A good family car should be reliable, safe, and spacious, all while maintaining a relatively affordable price tag. It's hard to put all of those factors together in a desirable package, but these 11 monstrosities fail at most, if not all the above requirements.
Here are our picks for the 11 worst family cars ever produced.
1
Pontiac Trans Sport
Hoping to be a “futuristic” and “sporty” response to Chrysler's ‘80s minivan dominance, GM constructed this monstrosity. Looking nothing like its cool concept, people called the Trans Sport the “Dust Buster,” (after the vacuum), and it didn’t sell or perform particularly well.
2
Toyota Previa
In what should have been a slam dunk combination of Toyota reliability with family friendly space, the Previa entered the market so underpowered that it struggled massively when fully stocked. Toyota also introduced some odd features, (the oil check is under the driver’s seat), and while those helped it gain a cult following, the product failed massively.
3
Oldsmobile Diesel (Any Model)
Arguably the worst American cars ever built, the Oldsmobile diesel models from the late ‘70s and early ‘80s not only killed Oldsmobile’s brand reputation, but the engine type in the United States as a whole.
4
Chrysler PT Cruiser
I couldn’t make a list like this and not include the PT Cruiser. Sure, it was surprisingly luxurious and featured fantastic space for a car of its size. But its atrocious reliability, driving experience, and looks all earn it its spot on this list.
5
Chevrolet Vega Estate
The ‘70s produced both some of the world’s greatest and worst cars. The Vega falls firmly in the latter category with a poor driving experience, shotty reliability, and a rust-prone frame.
6
Yugo
People in the Soviet Union didn’t drive big minivans, but they did drive the ubiquitous Yugo. They drove lots of them. To put it mildly, the Yugo is junk and scrap hobbled together into car form.
7
Kia Carnival
Despite what its name might suggest, there’s nothing to be celebrated about this car. It features the “easy theft” flaw plaguing Kias in the 2010s, in addition to the era’s infamous Kia reliability. Also it’s ugly and the name is dumb. Really there’s no reason to ever buy this thing.
8
Pontiac Aztek
Let’s get the elephant out of the room by saying that this might just be the ugliest car ever made. Looks aside, owners claimed it felt cheap, drove horrendously, and offered less practical space than other minivan competitors. Not to mention what the other baseball dads and dance moms had to say about owners behind their backs.
9
Chrysler Sebring
Considered one of the least reliable vehicles of its era, Chrysler tried to fix the Sebring across three generations, failing to do so with each attempt.
10
Nissan Quest
Featuring the oddest and ugliest dashboard of all time, this car also felt cheap and failed in the reliability department. A killer combo for a family vehicle.
11
Nissan Quest Continued
Here is the dash in question.
12
Chevrolet Citation
Hampered with both reliability and safety concerns, the Citation miserably failed to stand up to its well-built Japanese rivals.
