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323.8 Points

Well, a big part is that it just doesn't look all that racy, largely a function of the car's tallness and big gaps between the tires and wheel wells. "By far the most econo-looking of the group," wrote Assistant Road Test Editor Jonathan Elfalan. "There simply aren't enough go-fast tack-ons to make up for the car's uninspiring shape," added Feature Editor Mike Monticello. The largest, roomiest car in the group, the seems to be working at cross-purposes with itself, as ultra-spacious and ultra-sporty don't seem to coexist comfortably.

Dynamically, the Spec V is a mixed bag. The engine is a willing, frenetic revver and offers up a nice linear progression of power (good for a 6.6-second blast to 60 mph), but the 6-speed's linkage was judged the clunkiest and most plastic-sounding of the group. On the road, there's a spooky bit of yaw on lift throttle or trail braking that gets your attention, perhaps a function of the car's rather low-tech twist-beam rear axle.

Yet, said Road Test Assistant Calvin Kim, "On the track you can immediately load the suspension past that dodgy level and it settles down." Steering is reasonably precise and transmits a leftward tug of torque steer only during high-rpm upshifts, but feels overboosted and lacks a linear gain in effort as steering lock is added. All of us agreed that, after becoming familiar with the Spec V's quirks, it was an entertaining track car.

Inside, you sit up high, good for forward views but it does seem to accentuate the feeling of roll, despite the moderately firm suspension. Seats are SE-R-exclusive, have decent bolsters, but are covered in a somewhat slippery, seemingly petrochemical-based fabric. There are some other SE-R-specific touches such as two additional gauges for oil pressure and longitudinal g's, and the Spec V touch of red webbing for the front seatbelts, but overall the interior was judged to be of lower quality and more sterile-feeling than the others, with a cheaper feel to many of the controls. On the plus side, noise levels at cruise, from both the engine and channeled through the structure from the tires, were reasonable, and a healthy dip into the throttle produces a nicely modulated rasp from the fat single-tip exhaust.

So we were a bit underwhelmed by 's latest effort. It's a decent, fun-to-drive car (especially if you routinely take three of your 200-lb. buddies along) and its price is right, but its competitors have simply gone the extra mile in styling, chassis and interior sophistication.

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