Appreciate the hated cars

S@njay

S@njay

S@njay

Soldato
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Now a lot of people have certian opinions for certian cars, so lets stick up for the cars you like, that other people slate.

I'll start with the ford escort (mk5 aka mk6)
Now i dont know why so many people hate the car, i had one as my first car, i enjoyed it loads!
Saw one of the latest ones today (x reg), very clean example, i still think they look good, not too dated and for a day to day car think its a wise choice to buy.

The GTI models, although pants in tearms of speed and ruins the GTI name, to me looks amazing still, the added bumper spats and the sill's look really cool.

So the Escort should be a desired car still!:p
 
My 1.8 si ran flawlessly for the 40 thousand miles i put on it in 3 years.
It needed new pads and discs when i first bought it, but other than that, and an entirely unnesasary full stainless exhaust and aftermarket Alloys, it never cost anything to maintain.
Sure it was no fire breathing hot hatch, but it did me.
 
Its a conversation i had with someone a while back, nobody actually makes a bad car per-se, but its down to the price and how it compares to its competition, would you have the escort over say a 306? but if its cheap then yes, but if prices are on a par then no.
 
I had a 1.4 Escort Mk6/7 as my first car. It was underpowered, its handling was poor it had very little equipment and it drank petrol. Was it a bad car? For the money, no. It was my first car and when I had it I thought it was the greatest thing ever. People on this forum gave me stick about it because their first cars were Mondeos and Omegas but they didn't have to pay the ridiculous insurance premiums in Ireland. Even though it was 'just a car' I loved it. I still miss it today even when I drive a car which is miles better.

I don't have any proper pictures of it but you can see bits of it in the following pictures. Not a great car on paper but for my first car it was perfect :D

http://www.scuzi.eclipse.co.uk/Mayo/image002.jpg

http://www.scuzi.eclipse.co.uk/Mayo/image018.jpg

I miss it :(
 
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I have a 1.4 Escort as well, its been fantastically reliable in 4 years of ownership (think it only let us down once snapping a throttle cable on our driveway.) I give it a fair bit of abuse and it just keeps going. It just passed 98k and I think the engine will go over 100k no problems, there is just the small matter of rust on the body. :D

Sure its not a great car compared to its rivals and its unrefined, slow and noisy but I will miss it loads when it has to go. :(

Picture of the heap. :D
 
I had a Fiat Seicento sporting for 5 years (my first car), and everyone jokes about them big time. But to be fair the car only broke down once, in the 5 years when the alternator packed up. Great first car, cheap as chips to run and insure, and to be fair with the few mods I made, felt nippy for what it was! Couldn't recommend it enough as a first car if your on a budget.
 
my first car was brand new but it was on motability. Motability range of cars has improved somewhat since i went on it but my first car was a Hyundai Amica. It was Awfull.

Second was a Pug 306 HDI and i know everyone around here jokes about diesel 306's and the screw mod etc, but in all seriousness, coming from a 1 litre petrol hyundai to a 90bhp turbo diesel, it was great. I only had it 18 months, but it was super cheap to run, cheap to insure, the only thing that went wrong was a duff battery which was soon replaced, really it was truely a cracking car. The only reason i got rid, was i wanted a car with more power, hence the CTR :D
 
I can't really complain about my first car a costed me £0 to buy it was 1989 Renault 5 TL 1.1 sure it was dog slow but it got me from a to b and in the 1 and a half years i had it i put 10,000 miles on it without a hitch before it eventually gave up Head Gasket Failure.

thedazman
 
[TW]Fox said:
Compared to what?
Click to expand...

He's right. They're not bad cars. They're not necessarily good but they're by no means bad. I would consider a bad car to be unreliable, a nightmare to drive, cost a fortune to run with nothing else to make up for the shortcomings. The Escort is reliable, relatively satisfying to drive and is cheap to run. Compared to a similar priced Mondeo it may not be as good but that doesn't make it a bad car. They're not extortionately expensive for what they are. They may be exceedingly dull but so are a lot of cars which are considered 'good'.
I've seen a lot of car snobbery poke its head through recently on this forum, don't go down that road.
 
I think that hits the nail on the head scuzi. The escort isnt the most amazing car, but its reliable and not too bad to drive it could be a lot worse
 
Vauxhall Corsa *runs away :D

I still don't understand why people hate it, the Corsa SXi and SRi models are great cars (I hate the rest of the range though). It isn't the best car on the market as there are plenty of alternatives but it has its plus points. The last facelift has made it look more attractive than most superminis although the basic design has been there for years (only the 206 and new Clio wins it, imo). The final specification change (MY2006) has introduced better quality material used for the interior seats (nice change from the harsh cloth) and popular options fitted into one option pack at a reasonable price. The interior looks more modern than most superminis. However, the downside is the huge costs involved to buy a brand new one with many features found on other superminis being an extra option on a Corsa.

Corsas are surprisingly reliable as I know several people who drive one (mine has gone in 9 times in 5 months but I just happened to get that odd faulty car :rolleyes: ). They are cheap to run and the introduction of the Twinport engines see a rise in economy as well as performance.

It is well-balanced for space as a supermini with reasonable space for front passengers, rear passengers and a good size boot (most superminis I've come across have sacrificed one area to make up for another). Unfortunately, they are dull to drive.
 
tzang said:
Vauxhall Corsa *runs away :D

I still don't understand why people hate it, the Corsa SXi and SRi models are great cars (I hate the rest of the range though).
Click to expand...

After driving anything more powerfull than a hairdryer on acid, the 1.2 SXI is nothing but a 1.0 with a bodykit, it plain sucks. Sure for a 1.2 is isn't that bad, but in terms of a car that supposedly sporty, it sucks more than most brand new dysons.

The 1.8SRI, although not that bad performance wise is FAR FAR FAR too expensive to buy new for what it is, and isn't any better than ANY of the competition (Clio 182 anyone?).

Not to mention, that the trim levels genuinely suck, utterly and completely. It feels like your driving a cheap car, most likely because you ARE driving a cheap car, they are built with the nastiest hard plastics, they have the handling of a runaway suitcase, and have all the appeal of an unattractive skin condition.

Need I say anymore?

The escort at least had the heritage of the MK1 and MK2 going for it.
 
This thread shouldnt be about hated cars but cars on a budget. There are loads of cars out there that are good for the price paid for them, depending on the budget there are loads of options no matter what type of car you choose.
 
The Escort Mk5/6 wasn't a bad car as such (eg Daewoo Lanos). Ford cocked up the design as it was so heavily clinicked the styling was sleep inducing - witness the rapid facelift within 2 years. The mechanicals were not finished - it was intended to launch with the 16v Zeta engines which were delayed a couple of years.

So Jo Public went to look at the fantastic new Escort to find it looked like a shrunk in the wash Sierra with all the features removed and had the rattly old engines that launched in the Mk3 back in 1980. Not a good start. It finally came good in around 1995.

I've not a lot of room to talk however - my first car was a Vauxhall Nova 1.0 in Wedgewood Blue. Offered to me for a £1 by my Grandfather so I couldn't really refuse! I thought it was wonderful at the time. :)
 
My 1979 Toyota truck. It was a $200 steaming pile of ****, but good God that thing was reliable!!! And I beat the SNOT out of it every time I drove it.

If I didn't have the loud pedal stuck to the firewall, I was matting the brakes. I took it 4 wheeling in places a friend wouldn't take her 4WD Toyota truck.

705,000 miles, all original mechanicals, and it still started on the first turn of the key every time. Wish I still had that thing to this day. Would have been fun as HELL in the snow out here!! :D
 
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