The SRX we drove didn’t have the available magnetic ride option and we’re very curious as to how much this would add to the ride quality. Having sampled a Corvette with this option last year, we immediately saw the vast improvement. We can only imagine the great addition it would make the SRX’s driving and ride dynamics. The top level engine in the SRX is a Northstar 4.8L V8, with 320hp. That’s right, 320hp.  It almost seems too much for an SUV this small, but open the throttle up and you know its just about right. Power is abundant from start to finish, and the engine continues to pull hard even in 2nd gear right up to its redline.  The only rub was a measly 15-18 mpg. But if you can afford the $50k price tag, we’re assuming you can afford the premium fuel. A 5 speed automatic transmission helps a lot with putting you in the perfect gear for performance, and PAS (performance algorithm shifting) holds lower gears for performance driving based on throttle input, steering wheel angle, and g-force metering. It works well most of the time, but every once in a while it wants to hold a higher gear for a lot longer than it should. We experienced this same trait in a CTS we tested in 2002, so we know its not just this particular model. In any case, the manumatic gear selection option works great, although the lag is somewhat annoying. You can select any gear, manually using the shift knob. Push forward for a higher gear, back for a lower one.  This was totally opposite from our personal and natural way of wanting to shift. To us it seemed that pulling back should be an up shift, and pushing forward should be a downshift. But then again,  we’re used to driving sticks and this backwards way of doing things fussed us up on more than one occasion.  GM engineers at least designed the system to never up shift on its own, as we found out while bringing the Northstar up to its redline. Bravo.

The interior on the SRX is pulled strangely enough from the CTS. The same basic front dash, with some minor changes, fits right into the SRX nicely. Although it is still a little too plasticy for a $50k vehicle, it works out nicely with the dashes of wood applied on the door pulls and shifter console. The main feature that can’t go without major noting is the Ultraview sunroof option our tester came with.  The best way to describe it is, as a sunroof that goes from over the drivers heads, all the way back to over the 2nd row passengers heads. Its huge, covering more than 15sq feet of space. All glass for you to look at, and better yet it retracts giving you a strangely convertible feel.  A power sunshade is standard with the Ultraview for the extra sunny days, or extra cold ones, as it seemed to let out an extreme amount of heat on some mornings when the temps dipped to around zero.

The soft leather seats are heated, with a surprisingly supportive design for both lumbar and bolstering.  They keep you tightly in your seat during your more adventurous driving flings, yet keep you feeling comfortable and refreshed for those long highway stints, and we would know.  One day we drove the SRX over 320 miles. This included everything from fast dry highways, winding back roads, snow covered two lane highways, and everything in between. At the end of the day we were still tired, but the SRX made a great vehicle to spend the day in.   The second row is just as comfortable, and possibly with a better view because of the sunroof than the first row. Totally encased in glass front to rear and even above, there’s little chance of car sickness in the SRX’s second row. One complaint we would have would be that the rear storage area is much smaller than it would seem on the outside.  We didn’t get to sample the optional 3rd row seat, but it doesn’t look like it would be comfortable.  Even for a weekend trip, we found folding down the 2nd row seats to fit all the things two people were hauling along (albeit a guitar and large sack of laundry was one of them).