These Are the Worst Three-Wheelers of All Time

“Absolutely no contest — the obvious Robin Reliant.”

Let’s get the easy target out the way first. The Reliant was a fiberglass three-wheeler built in the UK between 1973 and 2002. Despite its shortcomings, there remains almost 100 of these cars registered and on the road in the UK.

Suggested by: the1969dodgechargerguy

“Polaris Slingshot. It’s the worst of all worlds [...] only puts the power down on a single wheel and doesn’t have to meet car crash standards.

Arguments will rage on about this car for decades. But a question for you, do you hate the three-wheeler or do you hate the drivers of said three-wheeler?

Suggested by: Nick Dixon (Facebook)

“Lest ye all forget about the Hoffmann.”

Ah the Hoffmann, widely regarded as the worst German car of all time. This 1950s monstrosity was created by Michael Hoffmann and was powered by an air-cooled, 200 cc two-stroke engine.

Suggested by: skwimjim

“All of the three-wheeled cars OF THE FUTURE!, from companies that make unrealistic promises and will happily take your money for vaporware that will likely never see the light of day. Fellow humans, I present to you the Elio and Aptera.”

We’ve not heard anything from Elio in a while. But apparently it’s still working on a three-wheeler, both as an EV and convention gas-powered car.

Suggested by: regnis78

“The British three-wheel version of the Isetta.

“In other markets it had four wheels, though the rears were very close together. For tax purposes the UK got a RHD three-wheeler. But that put both the engine and the driver on the right side of the car, making it closer to Clarkson’s parody of the Reliant than any Reliant ever was.

“To counteract the instability a counterweight was added to the left side of the car, making the whole thing heavier. Also as part of the tax dodge, it had reverse gear blanked off.

“The regular Isetta was a pretty well engineered car, actually, but the RHD one was a mess.”

Damn those bloody Brits, ruining every good invention from other countries.

Suggested by: Geoff Kirkpatrick (Facebook)

“That weird rear steer big wheel kids trike that Louise on Bob’s Burgers rides. Every kid I knew who had one desperately wanted one because of how they looked and were different, and they all hated them once they rode them. Those things sucked!”

Everyone wanted one of these trikes growing up! Well, right up until someone they knew got one and you all quickly discovered it was crap at going over jumps, riding down stairs or generally having fun on.

Suggested by: anscoflex-ii

“1770 Cugnot. Steam engine that needs to be relit every 15 minutes, weight 2½ tonnes, top speed 2.25 mph, and reportedly caused the first vehicle accident by knocking down a stone wall. Makes any other three-wheeler seem downright sensible.”

Imagine holding the crown for causing the first-ever car crash. Apparently, the crash occurred in Paris in 1771 and saw inventor Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot face charges of dangerous driving.

Suggested by: ccc40821

“A Vespa rickshaw. If you’re not familiar with it or haven’t rode in one you should look it up.”

It’s been a while since I saw one of these actually running, rather than just being used as a trendy coffee cart at some bougie food festival.

Suggested by: Jeffrey Mohamed (Facebook)

“Behold the Dymaxion. Might be a car, might be a bus, but it was weird.

“Buckminster Fuller came up this, with a promise that it might someday grow wings and fly or maybe be able to be a boat. Then it’d solve all the world’s problems.

“But the problem was, it wasn’t actually great at being a car. It was actually terrible at being a car. Engine in the back with front wheel drive was a bold move. The rear wheel steered, but not well at high speeds. Also tended to get some lift and rock and roll at high speeds (over like 30MPH).

“Only three were made and one killed a driver in a crash. So the safety record is probably the worst of any of the cars on the list.

“But dang if it didn’t look cool and it could do donuts like you wouldn’t believe.”

Honestly, this rules. Despite its issues, I love it with all my heart and now want to track one down, buy it and spend the rest of my days living out the back of it while traveling the world. Goodbye, Jalopnik.

Suggested by: Jester6642

“We’re all forgetting the Sinclair C5, ‘car of the future’?”

Who could forget the Sinclair C5, created by British inventor Clive Sinclair. This tiny trike was powered by electricity and had a range of up to 20 miles.

Suggested by: amoore100

“I had a Daihatsu Midget three-wheeler panel truck.Thank God that they wouldn’t go over 50mph.What a top heavy monster. I ran it up on 2 wheels on a regular basis.”

Up until the early 1970s, the Daihatsu Midget was only available as a three-wheeler. More than 300,000 of these three-wheeled menaces were produced before it was canned.

Suggested by: Jerry Huddleston (Facebook)

“The Lean Machine, because it was an unkept promise.”

This prototype trike made by GM in the 1980s featured a leaning design that saw the motor out back stay put, while the cabin and front wheel would pivot from side to side.

Suggested by: hardscience

“Honda ATV three-wheeler. There was a reason they were forced to stop production.”

The Honda ATC three-wheeler was banned from sale after a New York Times article claimed that the trikes caused 1,000 deaths between 1983 and 1988.

Suggested by: Patti Roberts (Facebook)

“The Campagna T-Rex, definitely the worst and nobody should ever own one; and I’m not just saying that out only of sour grapes that I personally don’t have one.

“No siree, not all. Honest.”

Huh, it sure does sound like you’re just bitter that you don’t drive a T-Rex. But if you say you aren’t, that’s fine by me.

Suggested by: skeffles

“All of them.”

I’m sure the rad as hell Morgan three-wheeler would beg to differ on this stance. But it was, regardless, a popular answer today.

Suggested by: torquemonster