Top Gear's 50 Worst Cars Ever

[Lud]

OK come clean, who has owned one (or more!) of them?

http://www.topgear.com/content/features/stories/worst_cars/08/

P.S. Ferrari and Porsche made the list...

 

[NSX-Racer]

Guilty - I had a Ford Probe (place 26) 24V for a while and was satisfied 'til an engine failure. It was the car (together with a Toyota Celica "Carlos Sainz" 4WD) before my first NSX (and I think they have some resemblance - not too much of course)

 

[jadkar]

Strange....I agree with all of them except the probe. I really don't like Fords, and haven't owned any however, the Probe was based on the MX-6 which wasn't a bad car.

The first generation was OK (especially the 2.2 turbo), but the second generation Probe/MX-6 was hailed by many to be the best handling front wheel drive car up to that time. Combined with the smooth V6 the car moved out fairly well. I would have preferred the Mazda version, however they say the Probe had a stiffer chassis. I wouldn't touch either car in base trim, IMO you need the V6.

 

[Autophile]

Geez, I'd never even heard of 90% of them. My loss, I guess.

 

[mohaji]

what's wrong with Hyundai XG?

I think that's sort of un-reasonable, un-necessary bashing of a decent car...
just my opinion of course.

I don't know how it is priced and warranted in Europe, but I thought the XG (listed number 12 on the article) was pretty decent in north american market.

 

[jlindy]

I think the list is kind of lame. Some of them, they don't really have much to go with, but they just decided to include it in the worst. Too subjective and not enough supporting facts.

 

[FGG]

Had a Ford Probe also--I think it was a 1984 model---is that possible, I don't remember now---maybe 1987---in any event, it was the turbo--with a nasty lag and twitch, if I remember right--but I liked the styling.

Just to add insult to injury, I almost bought a Ferrari Mondial 3.2 when I was selling my 308gtsi--good thing I came to my senses--even though for some reason I liked the cab forward look of the Mondial.

 

[steveny]

I owned 2 and 1/2 Ford probes.

 

[dnicho05]

Guilty also...

I had the infamous FORD PINTO

In its defense though, it was only the 1975-1977 runabouts that had explosive personalities. That site makes general uneducated, and incorrect statements about a lot of the cars on their list.

I had a 72 Pinto Runabout with the VW made 2 liter engine. I bought it back in 1984 (my first car), drove it for almost 16 years, and put 260,000 miles on it before some Bi#$^ ran a red light and T-Boned me. Ford may not know how to build cars, but VW sure knows how to make an engine that will last.

That car was so horrible to drive though. Every time you had to jam on the brakes in an emergency situation, the nose would dive, the back end would swing around, and you'd do a 180 or 360 spin every time.

The insane part was that you actually got used to it. My wife and I would joke about it being "Tilt-a-whirl" time, whenever I would have to jam on the brakes.

 

[ceeya32]

What about the Bricklin? And I want one bad!

 

[kenjiMR]

I really want a X-90 now.

 

[NSXDreamer2]

good thing I'm not the only one liked the Probe

my friend used to have a 93, and that's the car I sucessfully doing heel and toe flawlessly for the first time...

I still think it's a good car with sort of light weight, decent power (well you are comparing it to a civic / accord in that price range) The shifte wasn't too bad either.... I liked the handling too..

INterior is pretty bad IMO>..

 

[NSX2398]

Another insulted Probe owner

Although the first generation Probes (pre-93) were nothing special, the article specifically singles out the second gen ones ('92-96) and their comments are way off the mark. I still have my '93 GT and when it was introduced mid '92, there were no other V6's in it's class and only the turbo Eclipse was faster (but considerably more expensive). It was light (about 2800 lbs); had excellent g-force ratings; did 0-60 in 7.1; and was either the lowest or second lowest cost. Mine now has something like 160K Kms and has been very reliable in spite of years of spirited driving. In fact, last year my son (3rd driver) raced it in both 1/4 mile and slalom events.
They obviously haven't owned one.