I had a whole tale ready to go (in my head, at least) about how a Dodge Charger rental surprised me because it was AWD, which I had no idea was a thing – I thought the whine coming from the front end was a bad bearing or something. (To be fair, it may have also been that.) I was also going to share how surprisingly fun the Chevy Sonic was, and how surprisingly wretched the first-gen Versa was, at least for me. Everything inside was granite-hard plastic, and every control felt like it was in the wrong position by three inches or more.
But who cares about my boring stories when Mercedes and Stephen (of Walter Gossin fame) have contributed much better-told tales of cars that surprised them, for better or worse? Onward!
Stephen
Better than expected: David’s old, black BMW i3. I had the opportunity to drive David’s BMW while visiting him two years ago for the L.A. Auto Show. I was blown away! The instant torque, the acceleration, the refinement of the chassis and suspension, along with the pleasant interior, were very much unexpected and impressive. Granted, I daily a 23-year-old Stratus Coupe and a 21-year-old Durango, so we should probably also take that into account here as the base level for what I’m used to. Nonetheless, I complimented my engineer buddy Dave-o on his fantastic automobile and walked away with quite the positive impression.
Worse than expected: My new-to-me SL500 (R230) Mercedes roadster. The car only has 67K miles on it, and in that span of usage, the following items have failed:
- Pneumatic locks
- Power top
- ABC suspension
- Heater control valve
- Center stack screen de-laminated
- Rear brake caliper seized (SBC brake system requires a special scan tool to bleed the replacement unit)
- Dash clock display
- Both door panels cracked
- Interior kick panel (under steering column) cracked and fell apart
- Rear defrost
- Water leaks in the trunk
This car cost $175K in today’s dollars and is probably the absolutely worst-designed out of any of the 157 cars I’ve had. I still can’t believe that Chrysler gets so much online community grief when my 250,000-mile, $400 Durango and my $220, 180,000-mile Stratus both keep chugging along every year – and this piece of luxury German engineering fell apart in 67K miles. Anecdotal, yes, but it still happened.
Mercedes
Better than expected: The Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet. A Nissan crossover with a CVT is pretty much the exact opposite of the cars I normally roll in. Yet, the CrossCab has grown on me. I went from hating its existence to loving it. I hate the fuel economy, I hate the lack of storage space, and I hate how our example is not much quieter than just being outside. I get why Nissan sold barely more than 6,000 units. Who wants to spend nearly $50,000 for a crossover that’s overly complicated and only somewhat good at being a crossover?
Yet, drop the top, and none of that matters anymore. The CrossCab becomes the coolest car in a 50-mile radius. There’s something unforgettable about being in a unique, high-riding crossover with nothing but miles of sky ahead of you. Ours is even better with its lift kit and off-road tires. Sure, it still gets terrible gas mileage and has no cargo room, but you feel like a million bucks in a CrossCab.
Worse than expected: Volkswagen Passat TDI B5.5. I spent a few years of my life chasing down what I thought was the holy grail of wagons. Volkswagen once made a mid-size wagon with a powerful and efficient diesel engine. Some folks then go through the work to swap the car’s sole transmission choice, an automatic, for a VW or Audi manual transmission.
In theory, this is the enthusiast’s dream. It’s a German diesel wagon with a manual transmission! So, why was it surprisingly not so great to me? Well, once I drove a BMW, I realized that a mid-2000s Volkswagen Passat isn’t nearly the peak of German enthusiast car awesomeness that I thought it was. I found out that everything that I like about the Volkswagen, a BMW wagon does cooler and better. As my tastes then trended toward BMW, I then started seeing those older Volkswagen interiors as being sort of boring. BMW even sold diesels in America in the 2010s, and those have become my new diesel grails.
This sharp turn was wild to me. I have purchased four of those Volkswagen diesel wagons. Now, I don’t care about them. I don’t search for them on Facebook anymore and I don’t care when my wife shows me one for sale.
Your turn:
’24 Toyota Yaris Hybrid.
Last Yaris I drove was from ’00s and it was utter shitbox. Horrible to drive, felt tinsy and really struggled to maintain motorway speed.
When I got one as rental while my own car was in carage, I was initially bummed. However it felt like Mini or I3 in a good way. And more substantial. Steering was not bad, the chassis felt almost playful, it was pretty peppy and almost quiet. Seats were fine as was the interior. Heck, I don’t wonder why it’s so popular these days. OK, it’s almost priced like Mini too, but it’s exponentially better than the old one.
Better than expected: The BMW 120d hatchback I rented in Switzerland last year.
I had previous experience with the USA-spec 228 “Grand Coupe,” which was fine but nothing particularly special. It felt like a Corolla with fancy lighting and an impressive badge. So I figured its Euro platform-mate would be similarly uninteresting—this was, after all, a small hatchback with AWD, a diesel engine, an automatic transmission, and snow tires. My expectations were moderate.
I was wrong. The 120 was a lovely car to drive, and somehow much better than the 228 despite the snow tires. It felt taught where the USA model was flabby, and it was both comfortable and much quicker than expected. I drove that thing through at least three of the famous Swiss mountain passes, and it was one of the best driving experiences of my life. While I’m sure the trip would have been even better with, say, a Porsche, the BMW turned out to be a great choice. It’s a shame they don’t sell that model here.
Suspension tuning for Europe and hatch form for less weight. Nice car indeed. First gens were even more fun, but BMW found that 80% of the drivers didn’t know it was RWD so they switched to FWD in the third gen (IIRC)
Better than expected: My 2007 Honda Accord V6 hybrid which died an unfortunate death. Definite sleeper, surprised a lot of people off the line (253 HP). I miss it even if it wouldn’t be the right car for me now.
Worse than expected: 2001 Honda Prelude (mother’s car). The automatic transmission probably the biggest limiting factor, but compared to the Honda CRX it replaced, ingress and egress were so much worse. And to be clear, this was more about not meeting expectations. I’ve driven worse cars, but I was also expecting them to be bad and they did.
Better than expected: Chrysler Pacifica. Had one as a rental in Florida and it was surprisingly good. Great seats, tons of power from the 3.6 and didn’t handle like a bloated pig. This is what turned my wife to consider a minivan as her next vehicle.
Worse than expected: 2020 VW Passat R-Line. It was a damn good looking car and had a boatload of room inside, but it drove like absolute crap. Numb handling, transmission never knew what gear to be in when it actually decided to downshift, 2.0T engine only made 200 horses, and terrible technology from the adaptive cruise to the touchscreen. And I’m a big fan of the old gen Passats (let’s talk 3.6 4motion sometime). What a turd though.
“Worse than expected: Volkswagen […]”
You had expectations other than complete and utter misery from a VW? Or was it unimaginably worse than the lowest possible expectations? xD
2010 Prius
I can fit 10 foot long pieces of pipe, thin lumber, or rolls of seamless photo backdrop paper in it.
It’s actually sort of fun to drive in that slow car fast way, except it is as fast as you want to go in traffic. 90mph is pretty relaxed. It seems to thrive on abuse, and it’s pretty comfortable. 50mpg if you drive like a normal person, 47 or so if you drive like me.
1969 Chevy Malibu convertible:
It’s amazing how much abuse they can take of the all four wheels off the ground variety. I did have to take to the frame straightening shop a couple times, but I was able to drive it there. It was sort of a frankencar with a 68 front clip, a Buick skylark roof and a truck engine, so I don’t know if anything but the frame was representative. Oh, and if you parked on a hill pointing uphill, the gas would drain out of the tank. That was sort of a surprise. The time water splashed on it and it all went through the gap between the windshield and the roof drenching my girlfriend who promptly took all her clothes off was sort of a surprise too. When I had just installed the engine, but hadn’t put the hood or roof on, and drove it without the exhaust headers at night, she thought the noise and flames were a pretty cool way to make an entrance too. That was a fun car.
She sounds like she was a fun girlfriend too. Back in college, 49 years ago, I had a GF from W Germany. Two of her friends from W Germany flew over to the States and we all drove from San Diego up to the Bay Area in my ’68 Datsun 510 station wagon. The GF took a stint at the wheel and the Datsun got up to speeds it had never seen before. At least with me at the wheel. I have a history with women with heavier right feet than mine.
Good: a 2024 or 2025 MY Sentra. I liked it so much I’d buy one if I needed a sedan.
Bad: a 2023 or 2024 MY Ford Explorer. I was shocked at how buggy the software is. Nothing works with any predictability. Features stop working, or stay on. The car itself is way too big and the fit and finish are cheap af. I got it as a rental for potential rough roads and turned it in early. A rental spec Chevy Malibu was SO much better.
Hairy Christmas if you celebrate!
Shockingly good, 2020 Ford Transit high roof/longest wheelbase cargo. Drove for amazon during the pandemic for a bit. Drove/handled like a Ford Fusion, great brakes, you would never guess u were driving a 6000lb van. The base v6 was gutless down low but put it in tow mode and it was tolarable. Also great seating position, dash layout, punchy base trim radio. Also easy to get in out of, you had to jump into those damn Sprinter vans. They were damn reliable too, our fleet was mostly sprinters and we were trying DESPERATELY to cycle those pos trucks out and replace with Fords
Now, I’ve gone back and researched my former lodestone, the M-B 300 SEL 6.3 and my ’17 Accord V6 is faster than it to 60. And it doesn’t have a complicated and expensive suspension to deal with.
True, but your Accord won’t go 60 to 100 the way the MB will.
Not sure about that. Foot planted, it’s in VTEC mode. And the car itself is at least 1,000 pounds lighter. I’ve read that the Accord is governed to something like 124 mph. My speed demon wife took it up to over 100. I think it’s because of the tires they equipped it with. I dunno. What I do know is that it is ridiculously overpowered for a “family” sedan. And yet gets close to 40 mpg on the freeway at 70. It’s a fun time to be alive.
I used to have a V6 accord and daily an acura with a similar engine, so I get what you’re saying. I took the Accord to about 105 and it would have been happy going much faster without breaking a sweat.
But I also drive a 6.9 and the 60-100 is so smooth as to be imperceptible. I have to watch the speedo in it because it will just float way past the speed limit without a sound or jolt of acceleration.
🙂
Gosh, by now, I’ve probably forgotten the best examples in my experience.
I remember the first time I drove a first-gen Mercedes SLK and was a bit shocked that it had that same recirculating ball steering found on older Benz’s that I’d driven from the 70s. It wasn’t awful or unsafe or anything, but the SLK was a small two-seat convertible with sporty pretensions, and the steering robbed it of any sporty aspirations. Ironically, the only new car I ever bought also had the same recirculating ball steering: a first-year CLK 320 w/AMG Monoblock wheels and Bridgestone rubber. Of course, this car was more of a GT or cruiser: a mid-size two-door that I still think is fairly pretty. It was woefully unreliable though, and I got rid of it after a year, and haven’t had any new cars since.
I’m sure there are better examples of cars that surprised me for better or worse… I just can’t recall now. I did get all the wheels of an old Toyota Land Cruiser off the ground on a dirt road in Nantucket one night, and it felt like the truck could have cared less, so that was impressive to me at the time. I’ve had so many mundane rental cars that I can’t really recall a single one at the moment. I will say most of the CVT equipped new(er) cars I’ve driven have been ‘meh’ at best and ‘oh no!’ at worst, and I include recent Hondas and Subarus in that appraisal.
If I had to pick just one example of surprise, I guess I’ll go with my most recent purchase, a ’89 Volvo 240 wagon with a 5-speed manual. The 240 series really didn’t change much from it’s intro in ’75, other than a small increase in displacement and different headlights. So, really: it’s a 1970s-tech car. The surprise is how decently it drives/rides. Yes, it’s an old-feeling car without the isolation you experience in any newish car, but it basically works as a car pretty damn well despite being an almost half-century-old design (older really, as it’s largely a 140). It steers well, it shifts well, the clutch is easy to modulate (on all but the steepest hill from a stop) …my only tiny complaints would be the aftermarket brake pads in my car that take about two or three minutes to warm up before they really bite. Also, my wagon has a wonky cam that I dislike and will eventually replace with a stock one. But it’s really a competent CAR from 50 years ago that is totally usable today as a daily driving CAR. In fact, the only real downside it’s got vs. something new is the MPG, which barely rises to the level of mediocre. Luckily for me, I don’t put a lot of miles on it, so my gas bill is bearable.
Better than I expected? A 2016 Chrysler 200s I had as a rental. The 3.6 Penstar and 9 speed auto were quick, the car handle pretty good for a front drive, and it looked pretty nice too.
Worse than expected? Late model Jeep Gladiator . Cramped inside and slow when I get why it’s cool still.
A 2025 rental Nissan Sentra SV this summer. Much better than I expected.
More than adequate acceleration. Very efficient. And surprisingly refined.
My girlfriend’s (now wife of 13 years) 08 Nissan Versa hatch with the cvt. Boring as shit to drive, but dead nuts reliable for 155k until we upgraded to the Ioniq 5 (massive upgrade lol). 15 years of nothing but fluid changes and gas. Not 1 problem with the cvt despite all the horror stories. It was the most space efficient car ever! So much room inside for a small hatch. It fit four 6ft adults and their luggage in comfort. With the cvt it had the best cruise control of any gas car I’ve ever driven. It maintained whatever speed you set it at. Even if that meant screaming up the Sierras at 6k rpms to maintain speed. I wish my 16 Odyssey had cruise control as good.
My ’17 Accord V6 maintains a set speed up and down hill through the Siskiyous on I-5 on cruise control. It sometimes downshifts two gears to keep the downhill speed within a couple of mph of the set speed. Once in a while it has to downshift a gear going up. Disengaged, some of the slopes down are steep enough the car will approach 85 mph. And the Siskiyous have curves posted for 50 mph and while the Accord will easily handle them at 60+, at least while the road is dry, I really don’t want to explore the limits of adhesion at that speed. And there are 18-wheelers to deal with as well.
And I am now old. I used to make the tires of my Datsun 510 and Peugeot 504 howl out of understeering agony. Back when I was a semi-stupid kid.
Now, as a semi-stupid adult, l have never made tires complain since, other than roasting both front tires in the V6 Accord, doing a maximum performance takeoff. But those were Goodyear Eagle LS tires, and they deserved to be punished. Unbelievably crappy OEM tires. I replaced them at 40K with Discount Tire’s proprietary Continentals. They are quieter and better through standing water than the GYs. Even now, with 30K + miles on them.
Brakes or engine braking? I’m not sure what’s harder on the car. I would guess the latter. Brake pads are relatively cheap and easy to replace. But I’m open to advice.
Toyota hybrids with the E-CVT have God’s own cruise control. Set it and forget it, toggle the dongle to +/- speed in 1 mph increments. Driven many a 10+ hour day in mine.
I’m a lifelong slushbox hater , but Toyota’s E-CVT is a thing of wonder.