These are the Worst Cars of the 2010s

The 2010s were an interesting time in America. The decade kicked off with hope for change and ended in a downhill slide into what became a raging global pandemic. Much like the varying degree of a “where we started, where we’re at,” the vehicles produced in that same decade had some awkward starts and well, meh endings. 

That’s where yesterday’s question came in, and you folks certainly have some opinions about what the worst cars of the decade were. As I am but a humble messenger for the ire you feel toward some vehicles that are actually good and important, I’ll let you read through what cars your fellow Jalopys felt we’d be better off without.

The answer is always Ford EcoSport.

Good start. The EcoSport is a less than good vehicle. Ten years from now, when these things have returned to the earth, we will think to ourselves, “Wow. I haven’t seen a Ford EcoSport in a while.”

Submitted by: paradescar

Overhyped, overpriced, with poor build quality, a cheapish interior and almost zero road feedback for the driver, it relied on party pieces and gimmicks to justify its existence.

Worst of all, the giant tablet in place of a well-designed dashboard set the trend for an entire generation of cars with crappy screens glued to the dash, and for that crime alone, it’s the worst car of the decade.

Well, it didn’t take long for this whole thing to go completely sideways. The Model S is without a doubt one of the most, if not the most influential cars of the 2010s. Hate on Musk and Tesla all you want (and you should) but what the Model S did for the automotive industry cannot be overstated. Feels icky sticking up for Tesla, but it is my duty to do so in this instance.

Submitted by: curbwatching

God, what a turd. I feel bad reminding everyone it existed.

I like the Crosstour. I can’t tell you why, but I do. Liftbacks are cool! Also, this thing was way ahead of its time.

Submitted by: DeWayneV8

Because I guarantee 90%+ of you forgot Lexus sold this thing for 3 model years (2010-2012). And nothing can be worse than a car being forgotten because it is bad, but but it literally has no memorable qualities to it at all.

I... completely forgot about the HS. Wow. What an utterly nothing car. I wonder how they’re all doing. You’d have to assume they’ve been fairly reliable, but there aren’t any around. I’d say for every 10 Lexus CT 200hs I see, I probably get a glance at one HS.

Submitted by: Halfty

The previous model was body on frame, could be had with a V8 and real 4x4. This one was a soft, creamy turd in comparison. FWD, CVT, ugh.

Oof, the Pathfinder’s awkward teenage years—covered in pimples. Happily for us, Nissan seems to have at least sort of rectified the Pathfinder’s image with the fifth generation crossover.

Submitted by: Unacceptably Dry Scones

Aside from what was already mentioned, I’m going to nominate the Mitsubishi Mirage:

The only things it had going for it was they were cheap to buy and cheap to own.

They suck at everything else.

Even in terms of fuel economy, it’s nothing special. You’re better off with a used Prius for the same money that these cost new and you’ll have a vehicle that will last as long, have better fuel economy, better performance and nicer to live with.

The Mirage cannot be the worst car because it was the cheapest car. It gave hundreds of thousands of people the opportunity to own a new car with a warranty for a price that wouldn’t kill them. The Mirage may not be great, but it is incredibly important.

Submitted by: Manwich - now Keto-Friendly

Absolutely the 2012-up Ford Focus. Ford knew the trans was a pile but pushed it out anyway.

I always liked the way the third generation Focus looked, but it was really a non-starter with that dual clutch transmission. If you were able to avoid that, then I’m sure the manual was a fine car.

Submitted by: dustynnguyendood

Only because we got this bug-eyed Lotus wannabe instead of the wonderfully beautiful 2uettottanta

Counterpoint: the 4C was super cool looking! Was it the greatest handling vehicle ever? No, but it’s very pretty and makes fun noises. I will say that it should have come with a manual transmission.

Submitted by: Mr-PLP

A “performance hybrid” that had poor performance and not even that great fuel economy. Also only two seats, so it was impractical for its class.

The first gen Smart FourTwo belongs there too. For some reason the US didn’t get its more powerful engines, even the Brabus. Expensive for what it was and very vulnerable to cross winds. Second gen fixed the power/handling issues but it was too late.

Man, the CRZ really could have been something. I always thought, and still do think, that it was great looking. It just needed a better drivetrain. Oh well. On the topic of Smarts, they all suck

Submitted by: Erik Nilsen

It was announced in 2019, this is its second decade of being vaporware, that has gotta count as worst surely?

I’ll count this, but only because the Cybertruck saga is so funny. I hope it never ends - like Carlos Correa’s free agency.

Submitted by: skeffles

I disagree with the ELR being a bad car. It was more an overpriced car. My dad had a Volt which was nice but at the end of his lease he ended up getting a used ELR that was in great shape with low miles. It was also nice. It’s certainly not for everyone with the limited seating of a coupe but it had decent performance (it’s no Tesla when it comes to speed though) and was efficient.

As for a real terrible car I’d say a Dodge Dart. I had one of those as a rental car for a bit while my vehicle was being repaired after being hit and as I drove it out of the parking lot I thought the transmission was broken. Turned out there was just so much road noise coming through the most likely paper thin floor as I drove over the poorly maintained lot that I thought there was an actual problem. It wasn’t till I hit the street that things quieted a bit that I realized this was just normal life of a Dart. That thing was so cheaply made. To bad because it wasn’t a terrible looking car and I could see the appeal from that perspective but man what a hunk of motoring trash they were.

Man, the Dart could have really been something. I always thought it was so good looking, but FCA biffed it on the execution. There’s another universe where Chrysler really put effort into the Dart and it became a well-liked sporty sedan that us common folk could afford.

Submitted by: jayg2

Underpowered, mediocre fuel economy, minimal interior space, and ugly.

The Encore wasn’t even the worst car on its platform. That distinction goes to the Chevy Trax. On top of that, I am sure the ancient people who bought an Encore loved it.

Submitted by: klone121

Also don’t forget about everyone’s favorite Nissan SUVertable.

I wouldn’t consider this the ‘worst car’ of the 2010's any more than the ELR, but I’d put both the Cross Cabriolet and the ELR on the top-5 most WTF Cars of the decade. Of course, WTF Cars are awesome b/c they are the antethisis of the generic 2.0L black/silver/white crossover that everyone drives.

This wasn’t just a good car, it was a great car. The best car, even. Fight me.

Submitted by: RandomUsername3246

I’ll nominate the Buick Cascada. It picked up where the Sebring left off. Which...why? Why do these soft, shitty near-luxury convertibles need to continue to exist? Is it execs that remember coke-fueled weekends in South Beach? Did they get their first lay in the front seat of a Chrysler LeBaron? It’s gotta just be for fleet sales, right?

After the heyday of droptops in the ‘80s & ‘90s (when you could even get a softtop Pontiac Sunfire if you wanted to die in a 15 mph collision), your choices for semi-premium family coupe convertibles had dwindled to just two - the Sebring and the Toyota Solara. Ah, yes, the “exciting” Camry.

Then there was the VW Eos. Remember the Eos? It had a hardtop. And the Cascada looks an awful lot like the Eos, which makes sense because the Buick is actually an Opel, and Opel’s design direction for the last 20 years has been “we’ll do whatever VW is doing, but worse.”

To me, this is worse than the CrossCabriolet or the SSR, because at least those vehicles were trying. This...isn’t trying at all. It’s such a condescending car, and GM has made some pretty patronizing vehicles over the years. It’s a “hey, I’ll be 60-year-olds at the Hertz counter in Tampa will eat these things up, ‘cuz they’re old and stupid, har har”, except those decisions are probably being made by 60-year-old white men in a boardroom in Detroit, so I don’t even know anymore. Again, why does this exist? Thinking about it hurts my brain.

I respect the Cascada because as far as convertibles go, it was on the cheaper end. Everyone deserves to have a convertible. They are simply the superior method of transportation.

Submitted by: dbeach84