At last I have actually seen one up close and personal and my wife and I sat in one at the Brisbane Motor Show while an eager young salesman practiced his sales pitch on us.
And our impression was for $42,990 we will quite happily stick with our 2000 model..
My wife’s impression of the driver’s seat was that it was very comfortable. My impression of the passenger seat was that I’ve been more comfortable in clapped-out cabs.
Those motoring journalists who thought that the woodwork around the 2000 Grandeur was overdone should be quite happy with the woodwork in the new model as it looks as though it was added as an afterthought. Much of the woodwork from the 2000 model has been replaced with metal grill-work that reminded both of us of the back of a cheap computer box.
The choice of colours for the interior trim was curious. The car was black, the seats and trim were a light cream/caramel colour while the console between the front seats has some purple in it.
Speaking of the seats, here was a display model at a major motor show and the upholstery on one of the front seats was crinkled and didn’t look as though it fitted properly.
The model certainly comes with some nice additions; side airbags were impressive and the courtesy light that comes on when the passenger opens the vanity mirror in the sun visor was interesting but over-all, we were disappointed.
But of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder and you’re impressions could be quite different to ours.