Bravo for Bravada

Barry Hanson
Published: 02 11 2001

-from The Edmonton Sun
In the trio of newly introduced-for-2002 mid-size sport utes from General Motors, the Oldsmobile Bravada could be described as the one targeted at drivers who make comfort a priority.

The Bravada, along with its siblings the Chevy TrailBlazer and GMC Envoy, were launched this summer. The trio are expected to help GM crack the mid-size SUV market, something that had been missing from the company's lineup until now.

All three share a common chassis and drive train but GM took steps to make each of the final products as different from its siblings as possible. On the exterior, only 30% of the body panels is shared by all three vehicles.

Design teams
Different design teams for each sibling ensured the interiors were just as distinct. Each member of the trio has a different role: Envoy fits into GMC's image as the professional-grade truck maker; the Trailblazer is the most affordable of the three; and the Bravada is the one most likely to be driven to the opera.

Oldsmobile reinforced the $46,445 Bravada's image by offering it in only one trim level: fully loaded.

Climb inside the Bravada and you're immediately ensconced in comfortable seats upholstered in perforated leather, front and back. Dash gauges are well-laid out behind the steering wheel and feature understated white-on-black markings. The centre console housing climate control and sound system controls are wrapped in wood-grain trim.

Further attention to comfort comes in the form of front-seat bun warmers, with memory functions allowing the occupants in front to set up the eight-way power adjustable seats to their liking, at the touch of a button. Head, shoulder and leg room, front and rear, is ample. The climate control system offers separate adjustments for the driver's and passenger side in front, as well as rear-seat fan controls.

The standard AM/FM stereo with CD and cassette players comes with separate back-seat volume controls.

Other standard features include power windows and locks, cruise control, leather-wrapped steering wheel, remote keyless entry and heated, power adjustable wing mirrors.

There are two options available on the Bravada: an upgraded Bose stereo with six-disc CD changer, and a sunroof. Other than those, this vehicle is strictly one-size-fits-all.

The Bravada shares its newly developed, 4.2 litre inline-six engine with its siblings. Described by General Motors representatives as being inherently balanced, this powerplant delivers 270 hp and 275 lb. ft. of torque with little in the way of excess noise or vibration.

That power is delivered to the 17 inch wheels via a four-speed, electronic automatic transmission with overdrive tied to GM's SmartTrak all wheel drive system.

This vehicle isn't miserly on gas - mileage is estimated at 15.4 L/100 km in the city, 10.2 L/100 km on the highway.

With this arrangement, acceleration is crisp if not dramatic. Although acceleration figures aren't available, after driving a Bravada for a week recently I can tell you merging with highway traffic can be done easily and without worrying about how long it will take to match speeds.

The Bravada's ride is smooth, built to shield occupants from the road's imperfections. Suspension duties are handled by independent coil-over-shock arrangements up front and a five-link set-up in the rear.

The rear system also features electronically control air suspension, with sensors determining how much to inflate two heavy air bladders, one over each wheel, based on road inputs.

The resulting ride is smooth, almost too smooth. I was left with the feeling it would be easy for the driver to feel disconnected from the local terrain, although from a passenger point of view, feeling as though you're floating over the landscape is probably not a bad thing.

Comfort

Handling is geared more toward comfort than performance - it rides more like a large sedan than a sport car and in hard cornering there was some lean.

On the outside, the Bravada's styling features a broad, rounded front end. On the sides an accent line stretches along the body from front to rear just below the window line.

The fenders incorporate subtle shoulders and sharply creased, narrow flares over the wheel wells.

European styling cues can be seen on the nose of the vehicle, which features wraparound headlights and a grille split into two by a prominent Oldsmobile logo.

The standard towing package on the Bravada makes it a competent highway hauler with a towing capacity of 2,767 kg. Cargo capacity on the inside is 1,162 litres with the rear seat up. Folding the 65/35 split rear seat down more than doubles that capacity to 2,269 litres.

The Bravada isn't an off-road vehicle. It sits too low to the ground, the suspension is geared for comfort rather than rock scrambling, and its all wheel drive system is geared more to safety than all-terrain traction.

But if you're looking to transport yourself and four friends on graded roads, in comfort and with a modicum of style, then this vehicle deserves a closer look.

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