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Driving Impressions
The Summit Wagon's remarkably soft and comfortable ride surprised us when we hit the road. We experienced some lean in cornering, and slight pitch and roll over bumpy roads. However, these occurrences were neither unpleasant nor unsettling, and they were what we expected from this small vehicle that sat high off the ground.From a standing start and in highway passing situations, the Summit's 16-valve, 2.4-liter engine was filled with pleasant surprises. While it certainly wasn't a high-performance machine, it did take off from 0 to 60 mph in satisfactory fashion without sluggishness. We briskly accelerated from 50 to 70mph and felt we still had power to spare. That performance was enhanced by the vehicle's ultra-smooth four-speed automatic transmission with overdrive. In passing situations starting in fourth gear, the transmission paused slightly in third before downshifting to second, making passing punch less jarring to us and the engine. Braking tests, including a near-panic stop, produced no noise or lockup and left us with a good impression of the Summit's optional anti-lock braking system. We did hear a lot of wind and road noise at higher speeds. We attributed that to the vehicle's vast expanse of glass, and the fact that the Summit just didn't have the superb insulation and sound-deadening material present on more costly vehicles. We wouldn't recommend equipping this vehicle with anything less than the optional 2.4-liter power plant. With that engine, the Summit exceeded - by a comfortable margin-our performance expectations for a small station wagon.
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