Every year, there is always some form of list with a huge amount of cars featured on it. This list is designed with one purpose in mind. To determine the best car of that year or years. What you will find here is a list totally unlike that. This is a list of some of the worst cars every year since the year 2000. In fact, we have been so thorough that you have one car per year, excluding 2019. At the time of writing it’s only April, so there’s a long way to go yet.

To actually be considered a worst car of the year, or one of the worst of that year, is in and of itself an achievement. Every car manufacturer knows exactly what its customers want from the type of car it is producing. Be it an SUV, a pickup, a supercar or a comfortable family sedan. And it’s not like these companies don’t know what they are doing either. They have produced countless cars along whatever range for years and years. So how do they get it wrong? It’s a good question.

So, as we have said, this list features one car from every year since 2000 (including 2000 but excluding 2019) and will feature some of the worst cars we have seen in that just under 20 year period. And trust us, there are some interesting machines in here.

18 2000 Toyota Echo

via Consumer Guide

The Toyota Echo never really seemed to gain much popularity among its consumers, not least because of its tacky design and awful looks. Toyota very rarely makes a bad car but it sadly did so with the Echo. The Echo started off as the Platz before being marketed for export as the Echo, but it was an incredibly boring car and its high seating position and center-mounted instrument panel were two innovative features that were rejected by the consumers. Perhaps the Echo was a bit ahead of its time, but neither feature has really caught on so if it was, its time still has yet to come.

17 2001 Cadillac Catera

via pinterest

What do Opel and Cadillac have in common? Well they effectively share a platform. Yep, that’s right. Opel is the source of some of GM’s fairly recent models. One of these that came about was the Catera. But it didn’t exactly succeed in many areas. It had a soft feel and was underpowered. It was rear wheel drive yet somehow felt front wheel drive. Yes, that is correct. Discounts and upgrades were thrown at the car to make it more saleable, but it didn’t work out like that. Which is just as well really, as clearly there was nothing Cadillac could to revive the Catera’s fortunes.

16 2002 Jaguar X Type

via eimports4less

The X Type is an interesting proposition as it is not necessarily a bad car, per se. However, the problem was that it wasn’t really a Jaguar at all. It was effectively a Jaguar diluted by corporate ownership, because underneath all of this was actually a Ford Mondeo. It effectively sunk the brand's reputation until 2009, when it was axed and the incredible XJ sedan came on the market. The X Type was just a Mondeo with a slightly prettier dress on and felt so heavy and boring compared to the sleek and slick Jags that had come before it. Luckily Jaguar does seem to have learned from this hard lesson.

15 2003 Chevrolet Aveo

via Autoevolution

The Chevrolet Aveo isn’t just a car that is bad to purchase whether it be as new car back in 2003 or a used car now, but it's something you shouldn’t even consider buying at all. In fact, it’s a car that probably shouldn’t exist. The Aveo’s biggest issue is that it is one of the most unsafe cars in the world, and quite a few people have tragically lost their lives in the Aveo, a fact that is simply unacceptable. It was built on the cheap but this car took that term to a whole new level, and it is quite frankly remarkable you can even buy a secondhand one of these at all. Because they are literally traps.

14 2005 Pontiac Sunfire

via YouTube

The Pontiac Sunfire. What can we say about the Sunfire? Well for starters, it is truly an eyesore. You can see what sort of styling Pontiac was going for but it hasn’t quite worked out for them, and nothing on earth could shield us from this monstrosity if we ever saw one. But more serious issues were deep-rooted in the car. A cheap and horrible interior, a horrible coarse four-cylinder engine and also a horrific crash test rating pretty quickly meant it was deemed an awful car. The warning signs were though just by looking at it.

13 2006 Ford Focus

via Wikipedia

When the Ford Focus arrived on the scene, it was very well received. It was a plucky little car that gained a lot of popularity very quickly. But as time has gone on, time itself has not been so kind to the Focus. Because it seems to have gone on an increasingly large weight-building diet to the point it is rather unrecognizable to the original. It became heavy, the steering and suspension turned from good to horrific and the styling has gotten worse, and blander, every time. Ford had a great car in their hands and they simply threw it into the trash.

12 2007 Jeep Compass

via Zomb Drive

The Jeep Compass kind of encapsulates what went wrong with Jeep and how they managed to put it right. Even just over ten years ago, it shows how badly off the ball Jeep were. The styling left a lot to be desired. It was ugly and almost looked like it had been involved in some horrific accident. Its interior was cheap, to say the least, and low-quality plastic really gave off that ‘not very good’ feel that a lot of cars seem to somehow suffer from. And if you wanted to go off road? Forget it. The Compass was next to useless in an off-road capacity.

11 2008 Smart ForTwo

via The Car Connection

Most would be surprised if the Smart ForTwo didn’t make this list. So don’t worry, it's here! This small city car is…interesting, to say the least. Its fuel economy was truly terrible, for its size it was only capable of 36 miles per gallon which is 14 worse than a Toyota Prius. There is also a large number of people that despise how it looks, and it has even be called ‘cringe-worthy,’ to quote a popular phrase. What’s more, it never has looked particularly safe and we wouldn’t want to be involved in a high-speed accident in one of these. Or any accident for that matter.

10 2009 SsangYong Rodius

via Car Magazine

If looks could kill, the SsangYong Rodius would certainly be successful in that area. Is there anything worse than looking at the Rodius? Well yes, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the only thing worse than looking at it is driving it. And maybe buying it too. Its ride is stiff and uncomfortable, it's slow and handles about as well as a donkey. Actually, a donkey would handle far, far better than the Rodius. Which is incredible really. Heck, if you cornered too hard in this thing the back door might even fly open. You have to wonder who signed this thing off, and more importantly…why?

9 2010 Chrysler Sebring

via CarGurus

There have been some interesting descriptions of the Chrysler Sebring, not least from Top Speed who said it was “built like a turd” and Grand Tour host Jeremy Clarkson who said the convertible was “almost certainly the worst car in the entire world.” And both statements could be quite true. The car has been universally reviled since it debuted, being an unremarkable machine that would dull even the most excitable person into a deep sleep. Chrysler couldn’t even make up for that in terms of build quality. It was shoddily built and handled like an absolute pig, so no wonder no one can remember this car with fond memories.

8 2011 Scion tC

via CarGuys

The Scion TC has never exactly been a global ambassador for the brand. The truth couldn’t be any further from that. The design itself was a bit of a head-scratcher, especially when it came to the second gen version from 2011. Instead of a sleek and elegant shape that was sort of there with the first gen, the second gen had a bizarre sloping and curved shape, giving it a bizarre appearance and making it look like it had been designed by an intoxicated person. 2011 also saw only 22,433 units of the tC get sold, so clearly it was never going to set the world on fire.

7 2012 Ferrari California

via Car Magazine

The Ferrari California may well have been the last Ferrari to be fitted with manual transmission. The California started out with great intentions. It was the company's first foray into the true grand touring category, but it left the car in an awkward place, between its luxury coupes. What did this result in? Well, nothing particularly special. That’s why the California is not a car people can really remember very fondly. It was something of a budget product and the puffed body gave it a slightly weird look. Plus, it just lacked the class that most Ferraris have. Which was quite clearly going to be a problem, as that’s the whole point of a Ferrari.

6 2013 Chevrolet Malibu

via Mercury News

I’ve covered various iterations of the Chevrolet Malibu, and the one that I covered most was the truly awful 1997-2003 edition. The 2013 version isn’t quite on the same level as that, but it still isn’t great. The Malibu itself has had some rather strong iterations, but the 2013 version let the name down. It was not quite as reliable as some before and after it, and quality-wise it didn’t feel as refined or as well polished as some others from the Malibu range. That’s not to say it’s a horrible car, it isn’t, but it isn’t exactly going to win any awards in our books.

5 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer

via MotorCar

The Toyota Corolla went under a bit of an overhaul in 2014, that boosted its sales a decent amount. What’s important about that? Well it left the 2014 Mitsubishi Lancer right at the bottom of the compact sedan market in 2014. It doesn’t look half bad, but inside it tells another story. The interior of the car is below average to say the least, with cheap hard plastic everywhere you look and feel, and the seats cannot be adjusted anywhere near enough. So it isn’t exactly going to cater to everyone’s positioning. It’s an old model that needs more than an overhaul, and in 2014 it really showed that.

4 2015 Chrysler 200

via CNet

The Chrysler 200 has not had the best of times. In 2014, Consumer Reports put it at the bottom of their midsized-sedan ranking. And what happened in 2015? Well it very much stayed at the bottom. The car suffered from several issues. Its raspy four-cylinder engine was not popular with consumers, and its transmission was truly awful. Unrefined was one word it was described as but we've heard it called much, much worse. And perhaps worst of all was the cramped conditions when sitting in the back, meaning it would be hugely uncomfortable for back seat passengers on long journeys.

3 2016 Dodge Journey

via volkswagen of mandeville

The Dodge Journey is a bestselling SUV. No really, the Journey is actually one of the best selling sports utility vehicles worldwide. But why that is is really beyond our knowledge. Its starting price is pretty good, and in 2016 was just around $20,000 but that is really all it had going for it. It scored a reliability rating of -79 out of a possible +100, which is astronomically bad. What’s worse, the visibility of the back window can be quite obscured, making it a real pain in the rear if you are reversing and want to look out of that back window.

2 2017 Fiat 500L

via Fiat of Orange Park

The Fiat 500 range has gone through its fair share of problems, but perhaps one of the worst problems was when Fiat chose to produce a compact MPV version. And here it is, the 500L. Why was this produced? Well that’s a great question, and I know one thing. It shouldn’t have been produced. It’s ugly, it's heavy and nothing like any of its rivals on the market. The interior is laid out in a bizarre fashion and its ride is anything but comfortable. It is extremely harsh. The safety ratings are also incredibly poor. Small wonder it made the top ten on many worst car lists from 2017. And high up on those lists too.

1 2018 Mitsubishi Mirage

via Autoweek

The Mirage is one of the cheapest cars available. In fact, for a period it was the cheapest car on the market in the United States. But unfortunately, this wasn’t a case of cheap and cheerful, more a case of cheap and awful. You really do get what you pay for when it comes to the Mirage. The car is painfully slow according to Consumer Reports, and has some of the worst handling on the market that is just truly horrible. The interior also leaves a lot to be desired, so anyone thinking they would get a classy interior with this car is either stupid, or just has too high expectations.

Sources: Wikipedia, YouTube, Car Gurus, Autoweek, Fiat of Orange Park, Autocar