The 1999 Oldsmobile Alero is a highly affordable car that proves that driving need never be dull.

As press-kit photos go, it was an unusual perspective...thick, glossy stock was a 17 by 11-inch beauty shot of the new Oldsmobile Alero, taken from an angle familiar to Jiffy Lube oil-change specialists, or members of the Joey Chitwood stunt-driving team. With tires pawing the air like the legs of an overturned turtle, the Alero displays underpinnings that are light-years ahead of its predecessor, the Achieva. Where a twist-beam rear axle once brooded resides a sophisticated strut-type system whose lower links anchor to the subframe very close to the car's centerline, promising stable handling by minimizing camber change. Neatly encircling the drivetrain is a hydroformed cradle (this manufacturing process produces intricately bent one-piece rails, replacing multipiece, welded-up assemblies), with lightweight, cast-aluminum lower arms for the MacPherson-strut front suspension serving as shiny metallic book ends.

The point here, emphatically made, is that the Alero isn't just a stylish new skin draped over an ailing, aging platform but an all-new, technologically current car with its cross hairs locked onto fast-moving bogeys like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry. And it represents something of a fresh start for Oldsmobile, whose rather amorphous model line of five years ago is focused now with the finely tuned triumvirate of Aurora, Intrigue and what's sure to be the volume leader, Alero (Olds expects more than 150,000 per year will roll off the Lansing, Michigan, assembly line that also produces the Alero's chassis-mate, the Pontiac Grand Am).

Available as a coupe or sedan, with a 2.4-liter dohc inline-4 or 3.4-liter ohv V-6, and in three trim levels (GX, GL and GLS), our test car was a prototype GLS Coupe with all the niceties this top level provides: the V-6, air conditioning, leather seating, keyless entry, a 6-way power driver's seat, a 6-speaker AM/FM/cassette/CD player, along with all the usual motorized windows, mirrors and such. And of greater import to R&T readers, our car had the Sport Suspension Package that includes 16-in. polished alloy wheels with V-rated P225/50R-16 tires and more aggressively tuned shocks, stiffer springs (14 percent firmer in front; 23 percent firmer in the rear) and harder bushings in various places. There's also more roll stiffness in front, courtesy of a solid 24-mm anti-roll bar; lesser models have a hollow bar of the same diameter.

It's through experiencing a series of aggressively attacked switchbacks you realize this last option is money well spent. It endows the Alero with impressive grip (0.83g) and agility (a kudos-worthy slalom weave of 62.3 mph) that doesn't compromise its firmly planted, stable feel. Steering is quick and precise, no doubt in part because the variable-assist rack-and-pinion system bolts directly to the engine cradle, not the firewall, and there's enough road feel to encourage two hands on the Alero's meaty steering wheel. With the new fully independent rear suspension and significant reductions in unsprung weight (aluminum calipers for the 4-wheel disc brake system help here too), the Alero copes competently with mid-corner bumps and undulations, and returns respectable ride comfort. Amply sized disc brakes all around under the control of ABS make short work (literally) of our simulated panic stops, nipping the rival Accord Coupe by 5 ft. from 60 and by nearly two car-lengths from 80 mph. And the calipers clamp with reassuring immediacy, the firm pedal returning a satisfying bite of stopping power from high speed. Olds has done its homework here, and it shows.

If there's an area where the Accord can claim hands-down superiority, it's in drivetrain refinement. The Alero's 170-bhp 3.4-liter pushrod V-6 is just plain loud under hard acceleration, emitting a gritty, low-frequency whoosh/rumble that thankfully subsides as revs drop at cruise. But torque is its ticket to redemption, peaking at 4,000 rpm with a very healthy 200 lb.-ft. With standard traction control helping adhesion, the Alero lunges off the line without a trace of steering-wheel tug, followed by smooth, positive shifts of the Hydramatic 4T45E 4-speed automatic transaxle (incidentally, its fluid is expected to last the life of the car). At the track, acceleration is close to its Japanese rival's; the Alero's 7.9-second clocking to 60 trails the Accord's by a mere 0.2 sec., and the gap is lessened to half that in the quarter mile (16.0 sec., versus the Honda's 15.9).

Inside the Alero, Oldsmobile thankfully didn't try to reinvent the dashboard but instead wrapped the essentials in eye-pleasing shapes done up in high-quality, soft-touch plastics. A basic set of round dials cleft by a vertical PRNDL is clearly visible through the 4-spoke wheel. The radio, uppermost in the dash, has large, clearly labeled controls, and I'd personally like to thank the engineer responsible for the tuner's knob; it's so much easier to select stations this way than with a fiddly, tedious rocker switch. Equally sensible are three rubberized knurled knobs for fan speed, temperature control and vent modes, though a row of buttons below these (recirc, defrost, etc.) are rather low and far away and will be partially blocked by the right knee of taller drivers.

The Alero's front bucket seats are built for comfort, not for speed, and their timid bolsters don't match the cornering potential of tires and chassis, but the driver's power seat (standard on the GLS) adjusts six ways to afford an in-command position to almost everyone. Rear seating is generous by coupe standards, but the wraparound side panel treatment does tend to encroach on shoulder room. There are other thoughtful touches worth mentioning-some obvious, some not-like a nifty coin drawer to the left of the steering column, programmable door locks (there are four strategies) and a low-tire warning system that uses the ABS sensors to compare wheel speeds to spot the offender, then alert the driver with a warning light. There's also a large trunk with a medium-low liftover, with access to the interior through a generously sized pass-through revealed by folding the 30/70-split seats.

There's a lot to like here, including the Alero's Aurora-influenced styling, though R&T's crack esthetics team did object to the overly large taillights and a little too much daylight between the tires and fender lips. But is it enough? At an estimated $21,500 (prices weren't finalized), the Alero GLS Coupe creeps to within spitting distance of its natural nemesis, the Accord Coupe. Oldsmobile has its corporate fingers crossed that the Alero's combination of expressive styling, a lively chassis and that satisfying torque will lure buyers into the fold.

-Road & Track Magazine
-     by Douglas Kott