Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme

Convertible driving kicks: There’s months of convertible weather left in the Chicago area, and you can get prime soft-top driving kicks in Oldsmobile’s $20,995 Cutlass Supreme , which I’ve tested. Here are pros and cons:

Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme: This is one of few convertibles with a big back seat. Many convertible rear seats resemble narrow park benches, but the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme has room back there for two adults, or three in a pinch. The trunk even is fairly big.

The large, comfortable front bucket seats need more side support for spirited driving. The front-drive Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme encourages zesty driving because it has a sport suspension. Recommended is the optional $1,540 sport package, which includes wide performance tires – to enhance handling – along with quicker steering, automatic climate control, leather seats and sports-car instrumentation.

The mid-size Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme convertible is heavy at 3,602 pounds, but steering, handling and braking are excellent and the car is quite nimble for its size. The ride is supple, but there is steering wheel shake on rough roads.

The sporty sounding, 140-horsepower V-6 gives lively performance around town, but the 3.1-liter engine needs more power on highways. The 55-65 m.p.h. passing time is fine. But 65-75 m.p.h. passing times are just adequate, with the V-6 beginning to run out of steam at about 70. Still, the car would cruise at 85 all day, if the law allowed.

Economy with the smooth four-speed automatic transmission is an EPA-estimated 19 m.p.g. in the city and an excellent 30 on the highway.

The fully lined power top, which has a glass rear window, works easily and makes it quiet inside when up. There’s little wind buffeting in the interior when it’s lowered. Tapping the two rear-window buttons from the driver’s seat makes all four side windows automatically drop, which is a nifty feature.

A “top bar” is necessary because side posts had to be retained from the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme hardtop to house door handles. The swept-back bar gives the convertible a racy appearance, but it would look better without the bar, which obstructs vision for rear-seat passengers.