Best And Worst Cars You Have Owned

[Laura]

After getting some enjoyment throwing my Cooper S around a bit this morning driving to work it got me thinking about my car ownership history and was just wondering what other people class as the best and worst cars they have had the pleasure of owning themselves.

 

For me the worst car ever was an SLK which was so dull to drive I could almost fall asleep each time I turned the ignition key

 

The best was obviously my Elise which I absolutely loved to pieces and it just totally changed my life. Now I have the pleasure of an Exige in the garage but I cant say thats my best as its not technically mine, well until we get married then half of it is - fingers crossed its the driver's side

[smilesoffun]

After getting some enjoyment throwing my Cooper S around a bit this morning driving to work it got me thinking about my car ownership history and was just wondering what other people class as the best and worst cars they have had the pleasure of owning themselves.

 

For me the worst car ever was an SLK which was so dull to drive I could almost fall asleep each time I turned the ignition key

 

The best was obviously my Elise which I absolutely loved to pieces and it just totally changed my life. Now I have the pleasure of an Exige in the garage but I cant say thats my best as its not technically mine, well until we get married then half of it is - fingers crossed its the driver's side

 

 

My worst car was the NSU Prinz, but been fairly lucky when it came to cars, Had some awsome

classic cars including a number of Triumphs and the Cavalier Convertable.

But the S2 Elise is by far the BEST!! dare I say it much better than the S1

 

Laura as for the Exige, in my experiance when you get married then the whole car will become yours as will the house and the kids and the anything else he may owne in the future and stuff he will not own in the future

[Neil]

I've only ever owned 3 cars; Pug 306 1.8i 16v, S2 Elise 111S and an RX8 231PS. Not a bad list really.

 

 

Worst: Vauxhall Cavalier 2.0 GSi. Aka "the dog", as it smelt a bit funny and didn't always do what you wanted it to. Strictly speaking it wasn't mine, it was leased without payment from my parents for 6 months!

Best: Well, the Elise, obviously. But I'm really enjoying the RX8 at the minute, and wouldn't swap it for an Elise if offered.

 

My wifes old Mk2 Punto Sporting deserves a mention - great fun, and a good lesson in conservation of energy (carry the speed through corners, as it's not going to gain much speed on the straights!)

[Gary ZBJ]

Elise is the best, by far

 

Started off with a 1ltr mini, still on 10inch wheels, so that was great fun as a first car. Then on to a 205GT, again lots of fun. Next was a Williams Megane Coupe, but then came my worse car

 

I brought a house, and spent 5 years arguing with the council to get off road parking and a garage so that I could finally get the elise.

 

For that period I had a 1.2 Fiat Bravo, electrics played up when I first got it which meant new speedo unit, then then woodruff key on crank pulley sheered 3 times! not fun replacing it in the garden as I had no garage

 

on the plus side, someone ran in to it and made it a Cat D write off, I got paid way more than I expected (I think due to the lower mileage on the speedo, lol) and got it back on the road for less than £500

[TimSportsTourer]

Worst car? A toss up between my first "real" car - a Volvo 360 GLT and a Laguna. It had a 2l engine and a transaxle gear box. The linkage from the gearstick to gearbox was so long that many people would pull the knob off it. It was OK really, and it even had a towel-rail spoiler on the boot. It worked, though - it did spoil the look properly. I replaced it with a Rover 216 GSi, which was cheaper to service, insure and run, gave better mileage, better performance, more room, in fact, better everything. That made me realise just how rubbish the Volvo was.

 

I also had a Laguna which was the only new car I've ever owned. It must have been a Friday afternoon job. Things broke all the time. For example, I went off to Wales canoeing one weekend with a crowd of students from round here. They were all driving beat up old wrecks, and the exhaust fell off my 2 y/o Laguna. The back box, which seemed to be about the size of a dustbin, was dragging in the road, sparks flying. The nice AA man took it off for me, and I drove the width of the country with a very load exhaust, four boats on the roof and a cheesed off crowd of students with a back-box across their laps. Oh, the irony.

 

Best? Elise - no question. Nothing has ever matched the thrill of driving it, except possibly the turbo Elise (with 240 bhp at the wheels) I drove in the States.

[Daniel]

Well, I've only had a few cars and enjoyed them all really, in fact I'll list them here

 

1989 Opel Monza Gsi - Was the cool one with the digital dashboard (Mine was blue though with nicer wheels)

 

 

1996 Opel Astra Turbo (Same engine as the UK Calibra Turbo but only FWD) - It was rapid and torquesteer was awesome! Same as this but my was the sedan/saloon

 

 

Then I moved to the UK... stayed with Opel Vauxhall.

 

Vauxhall 1.6 Sport, was nice enough as I lived in London so didn't want anything (couldn't afford) too flash.

 

 

Sold that when I moved to the Midlands and had a company car Merc C220 CDI. Was a great car, plenty MPG and I did 130000 miles in it in 4 years!

 

 

While I was driving that I bought the S1 (not my pic below), mmm happy days!

 

 

Sold that (sad days) and bought this... more happy days! (not my pic again)

 

 

Then lost my company car and decided to use the chick magnet. Not a days problem with this car and it'll be in daily use again soon. Sat on the driveway while I use my other car (see next car)

 

 

Then, just before winter, I decided i wanted a silly car so bought this. It has more toys than Hamleys, massaging seats, cooled seats, fridge, electric everything (rear seats, blinds sunroof) radio control from front and rear, self closing doors, air suspension, sports mode, keyless entry and start ... you name it, it's got it..... it also however only does 25 to the gallon Hence in a few months it'll be sold and I'll be going back to the chick magnet

 

 

 

 

So - The moral of my convoluted story - Is that I don't have a best and worst car. I think I've made pretty good choices

[G]

not really got a worst car as only had the elise and exige. for all out fun, amazing handing, 6 speed gearbox, beautiful white paint and black wheels it has to be the

 

'vauxhall vivaro swb'

 

for me.

 

After getting some enjoyment throwing my Cooper S around a bit this morning driving to work it got me thinking about my car ownership history and was just wondering what other people class as the best and worst cars they have had the pleasure of owning themselves. For me the worst car ever was an SLK which was so dull to drive I could almost fall asleep each time I turned the ignition key The best was obviously my Elise which I absolutely loved to pieces and it just totally changed my life. Now I have the pleasure of an Exige in the garage but I cant say thats my best as its not technically mine, well until we get married then half of it is - fingers crossed its the driver's side

 

 

laura i think we need to talk ;-p

 

After getting some enjoyment throwing my Cooper S around a bit this morning driving to work it got me thinking about my car ownership history and was just wondering what other people class as the best and worst cars they have had the pleasure of owning themselves. For me the worst car ever was an SLK which was so dull to drive I could almost fall asleep each time I turned the ignition key The best was obviously my Elise which I absolutely loved to pieces and it just totally changed my life. Now I have the pleasure of an Exige in the garage but I cant say thats my best as its not technically mine, well until we get married then half of it is - fingers crossed its the driver's side

 

 

laura i think we need to talk ;-p

[lummo]

Worst car, not surprisingly, was my first. It was a 1.3 Austin Allegro Estate in diarrhea brown. By the time I sold it I think the front valance was 20% metal & 80% filler. I'd also de-rusted & resprayed (with aerosols) all four wheel arches. The colour match was spot-on in daylight, but several shades out under streetlights. Never did figure out why that was.

 

My Dad and I replaced the clutch on his drive one weekend. That's when I decided garage bills are well worth paying.

 

I remember one time, 4-up on the way back from the Stoneleigh Kit Car Show, the hyrolastic suspension pipes burst on one side. I drove about 3 miles with the car listing heavily to port & the only suspension on that side being provided by the rubber bump-stops.

 

On the plus side, it did many, many miles hauling my sailing dinghy and camping gear all over the country so it wasn't all bad.

 

Aah, happy times!

 

-------

 

Best car - obviously the Elise.

 

Although I do have fond memories of the Opal Manta GT/E I used to own many years ago.

 

And the mkI MR2 t-bar.

 

And I still enjoy driving my 4wd X-type when the weather's pants.

 

And the 1.2 Corsa is a hoot to drive considering its modest power output.

[Laura]

laura i think we need to talk ;-p

 

opps, I think I'm trouble now

 

some good replies here. Got me thinking that my Mk1 MX-5 deserves a mention now too, that was an awesome car and I was lucky to have it as my first car and I think it had a lot to do with me deciding on an Elise a few years later. One of my best memories of it was a guy not having a clue what it was and asking me if 30k would buy him one - I certainly missed out on a good sale there!

[surrealillusions]

Since ive only had 2 cars..bit of a no brainer really..

 

1st and worse - nissan micra. Tiny little 1l engine, barely made it up any hill that it encountered. Still, it was technically free off my parents and brother so didnt really complain at the time.

 

2nd and the best - my current s1 elise, enough said.

 

[Daniel]

At the risk of stereotyping people I can see it now:

 

MartinR - "My first car, when I was 17, was a 2 year old Ford Model T, it was great"

 

Fentuz - "Oui, Je taime, Citroen 2CV"

[ConMcL]

Lol at lummo - allegro estate in brown

[chorton_1]

Not had a 'bad' car. However, the worst is either an AX Gti whose headlights used to go off without warning (probably the switch in retrospect), and the current family wagon - Peugeot 807 - that has lots of minor electrical glitches. That said, none have let me down and the cars themselves have all been good in their own ways.

[fentuz]

Fentuz - "Oui, Je taime, Citroen 2CV"

 

Dan, don't change

 

 

I have owned a few car worse car is the elise and my best car is the elise. Simply because when something goes wrong with her, it is the of the world and when she's OK well, Dan and Steve should remember what I said coming out of a track session at Stowe

[sclark]

First Car - 1.3L Ford Escort (Mk3) on an X plate (1982) - called it Spot on account of the rust, did ok for me for long enough.

 

Best Car - to drive the Elise, Mk 1 MX-5 was also a hoot.

 

Worst car - Subaru Impreza; least reliable car I have ever owned, cost a fortune to keep on the road and not special enough to drive to make up for it. As soon as the weather turned unfavourable (especially snow) it would find any excuse not to start/run and I would have to resort back to the MX-5 (which was on AO48R Advans!!); the Imprezza was supposed to be my everyday car and therefore failed abysmally to do it's job!

 

Most disappointing car ever driven - BMW 325, dull, dull, dull (never owned a Beemer mind)

 

Current SEAT Arosa 1.0 you would think would be regarded as rubbish, but it is a cheery little soul and fulfils it's role without complaint (even being fun to drive in a masochistic sort of "art of maintainging speed" sort of way) - but then I know I have the Elise for fun