 | 2001 Oldsmobile Alero Performance, style, and value.
By Jim McCraw,
New Car Test Drive .com |
Overview
The Alero is one of Oldsmobile's better efforts. Available in a choice of sedan or coupe body styles, the Alero offers a decent mix of performance and style for a good price. It delivers good mid-range power, a smooth-shifting transmission and positive steering feedback, as well as a roomy back seat, an attractive interior and a sizeable trunk. Alero, Aurora, and Intrigue are some of the better domestic designs, so it's a shame to see Oldsmobile go from that standpoint. Buying a 2001 model shouldn't cause worry, however, as GM will be there to stand behind these cars and honor all warranty claims and maintenance needs. Model Lineup
Oldsmobile Alero is available as two-door coupe and four-door sedan. Each is available in three trim levels, GX, GL, and GLS. Prices for sedans and coupes are the nearly the same. Sedan prices: GX ($17,210); GL ($18,620); GLS ($21,965). A 150-horsepower, 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine is standard on GX and GL. A 170-horsepower 3.4-liter V6 is optional on the GL ($655) and standard on the top-of-the-line GLS. New for 2001 is a 5-speed manual transmission, standard on the base-model GX and available on GL trim. GLS comes standard with an automatic transmission, which is also available on the other models. All Aleros come with four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, traction control, a four-wheel independent suspension, and hydraulic engine mounts. Our GLS sedan test car came with the performance suspension package, which includes a sports suspension, high-performance tires, and 16-inch alloy wheels. The Alero sedan competes with the Mazda 626, Toyota Camry, Ford Taurus, Chrysler Sebring, Honda Accord, Volkswagen Jetta, and Nissan Altima. The Alero coupe competes with the Dodge Stratus, Honda Accord Coupe and Toyota Solara.
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