1994-2002 [Subscribe to Daily Digest] |
> 1. Demo of folding down the back seats was disappointing ... the 9-3 had > to push the front seats all the way forward. I don't think I could drive > with the 9-3's required seat position.
You can get the seats to go back a notch if you try hard. But you are otherwise correct. I had to drive it just a few miles this way once and it was very difficult. (I'm 6'3") On the other hand, I could not have fit the two 8' long carpet rolls into any other car I've owned.
> 2. Sway. I did an "avoid-the-invisible-squirrel" swerve, and felt like I > was testing a Buick. I took the second drive with the automatic since the > dealer said the premium pkg had a tighter suspension. It did improve, but > only slightly. Maybe I'm too used to my tight 240SX?
It's not as bad as a Buick. But again you are otherwsie correct: it doesn't compare to those tight little Nissan's. My 91 SE-R was the best steering car i've ever owned by a wide margin. I consider the handling a tradeoff for the tremendous freeway power. The plus side is the ride is very easy over cracks and bumps. And the handling is safely predictable.
> 3. Wind noise.
The wind noise blows (so to speak). None of my cars has been quiet in that regard but this one is the worst. I will look for this again in the new 9-3. I hope it is improved.
> 4. Drift. It seemed difficult to keep the cars straight on the highway.
> It wasn't a pull to one side, just felt like loose center steering.
This hasn't been a problem for me. You might want to drive it one more time and see if you experience it again.
Other things that may bother you: the narrow footwells, upshift light, window controls. (The window controls I like actually, but many others don't).
On the plus side, the reliability of '00, '01, & '02's have been good overall; the car can haul a lot and look good doing it; the onstar is tremendously useful if you have to do business travel in it; the leather seats (get the leather) are wonderful; and you can get a base 9-3 with leather and sunroof for a song compared to the competition. And then there is the turbo...
Don't pay attention to the car rags always putting it near the end of the comparo's. They are not comparing it against cars that you can actually buy for $24K. Try a well-optioned Camry or Jetta GLX: those are the competition once real world prices are applied.
posted by 208.201.231...
, Tue, 4 Jun 2002 18:15:36, Wed, 5 Jun 2002 20:45:14, Tue, 4 Jun 2002 18:02:01
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