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The car’s clarity of purpose was immediately
apparent as our photographer and I slowly paced around it.
Clean, straight lines dominated the styling; everything you see is for
one purpose only: driving. This taut, sinewy sedan has withstood the test of time.
After all this body has been soldiering on since 1995 and yet, no GS300,
E-class, or S-type has looked as mean and purposeful.
What it has over its rivals is an original shape, devoid of pretension
and all-too deliberate attempts to look cute. The front with its baleful stare is unfortunately all too
common as all BMWs share that face. What
makes this sedan look great is the way the tapering profile flows front to rear.
Even the door handles line up with the door crease for an uncluttered look. The
integration of rear windshield, trunk lid and taillights is particularly
successful (and much copied). If this wasn’t the ultimate driving machine, it sure looked the part. Could the truth fulfill the promise? We would soon find out. Sinking into the black leather of the driver’s
seat, we find it to be wide and well-bolstered.
It’s easy to find a position where pedals and steering wheel line up
perfectly. Even the gear stick for
the auto is just a hand-drop away. The
seat adjustment levers, though, border on the clunky, and we would have welcomed
the Accord’s power driver’s seat, or better yet, a well-designed manual
system. Twist the key (yes, it’s still an actual piece of metal) and the twin cam inline-6 barks to life, then settles into a silky smooth purr. The throttle is quite heavy and the travel long, unlike the typical Japanese toe-tap accelerators. This may take some getting used to, but it allows for a more precise adjustment of torque level. The twin-cam 24-valver pumps out 170 bhp and 245 Nm at 3950 rpm. |
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