1995 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme Fullsize Car Reviews & Ratings

Although the Cutlass Supreme and its cousins are only two years from a complete redesign, GM made a pretty big investment in this car's interior for 1995 - and it shows to good effect.

The greatest improvement is the long-overdue addition of a passenger airbag to the Cutlass Supreme's inventory of passive safety features. Adding that second airbag has allowed Oldsmobile to replace the Cutlass Supreme's passive seat belt setup.

This marginal system was designed to meet federal passive safety regulations without the added expense of airbags. The old system had its outboard anchors in the doors, rather than the central roof pillar, which limited effectiveness.

The new system fastens conventional three-point belts with adjustable upper anchors up front and is a much better arrangement.

Better also applies to the new instrument panel. The major instruments, which are analog dials, are grouped under a curved cowling that creates more of a command-center impression than the old panel. It's much more attractive and also a little easier to take in at a glance.

We do wish the climate controls had been redesigned along with the rest of the layout. The small buttons and sliders are difficult to adjust when the car is moving.

Another Cutlass Supreme strong suit is interior roominess. This is a particularly appealing trait in a moderately sporty coupe because rear-seat roominess is usually conspicuous by its absence in vehicles of this type.

Then there's the issue of standard equipment - what you get for your basic-model money. In a Cutlass Supreme, basic is far from basic. Series I coupes and sedans include anti-lock brakes, air conditioning, power mirrors/locks/windows, an AM/FM/cassette sound system, cruise control, tilt steering, full carpeting, map pockets and 16-in. alloy wheels.

Roominess and luxury features equate pretty closely with comfort in any car, and the Cutlass Supreme measures up very well on this index.

No one would ever characterize the Cutlass Supreme as a sports car, but its all-around ride and handling traits strike a surprisingly good balance between comfort and agility.

Our coupe did a nice job of damping out the small bumps that register as irritations in many sporty cars. In fact, we were pleasantly surprised by its overall ride quality, because the suspension settings convey an initial impression of firmness.

Firmness usually goes hand in hand with good control - less body roll in hard cornering, less front-end dive during hard braking - and our Cutlass Supreme gave a good account of itself in this area without rattling the teeth of the occupants.

Although the variable-assist, rack-and-pinion power steering could provide a little better road feel, we think that this car's ability to respond to quick maneuvers is better than average, and higher on the fun-to-drive scale than we anticipated.

We were also favorably impressed by our test car's bucket seats, which provided a good range of adjustability as well as an attractive appearance. Although there could be a little more side bolstering to help keep the driver centered in hard cornering, we think most occupants will find the comfort level just fine.

Our only criticism here is that the front seatbacks don't lock into position, which means the passenger seatback could flop forward during hard braking when you're driving solo.

Our test car's optional 3.4-liter V6 provided real urgency to forward progress when we wanted it. Although the Taurus SHO V6 offers more horsepower at high speed than our test car's engine, the 3.4 V6 has excellent punch at low- and midrange speeds, as well as impressive giddy-up for passing.

There's a certain amount of noise that goes with hard acceleration on the Cutlass Supreme, but we don't think most drivers will find it annoying. It just lets you know there's a lot of power going to work for you.

Although we regard more power as a plus, we should add here that the standard 3.1-liter V6 also delivers pretty good performance. The optional 3.4-liter V6 unquestionably makes the Cutlass Supreme more exhilarating to drive, but we don't think anyone will feel short-changed, performancewise, with a basic Series I model.