We could do a “worst cars” of 2022 list, but honestly, people get all cheesed off when we do such things. This usually comes from people alive in the 1970s who remember when cars routinely wouldn’t start, rusted to dust or just caught on fire. Nothing for sale today is “worst” like that, and as such, you often hear the phrase, “There are no bad cars anymore.” To that I say, “Hogwash.” That’s like saying, “Things are going pretty well in the world right now because we have running water and antibiotics. You want to talk about ‘bad,’ try living in 1534!” The scale moves with time and progress. There are cars that do their intended jobs better than others and therefore there are cars that do their intended jobs worse than others.
But whatever, we’re not doing that list. This list is about “disappointing,” which is kind of like the worst cars we drove, but ultimately can be about expectations. We were expecting X and we got Y. We figured Z would make yet another hit, but no, they whiffed this time. We were expecting something that cost $150,000 to be great, but it just seemed like a giant waste of money. Basically, there’s lots of room for interpretation.
So, here are the cars, SUVs and trucks that most disappointed us in 2022. And yeah, there are a lot of Toyotas. On the flip side, the GR Corolla and the Prius surprised the hell out of everyone in a very good way. — Senior Editor James Riswick
Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski: There are a lot of good reasons to buy a Toyota Tacoma. Excellent predicted reliability and resale value are both top of mind, for instance. Another positive: In TRD Pro guise, as my test truck came packaged, it can tackle some legitimately challenging off-road terrain. The big problem is that it’s not enjoyable to drive anywhere else. The powertrain makes as much noise as it does horsepower, a fact exacerbated by a transmission that downshifts at the mere suggestion of an incline, the ride both feels too stiff and too wallowy, and the interior that was merely acceptable when the truck was last redesigned for the 2016 model year is now simply worst-in-class.
Perhaps most irritating of all, though, is the Tacoma’s ridiculous seating position….
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