Most dangerous car for P platers to own.

[Calaber]

With all the talk about the poor road behaviour of P platers across the country, it occurred to me that there are some cars out there that are very readily available, cheap and entirely unsutiable for new drivers to own.

My nomination is the VN Commodore. These cars are now really cheap. They are 20+ years old, have virtually no safety equipment, had extremely poor braking even when new, handled only fairly, and were often criticised for having too much torque off the mark, which provided them with very brisk accellereation from a standing start. Even when new, they could be a handful in the wet.

Nowadays, after 20 years on the road, most of them are worn out, yet because the engines are virtually indestructible and they have managed to avoid the tin worm pretty well, many are still for sale and their price makes them a popular choice for novice drivers.

Ok. That's my nomination. Any others, or comments? Keep in mind that I am referring specifically to P Platers and many states have restrictions on the type of vehicles they are allowed to drive, so no XR6 Turbo's or V8's please.

[greenfoam]

No there will be no argument to that, VN's allways were and probably allways will be the most dangerous family car ever made . At least now they stoped P platers having the 5 litres. Seen alot of them ripped in half around poles on the news over the years with the 304s sitting on the sump in the middle of the road. You would be actually far safer flogging around a LS1 in the rain than a VN V6 funny that the rules as allways are a bit wonky.

P.S since danger is directly related to fun, VN's are good

[danja]

It used to be any turbo car, but most P-platers can't get hold of them now.

I'd put my money on any RWD with enough power to spin the tyres (so yep, VN's fit the bill nicely) and any "sports car" (like non-turbo Supras, Skylines etc) simply because they have the hero image attached to them, which seems to make some people think they should drive it like they stole it.

[pugga]

Is this just going to be another thread to go around in circles with
Any car is Dangerous in the hands of a New driver, or any one in the matter no matter on age.

I had an older prick merge into my lane without indication and he didn’t even see me.

[Garth]

With all the talk about the poor road behaviour of P platers across the country, it occurred to me that there are some cars out there that are very readily available, cheap and entirely unsutiable for new drivers to own.

My nomination is the VN Commodore. These cars are now really cheap. They are 20+ years old, have virtually no safety equipment, had extremely poor braking even when new, handled only fairly, and were often criticised for having too much torque off the mark, which provided them with very brisk accellereation from a standing start. Even when new, they could be a handful in the wet.

Nowadays, after 20 years on the road, most of them are worn out, yet because the engines are virtually indestructible and they have managed to avoid the tin worm pretty well, many are still for sale and their price makes them a popular choice for novice drivers.

Ok. That's my nomination. Any others, or comments? Keep in mind that I am referring specifically to P Platers and many states have restrictions on the type of vehicles they are allowed to drive, so no XR6 Turbo's or V8's please.

all cars are dangerous in the hands of a immature inexperianced p plate driver, you cant single out one particular model

[benjamino]

uhm, yes, i think you can.
(not meaning to genralise, becaus a majority of old drivers are worse than pplaters)

so in the hands of a p plater, would you prefer a 355stroker vn ss,

or a daihatsu charade?

i think the choice shoudl be very clear..

[minux]

Is this just going to be another thread to go around in circles with
Any car is Dangerous in the hands of a New driver, or any one in the matter no matter on age.

I had an older prick merge into my lane without indication and he didn’t even see me.

Agree there, cars really can be weapons of mass destruction in the wrong hands, mix a lack of maturity or a lack of skill or lack of reflexes with lack of proper training and you have a bloody lethal mix.

[Garth]

uhm, yes, i think you can.
(not meaning to genralise, becaus a majority of old drivers are worse than pplaters)

so in the hands of a p plater, would you prefer a 355stroker vn ss,

or a daihatsu charade?

i think the choice shoudl be very clear..

so what your saing, is that a p plate driver in a charade wont kill himself if he hits a poll impressing his mates cuase he can do a hand brake turn, yet in a vnss he will kill himself if he does the exact same move?

[ecotec_kid]

hmm... i think if i had to crash one of those two id want to be in the VN..
massive hulking piece of tank metal? or little sardine tin?

not saying it would be a good choice for a new driver, with 20 year old brakes, bugger all safety equipment and a fairly torquey motor that is quick to spin the wheels..
that's a lot to deal with whilst trying to get the hang of driving, signaling, and proper driving etiquette.

[levymetal]

probably more likely to crash the charade really... sure a 355 can be hell dangerous but personally i'd be driving it much more carefully than a pile of poo charade. and if you did crash a charade, you'd probably die at anything over 50km/h. there's no definitive or correct answer though. it depends on the driver (ie how much of a ******** they are) more than the car.

[pedrotski]

suzuki swift, no red line on the 1998 model wtf.

or any car without abs.

[ecotec_kid]

suzuki swift, no red line on the 1998 model wtf.

or any car without abs.

woohoo that means my car!!!



wait.... DAMMIT!!

[TVR-190]

not all VNs are fast, my lexcen was an abosulte slug, charade would probably beat it.

in the end its the driver, not the car

[88GreenVN]

I think the EGO is the main issue. Any car poorly maintained is a bad choice. As for the VN being singled out - yep it's a contender for the top spot - but good tryes are a must on them and often the young driver will skimp on rubber and get rubbish tyres.

[Jimmy2228]

When i wrote of my VS a few weeks ago, it really opened my eyes about how easy it was to lose control of it. Slamming the concrete pylon at roughly 60-70km/h was real scary stuff, but I doubt a Charade (Or similar car) would hold together in that situation as well as the VS did.

Now that im looking at buying a new car im tossing up between getting a FWD car such as a Lancer that probably wouldnt hold as well together in a crash at that speed, but than again i couldnt really get myself in the same situation in a FWD. I don't trust myself again in a RWD for a long time, especially in the wet. Ill probably end up buying a Magna, as their reasonably well built and their FWD.

Im a red P plater btw. Oh and my VS has Brand Spanking new Goodyears on them.

[TVR-190]

When i wrote of my VS a few weeks ago, it really opened my eyes about how easy it was to lose control of it. Slamming the concrete pylon at roughly 60-70km/h was real scary stuff, but I doubt a Charade (Or similar car) would hold together in that situation as well as the VS did.

Now that im looking at buying a new car im tossing up between getting a FWD car such as a Lancer that probably wouldnt hold as well together in a crash at that speed, but than again i couldnt really get myself in the same situation in a FWD. I don't trust myself again in a RWD for a long time, especially in the wet. Ill probably end up buying a Magna, as their reasonably well built and their FWD.

Im a red P plater btw. Oh and my VS has Brand Spanking new Goodyears on them.

what makes a fwd any better, expecially in the wet, just means youll understeer into the pole

[Zuicider]

I think the EGO is the main issue. Any car poorly maintained is a bad choice. As for the VN being singled out - yep it's a contender for the top spot - but good tryes are a must on them and often the young driver will skimp on rubber and get rubbish tyres.

were you watching me? hehe vn was my first car 8 to 9 years ago lost count of the times ive lost it had quite alot of near misses and a fair few pranks so tend to agree

[ScoHar]

what makes a fwd any better, expecially in the wet, just means youll understeer into the pole

most of the FWD cars I have driven have handled alot better in the wet compared to holdens i.e over steering at way slower speed compared to under steer at much faster speeds in FWD. One of the best handling cars especially in the wet is a DA Honda Integra reckon they stick well even factory, although lame hondas but still gotta give em that.

[Farlig]

It used to be any turbo car, but most P-platers can't get hold of them now.

funny how here in SA p platers can drive whatever they want still. Oh and we still want a track!

[danja]

Obvisouly it's a given that most P-platers are inexperienced, and many have attitude issues, and these are car-agnostic, but I'd stand by my opinion that certain cars are more prone to having accidents in than others.

It's generally easier to loose control of a RWD car than a FWD, especially in the wet, and the consequences tend to be more severe, there are also cars with more or less safety features (although this is pretty consistent across most cars of the same age).

So Garth is right, if you hit a stobie pole at 100km/h, it's probably not going to matter much if you're in a Charade, a VN, but I would argue that the likely hood of one of one them hitting that pole in the first place, is higher than the other.

[zerodown]

I don't trust myself again in a RWD for a long time, especially in the wet. Oh and my VS has Brand Spanking new Goodyears on them.

All your saying is that your bad driver with no self control. Wont make a shit of difference if it's rwd, fwd or all wheel drive imo

You got into a situation thru your own fault. Take it is an expensive lesson on your driving limitations and learn from it!

[zerodown]

Sorry I dont mean that to sound harsh at all.

I just don't think their is any better way to learn a lesson.
Hopefully you can take that with you and improve your decision making.

[CrimsonThunder]

With all the talk about the poor road behaviour of P platers across the country, it occurred to me that there are some cars out there that are very readily available, cheap and entirely unsutiable for new drivers to own.

My nomination is the VN Commodore. These cars are now really cheap. They are 20+ years old, have virtually no safety equipment, had extremely poor braking even when new, handled only fairly, and were often criticised for having too much torque off the mark, which provided them with very brisk accellereation from a standing start. Even when new, they could be a handful in the wet.

Nowadays, after 20 years on the road, most of them are worn out, yet because the engines are virtually indestructible and they have managed to avoid the tin worm pretty well, many are still for sale and their price makes them a popular choice for novice drivers.

Ok. That's my nomination. Any others, or comments? Keep in mind that I am referring specifically to P Platers and many states have restrictions on the type of vehicles they are allowed to drive, so no XR6 Turbo's or V8's please.

Sorry to ask such a stupid question, but did that stop with the VN? Or is the VP to VS in the same boat?

And I'd have to agree with your choice too, its just they're really cheap and easily available.

[Tas_HSV]

It is fully dependant on the maturity and attitude of the driver.Thread title should be "Most dangerous cars for an immature tool to own"......And anyone who nominated a VN......LOL.Early Mazda rotaries are a hell of a lot more vicious,faster,ill handling and dangerous than a VN,(Ive had around 10 early girl rotors)but by far the most dangerous car ive ever owned(and i was on my ps when i had it)was a 265 4 speed manual chrysler centura "frogmobile"......wouldnt handle,wouldnt stop,but would outgun a VN v6 quite easily in a straight line....even the standard 245 3 speeds were no slouch.....Tis a wonder i survived my teenage years

[elemeNtz]

this thread needs to have guidelines and assumptions; let's assume all cars are road legal in all aspects & the drivers are responsible. Therefore we can discuss what cars' build quality and features lead to it having more crashes.
I nominate the The Zap Xebra