best & worst (road) car you've ever driven?

[Neil Adams]

worst, for me was a white toyota starlet whilst learning to drive,

best, my brothers e46 323 bmw, quite rapid!

[Gabrio]

Worst: Lada Niva
Best all round vehicle driven : Mercedes S400 CDI

[Truckosaurus]

Worst: My mates' mk4 Escort 1.3 - it was only 4-5yrs old at the time, but was woeful to drive.

Best: My old Scooby was fairly competent, but I've not driven anything really exotic.

[P.Cummins]

OK, having never driven car I will comment on the best and worst ones I've been driven in:

Best- Porshe 911 Turbo (early 90's)
Worst- Its a dogfight between a 1993 Renault 21 and a 1988 Nissan Sunny Saloon.

I did once drive a 1996 VW Golf 1.4. It wasnt bad at all considering I had no driving experience.

[krt917]

My experience is limited, but the worst:
Vauxhall Astra Estate - Incredibly slow, rubbish gearbox and, oh yes, it was silver. The only good thing about it was that it was a duel fuel thing so it didn't kill the planet as I drove it round in sheer bordom.

Best car was my Dad's M635CSI, but I don't know whether driving it up the driveway really counts!

[TimD]

Best: easy - Aston Martin DB S Vantage, followed by a Lotus Turbo Esprit.

Worst: Renault 30TX or Ford Zodiac V6 Mk4.

The Renault was truly a pile of dingoes kidneys. It handled badly, the electrics were eccentric and the bodywork rusted through in seven years. The Zody wandered alarmingly at speed due to the inherent lift created by the non-existent aerodynamics. It had remarkably little practical load space and it steered in much the same way as a ship at sea. However, I'd have another one in a heartbeat.

What can I say about the Aston? It's not a sports car - more an effortless Grand Tourer. Not dramatically quick by modern standards, but the acceleration is just so insistent. And the presence that car has on the road; the satisfaction of sneaking up on a BMW M3 GTR and having him move over on a single flash of headlights!

The Esprit was delicate, nimble and precise - a super drive except for a nasty dose of turbo lag which could be entertaining.

[garcon]

In similar way to krt917, if driving round a carpark into a service area counts, the best is a Ferrari 550 Maranello! Apart from that, it's a toss up between the Impreza STi & Legacy 3.0R I test drove and a pristine Range Rover Classic.

I think the two worst are a friend's Talbot Horizon and a very tired Fiat Brava hire car. Both unforgiveably bad in every way.

[Daimlerman]

Best - my 1988 Jaguar XJS V12 Convertible - an absolutely fabulous grand tourer.

Worst - my wife's Fiat Uno - never even get in it if I can help it.

[F1JordanUk]

Worst has got to be a VW camper van that I had to test drive for my mum, HOW THE HELL DID THEY EVER SELL ANY! lets just say I wouldn't let her buy it!!

Best, MY Activa, Handles like nothing else (in a good way!) Always get out smilling the other end

[Bluebottle]

worst- Fiat punto

Best- Hard to say really. Most fun I've had on 4 wheels has to be my Dutton Melos. Not that fast, an old 1300 xflow, but huge fun on twisty roads on a sunny day.
Most comfortable is probably the Buick Century Custom we hired in Florida 3 years ago. Bit of a barge but handled surprisingly well and a bit like driving a big soft armchair!
Fastest is our Quantum H4i with it's 1800 Zetec (Someone built one with a turbocharged 1800... it's somewhat quicker than ours!)

[DKGandBH]

Worst - Ford Bronco Station Wagon Automatic...
It had to be held in gear !

Best - Lotus Exige...
I Still have the smile on my face from months ago !

DKGandBH

[evo]

Worst - 4 cylinder Ford Mustang... A V8 muscle car with a whiney little no power no torque engine.

Best - 2001 Audi S4... Everything about that car was amazing. All that in a car my brother says looks like "some old man's car"

[BertMk2]

Worst - Fiat idea. Whoever came up with that should be shot. It doesn't have a single redeeming feature (other than the fact it wasn't mine). Handles like an oil tanker, the speedo is on the opposite side of the car so you can't actually see it properly, it's totally gutless, uncomfortable and pointless.

Best - quite sad this really, I haven't driven anything that could be classed as a 'great' car (unless you count driving a friends Impreza all of about 5 metres ). Of my own cars my current effort (306 DTurbo) is by far the best I've had, it's a great car - handling is good (used to be better but 115K on B roads doesn't do the shockers many favours) and the engine is nice and torquey. Told you it was sad.

[garcon]

Fiat Idea... until recently a mate of mine was sales manager at an Alfa/Fiat dealership. You know how many Fiat Ideas they sold new since launch, proper new unregistered to an actual punter? None. Nada. Zilch. Zero. A big, fat, donutty round nought.

As for your 306, great model the DTurbo by the way, has it got to the stage where you have to lift the doors to shut them yet?

[lj79]

Best - VW Tauran TDi (hired for two weeks in France last year, inc Le Mans).

Worst - Audi a4 TDI SE 130 (Old company car)

Reasons:
Best - reminds me of when I has having a great time and life was good. But great views and loads of places to put stuff!!!!!
Worst - hated the job, amd the car was associated with the job. But it was also like sitting on a water bed when driven hard through corners and the leather seats were hard and cold and gave me back ache

Questionable substance to my arguemnt, but nevertheless it's a personal thing

[BertMk2]

Originally Posted by garcon

You know how many Fiat Ideas they sold new since launch, proper new unregistered to an actual punter? None. Nada. Zilch. Zero. A big, fat, donutty round nought.

Not a shock, it's a truly awful piece of kit. I got that as a hire car from work - we booked a focus sized car but they had run out so I got given that instead. Not impressed.

Originally Posted by garcon

As for your 306, great model the DTurbo by the way, has it got to the stage where you have to lift the doors to shut them yet?

Not yet, although the drivers door restraining strap is very noisy now and the lock on the drivers door can't be operated with the key (have to zap it). The car's getting to that stage in its life where it's starting to develop 'character'

[b1ackcr0w]

Best - On the basis it was just sooooo much fun and totally unexpected. Daihatsu Charade GTti. Small, three door hatch that my ex grilfriend owned, from the outside (and frankly when looking at the interior without driving it, from the inside also) it was pretty unremarkable - but, get behind the wheel and there was this gorgeous mass of power from a sweetly tuned and turbo'd 1.3. Nice fat tyres that gripped wonderfully and gave a lovely feel of what the car was doing on the road. Turbo lag was a bit fierce, but once it kicked in it went over a surprisingly wide band for a 1.3. I always enjoyed putting my foot down at 90 on the motorway in a 1.3 and still having plenty of go. Wonderful thing and woefully underrated.

Worst Car. What could possibly compete against the Austin Maxi (which was about as much fun as being forced at gunpoint to sniff your grandmothers underpants)? More frustratingly gutless than a Knackered Corsa 1.2? More totally unreliable than the VW Passat 1.9 TDi with 145000 miles that i'm stuck with at the moment. What could make me feel more uncomfortable than the stolen Rover SDi that I drove in order to shop the bloke who stole it (revenge is sweet, and sometimes worth the risk). Well, it could only be a 1970's British car. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you the appauling, foetid, stinking, bum sweat of a car that is... The Austin Allegro. My memory has decided to blot out the exact details of the model I owned, but it had a Square steering wheel, the roof leaked. I bought it for a few quid when I was 21 and down on my luck. All it had to do was go between Tewksebury and Weston Super Mare a couple of times. The Gearbox blew itself to bits on its maiden voyage. It cost me more to retreive it from the M5 and have it scrapped than it did to buy it. The scrappie was into Banger racing, but even he couldn't touch it unless I paid him.

Moral of the story - if you want advice on what computer to buy - ask me. If you're buying a car, me and John Delorean are the two people you want to steer clear of

[Raglanparade]

Best Car Ive Driven:

A immaculate 1996 EF Falcon. Although the AU was rubbish, the EF was perfect, and gave a perfect sense of control and feel. Had a similar feeling in a 1985 nissan bluebird, the bluebirds are very well balanced cars.

Worst:
A 1988 EA Falcon - done 300,000. Had power streering so light that you drifted sideways off the highway at anything over 90kmh. Very twitchy around corners when pushed.

[daz90]

Best, though i have a limited range.

Saab 9-3 2.2 tid, didnt drive it far but it was a quality ride, engine had plenty of punch, much more than i was expecting from a diesel. It also had a very impressive spec, air con, cruise control etc etc, i liked it so much i would consider buying one myself.

Worst.

Cant get much worse than an old 1984 Austin Meastro 1.3. Truly appaling, bad gearbox, handling and power of a soap box. It was a terrible experience, god knows why i bought the bloody thing.

[lj79]

Originally Posted by daz90

Best, though i have a limited range.



Worst.

Cant get much worse than an old 1984 Austin Meastro 1.3. Truly appaling, bad gearbox, handling and power of a soap box. It was a terrible experience, god knows why i bought the bloody thing.

Maestro Clubman diesel makes 1.3 petrol seem palatial

[daz90]

I will count myself lucky never to have even been in a Meastro diesel then.

[GTRMagic]

Best:

E36 BMW M3 3.0... brilliant car, just revved and revved and revved... while the grip from the (aftermarket) Yokohamas was superb... I didnt want to give it back...

Worst:

Ford Falcon EF Station Wagon... a work car that was scheduled to go back to the leasing company, but it had a different brand of tyre (bald of course, and leaking air) on every corner, there wasnt an undamaged panel on it (looked like someone had danced on the roof!), the engine wouldnt hold its idle, stalling at inopportune moments, as the automatic gearbox thumped and banged with every change as if a bomb had gone off. They eventually gave this POS back to LeasePlan... (and I got a Magna.. YAY!) who promptly charged us almost the market value of the hunka junk to bring it back to saleable condition!!

[Alan]

The worst car I have owned has to be a Vauxhall Vectra - ended its life by selecting 2nd and 4th gear simultaneously on the approach to a major roundabout in the rush hour and locked solid.
Best car Honda Accord everything just works as it should and totally reliable

[kdr]

worst...a ford capri 1600....could hardly see the front of the car and it wallowed about all over the place.

best...any one of the four minis i've owned, although i particularly liked a blue 1100 that i once had. what can you say....aim for the gutter as fast as you like, turn the wheel when you get there, make any car/driver behind seem like they're suddenly driving a london transport bus. subaru lancer evolution wrc 9s? don't make me laugh!

[silver bullet]

Best car I've ever driven was my 1984 left hand drive german import audi quattro. I had it for 11 years I loved it it stuck to the road like glue. I have been known when I drove it correctly to go almost 450 miles on a tank full, or incorrectly just under 200 but what fun!
The worst has to be a mk 4 Cortina I bought from Dougi Hall the suspension was absolutely shot but it was cheap.