Oldsmobile Intrigue is a smooth, comfortable sedan. Its twin-cam V6 engine, introduced last year, delivers lots of power for quick passes on two-lane roads. The Intrigue provides quick, accurate steering, agile handling, excellent high-speed stability and a nice ride quality on bumpy roads. A handsome interior, available in tasteful leather, features well-designed climate controls. The Intrigue seats four people comfortably or its rear seats can be folded down to make room for a lot of luggage.
An attractive, expressive sedan, the Intrigue is arguably the best of the General Motors sedans in this class. More important, it is an enjoyable car more than capable of holding its own against such great mid-size competitors as the Toyota Camry V6.
Three trim levels are available: GX, GL and GLS. All are four-door, five-passenger sedans. All Intrigues are equipped with a 3.5-liter double overhead-cam V6 engine phased in during the 1999 model year mated to a four-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission.
Intrigues come well equipped. The base Intrigue includes air conditioning, AM/FM/cassette stereo and power windows, mirrors and door locks for $22,210. Intrigue GL models, which will start at $23,840, include upgraded cloth, dual automatic climate controls and a premium AM/FM/cassette stereo with six speakers. GLS models, which start at $25,840, are equipped with leather seating surfaces, heated front seats and a CD stereo.
Our GL came with optional leather seating ($995) and a premium stereo. For hay fever sufferers, we recommend the $25 air filtration system that uses a replaceable filter. Available packages include a $500 Bose sound system with an amplifier and a dealer-installed 12-disc CD changer.
The Intrigue's quietly muscular exterior features styling cues from the Oldsmobile Aurora. This is most apparent in the twin openings below the reflector headlamps, which add character to the front end. The exterior is devoid of chrome and badges. Aggressive 16-inch wheels fill the wheel wells. The Intrigue's styling and proportions disguise its substantial size; it is more than 7 inches longer and 3.5 inches wider than the Toyota Camry.
Launched in 1998 as a replacement for Oldsmobile's discontinued Cutlass Supreme, the Intrigue has much in common with GM's other mid-size entries: Pontiac Grand Prix, Chevy Lumina, Buick Century and Buick Regal. Yet the Oldsmobile Intrigue presents its own character and is arguably the best interpretation of GM's W-car group.
The inside color scheme of our Intrigue GL came in a subdued contrast of taupe and cream. Devoid of GM's wood trim, it was tastefully done and looked like something from the cover of an interior design catalogue. An organic dash design looks clean, uncluttered and contemporary.
This is a big car by mid-size standards, and there's corresponding roominess inside. Front legroom, augmented by extended seat travel, is abundant. The front bucket seats are nicely contoured. Six-way power adjustments on the driver's side are designed well.
There's plenty of space for two adults in the rear. Long seat cushions in the rear seats provide exceptional thigh support, and the Intrigue beats the Camry for rear seat legroom by 1.4 inches. Five passengers would be crowded for anything but short trips, however. Three people in the back seat is a bit cramped and, rather than a shoulder harness, there is only a lap belt in the center position.
Trunk space is vast with plenty of room for golf bags, or mass quantities of luggage. I folded down one of the rear seats and stowed a set of fly rods there for a 600-mile round trip to Key West.
Lots of glass, a streamlined instrument cowling and a low hood line make for excellent driver sight lines. Analog tachometer and speedometer are separated by an illuminated PRNDL repeater for the transmission. Padded in thick leather, the steering wheel feels good. Auxiliary switches on the steering column feature cruise controls and, on our GL, sound system controls.
