Yup, Consumer Reports have been extremely generous with their “Worst Overall” list, and as it appears, not even the Jag could escape Consumer Reports wrath this year. This luxury vehicle starts at an affordable price of $37,000 and goes all the way up to real-estate territory at $187,500 for the SV Project 8 build. Yikes!
Praised for sharp handling and steering, and the expected comfortable ride quality, the Jaguar is another staple of the British car maker’s standards. Unfortunately, just because a car was made by a luxury brand doesn’t mean it’s the best quality. The Jaguar XE simply falls flat in all other areas. With an abrupt and unreliable engine auto start-stop system, inferior quality of interiors relative to competitors and a cramped back-seat, the car was not without its faults for sure.
1961 Amphicar
Some people like cars, other people like boats. “Why not grab both markets in one swing?” This is what car the makers of the 1961 Amphicar Model 770 were probably thinking when this idea first came to their minds. Due to the technical limitations of the '60s and also because this is not James Bond in “The Spy Who Loved Me”, the Amphicar wasn’t a particularly good car, but also not a very good boat.
One of the problems with this car-boat hybrid was its lack of speed in the water. At best, the Amphicar could reach a top speed of around seven miles per hour, or the swimming speed of your average adult, depending on who you ask. Despite its lackluster performance, this car seems to indicate exactly what it’s going to give you from the start. One unlucky owner of the Amphicar summarized it perfectly, "It's not a good car and it's not a good boat, but we like to think of it as the fastest car on the water and fastest boat on the road." Next, let's have a look at some of the worst cars that 2019 had to offer.
Nissan Titan XD
Edmunds claims that Nissan's Titan XD is worth a look if you're into having a lot of features and a respectable towing capability, but advises consumers to check out the competition before making a decision, meaning that this car is like many of Nissan’s vehicles, and could be brushed aside without too much consideration since it’s just... average.
Car and Drive were also not the biggest fans of Nissan’s attempt to get into the pickup category, giving it a 2.5 out of 5. They criticized the vehicle for having unrefined Cummins diesel, clumsy six-speed automatic and lowly tow ratings.
1958 Zundapp Janus
While Germans are mostly known today for producing some of the highest quality vehicles on the market, the '50s were not a very good time to be a German car manufacturer. Just like the Trabant P50, the Zundapp Janus was another cool idea that ended up not translating very well in practice. With entryways in both its rear and front sides, the car was too uncomfortable and weird for most consumers.
If the weird look and boxy setup wasn’t enough to push all customers away, the car also had a very measly top speed of just 50 miles per hour. Perhaps the German maker wanted to make sure that you’ll have as much time to look at a passing Janus as needed to decide that you want one too. The company spent some serious money to market the car, but ultimately failed in its efforts and the car was long forgotten. The Janus was briefly revived in 2011 when it was sported by Professor Zündapp, one of the antagonists in the animated Pixar feature film Cars 2.
2002 PT Cruiser Convertible
Widely considered one of the best worst cars of all time, the Chrysler PT Cruiser, otherwise known as the 'PT Loser', is a car for people that don't care when you stare at them and ask "how can anyone drive this ugly hunk of metal?" Originally intended for younger crowds, due to its low price, the PT actually caught the attention of older crowds, who must have seen it as a great opportunity to show the world what a great personality they had.
If you don't mind being embarrassed every time you leave the house to drive somewhere, you'd find that the Cruiser actually had fairly good fuel consumption, of around 18-24 mpg. Just make sure to never go on a date driving one of those, unless it happens to be a date with one of those old folks we mentioned earlier, they'd actually appreciate the vintage look, we suppose.