Hurrying around corners is an alien concept to the Ninety Eight. With a suspension system designed to offer ultimate ride quality, its behavior in switchbacks and abrupt maneuvers is sluggish. Push it hard enough and it'll wallow, even with the stiffer suspension tuning that comes with the optional supercharged engine.The steering was light at all speeds. This is a variable-assist power-steering unit that lowers the assist as speed increases. Excess assist limits steering feel, which isn't a problem when maneuvering around a parking lot, but it helps to have a stronger sense of where the wheels are pointed when you're at freeway speeds.
Well, the Ninety Eight may not be a threat to BMW's Ultimate Driving Machine title, but it's certainly a pleasant place to be if you find yourself commuting regularly between, say, Detroit and Denver. This is one smooth cruiser. It takes a pretty serious bump or pothole to intrude on the driver's consciousness, and it's exceptionally quiet in the bargain.
Beyond its sluggish handling, our only operational criticism is about the outside mirrors: They are too small and are set too far back on the doors for easy use.
The 3.8-liter engine performed very well in all phases of our test drive - plenty of grunt around town, plenty of mid-range response for passing. It's a smooth operator, and also delivers surprisingly good fuel economy, considering its size. We averaged 23 mpg in all-around driving, and during one freeway cruise we hit 30 mpg.
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