With the year 2000 fast approaching, Buick's high-volume Century is under pressure to live up to its name. The verdict? So far, so good. The midsize family sedan has won top awards from two consumer publications and has been honored as the official car of the opening of Test Track at Walt Disney World's EPCOT. Competing in a crowded market full of excellent contenders from the U.S. and across the seas, Century still offers high quality and good value. It was redesigned in 1997 with an eye to the next millennium, but there is nothing futuristic about the car. It is dull to look at from the outside, yet nice-looking in a plain vanilla sort of way. The car's bland styling was no accident; Buick brand managers wanted a Century with styling that would last a long time and never be considered a fad. They succeeded. While it's not very exciting to look at, there is nothing offensive about the sheetmetal, either.
It was a strange coincidence that the tan Century test car arrived at my house close to the time my parents flew in for a visit. Mom and Dad, now in their mid-sixties, are longtime Buick owners and felt right at home during the trip. Powered by a sufficient 3.1-liter 3100 V6 that makes 160 horsepower @ 5,200 rpm, the Century carried us around town plenty fast. With a torque output of 185 foot-pounds @ 4,000 rpm, its engine features fuel injection and provides more than enough power from a complete stop or when passing other vehicles. Stomp hard on the accelerator, however, and the engine revs louder than is pleasant. The four-speed automatic transmission features an electronic capacity clutch and a torque converter for smooth shifting. Fuel economy with this V6 runs about 20 mpg in the city and 29 mpg for trips on the Interstate.
We drove the Century into the foothills outside Denver during a misty drizzle that turned into snow at higher altitudes. This gave us a reason to test out the windshield wipers, which boast nine different settings. In all types of precipitation, the wipers cleared off the windshield extremely well and the wiper stalk was easy to operate. The Century also features dual climate controls, which are easy to decipher, but it took a good four to five minutes for the vents to start blowing warm air after cold start-ups. The digital controls allow occupants to choose between three airflow options: windshield, mid-dash and floor, or a combination of them. Our biggest gripe about the system was that it was unable to combine the windshield and mid-dash option, which made it impossible to keep our hands warm while defrosting the windshield.
Seating in the Century can accommodate six, due to wide front seat tracks and sculpted front seat backs, and the driver gets a power seat height adjuster for improved visibility. Overall visibility is decent, with headrests that don't block the view out the back or sides. The leather seats on our Limited model felt plush but flat, with no hint of lumbar support. Road noise was enough to stifle conversation on a bumpy stretch of highway, but the ride felt plenty smooth and quiet on less extreme patches of concrete. The Century's suspension seemed to either float loftily over road bumps or crash down on them harshly, and body roll was not uncommon. The suspension on 1999 Centurys has been refined, though.
The Century's dashboard layout is uncluttered, with large round gauges and big digital readouts. Pictographs border the instrument panel and light up to relay information to the driver in the most simplistic way. All passengers can see the huge green digital clock readout from any seat in the car, partly due to its large size and partly because of the rear elevated seating.
One gadget we really like is the flip-down clothes hook in the rear because it is wide enough to actually hang a bunch of dry-cleaned clothes on without them slipping off. We are also happy that the Century offers radio controls mounted on the steering wheel, plenty of legroom for rear passengers, seating for six adults, a thick and sturdy steering column-mounted gear shifter, and visor extenders that are so long you'd think they could wrap around the moon. Other nifty extras on our test car included an external temperature display, single in-dash CD player, vanity mirrors with lights for both passenger and driver, and plastic buttons and levers that felt solid and durable. And the spacious trunk (16.7 cubic feet) is big enough to hold just about anything a midsize family can throw in it.
We were puzzled by the wood trim that was found only in small patches around the power window switchgear on all four doors and a tiny, chintzy-feeling revolving ashtray for rear seat passengers. Other complaints included a hollow-sounding door thump, exposed screw heads, swing-down grip handles with an exposed spring mechanism that can potentially pinch fingers, and cupholders that pull out of the flip-down center armrest and don't hold skinny bottles with any sense of stability. Forget about opening the armrest cubby to pull out a CD if you've got an open drink in the cupholder-- the entire armrest will jerk up and send soda or coffee spraying all over. And forget about tossing any notebooks or papers on the dash; it's way too swoopy.
Wheeling this family sedan about town would have been easier with a slightly smaller and tighter-feeling steering wheel, though we appreciate the tilt. While the driving experience cannot compete with what you'll get in a Toyota Camry LE or a Honda Accord, you won't have to pay the few extra thousands that those cars cost, either. Domestic competitors like the Chevrolet Malibu LS, Oldsmobile Cutlass and Chrysler Cirrus LX are comparable in terms of powertrain and price, but the Century Limited beats out all except the Cirrus in pure horsepower. We like the Buick and think it offers a lot of standard fare for a nominal price, but it's not the only choice of vehicle to take you and yours into the millennium. Before putting your money on this Century, examine all your options.
It was a strange coincidence that the tan Century test car arrived at my house close to the time my parents flew in for a visit. Mom and Dad, now in their mid-sixties, are longtime Buick owners and felt right at home during the trip. Powered by a sufficient 3.1-liter 3100 V6 that makes 160 horsepower @ 5,200 rpm, the Century carried us around town plenty fast. With a torque output of 185 foot-pounds @ 4,000 rpm, its engine features fuel injection and provides more than enough power from a complete stop or when passing other vehicles. Stomp hard on the accelerator, however, and the engine revs louder than is pleasant. The four-speed automatic transmission features an electronic capacity clutch and a torque converter for smooth shifting. Fuel economy with this V6 runs about 20 mpg in the city and 29 mpg for trips on the Interstate.
We drove the Century into the foothills outside Denver during a misty drizzle that turned into snow at higher altitudes. This gave us a reason to test out the windshield wipers, which boast nine different settings. In all types of precipitation, the wipers cleared off the windshield extremely well and the wiper stalk was easy to operate. The Century also features dual climate controls, which are easy to decipher, but it took a good four to five minutes for the vents to start blowing warm air after cold start-ups. The digital controls allow occupants to choose between three airflow options: windshield, mid-dash and floor, or a combination of them. Our biggest gripe about the system was that it was unable to combine the windshield and mid-dash option, which made it impossible to keep our hands warm while defrosting the windshield.
Seating in the Century can accommodate six, due to wide front seat tracks and sculpted front seat backs, and the driver gets a power seat height adjuster for improved visibility. Overall visibility is decent, with headrests that don't block the view out the back or sides. The leather seats on our Limited model felt plush but flat, with no hint of lumbar support. Road noise was enough to stifle conversation on a bumpy stretch of highway, but the ride felt plenty smooth and quiet on less extreme patches of concrete. The Century's suspension seemed to either float loftily over road bumps or crash down on them harshly, and body roll was not uncommon. The suspension on 1999 Centurys has been refined, though.
The Century's dashboard layout is uncluttered, with large round gauges and big digital readouts. Pictographs border the instrument panel and light up to relay information to the driver in the most simplistic way. All passengers can see the huge green digital clock readout from any seat in the car, partly due to its large size and partly because of the rear elevated seating.
One gadget we really like is the flip-down clothes hook in the rear because it is wide enough to actually hang a bunch of dry-cleaned clothes on without them slipping off. We are also happy that the Century offers radio controls mounted on the steering wheel, plenty of legroom for rear passengers, seating for six adults, a thick and sturdy steering column-mounted gear shifter, and visor extenders that are so long you'd think they could wrap around the moon. Other nifty extras on our test car included an external temperature display, single in-dash CD player, vanity mirrors with lights for both passenger and driver, and plastic buttons and levers that felt solid and durable. And the spacious trunk (16.7 cubic feet) is big enough to hold just about anything a midsize family can throw in it.
We were puzzled by the wood trim that was found only in small patches around the power window switchgear on all four doors and a tiny, chintzy-feeling revolving ashtray for rear seat passengers. Other complaints included a hollow-sounding door thump, exposed screw heads, swing-down grip handles with an exposed spring mechanism that can potentially pinch fingers, and cupholders that pull out of the flip-down center armrest and don't hold skinny bottles with any sense of stability. Forget about opening the armrest cubby to pull out a CD if you've got an open drink in the cupholder-- the entire armrest will jerk up and send soda or coffee spraying all over. And forget about tossing any notebooks or papers on the dash; it's way too swoopy.
Wheeling this family sedan about town would have been easier with a slightly smaller and tighter-feeling steering wheel, though we appreciate the tilt. While the driving experience cannot compete with what you'll get in a Toyota Camry LE or a Honda Accord, you won't have to pay the few extra thousands that those cars cost, either. Domestic competitors like the Chevrolet Malibu LS, Oldsmobile Cutlass and Chrysler Cirrus LX are comparable in terms of powertrain and price, but the Century Limited beats out all except the Cirrus in pure horsepower. We like the Buick and think it offers a lot of standard fare for a nominal price, but it's not the only choice of vehicle to take you and yours into the millennium. Before putting your money on this Century, examine all your options.
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