- coupe 144,437
- Auburn, WA
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- autoshopper.com
- coupe 144,437 gasoline automatic
1995 buick riviera review this car review is specific to this model, not the actual vehicle for sale. This luxury coupe is a big, bold bargain. introductionbuick cars have always measured up pretty well in the prestige arena, but it's been decades since this division has produced a noteworthy design. that's one of the reasons the redesigned riviera caused such a stir when it rolled into showrooms last year. This big, bold front-wheel-drive luxury coupe makes a striking contrast to the rest of the buick lineup, including recent generations of the riviera itself. there's more. Not only does the riviera break new ground in a very fancy field, it does so at a price that should make some of its competitors blush. Although this is clearly a luxury car, its price range straddles the $30,000 luxury frontier. Key rivals such as the acura legend, cadillac eldorado and lincoln mark viii have manufacturer's suggested retail prices that start at about $38,000, and the cost of admission keeps climbing from there. all of which makes the riviera an especially attractive choice. It's bigger than either the eldorado or mark viii - bigger, in fact, than any luxury coupe this side of a bentley continental r. but other elements of the traditional american luxury car - sluggish handling, vague steering, indifferent braking performance - are conspicuous by their absence. The riviera shares a number of chassis components with the oldsmobile aurora - a chassis that is probably the most rigid in gm history, with the possible exception of the chevrolet corvette. chassis stiffness - a new religion in the domestic industry - is the key to durability, noise isolation and good handling. Even though the riviera has no sports-car pretenses, it's devoid of the undignified wallowing that afflicted the american luxoboats of yesteryear. aside from some very minor trim changes - a little less chrome - the riviera is visually unchanged from its triumphant introductory year. there is a significant change under the hood, however. The original base engine - gm's 3800 v6 - has been replaced with an extensively re-engineered 3800 series ii edition, and it's a brilliant piece of work. The 3800 series ii has the virtues of its predecessor - manufacturing simplicity, quiet operation - in a package that's more compact, lighter, more fuel efficient and more powerful: 205 hp versus 170 hp. the riviera's upgrade engine continues to be a supercharged version of the old 3800 v6, appropriately called the supercharged 3800 v6. besides the supercharged engine, different wheels and speed-rated tires, there's not much distinction between a basic riviera and an uplevel version, nor are there any specific model designations. all models do share one flaw: the riviera's elongated tail, which is the only element of the exterior design that seems exaggerated. It provides plenty of trunk space, but getting to its innermost regions requires an awkward stretch. interiorif nothing else, the new riviera is roomy, front and rear. In fact, it has more rear-seat head- and legroom than a good many sedans, luxury and otherwise. As they did with the exterior, buick's designers took some risks here. That's not what the riviera's supercharged 3800 v6 is all about. We were also impressed by the smooth shifting of the 4-speed automatic transmission, an area where gm is one of the industry's leaders. but even more impressive is the riviera's blend of handling control and smooth ride quality. Although weight is the enemy of quick directional changes, the riviera's mass is well-controlled. There's not much body roll in hard cornering, the steering is precise without being heavy and braking performance is excellent. getting that kind of control usually means sacrificing ride quality, but we think the chassis engineers have come up with a contemporary balance on this issue. The lexus ls 400 is still the queen of diminished decibels, but the riviera is definitely near the top of the chart. summarystyling is always a key element in any car purchase, particularly among luxury cars. We can't say we're enthralled by the buick riviera's extended bustle, but it does have personality. we also think its smooth power should be satisfying to most, and that its roominess is exceptional. Power Windows✔ Tachometer✔ Bucket Seats✔ Climate Control✔ Cruise Control✔ CD Player
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