Turbo2

Which ones have you really struggled with over the years? In my case it was a 1991 Morgan +8 (pre-cat 190bhp 3.9 litre Rover Vitesse engine), that a friend of mine has owned since new.

It had a sticky accelerator pedal, light-switch trigger clutch, impossible "fly-off" style handbrake hidden under the dash, solid suspension and heavy unassisted steering. I looked after it for him for a few winter months, but rarely used it because I used to have to plan all my journeys to avoid any embarassing hill-starts at junctions!

I am sure it never liked me either, because the only long journey I drove in it resulted in me being painfully hit on the head by a branch that had blown off a tree on the A1.

It's weird, because it is a fast car with a fantastic exhaust note and the owner drives it very smoothly so it's always a great ride as a passenger.

One day our paths may cross again, as he tells me he's put it in his Will for me!

Matteeboy

A TR3 - my god that was tricky!

Andy M3

Series 3 landrover diesel on ****-lies, on tarmac

The huge steering wheel that you had to constantly adjust to keep straight, the fact that you accelerated, double clutching through the first 4 gears then just hit 40 mph with lots of road noise. Then came a junction which took simultaneous double clutch down shifts and pumping the breaks while trying to hold it in a straight line with just the one hand.

Scary, but the best green lane tool ever

GC8WRX

E36 328i with knackered traction control that told me it was on when it wasnt.

In heavy rain.

booting it coming off a roundabout.


brown trousers time.

Myles

iTrader: (40)

Test drove a R5 GTT a few years back, with a tickover problem, heaviest steering I had ever experienced, so noisy, and torque steerded like a good'un. The guy told me it had been 'breathed on', and I had no reason to doubt him. It was like hot poo off a shovel, and soooooo difficult to keep on the road. I walked away while I still could.

ScooByer Trade

Don't laugh it was a Vauxhall Corsa, if you wear wide shoes like me you could press the loud pedal and brake at the same time.

wrx287

iTrader: (8)

It would have to be a Reliant Scimitar with the Rover V8 in. Use to pull very strong because of a recent engine overhaul. The downside was the Milk bottle top brakes which would best be described as vague at best. Made for some interesting driving

Big Pete

All of the 3 series BMW's I've driven coz my feet overlap from one pedal to the next

Years ago the company I worked for had a Peugeot pick up truck that was SHOCKING

NotoriousREV

John Deere 7610 and a 2 row potato harvester. Or any tractor towing a 4 wheel steering-axle trailer in reverse.

Reffro

Suzuki Cappucino - I was 6ft 2" and 20 stone at the time, I drove with the roof and side windows down (needed the elbow room), they almost had to grease me up to get me out of it after a 5 mile journey.

richie001

iTrader: (3)

My Brother's old A Reg Sierra XR4i.

Timwinner

iTrader: (3)

I second this, I'm 6'2".... I had knee's by my ankles, elbows hanging out the window cut outs, steering wheel in my *****.....

Tough car to drive.

Mike123

What was difficult about it? More than standard power?

The Zohan

Porsche Carrera V10.

racing flywheel the same size and weight as a teabag.

I stalled 7 times trying to pull away. I had to keep the revs between 3-5k just to launch it.

I am sure with practice it would have got better but by how much i am not sure, not a car to pop down the shops in or get caught in traffic.

The V10 noise was woodie inducing but embarrassing id sat in traffic try to move off with you balancing the revs/clutch/blipping the throttle.

Great car mind

FlightMan

Rover Montego Turbo.

Torque steered all over the Purley Way.

The Zohan

edited for accuracy

scoobyc

iTrader: (2)

Rover 416 sli. When i was learning to drive. the throttle response was so quick. and the clutch was either on or off, and the spring in the pedal was very springy!

Kangaroo ride please.

Big end went before my test tho lol.

hannogo

Renault Megane Dynamique.Only there wasn't anything dynamique about it.It is the only car I have ever spun on a roundabout and the oncoming traffic wasn't impressed.I had sticky pants for a while!It was a Massey Ferguson in disguiseStrange though,the wife loved it,but she loves wheelbarrows too.

Fat Boy

Toss up between an old rally escort with a dog box that wouldn't idle and had a dead starter motor that I had to drive about 100 miles through heavy traffic jams in heavy rain, and my P1 with a 450bhp RCM engine and a Motec ecu that suddenly started doing 7k rpm in my drive as I was trying to ease out on to the road to take it for mapping. It did it every time I switched the booger on and in the end I just ran for the motorway trying to hold it back on the brakes and switching it off at junctions which made for, ermm, spectacular progress through the suburban streets around me. Fortunately, it suddenly sorted itself out as I was approaching 7k in 5th heading out the A20... and I could slow down to normal.

Other than that a Scout patrol car with a pre selector box...

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

LHD Lotus Carlton, great car just not good to have that much go in a car when you can't see where you're going half the time

also any car with a dog leg gearbox, not good thinking you're going down into 3rd then nearly smashing through the windscreen.

and my dads Morris Minor traveller, jesus christ it's un-drivable, i don't know how he gets around in it. you can get loads of stuff in the back of it though

J4CKO

iTrader: (1)

I had one and it was a really easy going car, did 120,000 miles, dont really see why people were so anti, the Cavalier and Sierra werent that much better.

Nat, no mention of the E-Type, they are actually easy to drive slowly, go fast and it all goes wrong.

Our Fiat 500 is challenging to drive, low geared staeering, random conking out, hopeless brakes, very little power, lurching handling, sticky throttle etc etc, great thing is it never works so you dont have to drive it.

Supra Turbo on bald budget tyres in the wet, alarming.

Mk1 Golf GTI with crap tyres, 130 bhp engine, mis adjusted camber bolts and badly adjusted bell crank for the brakes.

BMW 320i, nice drive but crap engine, smooth but cuts power just when moving nicely, gutless.

Metro GTI, the engine was too powerful for the chassis, knackered rear radius arms meant the camber adjusted itself, terrifying.

Old V6 Audi's, wheezy old things, heavy on fuel, slow.

1.6 MK3 Capri Laser, frsutratingly slow after a Golf GTI.

zip106

Citroen 2CV.
The wife's car back in 1988.
That gearbox was just so damned awkward I could never remember which gear I was in.

Spooky Mulder

Renault Clio Cup Racer - it is completely bonkers like driving a GT4 game. Same kind of wacky digital responses. I am sure with practice/skill it could be great - but would I want to put the effort in!

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

like the ones at PalmerSport? i'm at the other end of the scale personally i thought it was a great drive, brilliant fun

i managed to settle with the sequential gearchange straight away and loved the way it drove, but you're dead right though it's like driving in a PlayStation

the one i found a git to drive was the GT3, didn't like flappy paddles and it just felt odd maybe i was expecting too much?

jasey

Yep another vote for the original hedge seeking missile.

I always remember the guy from Rover telling me to hold onto to the steering wheel real tight - we were at a tank testing site somewhere that had adverse cambers etc - the ******* Montego was the closest I've come to being killed in a car

billythekid

I think the worst thing I ever drove was an old 1990s Foden 26 tonner with a POS crash box in it. To get from 3rd to 4th in one movement was an event.