Worst car/truck in 2014?

[Mustangfan2003]

All sorts of automotive media outlets give awards for the best whatever every year but how about one for the worst?  I guess the trophy should look lime some sort of broken part.  Anyways, what would the spiners give for worst of 2014?

My nomination is the Nissan Titan.  Ever since it came out about 10 years ago it has not been refreshed while everyone else has refreshed their trucks twice.  It's still using the old 5.6 that drinks gas like an alcoholic at an open bar.  The power of that engine now has 6 cylinders catching up to it.  The transmission is still an outdated 5 speed and everyone else has went to 6 gears and now moving to more gears.  I really see no reason to buy one unless you are a total Nissan nut or you get one pretty cheap, which I'm sure you can now.  I think the new model will be out for 2015. 

[2o6]

[Secret Chimp]

but it's so cute

[2o6]

but it's so cute

It's fucking horrible. I drove one today thinking it would be better with a Manual. It's actually worse with a manual.


The Spark is a rolls-royce by comparison.

[Mustangfan2003]

Well it's even dreadful to look at. 

[FoMoJo]

It looks sad.

[ifcar]

I feel like even if the Mirage is awful to drive -- and it probably is -- it at least has an excuse for it (100 percent focus on economy), and it's usably roomy. It's like calling the Smart the worst car; even though it's hilariously bad to drive it, it fills a unique niche.

That said, I don't have an alternative nomination coming to mind, now that Chrysler has upped its game. The Titan certainly isn't great, but it at least does still have a value advantage, albeit one that's reduced by its fuel consumption.

Pending inspiration striking, I'll cast my vote for the Honda Crosstour: the bulkiness and cost of a midsize crossover without the room. Runner-up status can go to the Lexus GX, which is a mainstream SUV that for some reason is being pushed as a luxury crossover.

[2o6]

I feel like even if the Mirage is awful to drive -- and it probably is -- it at least has an excuse for it (100 percent focus on economy), and it's usably roomy. It's like calling the Smart the worst car; even though it's hilariously bad to drive it, it fills a unique niche.

That said, I don't have an alternative nomination coming to mind, now that Chrysler has upped its game. The Titan certainly isn't great, but it at least does still have a value advantage, albeit one that's reduced by its fuel consumption.

Pending inspiration striking, I'll cast my vote for the Honda Crosstour: the bulkiness and cost of a midsize crossover without the room. Runner-up status can go to the Lexus GX, which is a mainstream SUV that for some reason is being pushed as a luxury crossover.

The Spark is better to drive for the same price point....

[ifcar]

The Spark is better to drive for the same price point....

It has much worse gas mileage, though, and I believe less space.

[2o6]

It has much worse gas mileage, though, and I believe less space.

Gas mileage, I give you that.


Less space, probably, but the Spark is still very roomy.

[Mustangfan2003]

I think the Dodge Avenger has to rank up there.  I see no reason to buy one with the other midsize cars on the market. 

[J86]

awesome name?

[ifcar]

Gas mileage, I give you that.


Less space, probably, but the Spark is still very roomy.

In the back seat of the Spark, my knees are pushed into the seatbacks. In the Mirage, I can stretch out. The Spark is only roomy with the "for its size" asterisk; the Mirage is competitive with larger economy cars.

I think the Dodge Avenger has to rank up there.  I see no reason to buy one with the other midsize cars on the market. 

Price. And it's a lot less miserable than it used to be, especially with the V6.

[Madman]

My nomination is the Nissan Titan.  Ever since it came out about 10 years ago it has not been refreshed while everyone else has refreshed their trucks twice.  It's still using the old 5.6 that drinks gas like an alcoholic at an open bar.  The power of that engine now has 6 cylinders catching up to it.  The transmission is still an outdated 5 speed and everyone else has went to 6 gears and now moving to more gears.  I really see no reason to buy one unless you are a total Nissan nut or you get one pretty cheap, which I'm sure you can now.  I think the new model will be out for 2015. 

Along a similar vein, the Nissan NV1500/2500/3500 is undoubtedly the worst new cargo van you can buy.  Even worse than the prehistoric Econoline and the insipid Express/Savana twins.  The full-size NV looks like the result of an unholy union between a Titan pickup and a Merc Sprinter.  It is clearly nothing more than a Titan with enclosed cargo bed.  Being based on a truck, it has all the disadvantages of a truck.  The long nose and rearward cab means there's less length for cargo, the too-heavy truck frame underneath makes the lift-over height way too high and the fuel consumption is catastrophically awful.

Nissan could have given us a proper purpose-built van but instead they decided to phone it in with this horrible lash-up that was obviously hastily thrown together in order to add desperately needed volume to the vastly underutilised Titan production line.  This wouldn't need to be done if the Titan didn't suck so hard.  Every time I see an NV-series (which, thankfully, isn't very often despite the fact I live in Nissan Central) I have to wonder what possessed the owner to buy the Very Worst Van™ in North America.

Yep, the Titan may be a miserable truck but it makes an even worse van!

[3.0L V6]

The Nissan Versa sedan.

I could buy a much nicer used car for the money, or I could buy this. Only advantage: it has a factory warranty.

The value proposition declines as you add options that are standard on other cars - power windows and locks, for instance. Dramatically so.

[MX793]

The Nissan Versa sedan.

I could buy a much nicer used car for the money, or I could buy this. Only advantage: it has a factory warranty.

You could say that about any car, though.

[3.0L V6]

You could say that about any car, though.

True. But other new cars have more redeeming values to them. The Nissan Versa is designed to be cheap above all else and it shows - badly. Even then, once you start adding options that are standard in other cars in its class, the value proposition falls apart, aside from the warranty.

[Payman]

My son's friend bought a new 2013 Avenger back in October. With rebates and a sale promotion, he got it for $14k-something. Not a great car, but that was a killer deal. It actually looks pretty cool in black.

[Payman]

Infiniti Q50. Considering how good its predecessors are, Nissan (there's a theme here) really dropped the ball. Good looking car, but the reviewers are ripping it apart, especially the fly-by-wire steering.

[Mustangfan2003]

My son's friend bought a new 2013 Avenger back in October. With rebates and a sale promotion, he got it for $14k-something. Not a great car, but that was a killer deal. It actually looks pretty cool in black.

Not bad at all for a midsize car. 

[93JC]

Scion tC, the most 'meh' "sport compact" in the world. I thought they would have axed it this past year after the FR-S was released. Instead it got a milquetoast refresh for some reason. I can't fathom why anyone would buy one.

[Payman]

Scion tC, the most 'meh' "sport compact" in the world. I thought they would have axed it this past year after the FR-S was released. Instead it got a milquetoast refresh for some reason. I can't fathom why anyone would buy one.

Nobody is. I don't think I ever saw one, thank goodness. Toyota should have taken the FR-S, and let Scion die a quick death.

[Payman]

Not bad at all for a midsize car. 

Identical to this one. He did quite well considering a Chevy Spark or Hyundai Accent would have cost him at least $1000 more.

[Mustangfan2003]

Scion tC, the most 'meh' "sport compact" in the world. I thought they would have axed it this past year after the FR-S was released. Instead it got a milquetoast refresh for some reason. I can't fathom why anyone would buy one.

I remember that came out after Toyota axed the nice looking Celica.  I think the whole Scion brand should be axed and badge the FR-S as a Toyota.  I think I've only seen teenage girls drive a tC. 

[2o6]

Scion tC, the most 'meh' "sport compact" in the world. I thought they would have axed it this past year after the FR-S was released. Instead it got a milquetoast refresh for some reason. I can't fathom why anyone would buy one.

It's roomier than the BRZ, that's for sure. Also, there's a dearth of compact coupes out there.

I think the tC would be a great "Corolla Coupe" and the FR-S should be sold as "Celica", but that's just my opinion.


I liked the tC.

[MX793]

Nobody is. I don't think I ever saw one, thank goodness. Toyota should have taken the FR-S, and let Scion die a quick death.

I see quite a lot of them, including a fair number of the newer facelifted versions.  They're quite a bit less expensive than the FR-S and actually have a usable back seat.  Seems like a lot of former Tiburon buyers have shifted towards the tC as the budget coupe of choice.

[ifcar]

Toyota blew the tC redesign, sticking to an uneconomical powertrain just as everyone else's gas mileage was improving, and losing the first-generation's relatively classy looks. It's not that bad to drive, though, and everyone else's price has gone up more so it's a decent value. It definitely doesn't overlap with the FR-S, at least, which is like $6,000 more and as 2o6 said not as roomy.

Edit: I see some of this was scooped above.

[Mustangfan2003]

For another poor attempt on a all new car how about the new Corolla?  The body is all new but everything under it is really old.  Pretty much the same engine lineup, still uses a 4 speed auto, and still comes with rear drums.  1980 called and they want their technology back.  Yeah it's cheap but that's about the only good thing about it.

[MX793]

Toyota blew the tC redesign, sticking to an uneconomical powertrain just as everyone else's gas mileage was improving, and losing the first-generation's relatively classy looks. It's not that bad to drive, though, and everyone else's price has gone up more so it's a decent value. It definitely doesn't overlap with the FR-S, at least, which is like $6,000 more and as 2o6 said not as roomy.

Edit: I see some of this was scooped above.

It would be interesting if Toyota tossed in a smaller motor option for those wanting a more economical ride.  As it stands, though, it's probably the quickest 2-door you can buy with a sticker price under $20K.  Likely the quickest sub-20K car, period.  The rest of the 2-doors in that price segment are more economically minded with much smaller and less powerful engines (Elantra, Veloster, and Civic are all at a 30+ hp deficit, Forte Koup is down a few HP but a lot of torque).

[ifcar]

For another poor attempt on a all new car how about the new Corolla?  The body is all new but everything under it is really old.  Pretty much the same engine lineup, still uses a 4 speed auto, and still comes with rear drums.  1980 called and they want their technology back.  Yeah it's cheap but that's about the only good thing about it.

The four-speed is just on the super-base model that no one is expected to buy, like how Mazda sold a non-SkyActiv 3 for a little while.