Thread: Crappy cars - the worst new or modern car you’ve driven.

Originally Posted by Tins

If reliability is all you need from a car.......
I travelled som 450 k in the back seat of one of the things once, and swore I'd never set foot in one again, and I haven't. For a modern family vehicle there is simply no excuse for that appalling ride.

The dog has never complained.....

Ours are loaded all the time which probably improves the ride,and only the front seats are generally used.
The drivers complain more about the BT50's ride than any of the others.

I don't think the ride in any of the dual cab work model utes is the greatest,particularly in the rear seats,no matter the brand.

Originally Posted by scarry

I don't think the ride in any of the dual cab work model utes is the greatest,particularly in the rear seats,no matter the brand.

See my post about the D-Max.... although I've not ridden in the back of that. My twenty year old Ford simply destroys it for ride. Still, I suppose the D-Max is a truck when all is said and done.

Originally Posted by Tins

I seldom drive new cars these days. I’m not sorry about this..


The last two weeks I have had the ‘good fortune’ to be driving a current model Isuzu D-Max Dual Cab ute. 44,000 km.


This has some god points: Everything works, but that’s expected. The 3.0 diesel delivers ‘adequate’ performance. Fit and finish is as expected from this company, but not really a whole lot better than my Ford, although I imagine it will last better. The factory tray is well built.
Not so good is the six speed manual gearbox. Oh, it works, but the shift as awful. On the face of it it should be good, as the gates are close together, but it’s actually very easy to downshift to second when you want fourth. The gear position indicator on the dash is no help here, as it only comes on when the get is fully engaged. And anyway, really? Anyone who goes to the trouble to seek out one of the rare manual versions will probably be interested enough to know what gear they are in without resorting to looking at the instruments.
Speaking of the dash, ugh. The two main gauges are fine, but between them is a whole lot of useless info which is barely readable until it disappears to be replaced with a lane position graphic, which merely serves to distract you from the actual lanes on the road.
Then there is the speed warning, which reads the speed limit signs, and annoyingly dings if you are so much as a k over. Ok, but it will read the limit sign of a school zone, the ones that display what the speed is in school times, and ding its bloody head off even though all the school kids are tucked up in bed.
Also not so good is the steering. The electrically assisted rack is lifeless, with no feel whatsoever, except….. more on that later. But this lack of feel means you have no idea where the wheels are pointing, and it is very easy to run wind on bends.
The ride…. well it’s better than my 109. Not too bad if you are driving, I guess, but as a passnger…I have a fractured vertebrae.. I’d rathe ride a horse. This is the top spec model, which is aimed at families, and it’s poor.
Ok, none of the above is truly a deal breaker I guess, but for the price it’s not good enough imo.
However…. This car was greeted with acclaim as it brought “modern safety” to the ute market. Great. So, what does this mean? It means the car intrudes into everyday driving unnecessarily at unexpected moments. It isn’t as bad as Gav’s H6, but it’s still awful. The lane assist feature is particularly annoying, as it sounds no warning but grabs the wheel to keep you inside the lines, until it doesn’t. By this I mean it is unpredictable. I experimented on a well maintained and marked road near me. If I strayed to the centre line it would drag me back, but when I tested it by taking my hands off the wheel it blithely ignored the lines, both the centre and the fog. Useless. But then, when I was driving normally it bit me. I was driving on a street with double centre lines. I approached a parked car ( yeah, I know ), and as there was nothing coming I just let the car drift over the lines to go past….. Oh no I didn’t! The bloody car grabbed the wheel and dragged me back to safety. Except, the parked car was still parked. It was then I experienced the joys of automatic braking. Ok, I know that I could overcome the bloody steering, but I tend to keep my reins loose. Well, I did.
I have nothing against computer programmers, but I don’t want some teenager from Nagasaki driving my car for me, especially when he/she isn’t in it at the time. This Isuzu has caused me not to trust it. As an appliance it is fine, as a car I hate it.
I enjoy driving. On this basis I’ll stick with my D2. Even my Oka is preferable.
And don’t get me started on the “infotainment system”. I love CarPlay. It is simple, and intuitive, and connects seamlessly. Unless you are in a D-Max.

Good summary overall and as I have one now as my company car for a couple of weeks Ive been settling into a different world compared to the Hilux which is what Ive had for my last 3 company cars. I am half way through a write up on the pros and cons compared to the Hilux.

Engine I find is a little harsh but is adequate. Can’t comment on the manual as mines auto which works fine.

Driver aids on all new cars are annoying and the auto braking on the Dmax is as bad as any other so that was the first thing I switched off. I still get the warning on the dash but not the brake application.

Lane departure I’ve actually found really well implemented compared to the 3 other vehicles I’ve driven with this - The H6, a RAV4 and a Subaru Forrester. It’s only mildly annoying to me and hasn’t given me any reason to switch it off.

The speed limit ding is aweful, but again it can be turned off. The ability to turn all of this off was one reason I went for the Dmax as once set it stays off so there’s no constant requirement to go through menus on to turn stuff off all the time. You can also turn off almost every beep, bong and ding - even the door lock/unlock. It’s at a point now where it’s only things like the door being open or the seat belt not on that will do this and my Hilux from 2008 did this as well so nothing new.

Ride is umm - like all dual cabs - crap. Can’t say much more than that, it is what it is but with the canopy on the back and the set of drawers in there it’s no so bone jarring.

Overall it’s a long way ahead of the Hilux but I know that’s a low mark to come off. For a company daily driver it works well for me and I like it overall but I think all the points you’ve made are valid.

Originally Posted by Homestar

Good summary overall and as I have one now as my company car for a couple of weeks Ive been settling into a different world compared to the Hilux which is what Ive had for my last 3 company cars. I am half way through a write up on the pros and cons compared to the Hilux.

Engine I find is a little harsh but is adequate. Can’t comment on the manual as mines auto which works fine.

Driver aids on all new cars are annoying and the auto braking on the Dmax is as bad as any other so that was the first thing I switched off. I still get the warning on the dash but not the brake application.

Lane departure I’ve actually found really well implemented compared to the 3 other vehicles I’ve driven with this - The H6, a RAV4 and a Subaru Forrester. It’s only mildly annoying to me and hasn’t given me any reason to switch it off.

The speed limit ding is aweful, but again it can be turned off. The ability to turn all of this off was one reason I went for the Dmax as once set it stays off so there’s no constant requirement to go through menus on to turn stuff off all the time. You can also turn off almost every beep, bong and ding - even the door lock/unlock. It’s at a point now where it’s only things like the door being open or the seat belt not on that will do this and my Hilux from 2008 did this as well so nothing new.

Ride is umm - like all dual cabs - crap. Can’t say much more than that, it is what it is but with the canopy on the back and the set of drawers in there it’s no so bone jarring.

Overall it’s a long way ahead of the Hilux but I know that’s a low mark to come off. For a company daily driver it works well for me and I like it overall but I think all the points you’ve made are valid.

As it isn't my car, and she who is its regular driver actually likes all the intrusions, I haven't burrowed into the settings to turn 'em off. It would be nice if the car could remember settings for individual drivers based on their key, something I know can be done.
With the auto braking, do you still get the hysterical RED LED?

Holden Camira....'nuff said!

Hi,
Was looking for a small city car. Sent Mrs on a car shopping mission, with every model/make within price, her choice with my veto. I liked a Polo, (Golf was over budget,) but she didn't.
Some we both disliked.
One we tried was a Focus from Henry.
I was motion nauseated within 5 km.
Veto invoked.
Settled on a Corolla and it has been trouble free since 2006.
Cheers

Originally Posted by Tins

See my post about the D-Max.... although I've not ridden in the back of that. My twenty year old Ford simply destroys it for ride. Still, I suppose the D-Max is a truck when all is said and done.

Had some re stumpers recently working on a job.
They had three 15 to 20yr old Falcon utes,with huge mileage on them.One was in the 600,000k’s.
Their comment was the same,there is nothing new around with such a great ride.
And these are generally problem free,and have paid for themselves many times over.

We seem to forget that dual cabs are just another commercial vehicle,they were never designed to be a comfortable family run around or touring vehicle.
Although apparently some of the expensive top of the range Rangers ride very well,they have Fox suspension set ups.
But as a work vehicle,carting some weight around they would probably be useless.

D-Max... As mentioned, the infotainment...... Ugh...


Firstly, it takes ages to load the screen. Then it requires you to solemnly promise not to touch the screen while driving. It gives you about 20 seconds to read this message before it allows you to dismiss it. This it does Every. Time. You. Start. The. Car. Doesn't matter that you just ducked into the shop, and have had weeks to read the message previously. So, you do this many, many times a day. But it doesn't stop there. You then have to reconnect your phone, as it refuses to recognise the phone that you were, minutes ago, listening to music from. Once this is done, and at least CarPlay will remember your song, the sound system is crap. And don't think you can, if you need to wait somewhere, sit and listen to your music with the door open, as the car screams like a banshee if you open the door with the key in, unless you keep it running.

To think, they waited nearly 18 months for this. And paid.......