Consumer Reports continues pointing its finger of doom at various cars and the Nissan Versa Note just wasn’t fast enough to avoid the wreck. The publication was very unhappy with the car and explained why they believe it belongs in the “Least Satisfying” category by its “awkward driving position, squishy front seats, and lack of interior storage.” Looks like Nissan really wasn’t going for anything great with this one.
Kelley Blue Book’s experts warn you to avoid this 109 horsepower car if you’re looking for a fun driving experience on a budget. “Of the many virtues enjoyed by the 2019 Versa Note, driving fun isn’t among them,” they wrote. If you’re looking for more power in your budget car, you might be inclined to pass this one up in favor of a Honda Fit or Ford Fiesta.
Ford Fiesta
The Ford Fiesta was highly reviewed by Edmunds, who gave it an 8.2 and recommended anyone looking for a small hatchback to give it a try before Ford stops making these categories of cars completely. It's a sporty car that handles well, with a great interior and awesome tech options. You can practically imagine yourself as a racing driver in this one, especially if you get the ST model, which is the real deal when it comes to performance. This one does a 0-60 in about 9.4 seconds and has a very intuitive steering and a grippy steering wheel.
Not everyone is a fan of Ford’s small but impressive car though. Forbes wrote: “Consumer Reports thought the Fiesta sedan/hatchback felt substantial, with good fuel economy and ride and handling qualities,” wrote the publication. “But found the car to be overpriced, with very tight rear-seat room, and featured poorly designed controls.” Oh well, better luck next year.
1989 Eagle Premier
If you’re ever asked to show what the words “boring” or “bland” mean to you, the first thing that should come to your head is this picture of the 1989 Eagle Premier. No matter what angle you look at it from, this car is the epitome of “meh”. Boxy and assembled exterior look? Check. Simple and lackluster interiors? Check. But what about performance? The car drove about as well as it looked.
While never being marketed as the safest car to drive, the Eagle couldn’t really get you anywhere at speeds above the law. Add that to the fact that it’s the most average-looking car on earth, and as a result, the odds of getting in trouble with it are quite close to zero. A possible plus? The model was discontinued in 1991 after 5 years of production. The original projections were to have an annual production of 150,000 Premiers, however, the Premier did not achieve its sales targets, with the calendar year production for 1989 only reaching 32,720 examples.
Acura RLX
At a starting price of almost $55,000, you'd expect the Acura RLX to be a marvel of a car. Regrettably, besides having a comfortable, quiet, and spacious interior, plus some high-tech safety features, the Acura RLX really doesn't stand on its own with its high price. The sedan suffers from an outdated infotainment system, outdated-looking design, subpar ride quality, and handling. The vehicle was also criticized for having a relatively unimpressive fuel efficiency for a hybrid, which combined with its high entry price makes it less than a frugal option.
The industry publication writes that “We like driving the RLX, but the lack of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto still stings.” It seems that this year the bells didn’t ring for the Acura RLX. If you’re into hybrid cars it would probably be best to go for alternatives such as the Hyundai Ioniq or the Toyota Prius.
1997 EV-1
Being green and environmentally conscious is all the rage today, but back in 1997, the EV-1 was one of the first electric cars ever put in mass production. With one weird exterior design, two doors, and zero emissions, the car had the potential to revolutionize the market the way Tesla is doing today, but unfortunately, it was a little too early since the technology and demand weren’t really there at the time. Another reason that contributed to the failure of the car was its short 100-mile range for battery recharge, and many people drove more than 100 miles every day.
Despite its short life and limited availability, the EV1 was revolutionary in many ways and taught General Motors and the rest of the industry valuable lessons that would end up paving the way for today’s electric cars. The discontinuation of the EV1 is still a controversial topic among environmentalists, electric car supporters, and even EV1 owners that claim General Motors had a personal interest in taking the car off the market to stop possible losses in spare parts sales. People also believed GM falsely claimed that the oil industry was the main culprit since it wanted to keep electric cars off the streets.