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

Originally Posted by gromit

Wait till you get the D Max....I've had similar problems with the MUX.
Single button press to turn off lane guidance but you have to go through a menu to turn off auto braking each time you drive.
I've been caught out several times where someone is turning left and the gap between me & them is decreasing. I know they will be gone by the time I get there but the car doesn't ! Suddenly flashing lights and the car brakes !!

One option might be to cover the two cameras
This morning with condensation on the screen I got warnings that lane guidance etc. wasn't working.
I guess the car might sulk if you did this though.

It's not the auto braking that I'm against as such - my Partners RAV4 has it and it isn't an issue - yes, it's come on under similar circumstances as you mention, but not when on the freeway or in roadworks - the situation I was in it just shouldn't have reacted to - the car in front was well in front and it wasn't slowing down in relation to me - we were going the same speed - it's just that the detection and the software mustn't have much about it as I think it is purely distance based and doesn't take into account the road speed of either vehicle in relation to each other - something that other systems manage with ease. It's just the crappy implementation in the Haval - all the driver aids operate in such a bad and intrusive way it makes the car almost undrivable - every other vehicle with the same driving aids I've driven haven't worried me at all - it's a Haval issue, not a tech issue.

The RAV4 did actually save me from a fender bender one day when the car in front at an intersection went to go then suddenly stopped - it braked as I realised I needed to, so reacted far quicker than I did. Given I stopped only around 50cm behind the car I think I would have hit them, so I'm definately not anti the tech.

Mario and I never had crappy cars we both had fords at the start, and then on to Land Rovers, and I still have a Ford, Haven't had any real troubles with them, as Mario kept up with the services, as he did all of it.

The worst? That would be a tesla. A Crappy build, highly overrated appliance (not really a car imho). My 1998 honda legend was much more comfortable and quiet than that whale of a car that weighs more than my p38 range rovers GVM empty! and it shows in handling for so far it has any because modern electric power steering usually feels like there is not connection between the steering wheel and the actual wheels. No, the most disappointing POS I have ever driven. Sure I drove worse, but you would expect it from the age/price.

-P

Originally Posted by DazzaTD5

I tell customers to stick with brands that have a good foot print in Australia and therefor in general a better customer support.

Hyundai, Kia, Mazda, Subaru and the king of mediocrity Toyota (lets face it if you buy a corolla your likely to never have any issues).
The current Mitsubishi models are fine, but the next generation are likely to be more Nissan/Renault sourced due to the 3 joint venture

Avoid
Another great **** sandwich to avoid is anything from Stalantis which includes fiat, Chrysler, Jeep, Peugeot, Citroen, etc
The brands from the convicted criminal organisation (Volkswagen) which include - VW, Audi, Bentley, Skoda (and a few more that arent worth mentioning)
Any Chinese brand, poor sales, poor build quality equals poor service support. The Chinese block or put massive tariffs on Australian export at their whim, when and how it suits them, but it's ok for you to buy their cars? which include Greatwall, Haval (which is Greatwall), Volvo, MG, LDV, Saic, Polstar (volvo), geely, Byd.
Jaguar Land Rover - poor build quality, poor R & D
Ford, Another great one for terrible customer support.
Tesla, like most American brands they suffer poor build quality and are very anti consumer. New models to Australia are also made in china.

They may well be the King of Mediocrity but I must say our Prado around 16 - 17 years ago was quite a good vehicle and reliable. Likewise my Fiat many many years ago before coming to Oz. Great car which went like the clappers and I thought I'd buy another when we arrived in Melbourne .... and nearly fell over with shock when told they couldn't even try to sell that model here as it was too expensive with import duties etc loaded on. Try near 8 grand for a lesser 127 model as opposed to around 2.4K in the UK!
In fact I've got another Prado on order now but am leaning more and more to a Defender.... shall I shan't I? Who knows.
Nice to get others opinions on the Fords etc which I've also looked at to replace the Disco.
AlanH.

Fiat in common with a number of European brands realised they never going to be volume sellers in Australia but wanted for corporate pride reasons to retain a presence in the market. So they just imported the top of the range and attempted to sell them as prestige cars. Buying public were not generally fooled but it did mean they were an interesting alternative cheap choice when only 3 or 4 years old

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.

Originally Posted by ATH

They may well be the King of Mediocrity but I must say our Prado around 16 - 17 years ago was quite a good vehicle and reliable.

The King of mediocrity work vehicles we have had out perform any other brand we have used,just no comparison,reliability,running costs,and re sale.
Many have done, or did before they were sold, well over 300,000km without a repair,just tyres,batteries,and normal servicing.

And the LC200, 3 yrs old,no issues,11 less issues than the D4 had over the same period,but has done double the K's,and probably twice the amount of off road work,corrugated dirt roads,beach work,etc.

Originally Posted by scarry

The King of mediocrity work vehicles we have had out perform any other brand we have used,

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.