[quadbike]

I am not going to talk about the Amby's and Padmini's because we all know they are rubbish compared to modern cars.

The worst car I have driven is my uncle's (now sold) Indica Dicor. Now I enjoy driving a car that is difficult to handle because it teaches you to be a better driver. The biggest problem in this car was the pedals, especially the clutch, even after moderately long drives my left foot used to go numb. Not a nice experience.

I had an i20 petrol Asta and I loved driving it, yes it handled like a boat and the steering was lifeless, but it was an ease to drive around the city with all the Gizmo's. And when lightly loaded it was not sluggish on a straight line, I could keep up with Swifts all day. The AC was horrible and the steering rattled like a dancer's anklet.

I currently own two cars a 2012 Punto Emotion diesel and a Swift 2007 Petrol. I bought the latter car second hand and I am still in love with it with the old G13B engine putting a smile on my face every time I drive it.

The Fiat on the other hand has been rather underwhelming. Its so hard to drive in the city, the pedals are awkward, the clutch is hard, the steering weighs too much, and the ride on the raised 2012 version is horrible.

Yes it is great on the highways especially the twisty ones. But a Swift with proper tyres is 80-90% as good and much much easier to drive and live with.

[zenren]

I'm confused about the objective of this thread. Are we looking at drivabiity of the cars or the overall package/comfort? The title says 'driven' and I see a lot of opinion based on experience sitting in a cab! If it is purely drivability, then I feel we should not really be counting ride comfort here, unless the driver seat has pathetic ride quality that would adversely affect the driving.

I see a lot of mention in the thread about the lack of stability of a 3 lakh car in triple digit speeds. Is it really expected to go at those speeds in the first place? Even if it were stable, would it be safe for someone go at those speeds if the car doesn't come with enough safety features to handle an emergency situation, especially the braking power. I have a Zen that is capable of doing 140 on a good road with acceptable levels of stability, but if I needed to do an emergency braking from those speeds, I don't know if I'd be able to do it and tell the tale after that.

Coming to the topic, I'm only considering cars that I've driven for at least 1000 km, which brings down the list to just Zen (carb and MPFI versions), Swift (petrol 1.3 and diesel), Indica V2 (Diesel), Santro Xing and 800.

Of the lot, the car I would hate to drive would be Tata Indica V2 which had the non-turbo 54bhp diesel engine. Though well maintained, it was a nightmare to drive in the busy 2-lane highways in Kerala where it needed ages to overtake any slow movers. Gear shift was another mess, especially when you needed a downshift to get whatever power is available. Power steering gave a lot of understeer in the curves, which could also be due to the combination of heavier weight and lack of power.

This doesn't make it a bad car by any means, as the elder generation in the family preferred the back seat of Indica over the Swift and Zen, when it came to long drives. They were willing to sit in a more comfortable car for 1-2 additional hours (that was the additional time it took over the Zen/Swift for a 250km trip on Kerala roads) though the person who drove felt those as ages. It was still an ideal car in the family when you have a driver and another car when you want to be in the driving seat

Originally Posted by baddy

Worst car ever driven: Brand new "Tara Quiet" for those of you who dont know about it, its a cheap chinese electric car made in West Bengal.

Thanks. Never knew such a thing ran on Indian roads even if rarely till I read your post, and I guess your post says why.

[fiat_tarun]

Originally Posted by quadbike

... the clutch is hard, the steering weighs too much, and the ride on the raised 2012 version is horrible. ..

The 2012 Punto Diesel's actually have a super light clutch, almost petrol car like. I suggest you get this checked (unless you meant long travel and hard to use).

[quadbike]

Yes I meant exactly that. I have not included the quality issues, such as the dash peeling off and the terrible service.

[sameerg001]

Originally Posted by fiat_tarun

The 2012 Punto Diesel's actually have a super light clutch, almost petrol car like. I suggest you get this checked (unless you meant long travel and hard to use).

I agree, 2012 punto's Clutch is super light, In fact my Accent's Clutch felt heavy after driving punto. Didn't expected it to be, so light.

Cheers!

[Axe77]

Over the last many years, we have owned 800s, zens, wagon r, fiat (with floor gear), i10, Baleno, swift, accord mt, civic at, city at, sunny d and i20. Other cars frequently driven within the family include Maruti 1000, Getz, accent viva, 118ne ....


Having driven all these cars extensively, the most annoying I've driven is the i20. It was absolutely the most disappointing car I've ever driven. The steering, handling, ride quality, manner in which it delivers power .... all very very below expectation.

[shinuak]

The good old Amby, I learned driving in it and felt like the best car till i tried my hands on other cars like maruti 800, Zen etc. When compared to the cars now a days, that mark 2 Amby felt like a big boat on a rough sea

[anu21v]

IMO cars like Omni, Amby, Versa, Old Zen, Premier 118NE, Zypsy, Mahindra Commander, Trax,Esteem should all be excluded for this comparison. They are easily the worst driveability cars.

Probably cars launched after probably 1997 (First year with proper competition with Arrival of Hyundai, Daewoo, Toyota, GM and Ford) should be considered for this comparison.

[Manzone799]

The worst car that i have driven would unanimously be the HM Trekker. I don't know if it classifies to be called a car or a Jeep. I think its a mix between a Truck and a car - and hence called the "Trekker". One hell of a vehicle. You have to give all your energy to change gears. And the clutch need to be pressed way down that you might think you have almost touched the earth's crust! But, i must admit that it was the vehicle in which i first learnt driving. Respect!

[bharatbs]

The 2010 model Nissan Sentra in the US, cross winds on the expressway would make the car behave as though the alignment had gone bad, handled like crap, the interiors were not great either and the engine; lets forget about it.

The 2009 model Hyundai i10, the sun would reflect the beige dashboard on the entire windscreen, the AC sucked, engine was noisy and my left leg would get bruised thanks to the constant rubbing against the gear compartment.

The worst was a Maruti Suzuki Esteem which had been re-converted to LPG, the car would start moving 5minutes after you pressed the accelerator and if you were approaching a incline on the road you better start saying your prayers

[Agarwaka]

Not quite hated it, but didn't quite like the i20 petrol; possibly because my immediate frame of reference then was the i20 diesel, which, I felt was far more responsive.

As far as the worst car in which I've been driven goes, it's hands down the Xylo! Made 2 Mumbai-Pune-Mumbai trips in it and had severe body ache the next day, both times. The amount of body roll is just ridiculous! For my third trip, which was to be a longer, 4 day one, I chose the Figo over the Xylo!!

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by anu21v

IMO cars like Omni, Amby, Versa, Old Zen, Premier 118NE, Zypsy, Mahindra Commander, Trax,Esteem should all be excluded for this comparison. They are easily the worst driveability cars.

Probably cars launched after probably 1997 (First year with proper competition with Arrival of Hyundai, Daewoo, Toyota, GM and Ford) should be considered for this comparison.

Curious why you would put Esteem there? I owned an Esteem and was driving this for almost 4 years, covering close to 55 K, city and highway combined. I loved that car and somewhere, i still feel that i shouldnt have sold that. If its because of the 1997 factor in your post, it makes sense, but i thought it wasnt a bad drive after all.

[anu21v]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Curious why you would put Esteem there? I owned an Esteem and was driving this for almost 4 years, covering close to 55 K, city and highway combined. I loved that car and somewhere, i still feel that i shouldnt have sold that. If its because of the 1997 factor in your post, it makes sense, but i thought it wasnt a bad drive after all.

I understand your concern here. All i wanted to say is that irrespective of how good or bad a car; any car which was launched pre-1997 era should be excluded simply because the lack of competition may have lead to selection of a sub-par engineering and design solution to things like Driveability, Ride Quality, Sturdiness, AC performance and engine technologies.

You see; maruti Did not launch an MPFI till the time Santro and Matiz came in market even though MPFI tech was available to them for long time and they were market leaders.

Esteem which i think was first launched in 1993-94 was one of the best car of its time, but the moment you start comparing it with post-97 cars the lack of quality and other attributes starts showing up.