1998 Dodge Intrepid Es

Clearly, the Intrepid is big on the outside and big on the inside. Commodious and beautifully styled accurately sum up the work of Chrysler's interior designers. From A-pillar to A-pillar, the dash top sweeps gracefully. In front of the driver are beautiful, white-faced gauges that are not only sporty looking but wonderfully easy to read. The big switches and oversize control knobs click and snick with the high-quality feel of a luxury sedan. They're also logically and conveniently located so that they're easy to use for drivers of all sizes. From the leather buckets of the ES to the cloth-covered front bench in the six-passenger base car, seating is nicely firm and comfortably contoured for spirited driving or longer trips. About the only old-Chrysler details in this sedan were the raw-looking holes that mark the shift positions on the center console and the plastic plates that cover the shifter slot in the center console.

In sum, the Intrepid ES is large, quiet, and smooth riding with a sport sedan's aggressive look and feel. It's not a taut corner-bender in the Euro fashion. But for rough U.S. roads, long commutes, and cross-country trips, this slick sedan with its huge trunk is a definite keeper.