This morning, we asked readers what cars on sale today were the most overrated. These were their answers.
We knew this one would generate some discussion, but there are a surprising number of beloved enthusiast cars on the list. Let’s get right into it.
How about every European sedan that depreciates at a level I can’t really comprehend. It’s like the European market exists solely to cater to the leasing industry. I find it funny and kind of sad when you go to (insert your car shopping site here) and see all of the European cars at 45k miles for sale. It’s like no one dares own them beyond the original mfg warranty. You’ll pay almost 50% + more on a 10 year old Honda Accord than you will a BMW 3/5 series.
Suggested by: Oldbulldog22
Their performance is almost entirely theoretical. Impossible to access on the street (legally) and exceptionally difficult to access on the track without tremendous skill, training and experience. In addition to that, the real world performance you might be able to use on a street - 0-60 time, for instance, is almost indistinguishable from a whole crop of modern electric family sedans.
Suggested by: TheWalrus
Dodge Charger Hellcat. FAT, poorly built, ancient, and not particularly well equipped. For such a HUGE car the back seat room is shockingly cramped. Unfortunately, the worst part of ownership has been other owners. The Hellcat is the Florida of the car world. (Yes, I do own one).
Suggested by: Science Doesn’t Care What You Believe
They all suck. In general, they cost more than the sedan/hatch/whatever car they are based on, and in many cases have less usable space due to the larger suspension components cutting into interior room just so the car can ride an inch higher off the ground. They get worse gas mileage compared to the base car, they are slower, they usually look worse, and again, they just suck. Why the hell are so many people buying those stupid things.
Suggested by: SlickS30r
Easy - the Buick Encore GX. If GM made a taller VW Golf - this would be it. Remember when Buick used to mean larger cushy cars with big V6's that would easily handle whatever you threw at it (although not particularly fast in most instances)? This is not that Buick of yore. It’s basically a tiny hatchback with a 3 cylinder engine. They call it a crossover, because it’s a tall hatchback. It’s still a hatchback. And unlike the Golf, which had variants such as the GTI, the GTD and the Golf R in addition to a base model that was still sporty and handled well, what you get is sewing machine engine coupled to a CVT.
I can’t quite understand who this car was made for. Families? Unless your family consists of gnomes, you’ll be very cramped. Utility? As in Crossover UTILITY vehicle? Well, if you put all the seats down, you can carry a few more bags of depends that you bought at Kroger this morning home with you. The base price of this vehicle is about $29k - which is insane for a tiny bathtub with wheels. Yet, I see them all over the place. It’s as if GM’s marketing department lives by PT Barnum’s mantra “one born every minute”. That sort of money gets you up into turbo Mazda territory - just buy one of those instead.
Suggested by: ranma
The new Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz. Two front wheel drive cars pretending to be pickups might be the closest we can get to something as useful as the old Ranger and S-10 in today’s regulatory environment, but it really doesn’t fully fill the void left behind by the loss of those trucks to people who actually used them as trucks.
Suggested by: Sid Bridge
Can yet to be released cars be the answer? 400z. Its a reskinned 370z with 50 more horsepower for more money (it’s looking like at least $10k more). Everyone is losing their minds over it but the almost identical (sans engine) 370z is never mentioned or brought up anymore. Why all the hype?
Suggested by: Idiot who sold e39 M5
(prepping my blind fold and last smoke):
Porsches.
I get it. They’re special. Their owners aren’t “owners”, they’re caretakers. There is no substitute. Blah blah blah.
But there’s just something that rubs me the wrong way. They’re all a little fugly. They never seem as special as their price. I just don’t get it.
Now feel free to tear me a new one.
Suggested by: F.Y. Jones
The Tacoma is a dog ass terrible pickup, the cult following is just that- a cult. Gutless engine, bad transmission tuning, big time dive & squat from the suspension, cramped cabin, awful infotainment.... but at least they’re expensive.
Suggested by: NEBcruiser (now with FSD)
Sorry, I’ve tried to like it. But I can’t. I find it useless at almost everything. I just don’t know why it’s so popular. For running trails sure, but literally anything else? It sucks.
Suggested by: Bjam