The most disappointing cars of 2023

Entering the new year, we've got plenty of cars we'll be looking forward to trying out, but we also wanted to take one more look at what we drove last year. And in addition to our favorites, well, we also wanted to look at the disappointments. These might not be outright bad, especially as the number of genuinely bad cars is at an all-time low. But what these cars do, is miss out on our expectations. We're not angry with these cars, trucks and SUVs, just, well, disappointed. – Joel Stocksdale

Honda Pilot

News Editor Joel Stocksdale: Having finally been fully redesigned, and packing some more rugged looks and a nifty configurable second-row seat, I was expecting the Honda Pilot to blow me away. It really didn't. In fact, I think I preferred the older version. The more truck-like design seems to have brought with it more truck-like driving, but in disappointing ways like lighter, more disconnected steering and more sluggish handling response. The previous model was one of the more engaging three-row SUVs to hustle around. That funny removable bench seat section isn't as useful as I'd hoped, either, and a somewhat plain interior and simply whelming performance from the V6 just left me wanting. And that's a problem in a segment with a massive number of competitors, many of which are elevating their games as far as style, comfort and performance.

Mercedes-AMG C 43

Senior Editor James Riswick: Never mind the most disappointing car I drove in 2023, this is one of the worst Mercedes I've driven in 17 years of car testing. The standard suspension's ride was so firm that every drive on the perfectly nice pavement around my town was a tiresomely jiggling experience. Worse, the firm suspension did not respond well to mid-corner bumps on my mountain road test route, resulting in ESC intervention, jarring body motions and general unpleasantness. It left me to ask: Who is this for? I live right next door to some of the finest driving roads on this continent. If this car is inappropriate for them, where the hell are you driving where it would be fine?

Oh, but it gets worse. The transmission was an absolute mess. AMG's transmissions are usually so good that when left in Sport+ mode, you don't have to even consider touching a paddle. They'll readily downshift, often multiple gears, when braking into a corner, and quickly upshift exactly when you would. This was not the case with the C 43. I had to use the paddles, but it gets even worse: I had to use the paddles while stuck in stop-and-go traffic. Left to its own devices, the transmission was consistently in the wrong gear. The herking and jerking that it was doing made me seem like an inept driver suddenly stuck with a manual transmission. It was enough that my wife actually asked what was going on. I'm guessing the culprit here is the C 43's mild-hybrid system integrated with the transmission, but either way, it's unacceptable and I know I'm not the only journalist who has found the transmission to behave in such a way (and yes, it was a different car).

I love me a cool, fast Benz, but the C 43 was so disappointing ... and just not good.