Our first impression was that visibility was good. Certainly, there was plenty of glass on this vehicle.On the road, our Beauville's workhorse General Motors 5.7-liter VS engine was fairly quiet, with virtually no noise at highway cruising. Wind noise was noticeable, as was the distinct-but not at all bothersome - sound of the transmission gears shifting. That would be explained by the transmission'scozy presence beneath a cover between the driver and front-seat passenger. We took an extended trip with four passengers and found that, on smooth pavement, the Beauville rode reasonably well. On wavy pavement wenoticed some rock and roll. The Beauville handled bumps acceptably, though-better than a straight-up truck. Shocks from potholes were noticeablytransferred to the interior, but the jolts weren't too disturbing. At 65 to 70 mph and with a stiff crosswind, we found it difficult to keep our test vehicle on track. And that's a fact of life when driving a vehicle suchas the Beativille, which simply can't compare with the aerodynamics o cars and most minivans. It required some adjustments in driving style. For example, when traveling through a village with winding streets and tight turns, we had to drive deeper into turns to avoid having a rear wheel hop over curbs. Another consideration when driving the Beauville was that it had a two-wheel drive layout and a relatively high center of gravity. As a result, heavy snow brought the risk of getting stuck, since size and weight alone would not be enough to keep a van such as the Beauville out of trouble. Though this vehicle might get trapped in winter's fury, it shouldn't lose a step when stopping on slick surfaces, thanks to standard four-wheelanti-lock brakes. Several tests we performed delivered firm braking with no lockups. |
