admin December 19th, 2007
(editor’s disclaimer: some of these are trucks or something other than a traditional SUV, but they fit this list nicely nonetheless).
The Top Ten Worst Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs) of All Time
The car magazines all have them - top ten lists, car or SUV of the year awards, and numerous accoldades for automakers. However, many of us wonder about (or remember) those less-successful vehicles from years past. Who bought them? How bad were they? What made them suck?
I have decided to compile my own (unnofficial) list of the ten worst SUVs of all time. These go beyond the merely mediocre and really get to the stinky, nasty, never-should-have-been-made monstrosities that still grace our highways (or those of other countries). So prepare yourselves - here comes the crap of the SUV world!
10. 1980-1988 AMC Eagle
Ah, the now defunct American Motors Corporation. Pioneers of such memorable cars as the Pacer, Gremlin, and Hornet. In 1979 an engineer had a great idea - take the body of a Hornet, bolt on an all-wheel-drive system, and create what would eventually become the AWD wagon segment many years later. How could this idea possibly fail?
Answer: really, really bad engineering. AMC put an old, inefficient inline-six motor in the car (rated at a miserly 110hp), used a borrowed body style, and tacked on a crappy 3-speed automatic transmission from Chrysler. Audi’s Allroad and Subaru’s Outback eventually got the engineering right and became leaders in the sport wagon arena, showing that good ideas need good engineering to really take off (and earn a positive place in automotive history).
9. 1997-2001 Isuzu VehiCROSS
The Isuzu VehiCROSS was intended to be a technological marvel for Isuzu, showcasing a state-of-the-art electronically controlled four-wheel-drive system in a sporty two-door package. Unfortunately, no one told Isuzu that their SUV had been beated with the ugly stick. Moreover, Isuzu originally designed the VehiCROSS in 1993 as a concept vehicle and then took eons to get it to market. Finally, Isuzu didn’t appear to do any market research on the name - who can say VehiCROSS with a straight face (or without SHOUTING THE CROSS part?)
The total number of VehiCROSSes sold in the U.S. numbered just 4.153 - garnering it a very small place in U.S. SUV history (and only the #9 spot on our list).
8. 1972-1974 Volkswagen Thing
OK, I realize that for many of you that grew up in California that the VW Thing is something of a cult icon from the early 70s. However, that alone doesn’t get this SUV off the list of worst SUVs of all time. The Thing started life as a military vehicle in Germany in the late 1960s and eventually was adapted to the civilian market in the early 1920s, beginning in Mexico. However, the Thing wasn’t as well suited for on-road suburban activities as its military counterpart was on the battlefield.
The VW Thing features such novelty items as gas heaters (1973) and came in day-glow colors such as “sunshine yellow” and “pumpkin orange”. The exterior sheet metal cladding was Aztek-esque for its day and was definitely a love it or hate it feature.
Eventually, crash standards are what killed the Volkswagen Thing in 1974.
7. 1988-1992 Daihatsu Rocky
Sylvester Stallone must have bristled at the idea that a small, poorly made SUV from Japan shared the same name as his fictional boxing character. They definitely didn’t share much in common. Unlike the scrappy, determined boxer with significant lung capacity from Philadelphia, the Diahatsu Rocky hailed from Japan, sported a puny 1600cc engine, and suffered from poor airflow problems. Four years was all it took for Daihatsu to retreat from the U.S. market altogether - a veritable TKO.
6. 1987-1989 Dodge Raider
The Raider was the classic ’80s imposter - a Japanese vehicle rebranded through a joint marketing agreement as afull-fledged American car! Unfortunately, even its Japanese roots couldn’t save this Raider from obscurity. Like the Oakland Raiders of the 2006/2007 seasons, the Dodge Raider looked good on paper but failed to deliver when it counted. Available only as a 2-door and based on the Mitsubishi Montero (it’s technical twin), it was available with either a 2.4 liter 4 cylinder engine or a 3.0 V6. Mitsubishi kept many of the goodies (including a four-door model) to itself, relegating the Raider to less-than-favorite status amongst SUV buyers. In later life, its expensive repair bills and lack of parts doomed it to obscurity except for the most faithful of cult followers.
5. 2002-2004 Isuzu Axiom
Looks good, works bad - that’s the Axiom in a nutshell. Throughout its short 3-year life, Isuzu’s quirky Axiom never lived up to it’s crisp styling. Isuzu took a dated platform from the Rodeo and used that as its underpinnings. Interior ergonomics were terrible, and the cabin layout was confusing and cramped (especially for those in the back). Road feel was completely absent in the Axiom, making it one of the least-fun to drive vehicles in Isuzu’s lineup. So bad was the Axiom that Edmunds rated it “not recommended” across all of its key areas (dynamics, comfort, design/build quality, and function).
4. JiangLing Landwind
The Landwind is probably the SUV you’ve never heard of before. The reason is that this vehicle is one for the first Chinese SUVs developed for the western market and currently sells only in Europe (Germany, Belgium, and Holland). What made the Landwind end up on our list was its terrible safety record. Crash tests for the first generation Landwind were so bad, in fact, that it earned ZERO stars. a 40-mph head-on collision test indicated that the driver would not survive. And who says that lead paint is the biggest issue facing Chinese exports these days?
3. 2001-2005 Pontiac Aztek
I remember when this one first rolled off the assembly line in 2001. My brothers and I referred to it as the Pontiac “Ass-tek” because we thought it was ass ugly and had a big rear end as well. Turns out we were right on both counts.
The folks at GM were hoping to grab market share in the then-growing SUV market by bringing together all of the car-based features people wanted in an SUV without the poor gas mileage, rough ride, and other drawbacks of the body-on-frame crowd.
What they delivered, however, was a boxy shape with so much plastic cladding that it single-handedly killed the design feature for Pontiac. GM estimated 75,000 sales per year and needed 30,000 to break even. They got only 25,000 in year 1, and half of those were to rent-a-car fleets. Cutting the top-of-the-line GT model and slashing costs (plus hefty rebates) kept the car alive for four more painful years.
Ted Laturnus of The Auto Channel said in 2000, “The first thing that strikes me about the new Pontiac Aztek is its sheer ugliness.” I think we’ll let Ted get the last word on this one.
2. Gurgel Jeep
Ah, those Brazilians…great football players, regional jet manufacturers, and…SUV designers? Yes, Brazil did dip its toe into the SUV arena back in the 190s with the somewhat obscure Gurgel Jeep (also knows as the X12 TR). Featuring a fiberglass body with VW beetle underpinnings, the Gurgel Jeep survived thanks to a lack of competition and a reasonably cheap price. Did I mention that it didn’t even have 4WD? The end of the Gurgel Jeep came soon after Brazil opened its car market to foreign manufacturers in 1990 and a compact, affordable Russian SUV (the Lada Niva) with better reliability and a lower pricetag captured the market, forcing Gurgel into bankruptcy.
You probably never saw a VW Gurgel, but don’t worry, you didn’t miss anything at all.
1. 1986-1989 Suzuki Samurai
Ah the lovable little Suzuki Samurai. Those of you who knew cars back in the 1990s remember this little 2-door SUV. It was compact, fuel efficient, priced right (about $6200), and considered attractively styled by many. A recipe for sales success, yes?
Actually, yes. Over 47,000 little Samurais were sold in the U.S. in its first year. However, the Samurai gained a notorious reputation after Consumer Reports noted in 1998 that the Samurai experienced an unacceptable amount of rollover during a swerve avoidance test. Although the lawsuits and charges between Suzuki and CR were eventually settled many years later, Suzuki never fully recovered from the hit to its reputation. They did start, however, a movement to test high-profile vehicles for rollover tendencies, something we all benefit from today.
Still, a car that might ultimately cause an accident that could kill you (more easily than another vehicle) is grounds for ending up as the worst SUV of all time (based our unofficial, editorial list). Continue Reading »
Tags: , 10 worst suvs, amc, amc eagle, aztek, Dodge Raider, gurgel jeep, isuzu axiom, isuzu vehicross, landwind, pontiac, suvs, suzuki samurai, VW Thing, worst suvs
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