[#ABTorquey]

Royal Enfield Classic
I was never a bullet fan in my childhood. Actually I never liked it until 2013 I guess when Dulquer's NPCB movie got released. Oh boy! travelling was my thing and in that movie he is going all the way to Nagaland from Kerala on his Bullet. That too a custom Army spec. I was literally in love with the machine. Actually that movie created a buzz among the youngsters and biketrips became so much popular. I was drooling at all the images and videos available of the bike. At that time I was studying in Dubai. Thus, had no option of getting one to ride and when I returned back I was longing to get my hands on one. Finally, a friend of mine rode one to my house. It was his uncle's machine. Man, that day when I saw the classic I was actually jumping. Grabbed the keys form him and took it for a spin and was like . This is not the machine I expected to be this cannot be the one. All those dreams of riding miles and miles and tales I had written , ALL Gone for once.....

[BANDHAV]

For me it is Bolero. I always loved it for its butch styling, Hummesque looks (a notion I developed during my budding years as an enthusiast, it kind of stuck with me) and so on.

Then when I was in market back in 2013-14 for New car, I considered it despite vehement disdain of wife. Then I experienced it in a local showroom, I always knew that it is not supposed to be comfortable and all, but then I realised it is an ergonomic disaster. Driver seat set to my height and no one with legs can sit behind me.

[himanshugoswami]

For me, it has to be the Safari Dicor. Lusted after the Safari ever since it was launched, but could not afford one till many years later. Bought the 3.0 dicor in 2007. While it had its moments, on the whole it was one big disappointment. Misaligned suspension, blown fuses, brittle plastics, non existent brakes, unspeakable handling traits....the list is long. It was a dream shattered.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Yamaha RD350


That acceleration was just pure bliss (for someone whose benchmark till then was a Pulsar 180), but then came the horror of braking - rapid downshifting could slow it down, but it just refused to come to stop - almost ending up in a crash and scaring me more than any vehicle has ever managed to!

That's why, when we were in college, this bike was Christened the "Yamdoot"

[Storm2.0]

Current gen Alto 800- When I was in the market for 2nd hand compact car, I came across a very good example of a used Alto 800 at Toyota U Trust dealership.
Took it out for a test drive and believe me I felt like puking after seeing extremely cheap level of plastics everywhere. Also the NVH was quite poor with outside traffic noise filtering in even with windows up and AC on.

I am exaggerating a bit but the used Eon which I bought later felt like an S class in front on an Alto.

[neo_narender]

It has to be Mercedes for me. I have been fascinated by the brand for over 20 years now since my schooling days. Then I finally got the oppurtunity to drive an acquaintance's 2013/14 Mercedes C-Class C250 5 years ago in California.

I cannot even describe in words how much it disappointed me. Power & Torque were quite good but the steering feel did not exude class nor enriched feedback. In comparison a 2002 BMW 325i that I have driven the same day put a massive smile on my face with it's direct steering with good feedback & very good cornering ability despite being 13 years old at the time.

[IshaanIan]

1st gen Octavia vRS always thought it looked super classy but when I was eventually in a position to consider buying a used one, I was left quite disappointed by how claustrophobic the interiors were (I never knew such a big car could have such a lack of interior space) and I also stumbled upon a thread on our forum detailing a list of issues that the model is prone to so that was a bitter end to my boyhood dream of owning one.

VW Polo having had extensive experience with my friend's Fabia, I imagined the Polo would be even better simply because it looked better, but boy was I wrong. Firstly I felt like the Fabia somehow handled slightly better (perhaps the suspension is setup differently but it did not roll as much). Then I found out how poor the interior space was. I felt cramped even in the driver's seat because my left knee kept scraping the dashboard. Later I realised that the center console in the Fabia is more sensible ergonomically since there wasn't any "waterfall" nonsense going on.

Every new Maruti having owned a WagonR that has served me well for 16 years with zero troubles and also having owned a Kizashi, whose name literally meant a sign of good things to come, I expected more from the brand however what I find is that their small cars are no longer as durable as before, the K-series petrol motors no longer offer up the grunt of the older Suzuki engines and the "premium" offerings such as the Ciaz and S-Cross don't feel premium in any way at all (I would've imagined it would be easier having made the Kizashi to offer better dashboard plastics and more comfortable seats).

[Brishti]

Audi S5 was the one that disappointed me badly. Time was 2018 when I had to buy a new sedan and in the fry was Octavia vRS, BMW 330i GT & Audi S5 (Octavia 1.8 TSI vs BMW 330i GT vs Audi S5) but all in all after testdrives and what not the Audi S5 did not seem to be good enough in comparison to either the Skoda or BMW for the price Audi was asking.

In the end I ended up getting the Octavia 1.8 TSi because the vRS was sold out but I am very happy with what I ended up with.

[51morris]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Yamaha RD350

Nothing wrong with the bike - just that when I got a chance to ride it for the first time during college days, I had only heard of praises for it's scary power delivery and not complaints on the non-existent brakes.

That acceleration was just pure bliss (for someone whose benchmark till then was a Pulsar 180), but then came the horror of braking - rapid downshifting could slow it down, but it just refused to come to stop - almost ending up in a crash and scaring me more than any vehicle has ever managed to!

Perhaps - that really is the charm of that vehicle. But thinking of that ride still sends a shiver down the spine.

I had a very similar experience when I first rode an RD-350. While I was shocked at the acceleration of the bike (and it was only the low torque tune!), I was appalled by the lack of stability and almost non-existent brakes. I always wanted to own an RD-350, but that one ride changed it all.

Don’t mistake me, it was a bike truly ahead of its time, but my expectations of it was something way different and I was left totally disappointed.

[DeKay]

The 4th Gen Honda City!

Bought a VX MT Diesel in 2014 - Booked it before I even saw it in person. Loved it when I saw it in pictures, the reviews were good, everyone talked about its "premium" interior, space, features. I was in love.

Well, then the car came - Enjoyed it initially, but once the new car fever subsided, I realised how terrible the build quality was for a car that cost me 14+ on road. Performance was mediocre, the engine was noisy, it was a pain to drive it in traffic in Mumbai.
The final nail in its coffin for me was - a persistent dash rattle that Honda couldn't fix after multiple visits to the workshop. They resorted to shoving foam sheets in the dash which were visible while driving and to the passengers. Just couldn't stand it anymore.

Sold it in 2 and a half years for a little under 10 Lakh, bought a Vento TSI and I couldn't be happier.

This whole thing made me realise how important build quality was for me, I'll never buy a car that isn't at least as solid as a Vento.

[JojyKerala]

I have a massive crush on the Bolero for 15+ years. Always wanted to buy one through the pre-owned route.

First thing that deterred me from buying a Bolero is the high quoted resale prices. Didn't make sense to spend 5 lakhs for a 2013 or 2014 model (or am I wrong about the pricing?).

But the love story continued.

So I test drove some used Boleros. Noticed the driving style didn't suit me. All the cars I test drove had hard clutches that gave me a knee pain that lingered for around 48 hours after the drive. Not sure if this was because the Boleros I test drove were in bad condition.

I remember jumping at the opportunity to drive a Bolero from Kochi to Trivandrum. While I was happy at first, I felt like dumping the car on the highway and boarding a KSRTC after 20 km.

But the love story continues. Maybe I will come across a Bolero with good driving dynamics. Or maybe I should buy a new one. Or maybe I should just get rid of this Bolero fixation

[Maverick Avi]

Being a Maruti loyalist for more than 20 years I always had a soft corner for Ford as it was one iconic brand that has a good balance of build, driving dynamics and reliability. And out of their lineup I felt Aspire was a looker and most sorted amongst compact sedans. After almost finalising Dzire, my heart won over head and I bought Aspire Petrol in 2019 with 1.2 dragon engine.

Aspire is known for its suspension/driving dynamics and engine/fuel efficiency are just ok as per regular perception. To my utter disappointment I found its suspension to be very rigid and driving dynamics not better than my outgoing Dzire. On the other hand its 3 pot engine is quite good and responsive and it usually gives 16 kmpl in Delhi traffic. Built is also confidence inspiring and all buttons and plastics seem durable.

Not a good feeling to be disappointed by a car that you bought. Trying to live with it but each time am behind those wheels I can literally feel the road with my eyes closed. Specially those small undulations just keep jutting into my spine.

[W.A.G.7]

If there was a car that has outright disappointed me, it's the Honda WRV petrol. Looks amazing inside out, and we(me & my wife) were sold on it. However one drive later and we were left thinking, "Is this really a Honda?" Since we drove the petrol, we were especially disappointed, I don't know if the diesel is good enough or not, we never tried it. The other mistake I did was, I drove the Ford Ecosport 1.5L petrol back to back; after which the lethargic engine of the Honda became all the more glaringly obvious. Although the good lady at Crystal Honda diligently followed up with us for 3 weeks after that test drive, we never went back again to them.

[07CR]

TATA Harrier It was probably the most hyped launch of the year 2019. This was a car that was in the limelight for more than 2 years before the launch. The styling of the concept was simply jaw dropping, and even the model that was launched was gorgeous to say the least. Then when the picture became clearer with following list of negatives completely ruining the initial euphoria-

1) Inconsistent Fit and finish across the cabin. Was quite surprised with the level of finesse of the Nexon, and naturally expected TATA to surpass it by quite a margin. On the contrary, even today the cars don't have a fit and finish for a 25Lakh rupee car.

2) Lack of features- Enough has been said about it, the less said the better. Even after a bit of feature revisions, it's still grossly under equipped for a 25 Lakh rupee car.

3) Refinement- Again, simply unexpected. If MG could do such a stellar job with the NVH of the same diesel, why couldn't Tata?

4) Underpowered engines- Thankfully this has been corrected. Great to see a Diesel automatic as well.

5) Rear seat- This can be a bit surprising. It's good, but somehow, I find the rear seat of Safari much better. It's probably TATA delivering more with the Safari, rather than an issue with the Harrier. But simple things like a flat floorboard, 3 headrests for the rear and reclining rear seats could have provided much better comfort.

6) Steering- This was very surprising, what with the talk of Hydraulic steering setup and the Driving modes. Sadly, the modes didn't make any changes to the steering setup, and the setup in itself was horribly tuned. Simply too heavy at parking speeds, neither did the setup perform as expected on the highways.

Again this can be a case of me having very high expectations from Harrier and also TATA delivering a sub par product.

[bharatmarch]

Huge disappointment: VW Ameo - bought Highline 1.2 MPI and used it for 23K kms before selling it to a friend. Classy styling but unimpressive motor. To add to the agony, low GC & too many rattles within first year of ownership. Somehow could never connect with the Ameo. Sold off, bearing a good loss but don't regret for that as your heart should thump when you see your car, and Ameo was nowhere close. I'm still happy with my '05 zen, '20 Alto 0.8 and Endeavour. This is my personal opinion. My apologies if I have offended any Ameo owners.

[DrCar]

I will share my experiences. I might even be banned from the forum for writing this. I got disappointed with these cars in terms of back seat comfort and driving experiences. As a matter of fact all these cars had brilliant engines but the cars disappointed me with other aspects:

1. Maruti Baleno:
Yes, one of the most popular car in our country, even Toyota liked it. But, I was disappointed. Car had brilliant interior space and engine. But, back seat ride quality was poor. I hit my head twice on the roof when car went through speed breaker which driver didn't notice. Also, there is too much of suspension noise intruding inside. Not sure whether it is car specific or a common issue.

2. Hyundai Grand i10:
Great engine, good interiors and good enough build quality. But I always come out tired after a long journey in the car. I relatively come out in better shape in Alto K10 for a similar route. Not sure whether suspension softness and relative light weight of the car causes this problem. I20 in comparison is more comfortable.

3. Mahindra Xylo and Scorpio :
With so many of them around the country, I experienced the car once each time as a passenger. Never was able to relax in them. I had experienced driving and sitting in a XUV500 before. It seems XUV500 is imported from other planet. It is more refined in terms of engine and ride quality and can pass off as a car from other luxurious manufacturer without the badging in place.