1999 Oldsmobile Alero VS. Honda Accord VS. Nissan Altima

With its all-new Alero, Oldsmobile has clearly embarked on a mission of ambition. Designed to appeal to younger, hipper buyers whose tastes run distinctly towards import-flavored products, the division is banking on this replacement for the Cutlass Ciera becoming its most-popular model line as we head for the millennium. On sale this fall, the '99 Alero will be available in coupe and sedan configurations. We recently got our hands on a very early preproduction four-door and put it through its paces against a pair of cars Olds envisions as its primary competition.

In developing the sedan variant, Alero designers used two of the best affordable family four-doors on the market as prime bogeys: the Nissan Altima and Honda Accord. But no target worth shooting at ever remains stationary, and both of these popular front-drivers, were themselves, completely redesigned for the '98 model year.

Boldly styled and sharing much of its basic mechanicals with the equally new Pontiac Grand Am, Olds will offer the Alero in three different trim levels: GX, GL, and GLS. Standard engine in GX and GL models will be a 2.4-liter/150-horsepower DOHC four-cylinder while the GLS gets a 3.4-liter/170-horse OHV V-6 that's also a GL option. Both are backed by an electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission and work in conjunction with a standard full-range traction control system.

Alero pricing has yet to be finalized, but Olds says a GX should start about $17,500, a GL closer to $19,000, and a GLS about $21,500, including $550 in destination fees. Our tester was a GLS, which only comes one way: loaded. Heading the formidable list of standards are leather upholstery, automatic climate control, power windows/locks/mirrors, AM/FM/CD/cassette stereo, cruise control, intermittent wipers, alarm system, power driver's seat, a tilt steering column, foglamps, and anti-lock brakes, all of which can be had on its top-level Honda and Nissan rivals, as well. But both the GL and GLS Alero models also come with a substantially larger wheel and tire package (225/60TR16 rubber on cast alloys) as well as a slick tire-pressure monitoring system that's not available on either of the other two vehicles.

To serve as effective counterpoints, we gathered price-competitive versions of the Nissan Altima and Honda Accord. Packing a 2.4-liter/150-horsepower DOHC four and four-speed automatic, our Altima GXE based at $17,999 and, fitted with the security convenience package (keyless remote, anti-theft system, and upgraded stereo with CD), ABS, and a power sunroof, totalled out at $20,357. Motivated by a 200-horse/3.0-liter SOHC V-6-also linked to a four-speed autoshifter-the Accord LX with V-6 commanded $21,550. Already well-appointed, it added only floormats, California emissions hardware, and $395 in destination to bottom-line at $22,124.

Disregarding the clearly prototype appearance of several clearly prototype interior components in our tester, the Alero's passenger compartment engenders a contemporary look and feel that stands it on par with any and all if its current competitors. Sharing a good deal of the flavor-as well as several dash elements-with its midsize Intrigue cousin, the Alero also benefits from logically positioned controls and legible white-on-black analog gauges. One can quibble with the size and location of its front cupholders (particularly the one buried just ahead of the console-mounted shift lever), but overall, things are looking pretty good here.