Mike Rutherford's column

It's name and shame time as Rutherford announces his 'duds' of the year

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Mike Rutherford

01st December 2007

A complaint has been lodged. It’s from a car nut who claims that motoring hacks such as myself are quick to praise motor manufacturers for their successes, but slow to slate them for their failures. He has a point. Two weeks ago in this magazine, I argued that the Kia Cee’d has succeeded the Mazda 3 as the £13k, 60mpg Car for the People. Then a few days ago, I was one of the judges on UKTV’s Car of the Year programme.


	I like nothing more than to steer motorists in the direction of the best new cars, but it’s also my duty to protect them from the worst

As is the tradition at the end of each December, I’ll name my money-no-object Cars of the Year in this mag, as well as my BV (Best Value) motors in my weekly Daily Telegraph column. Then, come the new year, me and my fellow jurors from around the globe will be voting on The World Car of the Year.

So much for the best. But let’s not forget the worst. It hurts me to do this, but these vehicles also need to be acknowledged. So, here goes: Worst looking car is the latest-generation Renault Laguna. Ugliest 4x4 is the Jeep Compass. It’s a shame that the designers of these vehicles did such a lousy job, because both models are highly capable and satisfying to drive. But many prospective buyers will be put off by the physical appearance of the Laguna and Compass, and rightly so. Therefore, most drivers will not give them a second look, never mind take a test drive. Why would anybody in their right mind pay money to park an ugly Renault or Jeep outside their homes?

There’s no point and no need. Prettier, equally good – or better – vehicles can be had for the same money, if not less. And please, don’t give me all that baloney about beauty being in the eye of the beholder. Renault and Jeep know deep down that the outer shells of the Laguna and Compass are plain wrong.

Of all the new models on sale, I honestly can’t think of one that is truly bad to drive. But there are two or three mainstream makers who are happy to build vehicles capable of deeply underwhelming drivers. Some of the Protons and Peroduas of this world fall into this category. But with respect, I get the feeling these two emerging firms simply don’t know how to make a really good car.

Suzuki of Japan does. So how it thinks it can get way with selling the awful Wagon R+ at £8,149 is beyond me. At least Peroduas and Protons are among the very cheapest cars on sale in Britain, thereby acknowledging their shortcomings. But the offending Suzuki costs more than superior offerings from the likes of Citroen, Daihatsu, Fiat, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Mitsubishi, Nissan, Renault, Skoda, Toyota and VW. What’s more, I reckon the Suzuki Jimny is the worst 4x4 on the market. And although this is a vehicle that’s amazingly cheap at less than 10 grand, you get what you pay for – not a lot.

Apart from cheeky, highly individual looks, there’s not much on offer when you buy the absurdly overpriced Mitsubishi i, either. Despite its minuscule 660cc engine, it carries a £9,000-plus price tag, making it the worst value for money car on sale today. In environmental terms, they don’t come much worse than the Lamborghini Murciélago, which returns 13mpg and has CO2 emissions of 495g/km. And you’d have to search hard to find a car that depreciates faster than the outgoing Citroen C5 3.0 V6, which will lose nearly 80 per cent of its list price by the time it’s three years old. Ouch!

It gives me no pleasure naming and shaming the above. It’s just the truth. And sometimes the truth hurts.

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Mike Rutherford's column

It's name and shame time as Rutherford announces his 'duds' of the year

By Mike Rutherford

01st December 2007

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Mike Rutherford's column

It's name and shame time as Rutherford announces his 'duds' of the year

By Mike Rutherford

01st December 2007

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