| The downside is the transmission. The 5-speed manual
is rather rubbery and lacks the smooth click-into-gear of Japanese manuals.
The 4-speed automatic is not much better, either. Coupled with the
2.0 engine, the transmission is jerky and not very responsive, even when
you depress the "S" button on top of the gear knob for the "Sport" setting.
It doesn't downshift unless you floor the throttle, and even then only
after pausing for a second. When it does downshift, the car jerks
forward, tossing all passengers forward. In reaction, you release
the throttle, and the auto upshifts! You're then back where you started.
Oh, well. Truthfully, though, I haven't yet met an automatic that
I liked.
The chassis has the stiffness and firm ride that we've come to associate with German cars. We test drove the car on Quezon Avenue, through the curved section of G. Araneta towards Del Monte, then through a subdivision back to Quezon Avenue, a route which provided a reasonable sampling of roads which you might experience in city driving. Bumps and potholes are absorbed without any fuss. Brakes are adequately powerful. Turn-in is reasonably smooth and the car responds well to steering inputs. Building up to and maintaining a speed of about 100 km/h on a curved road is achieved with the same ease as in an Accord or Galant. We also had a back-seat test passenger, and he observed that the seats were cramped and the cushions quite firm. The ride was bumpy at the rear, though, bordering on the uncomfortable.
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