I recently had the opportunity of driving this car for a week and about 2,500 miles in the Colorado Rocky mountains.
The scenery was gorgeous and the roads a delight. Roads made for German cars really. So when I got my rental Oldsmobile I was a little turned off. Until I hit the mountain roads. This car turned out to be a really pleasant surprise.

Here are my views...

PROS:

This car is FAST! I loved the response of the engine and transmission. The car is not a dragster but it has ample power and a very sporty acceleration. The transmission is smooth and allows for engine reving when you need it. Especially considering I had 4 adults in the car at all times and spend most of the time cruising at more than 5,000ft. I was impressed.

This Oldsmobile is surprisingly well built. Kudos to GM for getting it right! (I can be very critical of GM sometimes but I must give credit where it is due). This is the best GM build quality, up there with the Corvette. No rattles, felt solid, no weird gaps, reasonable interior materials, good job.

I found the car roomy enough. Especially in the front. The trunk is huge for this size car. And it open widely enough to facilitate loading. As I said there were 4 of us and luggage. Had no real problems with space. Except for rear leg room but more on that later.

I found this car comfortable at any speed. Nice seats and not too much body roll.

And most of all I was impressed with the Chassis. This is a fine handling car. And believe me I put it to the test in the Rocky mountain mountain roads. Again I was surprised with a fine GM handling car... Somebody in Detroit is finally waking up and seeing the light!

Gas mileage was very good for this class (~25MPG) and for a V6 with this much power, especially considering I dont drive in a gas saving manner....

CONS:

Rear leg room could be better, I am tall enough that the passenger behind me was a little cramped. It was still better than a BMW 3 series though (see my review on the 2002 BMW 330 for more on that).

The driver position is a little awkward because of the center console design. The transmission selector is in a strange position. I would say that the biggest fault with this car is the less than perfect driver ergonomics. Mostly due to the center console. Dials and switches are fine. But that center console should be redesigned.

CONCLUSION:

A fine handling car with a great response and engine. It is also very well built. I am surprised being that it comes from the GM stable. Congratulations GM for a job well done.
And for this price it is surely a winner. I would recommend it, heck I would even buy one if I was in the market for this type of vehicle right now.


Amount Paid (US$): 45
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002
Model and Options: V6 AUTO