When you also consider that cars have come a long way over the years, a bad car by modern standards might not necessarily be that awful compared to one from the s. But then again, does that make it even worse when manufacturers miss the mark in this day and age? There are, of course, some models which were dreadful from the start, giving their makers a reputation which could hang over them for decades to come.
Which models are the worst? At the turn of the millennium it seemed like everyone was taking their superminis and hatchbacks and turning them into convertibles. Citroen joined in on the open-top fun with a soft-top version of its C3.
Central to the C3 Pluriel's issues was the incredibly daft packaging. There was an electronic canvas roof that slid back easily enough, however, removing the unwieldy roof rails was both fiddly and physically draining. Beyond that, the C3 Pluriel was shoddy in several other respects: the already poor handling got disconcertingly worse with the roof rails removed and the cramped interior felt cheap.
For example, by dropping the rear seats down flat and lowering the tailgate, you could convert the car from its convertible form into its pick-up guise, suitable for carrying surfboards, according to Citroen.
But doing so would obscure the number plate and attract the unwanted attention of any nearby police officer. Designed to be a family hatchback, a saloon with a sunroof, a convertible, a roadster and a pick-up truck, the C3 Pluriel excelled as none of these things. For many years the Allegro has vied with the Morris Marina to be the poster child for everything that was bad about British car manufacturing in the s. The dumpy styling came as a result of engineering compromises under the skin, but not in a good way β rehashing running gear from other models meant the Allegro was pitiful to drive.
