Driving the Chevrolet Lumina

I have to admit I wasn’t too excited when I first laid eyes on the Chevrolet Lumina. My first impressions were that the front was a bit too bland with an almost generic-looking horizontal-slatted grille that you see on almost all cars from Sentras to Camrys to Mercedes-Benzes. The seemingly characterless side was marred by smallish alloy wheels and awkwardly tall tires.

Inside, the seats were leather but otherwise plain-looking. Ditto the dashboard and console whose only obvious claim to fame is the beautiful white-faced analog clock. Then I started using the car…

I had the Lumina for a week and on the second or third day realized one thing: that the Lumina was like a simple, down-to-earth girl-next-door whose virtues become obvious once you start living with her, er, it. Case in point: Performance is not overwhelming but the overall ride quality is sooo creamy smooth that you feel cosseted in a lover’s tight embrace. Okay, the car’s soft suspension settings make it feel twitchy, especially when upset by bumps in a middle of a curve taken at moderate to high speeds; but the Lumina is no BMW nor does it pretend to be.

Another plus is its drivetrain. The 2.5-liter V6, which makes approximately 155 hp, feels strong and indestructible. Power delivery is smooth (that word again) if not scintillating with a claimed sprint to 100 kph from a standstill in 12.8 seconds and a somewhat low top speed of 173 kph. GM makes perhaps the best V6 engines and automatic transmissions in the world. (Rolls-Royce used to buy automatic transmissions from GM before BMW bought the English luxury carmaker.) The motor even emits a silky snarl when pushed hard. The Lumina’s V6’s soundtrack would give BMW sixes a run for their money.

Sizewise, it’s the biggest in its class — four inches longer than the class-leading Camry and substantially taller and wider than that car, giving you literally more car for the money. You get lots of room and a big trunk, too.

Before I knew it, the Lumina looked a lot more attractive to me. After parking it at a mall, I turned around and discovered another facet that I totally overlooked: The Lumina has a gorgeous rear end. The wide pinched rear with the big, bright red taillights and the gracefully curving trunk lid (with a very appealing ducktail treatment) could easily grace the rear end of a Jaguar with its enchanting combination of sportiness and luxury. The prominent twin chrome tailpipes peering from under the bumper further add to the hint of excitement. Suddenly, the previously boring side angle looked beautifully minimalist with just the right amount of curves. The only thing I’d change would be the stock 15" wheels (with ultra-tall 215/70R15 tires) for more authoritative 16- or even 17-inchers (with 60- or even 55-series tires).

Dynamically, the car works best when driving in relaxed fashion (i.e. with a chauffeur). As noted, the engine is strong and willing but the chassis does not like to be hurried. If I bought one, I’d immediately swap the shocks for aftermarket Bilsteins for better control. The brakes — four-wheel discs with ABS — are powerful but require strong calf muscles to get maximum deceleration. It even exhibited reasonable fuel economy, with the trip meter registering 200 kilometers traveled with half the 72-liter tank still full. That equates to 5.5 kms per liter of fuel consumption in my basically two modes of driving: bumper-to-bumper crawl or flat-out blasts when the road is clear.

Before I drove the Lumina, I barely took notice of it. But having lived with one, I now have much greater respect for it.

The Good:

• strong, smooth engine

• ultra-smooth automatic gearbox

• spacious interior

• high build quality

• built-in tire pressure monitor and onboard diagnosis

• most car for the money (biggest in class)

• superb Concert Sound 6-speaker CD audio system

• J. Lo rear end

The Bad:

• too soft suspension

• front overhang scrapes on some steep inclines

• small wheel/tall tire combo needs an upgrade

• inordinately high brake pedal effort required

• over-eager automatic headlights turn on at the slightest shadow and takes a long time to shut off again

The Verdict:

The more you live with this car, the more you like it.

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ERRATUM: Oops! With all the action happening at the Audi front, we seem to have crashed and burned in our last issue, and mixed up our Coyiutos in the process. The gentleman in the photo at the back page of last week’s Business Motoring section was not Miguel Coyiuto as we mistakenly claimed, but his brother Robert. Our apologies.