Bad Car, No Thanks! The Cars People Wouldn't Drive Even for Nothing

A recent deal offering brand new Fiat 500es for basically nothing ($0 down, $0 monthly payments) got car enthusiasts talking about which vehicles they'd only drive if completely free. The responses were brutally honest and surprisingly varied.

The Universal Disappointments

Ford EcoSport topped many lists, with one person noting they'd "still be disappointed" even if it was free. The Mitsubishi Mirage also earned scorn as "a brand-new 90s econobox in 2024."

Several Nissan models made the shame list, including the Versa and Kicks. Rental car experiences seem to have permanently scarred drivers who encountered these budget disasters on the road.

The Controversial Picks

Tesla sparked heated debate, with some saying they'd need to be paid to drive one. The divisive electric brand has clearly created strong feelings on both sides of the automotive fence.

Any non-Wrangler Jeep also drew fire, with critics calling them "questionably reliable FCA products with steer-and-pray chassis tuning at eyewatering prices." The Jeep Compass got specifically called out as potentially undrivable even when free.

Performance Cars Done Wrong

Enthusiasts had zero tolerance for sports cars with automatic transmissions. Golf GTI/R, Elantra N, and even Mazda MX-5 Miata automatics were deemed pointless. As one person put it: "An automatic defeats the point."

The Bland Brigade

Toyota Corolla caught flak not for being bad, but for being aggressively boring. One reviewer described it as so bland it would "smell like nothing if bland had an odor." The car works perfectly fine – it just has zero personality.

Size Matters (Negatively)

Modern full-size pickup trucks earned criticism from former truck owners who found them unnecessarily massive. One ex-Tacoma owner called big American trucks "pedestrian-mowing, rural cosplayin', boulevard queens" they'd be embarrassed to drive.

The Creative Loophole

Some clever respondents gamed the system by choosing expensive exotics like the Ferrari 250 GTO, reasoning that if maintenance and insurance were included in "free," they'd finally have access to multi-million dollar classics.

The responses reveal how personal car preferences really are – and how some vehicles manage to offend nearly everyone who encounters them. Whether it's rental car trauma, transmission snobbery, or just good old-fashioned badge hate, these cars have clearly left lasting negative impressions on drivers everywhere.