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Car and Driver
03-08-2025
- Automotive
- Car and Driver
Comparison Test: 1989 Budget-Friendly Sports Sedans
From the March 1989 issue of Car and Driver. You've finally hit your stride. Your career is in overdrive, you're making a few bucks, you've established a family, and you're well on your way to becoming a pillar of society. Congratulations. But now you need a new car that reflects your newfound status and needs. Your parental standing suggests something practical—say, a four-door sedan. But there's just one problem: you still love to drive, and you'd rather have a road-burning speedster than a boring family hauler. You need a sports sedan: a car with four doors, a spacious body to provide shuttle service for the family, and plenty of speed and handling for you. Fortunately, today's market is loaded with sports sedans. In fact, there are so many available that picking the right one can be a daunting task. And that's where we come in. We've assembled six of the best speedy sedans available for an official C/D comparison test. Read on and you'll see that being practical and sensible certainly doesn't rule out having fun behind the wheel. Our distillation process complete, we were left with a six-pack of hot-blooded sedans, several of which are newcomers this year. The rules for our competition specified that each car had to have at least four doors, good test-track numbers, and a sticker price no higher than the mid $20,000 range. (We know you're on your way up, but we don't expect you to be in the Forbes 400 yet.) We originally nominated fourteen cars, and we drove them back-to-back before paring the list down to six finalists. The first to go were the Pontiac Bonneville SE, the Toyota Cressida, the Mazda 929, the Acura Legend, and the Merkur Scorpio. All five of these cars are commendably comfortable and eminently well mannered, but we found that each of them lacked either the performance or the handling prowess we expect of a first-rate sports sedan. We also ruled out the Alfa Romeo Milano, the Volvo 740 Turbo, and the Audi 90 because—though they are fine cars—they didn't display the well-rounded arsenal of talents shown by the top entries. Our distillation process complete, we were left with a six-pack of hot-blooded sedans, several of which are newcomers this year. The most obvious choice was Ford's new Taurus SHO, the deservedly popular Taurus sedan bolstered with a spanking-new 220-hp Yamaha V-6, an upgraded chassis, and a full complement of luxury features. Its reasonable sticker price makes the Taurus SHO the most exciting sports sedan to come to market in several years. View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver Another newcomer among the finalists is Nissan's redesigned Maxima. The old Maxima was a solid and sensible car with a healthy engine, but its styling—both inside and out—was so clunky that no enthusiast would give it a second look. That's all history now. The new Maxima is a sleek piece of automotive sculpture with plenty of appeal. And inside, Nissan has adopted a clean, simple interior with a control layout that encourages serious driving. A few more ponies and an upgraded chassis complete the Maxima's transformation into one of the most attractive sedans in the class of 1989. One car that hasn't changed much recently is the BMW 325i. BMW was largely responsible for inventing the sports sedan twenty years ago when it introduced the 2002, and it followed up that famous effort with the six-cylinder Bavaria. These days, BMW continues to produce some of the world's finest sports sedans. Unfortunately, you need to be well up the corporate ladder before you can afford most of them. The 325i is the welcome exception. It gives up a few luxury touches in exchange for a base price of $25,450, but it retains the solid feel, the secure handling, and the magic powertrain that the bigger Bimmers are famous for. Another Bavarian entry is the Audi 80 Quattro. Despite its greater weight, we chose the four-wheel-drive 80 Quattro over the similarly priced front-drive 90 because it handled and steered better than its higher-numbered sibling. The 80 Quattro combines modern design with super-sleek, aerodynamically efficient bodywork. And, like the 325i, the 80 is solid, well finished, and a bit on the expensive side. The Sterling 827S is an interesting mix of Japanese and English engineering and design that combines some of the best characteristics from each. The mechanical twin of the Acura Legend, the 827S borrows its sophisticated chassis, ultra-smooth 24-valve V-6, and slick-shifting gearbox from Honda. But its interior and exterior styling and its overall character are English. In fact, it was the superior handling of the English-tuned Honda suspension that motivated us to select the Sterling over the Legend for this test. To wring out our six sporting four-doors, we mailed six Car and Driver editors to Pasadena, California, for a two-day, 500-mile drive through some of the best winding roads in the country. The Peugeot 405Mi16 rounds out our sedan sextet. You might not immediately think of Peugeot when the conversation rolls around to sports sedans, but Peugeot is a major player in Europe and the new 405 line is its brightest star. In Mi16 form, the 405 is endowed with a high-revving 1.9-liter four rated at 150 horsepower, a beefed-up suspension, and sticky rubber. And, like all 405s, the Mi16 offers a roomy, well-designed body. At $21,145, the 405Mi16 is the least expensive European entry in our test. To wring out our six sporting four-doors, we mailed six Car and Driver editors to Pasadena, California, for a two-day, 500-mile drive through some of the best winding roads in the country. We began our back-to-back comparison drives on the Angeles Crest and Angeles Forest highways, where we spent half a day plying the same sinewy stretch of road. We then proceeded toward Palmdale, home of the Stealth bomber, and made our way west on straight and empty Route 138 toward Gorman, Frazier Park, and the winding blacktop that runs through the Los Padres National Forest. Darkness fell long before we reached our evening destination in Santa Barbara, providing us with a fine opportunity to assess each car's poise and mettle as we hustled over the dark, unfamiliar mountain roads. The next day we repeated this same basic route, ending up in Rosamond, between Edwards Air Force Base and Willow Springs Raceway, where the technical department performed its full battery of instrumented tests. With test results and notes in hand, we then retired to our respective chambers to ponder the merits of our six competitors. We rated each car in ten individual categories to provide a detailed indication of its various strengths and weaknesses. A separate overall-rating category provided the final finishing order, which we present below: View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver 6th Place: Peugeot 405Mi16 The Peugeot was unquestionably the raciest car in our group. It cut into corners with a razor-sharp quickness that made it feel more like a Formula car than a four-door sedan. And when pushed to its 0.83-g cornering limit, the Mi16 remained wonderfully neutral—its tail oozed out gradually, and it was easy to hold in a controlled drift. The Mi16's twin-cam four-cylinder engine matched the chassis's track-car manners by screaming like an F1 engine whenever we wound it into the heart of its power band. Unfortunately, the sound wasn't pleasant: the engine sounded harsh from about 5500 rpm all the way to the rev limiter—which cut in a few hundred revs short of the 7000-rpm redline. Rich Ceppos wrote that the screaming four was "loud enough to scare Alain Prost." William Jeanes noted that "the engine makes more noise than the other five put together." Nor did the thrust produced by the engine match the volume of the racket. The Mi16 needed 9.5 seconds to reach 60 mph and nearly 17 seconds to cover the standing quarter-mile. That just isn't enough performance for spirited mountain driving. All in all, the engine did a better job of turning gasoline into noise than into speed. On the highway, with the engine turning only moderate revs, the Peugeot was much better. The cabin remained reasonably quiet, and the ride was smooth and resilient. View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver Several drivers had trouble finding a comfortable driving position, noting that their legs banged against the dash when they moved close to the wheel. And, though everyone liked the Mi16's leather upholstery, a few logbook entries criticized the quality of some of the other cabin fixtures. Several staffers also expressed minor concerns about the quality of the Peugeot's overall fit and finish. The $21,145 Peugeot was one of the least expensive entries in the group, but that only partially offset the car's disadvantages. A noisy and weak four-cylinder engine simply doesn't cut it when the sticker price rises above twenty grand. The 405Mi16 would be our choice as the best autocross car in the group, but as an all-around sports sedan, it falls to the back of this talented pack. 1989 Peugeot 405Mi16 Base/as-tested price: $20,700/$21,145 DOHC 16-valve inline-4, aluminum block and head Power: 150 bhp @ 6400 rpm Torque: 128 lb-ft @ 5000 rpm Curb weight: 2700 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 9.5 sec 1/4 mile: 16.9 sec @ 84 mph 100 mph: 28.3 sec Top speed: 125 mph Braking, 70-0 mph: 187 ft Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.83 g C/D 500-mile trip: 21 mpg View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver 5th Place: Audi 80 Quattro At $27,110, the Audi 80 Quattro was the most expensive car in the test. As a result, we expected a lot from it—and it only partially delivered. For starters, the Audi's 130-hp five-cylinder was the least powerful engine in the test. And, not surprisingly, the Audi was the slowest car in the group. The engine was willing and felt suitably refined, but it was too weak to endow the Audi's hefty 3000 pounds with any liveliness. This weakness was particularly obvious because the handling of the Quattro chassis was so secure and predictable. As Nicholas Bissoon-Dath put it, "Audi has done a terrific job of making this car benign. You've really got to provoke it to make it do anything even remotely strange." With the capable and confidence-inspiring chassis always ready for more speed, we were constantly aware of the engine's lack of power. View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver In a more workaday role, the Audi displayed no such shortcomings. Everyone liked our test car's rich-looking blue-cloth interior, and there were praises all around for the solid feel of the controls and the fine driving position. There were a few complaints about the Audi's high waistline, its tight rear seat, and its tiny trunk, but overall, we found the 80 a comfortable and pleasant car to drive. In our minds, the Audi's biggest problem is its price. We'd like it a lot more if it were priced under twenty grand. Granted, the 80 Quattro's healthy sticker includes a sophisticated four-wheel-drive system—something a buyer who lives in a snowy and mountainous region might be willing to pay extra for. But for most sports-sedan shoppers, the $27,110 Audi represents a poor value. 1989 Audi 80 Quattro Base/as-tested price: $23,380/$27,110 SOHC inline-5, iron block and aluminum head Power: 130 bhp @ 5700 rpm Torque: 140 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm Curb weight: 3000 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 10.3 sec 1/4 mile: 17.2 sec @ 81 mph 100 mph: 32.6 sec Top speed: 119 mph Braking, 70-0 mph: 190 ft Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.78 g C/D 500-mile trip: 19 mpg View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver 4th Place: Nissan Maxima SE The new Nissan finished a strong fourth, just one point back of third place and two points out of second. And it earned that fine placing thanks to its well-rounded goodness. That goodness starts with a high level of visual quality, both inside and out. Jeanes noted that "a great amount of attention has been lavished on interior detail; ergonomics, fit and finish, and design are well ahead of the pack." And the Maxima looks every bit as carefully designed and crafted on the outside. It's a car that immediately attracts enthusiasts. Another Maxima strength is its powertrain. The 160-hp 3.0-liter six is quiet, smooth, responsive, and strong at any rpm. It collaborates with a slick-shifting five-speed gearbox to feed power effortlessly to the front wheels. View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver Unfortunately, the Maxima's chassis isn't as capable as its drivetrain. The biggest drawback is a shortage of grip. Our Maxima, fitted with 205/65HR-15 Toyo T tires, could do no better than 0.76 g on the skidpad, a mediocre performance for a modern sports sedan. Moreover, the Maxima's suspension is on the soft side, requiring a gentle touch at the wheel to keep the car from bobbing around. Fortunately, the Maxima's linear steering made smooth driving easy. And even with the soft suspension and low grip, the Maxima was easy to drive and secure at the limit. Of course, the soft suspension provided a comfortable ride during the cruising sections of our test. And the Maxima's cabin offers plenty of room and comfortable seating for its passengers. With an as-tested price of just under $20,000—including anti-lock brakes—the Maxima SE represents a tremendous value. It's an excellent all-around car. 1989 Nissan Maxima SE Base/as-tested price: $17,999/$19,699 SOHC V-6, iron block and aluminum heads Power: 160 bhp @ 5200 rpm Torque: 181 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm Curb weight: 3160 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 8.8 sec 1/4 mile: 16.5 sec @ 84 mph 100 mph: 28.1 sec Top speed: 123 mph Braking, 70-0 mph: 195 ft Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.78 g C/D 500-mile trip: 18 mpg View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver 3rd Place: BMW 325i The BMW 325i nailed down its high finish due in no small part to the goodness of its powertrain. Bill Visnic opined, "If this were an engine- or gearbox- or drivetrain-only comparo, this car would win hands down." And the rest of us agreed. Nothing feels quite like a Bimmer underfoot. Not only is the classic 168-hp BMW straight-six strong enough to give the 325i the second-best performance of the group, but its sound and feel were magic to our enthusiast ears, hands, and feet. Wound up through its rev range, the buttery-smooth engine delivered plenty of thrust and the most delicious mechanical noises in the industry. The 325i's transmission proved to be a worthy partner to its magnificent engine. It snicked in and out of gear beautifully, and its ratios were perfect for keeping the engine at full boil. View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver The chassis did its part in supporting the delightful powertrain. The 325i displayed plenty of grip and stability, and did it with a distinctly sporting flavor. As the only rear-drive car in the group, the BMW was almost as easy to steer with the throttle as with the steering wheel. The Bimmer's steering felt fine during cornering, but we found it to be somewhat light and lifeless on-center. Despite that shortcoming, the 325i tracked well on all the road surfaces we encountered. The BMW's biggest drawback is its size. It is too small to qualify for serious sedan missions. To give rear-seat passengers enough legroom, the front passengers must move their seats up to the point where they're uncomfortable. And the interior finish is a bit stark, though its quality is top-notch. Overall, the 325i is long on sport and short on sedan. It has an immensely satisfying engine and traditional rear-drive handling, and it is constructed with typical German solidity. If you can live with its small size, the 325i—at about $26,000—is definitely worth considering. 1989 BMW 325i Base/as-tested price: $25,450/$26,280 SOHC inline-6, iron block and aluminum head Power: 168 bhp @ 5800 rpm Torque: 164 lb-ft @ 4300 rpm Curb weight: 2840 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 7.5 sec 1/4 mile: 15.5 sec @ 89 mph 100 mph: 22.7 sec Top speed: 128 mph Braking, 70-0 mph: 179 ft Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.79 g C/D 500-mile trip: 19 mpg View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver 2nd Place: Sterling 827S The Sterling 827S was the well-rounded, do-anything nice guy of the test. Whatever we asked it to do, it did willingly and well. Just what you'd expect from its Anglo-Japanese upbringing. Its powertrain, for example, was one of the best in the group. Its engine, the same 2.7-liter 24-valve six used in the Acura Legend, was both powerful and uncannily smooth. Some drivers felt that it was even smoother than the BMW inline six, although the Sterling engine couldn't quite match the Bimmer's stirring personality. And we rated the Sterling's transmission equal to the Bimmer's; the shifter was light and wonderfully precise. The Sterling's chassis was equally capable. Although the 827S continues to use a strut rear suspension instead of the multilink layout now being used on new Legends, our test car handled with excellent balance and stability. The Sterling's neutral cornering behavior and smooth, sharp steering response inspired immediate confidence. View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver For the most part, the Sterling's ride was acceptably comfortable, but when the bumps got large, the car tended to pogo a bit. Most of us liked the Sterling's interior styling. We found its old-world mixture of wood trim and leather particularly attractive. Few of us, however, were satisfied with the driving position. The majority of the complaints centered around the driver's seat, which didn't lower far enough, and the steering wheel, which was hard to reach. But those were minor quibbles. The Sterling 827S has everything you'd expect of a top-notch sports sedan: power, handling, room, and luxury. For $25,525, it's a hell of a deal. 1989 Sterling 827S Base/as-tested price: $22,400/$25,525 (est) SOHC 24-valve V-6, aluminum block and aluminum heads Power: 160 bhp @ 5900 rpm Torque: 162 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm Curb weight: 3160 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 8.2 sec 1/4 mile: 16.1 sec @ 87 mph 100 mph: 25.1 sec Top speed: 127 mph Braking, 70-0 mph: 181 ft Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.79 g C/D 500-mile trip: 17 mpg View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver 1st Place: Ford Taurus SHO In a sports-sedan test, you'd expect the winner to be the fastest and most utilitarian car in the group. And that's just what the Ford Taurus SHO turned out to be. A 220-hp, DOHC 24-valve V-6—designed and built by Yamaha—is the root of the SHO's speed. This engine makes the SHO by far the quickest and fastest car in the group. On the test track, it scorched from 0 to 60 mph in just 6.9 seconds and topped out at 137 mph. Despite its high output, the engine is wonderfully refined. Responsive and well-behaved at low rpm, the V-6 seems to get stronger and stronger as you rev it toward its 7000-rpm redline. And it remains smooth throughout its broad rev range. The SHO V-6 is also quiet: we noted only a faraway hum at cruising speeds, which gradually changed to a determined growl when we wound the engine out. The five-speed gearbox—the only transmission choice with the SHO engine—is not of the same star quality. Its action was precise enough to avoid missed shifts, but the shifter had a sticky feel that demanded excessive effort and didn't clearly signal when we had snicked into or out of gear. View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver For a front-driver with 220 hp, the SHO did an impressive job of putting its power to the ground. We noted little torque steer—except in tight, low-gear corners. A few staffers felt that the steering effort was too light; others complained that its feedback was poor. But we all felt confident driving the SHO hard. Our test car displayed plenty of grip and excellent balance. Ceppos described the car's cornering behavior as "flat, stable, and sure-footed. There always seems to be extra grip available." The SHO's heavily bolstered, highly adjustable driver's seat was not on our list of favorite features. Some drivers found the bottom cushion too short, others felt that the seat couldn't be inclined enough, and others were bothered by the lack of lower lateral support to match the pronounced upper side bolsters. Several other interior details bothered us. The instrument panel looked uninspired and even a little cheap. And the fit and finish of the cabin seemed subpar for a car in this class. Those complaints aside, the Taurus SHO is a winner. On the sedan side, the SHO offers all the virtues of the regular Taurus—which means enough room to haul a large family and all its luggage with ease and comfort. And on the sports side, well, the SHO's test-track numbers speak for themselves. Best of all, the SHO's heady combination of performance and utility is available at a bargain price: $21,768. Speed doesn't get any more sensible than that. View Photos David Dewhurst | Car and Driver Our sextet of sports-sedan finalists proves that practicality need not rule out excitement behind the wheel. All six cars offer enough performance and versatility to please car buffs and sensible-transportation seekers alike. Any one of the top four finishers could satisfy even the most demanding enthusiast. And our winner, the Taurus SHO, could hold its own against many all-out sports cars. So when the time comes to get that sensible car you've always dreaded, now you know what to do. Lift your chin, smile a big enthusiast's grin, and say ''I'd like to look at something in a sports sedan, please." 1989 Ford Taurus SHO Base/as-tested price: $19,739/$21,768 DOHC 24-valve V-6, iron block and aluminum heads Power: 220 bhp @ 6000 rpm Torque: 200 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm Curb weight: 3380 lb C/D TEST RESULTS 60 mph: 6.9 sec 1/4 mile: 15.3 sec @ 93 mph 100 mph: 19.4 sec Top speed: 137 mph Braking, 70-0 mph: 206 ft Roadholding, 300-ft-dia skidpad: 0.82 g C/D 500-mile trip: 17 mpg Reviewed by Csaba Csere Contributing Editor Csaba Csere joined Car and Driver in 1980 and never really left. After serving as Technical Editor and Director, he was Editor-in-Chief from 1993 until his retirement from active duty in 2008. He continues to dabble in automotive journalism and WRL racing, as well as ministering to his 1965 Jaguar E-type, 2017 Porsche 911, 2009 Mercedes SL550, 2013 Porsche Cayenne S, and four motorcycles—when not skiing or hiking near his home in Colorado.
Yahoo
03-08-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
View Photos of the 1989 Budget-Friendly Sports Sedans
Read the full review The basic formula of the sports sedan is simple: Take a four-door, imbue it with some zoot, and let 'er rip. We pulled together six of our favorite sports sedans for a knock-down, drag-out, test-track rumble. You Might Also Like Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades How to Buy or Lease a New Car Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
