Car you thought you would hate but turned out to be pretty good

[Hu War Yu]

This was my second car. I hated it at the time because I was still heartbroken at having to give up my first:

'78 Mercury Zephyr Z7. Was actually a pretty reliable ride. Although it looks kinda sporty (like a 3/4 sized Thunderbird from that period), it had a straight 6 and hardly any power. That was especially disappointing after having driven a 318 for a couple of years. Mine was 2-toned silver and burgundy, which I've always found to be a pleasant combo on vehicles. It had a couple weird quirks, like the headlights would flash on and off after driving for a while, and the engine would knock for a few minutes after switchoff. I learned to turn it off in drive, not park.

I get nostalgic for it today. Definitely one of the more uniquely styled cars I've ever owned

 

[Illustrious Potentate]

None really come to mind. I’ve never bought a vehicle that I didn’t want and have had good luck with all over other than that 89 f-150 which would fall into the category of vehicle I thought I’d love that I hated. One owner truck, low miles, owner was an old man that took good care of it. It had just been sitting too long when I got it and never could get all the bugs worked out.

Guess the closest would be that Toyota. I originally bought it as a gas saver, but for a truck that had no power whatsoever, it turned out to be fun to drive on or off road and was incredibly reliable

 

[SlinkyRedfoot]

I've never really had any cars that I liked more than I thought I would, just the other way around where I thought I'd like them but didn't.

VW Jetta and Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk come to mind.

 

[outofyourmind]

I have never bought, or driven a car I didn't like.
There are just too many out there to do that.

 

[Hu War Yu]

I've never really had any cars that I liked more than I thought I would, just the other way around where I thought I'd like them but didn't.

VW Jetta and Jeep Cherokee Trailhawk come to mind.

Similar story with my current Highlander. I thought I would love this thing, instead it's kinda meh. I like more interior space and sitting up higher in traffic, though. I felt very vulnerable in my last two compacts -- which were way easier to park as well

 

[Hu War Yu]

I have never bought, or driven a car I didn't like.
There are just too many out there to do that.

Good on ya for never having to settle. When I was younger and poorer, I went through quite a few lemons

 

[fordman84]

I was handed down a 1995 Ford Escort while a poor college student. Never really got to the point I didn't hate it, but it was the base BASE model with no power anything and a manual transmission. All that meant is that there wasn't anything that could really break. I went from an 8mpg if you baby it F150 to a 40mpg if you are ragging on it escort was a real game changer for me. Considering how small it was and had a 5-speed it wasn't boring to drive either.

Didn't love it, but didn't hate it as much as I thought.

 

[Hank Kingsley]

1st car 1974 Capri V6 - new


2nd car 1976 Volvo 245 DL - used



3rd vehicle - 1972 VW Westphalia - used


4th car - 1984 Camry - new


5th car - 1971 Beetle - very used


6th car - 1987 Camry (4 cyl) new

 

[Hank Kingsley]

7th car 1976 Rabbit - used


8th car - 1995 SHO new


8th car 2002 Maxima - used


9th car 1991 TBird Supercoupe - very used


10th car 2005 S55 AMG - used


11th car 2001 Audi A4 - used

 

[Hank Kingsley]

12th car 2010 Audi S4 - used


Lucky 13 2012 E63 AMG - used

 

[rsw626]

This was my second car. I hated it at the time because I was still heartbroken at having to give up my first:

'78 Mercury Zephyr Z7. Was actually a pretty reliable ride. Although it looks kinda sporty (like a 3/4 sized Thunderbird from that period), it had a straight 6 and hardly any power. That was especially disappointing after having driven a 318 for a couple of years. Mine was 2-toned silver and burgundy, which I've always found to be a pleasant combo on vehicles. It had a couple weird quirks, like the headlights would flash on and off after driving for a while, and the engine would knock for a few minutes after switchoff. I learned to turn it off in drive, not park.

I get nostalgic for it today. Definitely one of the more uniquely styled cars I've ever owned

Same with my first car. 77 Thunderbird, grey, with a 351, it was a hand me down. After that, I've only bought vehicles that I wanted/liked.

 

[RP-29]

I don't have a vehicle I've owned that I thought I would hate and ended up liking, but last year I rented a Chevy Spark for a couple of days I thought would be an abomination and turned out to be tolerable. ...Maybe I was just in a good mood because I was on vacation...

Years ago my company purchased several Chevy HHRs as fleet vehicles. Now there is a vehicle I thought I would dislike and wound up downright hating. What a miserable abomination that thing was.