No one would ever characterize the Cutlass Supreme as a sports car, but its all-around ride and handling traits strike a surprisingly good balance between comfort and agility.Our coupe did a nice job of damping out the small bumps that register as irritations in many sporty cars. In fact, we were pleasantly surprised by its overall ride quality, because the suspension settings convey an initial impression of firmness.
Firmness usually goes hand in hand with good control - less body roll in hard cornering, less front-end dive during hard braking - and our Cutlass Supreme gave a good account of itself in this area without rattling the teeth of the occupants.
Although the variable-assist, rack-and-pinion power steering could provide a little better road feel, we think that this car's ability to respond to quick maneuvers is better than average, and higher on the fun-to-drive scale than we anticipated.
We were also favorably impressed by our test car's bucket seats, which provided a good range of adjustability as well as an attractive appearance. Although there could be a little more side bolstering to help keep the driver centered in hard cornering, we think most occupants will find the comfort level just fine.
Our only criticism here is that the front seatbacks don't lock into position, which means the passenger seatback could flop forward during hard braking when you're driving solo.
Our test car's optional 3.4-liter V6 provided real urgency to forward progress when we wanted it. Although the Taurus SHO V6 offers more horsepower at high speed than our test car's engine, the 3.4 V6 has excellent punch at low- and midrange speeds, as well as impressive giddy-up for passing.
There's a certain amount of noise that goes with hard acceleration on the Cutlass Supreme, but we don't think most drivers will find it annoying. It just lets you know there's a lot of power going to work for you.
Although we regard more power as a plus, we should add here that the standard 3.1-liter V6 also delivers pretty good performance. The optional 3.4-liter V6 unquestionably makes the Cutlass Supreme more exhilarating to drive, but we don't think anyone will feel short-changed, performancewise, with a basic Series I model.
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