When you buy a new car it’s hard to know what the drive is like, other than taking it for a short test drive before you commit to the purchase. You can read up on the specifications of the vehicle, but you don’t really know until you have driven it for a while how it performs.
So here is a list of the slowest cars on the market, so do your best to avoid them if you are looking for something punchy that will get you to your destination as quickly as possible.
1. 2009 Tata Nano 0-60: 29.4 sec
Only a camel is cheaper than this car.
The Tata Nana was designed to be the world’s cheapest car, so should it matter whether the Tata Nano is the slowest car in the world? After all, the base models start in India at $2,200 including taxes and fees — less than half of the sticker price of the least expensive new cars in North America consumers buy.
From behind the wheel of a bright-yellow model at Tata Motors’ engineering and testing center in a suburb of Pune, an industrial city some 60 miles southeast of Mumbai, the Nano proved lively and fun to push around the track. The rear wheels could even be twisted into a sports car-style slide. WOW!
But customers who consider buying should really avoid this bare minimum model, which has no air-conditioning, power brakes and even map pockets in the doors. But with cost containment being a big factor in its development, the absence of safety features cannot be overlooked – there are no air bakes and antilock brakes.
India would be better without this car for the time being.
2. 1950 Crosley Hot Shot 0-60: 26.3 sec.
If I told you there was a small, light American sports car built from 1949-1952 that won the Index of Performance at the 12 Hours of Sebring, you probably would think it was fast. The 26 horsepower, four-cylinder Crosley Hot Shot, aiming to be an affordable, fun sports car, was anything but fast. It tops out at 74 mph. It takes longer to get to 60 than it takes to run a quarter mile. A standard Ford V8 would get to 60 ten seconds before the Hot Shot.
For all of you out there who might lust after a Caterham or any other lightweight trackday special, you should know that the Crosley was so bare-bones, so lightweight (1,175lbs), that it didn’t actually come with doors as standard.
3. 1968 Fiat 850 Idromatic 0-60: 25.4 sec
During the 1960s, the Fiat 750 Spider was considered both a luxury and a performance vehicle because of its convertible top cover and an 843cc engine that can pull up speeds with 49hp, making it achieve max speed of 145 km/h, a rate that is already amazing at the time of conception. Despite this, it can be frustrating to know that this spider can go from 0 to 60 in 25.4 seconds and can run a quarter mile after only 23 seconds.
4. 1974 Datsun B210 Coupe 0-60L 22.5 sec
There’s a few once-ubiquitous 80s Japanese econobox out there. The little fastback B210 was once everywhere and now is one of the hardest cars to find out there. But do not go looking for trouble, because this car is not worth the money.
The four-speed B210 was popular, but can you imagine the agony of trying to accelerate with half the power being soaked up by an automatic transmission. You’re better off without it.
Still, these things were reasonably reliable (by the very lax standards of the era), sipped gas through a cocktail straw, and looked pretty good 4 decades ago, but now there are better options for you.
5. 1979 Volkswagen Rabbit (Diesel) 0-60: 21.2 sec
Not many econoboxes came with factory fuel injection in 1979. This diesel Rabbit was more fun to drive than most of its Malaise Era Japanese and Detroit cars out there, but still intolerably slow by today’s standards. Fuel economy was great, though, but not worth the money to buy these days.
6. 2011 Peugeot Expert Tepee 1.6HDi 0-62: 18.5/20.7 sec
That’s right! Peugeot are insistent it’s a car and that it’s good enough for us to drive. The Expert ‘Short’ – a relative term given its near-5 meter length – takes an impressive 18.5 seconds to hit 62 sec, and will go on to a top speed of 90MPH; easily securing its place at No. 3 on this top 10 list. What’s more though, the Expert ‘Long’ – Peugeot’s largest tent – will take a staggering 20.7 seconds to hit the same speed.
One of our viewers had 1.9 NON Turbo Expert Van for 2 years and reported that he was increasingly frustrated at how little power it has. It always carries he said, around 150-200kg of tools for his job but even loaded up, more or less, it seems to make no difference. It is so slow and going up a hill is too embarrassing even what you would deem the slowest of other vehicles are on your tail and you cannot go any faster.
7. 2012 Mitsubishi i MiEV 0 – 60:. 13.2 sec
Talk about creative ways to reclaim energy, this car contains regenerative brakes, which means when decelerating you are charging your car’s battery. This car features rear-wheel drive and a rear motor and increased cabin space. This little car can sport wood… paneling on the sides, if that’s your thing. You might want to try Mazda as a better option.
8. 1981 Audio 5000S 0 – 60: 12.5 sec
One of the oldest models released by Audi, Audi 5000S is nothing like the Audi cars we see today, it is slow, simple and controversial. At one point of time, it was the car that was the cause of accusations leveled against Audi for sudden unintended acceleration. But it is not the only thing about this car that irritates its owner. This four-door saloon car can barely reach 100 mph speed on a plain road.
9. 2003 Fiat Panda 1.2 0-60: 11.6 sec
You don’t have to go back very far to find a brand new car that could barely top 90mph; the Fiat Panda of 2004 was just such a beast. However, you can’t like Fiat’s baby any less for its lack of pace, thanks to a wide range of talents.
10. Lexus CT200h 0-60: 10.1 sec
“Extremely” good looking for a slow car, the Lexus CT200h is much more expensive than cars of equal quality and therefore most appealing just because it is a Lexus. This Lexus car is made out of bamboo charcoal resin. Weight was on the designer’s mind when he/she was designing a hybrid. The Lexus hollowed out their brake pedal and most likely the idea came from backpackers who put holes in their toothbrush handles to create lighter packs.
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