For various reasons, these turbocharged cars are best avoided.

Turbocharging is undoubtedly one of the most important inventions in the auto industry. Turbocharging was first used in production cars as early as the '60s, but the technology was perfected in the '80s when new emission regulations forced manufacturers to find new ways to generate more power from small engines. Since then, some of the fastest sports cars have been turbocharged.

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However, not all turbocharged cars are great. In fact, some turbocharged cars are absolutely horrible either because they are slow, unreliable, hard to handle, or have other issues that turn off gearheads. Let's explore ten of the worst turbocharged cars of all time.

The Noble M600 stunned the motoring world when it debuted in 2010. Although it was built by a little-known British automaker, the M600 had a stunning design that could rival any European supercar.

The M600 also had the power to match, thanks to a 4.4-liter twin-turbo V8 belting out 650 ponies. A 0-60 of under 3 seconds and a top speed of 225 mph made the M600 one of the fastest British cars ever built. However, you needed to be a professional driver to test the M600's limits, as it didn't have modern driving aids like ABS, traction control, and electronic stability control.

The 500L is a five-door compact minivan introduced in 2012. Looking at the 500L, it's hard to ignore its resemblance with the modern Mini Cooper. Unfortunately, many agree that it's a lot uglier than the Mini.

The 500L had multiple engine options, including four turbocharged ones. However, the most powerful one had only 160 hp, which was just too little for most gearheads. It's no surprise that the 500L was discontinued in North America in 2020.

The emission restrictions of the '70s left many manufacturers trying to find ways to generate more power from smaller engines. Porsche was among the first automakers to try turbocharging in its sports cars, and they did it with the 930-bodied 911 in 1975.

Equipped with a 3.0-liter turbocharged flat-six generating 256 hp, the 911 Turbo was quick. However, since turbocharging technology wasn't as good as it is today, the 911 930 suffered from massive turbo lag, making it extremely hard to control, earning the car its Widow Maker nickname.

The Taurus is often included on the list of the most important Ford models ever, as it helped the brand avoid bankruptcy in the '80s. However, many gearheads feel that it stayed in production for far too long.

The sixth-generation Taurus debuted in 2010 as a large four-door sedan. It was equipped with a 2.0-liter EcoBoost turbocharged four-cylinder with 240 hp on tap. This may be enough power for a small sedan, but not for the largest and heaviest Ford sedan at the time.

When entrepreneur Alejandro de Tomaso purchased Maserati in the '70s, one of his main objectives was to build a new affordable sports car to appeal to gearheads who couldn't afford the Merak or Bora. After a few years of development, Maserati unveiled the BiTurbo in 1981.

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The BiTurbo was a huge hit at first, mainly because it was the world's first twin-turbocharged production car. Sadly, its twin-turbocharged drivetrain would break down so often that Maserati gained a reputation for unreliability that still stands to date.

In 1980, ever-increasing emission restrictions forced Pontiac to stop using all its large-displacement engines. As such, buyers could only buy the 1980 Firebird with a Chevrolet 305 small-block engine or a turbocharged 301.

Normally, gearheads expect the car with a 'turbo' badge in the rear to be much quicker than its non-turbocharged version. Sadly, that wasn't the case with the 1980 Firebird Trans Am Turbo, as it had minimal performance improvements over the base model. In fact, producers of the film Smokey and the Bandit II had to equip the 1980 Turbo Trans Am with nitrous oxide tanks to get the desired performance.

The Caliber is a compact hatchback that Dodge introduced in 2006 to replace the Neon. As it had done with the Neon, Dodge asked Chrysler's SRT division to develop a high-performance version of the Caliber, resulting in the Caliber SRT-4.

At the heart of the Caliber SRT-4 was a 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder producing 285 hp and 265 lb-ft of torque, giving it decent performance. The Caliber SRT-4 was an adequate car, but gearheads buying turbocharged vehicles typically want a lot more than adequate. Many thought the design was bland as well.

The first-generation Veloster debuted in 2011, and Hyundai followed it up with a turbocharged version a year later. The Veloster Turbo was quite popular at first, largely thanks to its stylish shooting brake body and the fact that it had 'Turbo' in its name.

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However, the Veloster Turbo was not as exciting to drive as many gearheads would have expected. A 0-60 of over 8 seconds and a top speed of 133 mph didn't impress many.

The Alpine GTA and its successor, the A610, are sports cars built by Renault-owned Alpine from 1984 to 1995. The cars were lauded for their exquisite design featuring pop-up headlights and the fact that they were turbocharged.

The A610, for example, had a 3.0-liter turbocharged V6 producing 243 hp, giving it great performance. Unfortunately, both cars sold so poorly that the Alpine brand went on a 22-year hiatus. A big reason why they failed is reliability issues.

Martin is a seasoned content creator who has been writing about cars for over a decade, and has been in love with them for even longer. Growing up, Martin was surrounded by gearheads who instilled a deep love and understanding for cars in him at a young age. He loves to learn and write about all the developments happening in the auto industry - especially in the EV space. When he's not writing about cars, he likes to spend quality time with his wife, kids, and fur baby.