Simply the WORST

1108 Views 13 Replies 6 Participants Last post by Tiv, Feb 20, 2002

Dave Harrison

Discussion Starter · Jan 19, 2002

We all chatter from time to time about the best vehicles we've all driven, but whatt about the WORST?
I dont think they come any more desperate than the Vauxhall Rascal van, a unbelievable dire, underpowered contraption that requires such cunning, ingenuity and downright bravery to pilot than anything else imaginable.
Why did they build it? And why did I have to drive one? !!

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1 - 14 of 14 Posts

· #2 · Jan 19, 2002

Wifes parents Allegro in a dirty BROWN colour that looks like ****.

Me, it has to be the second TR7/8 I bought. Got ripped off by some relatives who were in the trade.

Found out after buying it that one of the link mounting points was parting company with the axle after I had bought it. Death trap springs to mind!

Made a great car of out of a bodged TR8 conversion eventually!

Really the rest have been OK, some average like MINI's.................

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Dave Harrison

Discussion Starter · #3 · Jan 19, 2002

That old brown colour was Clove, you dont see any browns now from any manufacturer!
Or do you?

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JLD

· #4 · Jan 19, 2002

I would agree about the Allegro.

I remember from my musical training that Allegro means quickly, cannot descibe any that I have driven as that, and as for that steering wheel........

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Dave Harrison

Discussion Starter · #5 · Jan 19, 2002

It certainly did mean "fast and lively" in musical terms, but anyone who drove the 1750 would know it was quick, but anyone who hasn't, don't know what understeer is really like!

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JLD

· #6 · Jan 19, 2002

Must admit that I haven't driven a 1750, I can only hope that the suspension set up on those was better than those that I drove, but then I had a Lotus Europa at the time so the handing of many cars seemed to be lacking.

The Lotus was superb, however reliability was something else (presumably mine did not come with this option)

John

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· #7 · Jan 20, 2002

JLD

The Europa always did LOOK good though and still does today.

Dave

Another Brown springs from the BL 70's era - Russet Brown

Well, unusual to find people agreeing on a Forum about one car. I do remember thinking at its' launch that it was actually OK though, even went as far as trying to get Dad to buy a "1750 Equipe". From what Dave says he might have popped off sooner if we had bought it!

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Ex-Member

· #8 · Jan 20, 2002

My mother put me on the straight and narrow when i started my motoring life by getting me a Avenger 1500 and then a mini 850.
but i thought i knew better than my mum and in my lust for more power and against her better judgement i bought a 1300 capri.
It was identical to terrys in "minder" white with black vinyl roof .
when you opened the bonnet it had a huge engine bay with what looked like a sowing machine powering it.
well i bought a "bad un" it was so underpowered i had to put it in 1st gear to get it up hills,the end couldn't come soon enough for this motah and it meet its maker early one morning when i was hit by a stolen car being chased by the police on charlie browns roundabout.(totaled)
being third party fire theft i got nothing,only £50 scrap.i'd only had it a month and bought it for £500.
the moral of this story,always listen to your mum:O)

gentlemen i give you the 1300 capri,a truly awful car

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· #9 · Feb 17, 2002

I'm afraid the Mitchell jury has to the award the Vauxhall Frontera 2.2 litre turbo-diesel nul points! A woeful vehicle: performance that would make a sloth like sprightly, noisy, ponderous handling, hopeless ergonomics and it felt like it had been cobbled together by a shower of feckless chimpanzees with Attention Deficit Disorder. Thankfully, it belonged to a relative and I couldn't wait to hand her back the keys. But I still wake up in a cold sweat thinking about the oh-so-sloppy steering...

Incidentally, I reckon there's a tad too much anti-Allegro feeling on this thread. 'Bout 20 years ago the old boy ran a 1300 Super(!) in that chicken korma-coloured hue which BL had the temerity to call "Antique Gold" - truth to be told, it was very relaible apart from a dodgy alternator and it gave him hassle-free motoring until it was traded in against a Citroen GSA Club estate.

So the moral of this story is - Allegros weren't all that bad. Now I'm going to take off my rose-tinted spectacles and go for a lie down in a darkened room

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cerbman

· #10 · Feb 17, 2002

I've certainly driven worse cars than Allegro's or Marina's, and I've had lots of both, old ones too. My sisters Scirroco was bad, ****** awful gearchange, generally a bad car. My *** 520 was a joke, handling was bad, a dismal car, the one I swapped it for was good though! an XJ6. The Fiat 850S took the whole cake though, it was in good condition, but still bleedin awful.

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· #11 · Feb 17, 2002

Worst ever? There's so much choice!!
Escort diesel estate? never again!!
Astra? AAAAARRRRRRRRRGH!!!
Minor? A joke!!!!
Allegro? Not on your nelly! (My dad's got TWO!)
Mercedes 310 van anyone?
This has to be the worst thing i've ever driven!
no power, sat on top of the engine (VERY NOISY!) seats like concrete slabs, steering more suited to the QE2.
If anyone ever asks me to drive one of these teutonic turds ever again i'm liable to break down (which is another of these beauties many "talents"!)

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Tiv

· #12 · Feb 19, 2002

Try a Vauxhall Corsa or a Peugeot 206 - both are so uncomfortable they gave me backache.

Give me a Rover or an MG anyday! (This would explain why we've had nothing but Rovers and MGs so far...)