Unpopular Carpinions: What’s The Most Disappointing Car You’ve Driven?

I’ve showered enough praise for one week. It’s time to be a nitpicky bastard and talk some shit on cars that need some shit-talking.

Well, is this piece focused solely on criticism and disappointment really considered “nitpicky?” Are we not allowed to call cars out on their faults once we’ve experienced them? I’ll let you decide as I invite PRNDL Community users to share their most disappointing driving experiences.

And when I mean disappointing, it could be in any possible way, from cars that were simply terrible in every objective and subjective measure or cars that failed to live up to your expectations of what they were supposed to be. So allow me to break the ice with three stooges that rubbed me the wrong way. Each did so differently from the other, but all are cars I can stand not to drive again if given a choice.

Excellent On Its Own, Outshined By Its Peers: Toyota GR Supra 2.0

I’ve never been so polarized by a car. Never have I driven something so fun yet so dull, capable yet lacking. The Toyota GR Supra 2.0 is a bonafide sports car, through and through, and it is a good time behind the wheel. However, I couldn’t help but feel I could’ve been driving anything else.

A last-place finisher in my recent feature where I ranked past driving experiences, I insisted that the four-cylinder Supra was indeed a grand time of a car, sure to win the hearts of anyone who flogs it on a backroad. But I also implored people to raise their standards for a dream car, as the 2.0 Supra delivers satisfying performance but in the most ho-hum way that rivals can top for roughly the same money.

A Supra 3.0 is now available with a manual for a reasonable stretch. A BMW 230i is mechanically identical with added practicality and an available performance package, which brings the bigger brakes and adaptive dampers that the Supra Jr. lacks. If you want a raucous giggle factory with added theater, high-performance variants of Mustangs and Camaros exist. Or if all you want is a purist sports car experience, MX-5 Miatas and GR 86s sticker for significantly less.

It’s hard to see who this car is for other than people who merely like the looks enough to compromise for an A90 Supra, and that’s a shame because I wanted to like it more. It’s a genuinely fun car on its own, but its makeup starts to run in the presence of its peers.

Want some consumer advice out of me? Here’s your Supra buyer’s guide tip: buy something else, or save your money and gun for the straight-six.

Writes A Check That The Car Can’t Cash: Nissan Sentra NISMO

The Nissan Sentra NISMO had the ingredients for one hell of a sports compact, inside and out. Yet, despite all it had going for it on paper, Nissan still blew it. The red-accented body kit screams fun-haver, and the suede-lined seats and steering wheel are keen to whisper promises of corner-carving nirvana in your ear. Then you drive the thing, and the whole facade falls apart.

The suspension is a bargain-bin afterthought, with none of the composure or sharpness found in its peers. If anything, all the NISMO treatment did was have it ride slightly stiffer. Sure, it’s barely better than the base Sentra, but I wouldn’t call this a sport sedan. The steering is overly light and teeming with as much feedback as an Xbox controller, and unlike other NISMO efforts, the Sentra makes the same 188 horsepower as the standard Sentra SR Turbo.

Something tells me the engineers weren’t so enthused about building the Sentra NISMO as with other projects, and I’m sure they’d rather be caught dead than have one parked at the Omori Factory. The Sentra NISMO is a car unworthy of remembrance for its half-baked efforts as a sport compact, and the fact anyone hardly remembers while its competitors have become symbols is proof.

It sought to lure buyers away from the Fiesta ST and Golf GTI, but all it did, and all it can ever do, is limp in their shadow. A gearhead’s only valid excuse for buying one is that they forgot everything else existed.

A Delightful Novelty And Nothing More: Polaris Slingshot SL

As a high-schooler, I idolized the Polaris Slingshot. From its Decepticon styling to its ample power-to-weight ratio and brewing aftermarket, I dreamt of it as the blue-collar KTM X-Bow or Ariel Atom sans a fourth wheel or a modernized take on the Morgan 3-Wheeler. A car-ish thing from a company that builds badass off-roaders? That can’t possibly be a bad thing!

And hey, I was right! It wasn’t bad. It was downright atrocious.

A day-long Turo rental with an equally-eager friend taught us that our guilty pleasure of a dream car was more like a tourist trap of a novelty item. In the case of our low-mile rental, the Slingshot was just a tad sluggish, even with 178 horsepower and 8,500 rpm to play with. The steering was well-weighted but not entirely precise or confidence-inspiring, and the craptastic tire choice provided minimal grip.

The Slingshot was also annoyingly agricultural in its feel, with no shame in streaming the sweet sounds of your kitchen’s garbage disposal directly to your brain at all speeds. And don’t even start on the AutoDrive gearbox, which was clumsy and lacks any form of manual control in lower-trim Slingshots. However, I doubt hotted-up models with paddles or even the manual plus an extra 25 horsepower could make amends. I’m sure all this “theater” is fun in a Lotus, where noise and vibration equate to feedback at the limit, but it’s not so endearing here where you’d be nervous about approaching such a pace, and that’s perhaps where my resentment lies.

I want to rip this thing at a nine or ten-tenths like the working person’s Ariel or X-Bow that it cosplays as, but the Slingshot just doesn’t make it that sort of driving all that enjoyable. Even if I don’t miss the power of the R, maybe a stick and some better tires would quell such thoughts, but until then, it’s a no for me. Maybe next time, Polaris.

What Car Rubbed You The Wrong Way?

What did you find to be a sour experience? Were they bad because they were actually hunks of garbage on wheels, or were they bad because they just couldn’t hold a candle to their peers? Don’t be afraid to let loose your frustrations, as it’s good journalism to be able to vocalize your criticisms when a car has truly proven to be lackluster in its quality or the execution of its mission.

But remember. In all seriousness, we’re not here to bully people about their car choice just because we don’t like it. So speak from experience and put your money where your mouth is with truth and validity. No keyboard warriors here. That said, let’s discuss our not-so-great drives and enjoy some community bonding because whether an experience was good or bad, it’s still an experience to behold.