, such as german vectra versus uk built vectra etc
probably subaru make best practical fast cars, sadly too much a target for villians and plod
like the xsara funnily enough as a bog standard family car
driven a few 3 series and C class mercs recently and can honestly say they are overpriced b****ocks status symbols
everyone to their own i suppose
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or maybe volvo estates should be worst car, cos there are so many wasting their life as police cars driving round wasting tax payers money on petty speed enforcement
think the little toyota yaris is a million times betta than the mini btw, sorry bmw
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The bonnet thing doesn't worry me in the slightest. If you need to get it off then it will come off but in the mean time I can't see that it would be neccessary. I've owned an Audi(A4) for over a year and 15k miles and the only times I've had to open the bonnet have been to fill up the washers and to show disbelieving friends that audi have fitted a mechanical fan to a modern car(?). 'er indoors bought a Focus two months ago and it was only the other day that we realised that we didn't know how to open the bonnet (brief search revealed key hole in grill).
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Ah, yes, but just wait until a hose that has been rubbing for ages suddenly lets go in the outside lane. You would have spotted it if you'd opened the bonnet more often. This matters more when cars get older, but yesterday on the M6 I passed a newish Rover 75 (I think) on fire big style on the hard shoulder. Might that have been preventable with a bit of observation in between services?
Chris
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How many people know what to look for then? I have a shufty at some 'engine rooms' and they apear to be a mass of wires and hoses.
Or the latest thing, a massive plastic cover as modeled by Mercs, BMWs, Audis............
I think the day has pasted where you could trace a cable from start to finish. Maybe its a good thing, I wonder how many accidents are caused by people fiddling?
Kev
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I've got a Golf and my name is Guy and my father drives an ageing Sierra.
Take that chip of ur shoulder Mr Idiot.
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What's the point of discussing the worst car in The Backroom when you could be voting for it. See the news item and use the link to vote.
HJ
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Hello there Mark
I am unable to comment on the Landrover Freelander having never even sat in one but I was one who voted the MCC Smart as the Worst Car of the Year.
Reasons:
It is completely impractical for almost any use whatsoever that doesn't involve simply transporting two people from A to B. 90% of cars used for that purpose 90% of the time? Maybe, but when I do go shopping I don't want to have to leave the missus with the bus fare home because we bought a few too many potatos. I also find the need to move more than one other person around at times.
More importantly and why the car actually got my vote, as I do agree it does have a "daft" purpose as such - It is bloody dangerous and I couldn't care less what NCAP rating it got etc. I saw an accident recently involving an old Volvo 240 and a recent Escort. Both parties okay just about, both cars destroyed, particularly the Escort. Replace Escort with MCC Smart and I think the owner would be regretting it as he/she took their last few breaths. I would not let my other half out in something that Tesco let you attach to your trolley and put the kids in to keep them quiet. How they got Type Approval I will never know!
Still, nice to know I wasn't the only one who voted for Aston M as their dream car!
Dan
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Dan J wrote:
But Dan, even by your reasoning the Smart fits its purpose 90% of the time. I wouldn't want one, but it is good at what its supposed to be.
The Freelander has insufficient space for a family of four and holiday luggage to the airport. So, whilst you can carry a ton of potatos, then you wouldn't want to carry much more.
Its interior looks like the designer was sacked by Fisher Price for being too immature, the seats are unsupportive and bits fall off on a reasonably regular basis to be greeted with comments from the supplier such as- "oh, they often forget to tighten those up", "oh its unusual for this one to fall off, its normally the other one" etc. etc.
> It is completely impractical for almost any use whatsoever
Ditto the Freelander.
Now, get yourself off down the Landrover dealer, test-drive a Freelander, then get back in here and vote against it - its only common sense !!
Mark.
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I would but they wouldn't believe me as I've only just bought a new car :o)
Anyway, family friend has just spent his life savings on a Landrover Disco and the thing could double up as a colander - He has found, and this is the honest truth, 11 leaks so far. If the Freelander build is as bad I wouldn't touch it with a barge pole. The Austin Maestro I owned had better ground clearance and space inside...
I have little doubt it is a waste of (limited) space but I'll leave my vote with MCC, now if only Lada were still importing cars...
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