Convertibles Offer Great Headroom
Written: Apr 24 '01
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Pros: Nice styling, passes the "stare test". Very reliable, Excellent traction in bad weather.
Cons: Body flex, awful rear window
The Bottom Line: A head-turner, respectful performance and economy, fair storage, and great reliability (with reasonable care)!
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| kayakin's Full Review: 1997 Pontiac Firebird |
We purchased a 1997 Pontiac Firebird convertible after noticing that it was calling my wife from the lot.
Absolutely adorable car, white with a beige interior. Like all ragtops, it had a lot of road noise with the top up, and being passed by a semi on the interstate gave the impression that the trucker was going to drive right through the car.
However, like all of the fourth generation Firebirds that we've had (four in all), the car had very little wind noise with the windows or top down.
In 1997, the V-6 Firebirds pumped out 200hp from the 3.8 litre engine (up from previous years, and more than the hottest TAs could muster in the dark ages of the 1980s), which made this a peppy little car. Not a match for our TAs (see our opinion "Why would you drive anything else" under 2000 Firebirds), but crisp and responsive.
Our best mileage with this car was just over 30mpg (our TAs have 6-speed transmissions and have achieved 28.5mpg).
The worst aspect of both Firebird and Camero convertibles is the ridiculously small rear window. To GM's credit, the rear window is made of glass with an available rear window defroster. However, the window could be larger. The top retracts into a shallow well behind the rear seat when lowered, make sure that the kids haven't thrown anything back there because you could damage the top or break the rear window when lowering it.
The power top worked well, we did have one dealer adjustment performed. Actually, this car was very reliable, and other than routine maintenance, required no repairs.
The standard all-weather tires on the Firebirds provide impressive traction, even on wet roads. My wife stated that this was the best car that she had ever driven in snow (including a front-wheel Toyota a few years ago). Keep in mind, performance tires (like on our TAs) do NOT have the same superior all-weather performance. The tires make the difference, I had a '95 Firebird and ended up replacing the tires with non-Goodyears, the wet pavement traction was never the same.
Other than the small rear window (which was downright dangerous when backing from a parking space), my chief complaint with this car was the body flex.
The fourth generation F-body cars (Camero and Firebird) are designed for T-tops. The frame of the car is not compromised or weakened when they're installed. However, my impression is that the convertible just doesn't have the rigidity in the frame to provide a feeling of security when cornering. I don't know if the V-8 models (Formula and TA) had any mods to the frame for convertible versions. I've never driven a V-8 convertible Firebird, but if the frame has as much flex as our V-6, I think that the driving experience would be diminished.
We enjoyed this car, but the body flex, the difference in power between the 3.8 litre V-6 and the 5.7 litre V-8, and the sheer satisfaction of the 6-speed transmission made the decision to move up and easy one.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 25000
Condition: New
Model Year: 1997
Model and Options: V-6, Automatic, Convertible
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Epinions.com ID:
kayakin
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Location: Alexandria, VA, USA
Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 4 members
About Me:
Mensa member with Electronics, Quality Assurance, Information Technology background. Well-read and traveled.
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