Between her law courses and her
responsibilities as Miss Black Houston,
Sheila Jones is always moving. Luckily,
her 140-horsepower Eclipse RS is
designed to keep up with a fast-
paced lifestyle.
“T h e interior is as delightful as any luxury cars and the
room is great lor hauling a lot o f folk.
T hat classic British SUV, the Range Rover, took second po
sition on our poll. And despite the fact that we all couldnt rate
the Land Cruiser on the road, the redesigned Toyota SUV
pulled a respectable third place. Rounding out the list is the
G M C /C hevrolet Suburban.
But the bottom line is that all the entries on this list are solid,
credible and reliable. So, if bigger really is better lor your driv
ing needs, you’ve got a hefty, fast-growing list of models from
which to choose.
Lincoln Navigator
It’s been called the “Lincoln Town Truck,” and in some ways,
that isn't a bad comparison. I he Lincoln Navigator is just about
as big as you can get on four wheels. But its more than just
roomy. This full-size sport-ute delivers all the creature comforts
you’d expect from a luxury sedan. The list is a long one, and
takes in everything from heated leather seats to a studio-quality
sound system. The Navigator is based on the enormously-popu-
lar Ford Expedition, and they do have many basic features in
common, including their optional four-wheel-drive powertrain.
Yet “Lincoln has done a great job giving Navigator a distinctive
personality as com pared to the Expedition, stresses
A A O V i'
E d ito r
Range Rover
You don’t need a stiff upper lip to appreciate the Range
Rover. W ith four-wheel drive a standard feature, it is to many
the ultimate off-road machine. Restyled a few years back, todays
Range Rover is a far more stylish vehicle than the model many
Americans have come to know. It’s far more stable, especially in
aggressive highway driving. O n-ro ad or off, this vehicle gets
you where you’re going with style and elegance. A A O W Senior
Editor Blair Walker finds the Range Rover "has an amazing
ability to absorb bum ps and jolts w ithout transm itting them
into the passenger com partm ent.” Excellent towing capacity is
another one of the Range Rovers many attributes.
Press a button in the Eclipse Spyder GS-T, and the
fully-lined power cloth top and glass rear window
vanish. Switch on the 210-peak w att premium
audio system. Adjust the leather-trimmed sport
Toyota Land Cruiser
We admittedly have to wonder how the Toyota 1 .and Cruiser
might have fared in our poll of AAOW editors had more of us
had an opportunity to spend some serious tim e behind the
wheel o f this redesigned SUV. Even so, the appeal is instanta
neous for A A O W Editor Blair Walker, who sighs, 1 love what I
see.” T he new model suspension has been redesigned to give a
more car-like ride, yet it “still has serious off-road credentials,
adds /L fO U 'i Rosville Embry. Larger, heavier and more power
ful than its predeces
sor, th e 98 L an d
Cruiser is powered by
an all-new 4.7 liter V8
e n g in e , th e first
T ovota-badged ve-
— h id e with a V8.
Chevy/
GMC
Suburban
Rosville Embry. O n
the outside, N avigator is differentiated by its
bold, "waterfall” grille, w ith the Lincoln logo m ounted dead
center, and plenty o f chrome. It also comes with plush - stan
dard - leather seats and w alnut trim.
T he Navigator has proved to be Lincoln’s biggest hit in years,
attracting the type o f affluent, younger buyers who normally
buy import brands like B M V , Lexus and Mercedes-Benz. O ne
things certain, you 11 get plenty o f room for passengers and
cargo, notes zLdÓUz Senior Editor Blair V alker. I he Navigator
is “nearly big enough to qualify for its own zip code.
Drivers have voted with their
checkbooks, making the Eclipse more
popular than the Acura Integra, Toyota
Celica, Nissan 240SX and Honda Prelude.
Sorry, guys, we get the crown.
Big, bigger, big
gest; you'd have to
buy a bus to get
m ore room than
I the Suburban. It's
I n o t n ea rly th e
most sophisticated
o f the full-size SUVs, but
this is "the logical choice it you ve got a lot to haul, whether
you’re talking people or cargo, says AAOW s V intred Cross.
And at a base price of just $22,239 (for the Chevy-badged
model), this is the choice o f bargain hunters looking for maxi
m um space on a m inim um budget. Suburban otters a wide-
range o f powertrain options, too, letting you pick just the right
package tor your personal needs, w hether you re coaching the
kids or hauling a pair of thoroughbreds. “ 1 he Suburban isnt
much to look at inside or out, but it does the job, says Jacqueline
Mitchell, AAOW's executive editor. "This plain-jane o f the bunch
is comfortable and offers a lot o f extras at an attractive price.”
J u d g e d A m erica's m ost p o p u la r im p o rt s p o rt coupe.
(W o u ld you w a n t to d rive a runner up?)
Is it any surprise that we blasted past the competition?
The other import sport coupes can't match our 210-
horsepoweU turbo engine. Our available all-wheel drive.
And our hard-core, haute-couture aerodynamics. Call us
at 1-800-55MITSU to learn more. Or check out our web
site at www.mitsucars.com Oh, by the way, we know the
Eclipse flies, but we encourage you to keep your wheels
on the ground. And please, wear your safety belt.
MITSUBISHI
1 5 ,7 4 0 I < t.ps<
34
AFRICAN AMERICANS ON WHEELS
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