Wrong Christmas Tree, Freeland School Debate Provoke Callers

Berwick Strives For 5 Vs. Manheim Central

Saturday, November 29, 1997 &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Page: 





You know the drill. You see a car advertised at a really attractive price, &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 visit the dealer to check it out and discover that the price isn t quite as
good as it lookedOh, sure, you can buy one for the advertised price, but not
the way you would like it equipped. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; You want a cassette player? the salesman asks. That will cost you another
250 bucks. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Air conditioning? Tack on an additional $700-800. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And of course you re going to want the optional engine, since the standard
powerplants in many econocars leave much to be desired.... like maybe another
chipmunk or two to make the little wheel spin faster. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 To my surprise, there were no chipmunks under the hood of the 1998 Suzuki
Esteem Wagon I recently tested. I had sort of expected to find them or at
least a few gerbils considering that I was testing a stripped-down version of
what is one of the least expensive station wagons sold in America. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Actually, stripped-down doesn t accurately describe the Esteem GL. The car
I tested, which didn t include a single option, came with a lot of features
and accessories for which other manufacturers often charge extra particularly
on their economy models. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Esteem GL Wagon, which had a sticker price of under $13,000, including
delivery charges, came with air conditioning, an AM/FM cassette player and a
rear-window wiper, washer and defroster. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Wait, there s more: a center console, remote fuel lid release, roof rails,
dual front airbags, power steering, halogen headlights, intermittent wipers, a
cargo cover and even plush carpeted floor mats. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In fact, about the only basics that the entry level Esteem Wagon doesn t
come with are power windows, door locks and mirrors. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 And there s no way to get them, either, on the entry level GL model. Suzuki
requires you to pay another $1,100 for the GLX model if you want those power
accessories. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Likewise, if you want antilock brakes a very desirable safety feature you
re looking at spending a minimum of $15,599 for the GLX+. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Granted, both GLX versions include other niceties such as larger tires and
wheels on the former and an electric tilt/slide sunroof on the latter. But
what if you don t want them? &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 In this case, you re out of luck because those features are not available
as individual options. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I m not a big fan of that kind of feature packaging, but I have no
complaints about the Esteem Wagon s other packaging, inside and out. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The exterior really impressed me. The Esteem is one of the best-looking
wagons on the road; in the same class as my other favorites, Audi s new A4
Avant and Subaru s Legacy. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The interior isn t quite as striking, but it is functional and contemporary
looking. The instrumentation is sparse, but legible, and the controls
generally operate intuitively and are properly located. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Suzuki s interior is surprisingly roomy, given its 97.6-inch wheelbase
and overall length of just over 14 feet. The front seats offer plenty of room
for average-size adults, and the rear is large enough for three young
children. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 But the most impressive interior dimension is the cargo compartment s 24
cubic feet of storage space. Fold the split rear seatbacks flat and cargo
capacity increases to 61 cubic feet. Both figures are comparable to some
mid-size sport/utility vehicles. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 You won t confuse the road-hugging, front-wheel drive Esteem with an SUV
from the driver s seat, however. It handles with considerably more agility and
nimbleness. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Those qualities made the GL Wagon fun to drive around town and on winding
country roads, where it leaned very little in the corners. Its power
rack-and-pinion steering felt good for a car in this price class. It was
nicely weighted and responsive and delivered more road feel than I expected. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 The Esteem s 1.6-liter, 16-valve engine also exceeded my expectations. Its
95 horsepower and 99 foot-pounds of torque are underwhelming numbers at first
glance. But with my test car weighing just 2,359 pounds and having a manual
transmission, the engine performed adequately. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 I managed a zero-to-60 time of about 10.5 seconds, and averaged close to
the Suzuki s EPA mileage rating of 30 city/37 highway despite frequent
full-throttle starts. The engine was a little buzzy at full throttle and
during high-speed highway cruising, but never seemed overworked. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Nor is the engine buzzy enough to be annoying. We took a four-hour round
trip in the Esteem Wagon and were pleasantly surprised at how comfortably it
cruised the interstate. It does a commendable job of minimizing road and wind
noise. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Not that anyone is going to confuse the Esteem GL with a Toyota Camry when
it comes to overall refinement. But given its sticker price, the base model of
this attractive wagon appears to be a great value and not a bad one even if
you opt for power accessories. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
 Scott Wasser &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

You Know The Drill. You See A Car Advertised At A Really Attractive Price, 
Visit The Dealer To Check It Out And Discover That The Price Isn T Quite As 
Good As It Looked.

You Know The Drill. You See A Car Advertised At A Really Attractive Price, Visit The Dealer To Check It Out And Discover That The Price Isn T Quite As Good As It Looked.