The available five-speed automatic transmission delivers the smooth shifts of a luxury sedan. Quest rates an EPA-estimated 19/26 mpg City/Highway with the standard four-speed automatic and 18/25 mpg with the five-speed automatic. We checked the overall gear ratios and noticed that, even though the five-speed provides slightly more relaxed top-gear cruising, the five-speed's three lowest gears are significantly more aggressive than in the four-speed. We suspect that's how that 1 mpg gets lost on all but the straightest, flattest roads. By the same token, the five-speed automatic should offer better acceleration performance than the four-speed automatic, better response around town and smoother shifting. Our preference is, of course, for the five-speed automatic.
You'll have to spring for premium fuel to extract the maximum amount of power from the engine. Quest will run on regular unleaded, but its engine controller knows you've bought the cheap stuff and dials back the ignition timing to protect the engine from damage. As a result, power sags to 230 horsepower and 238 pound-feet of torque on regular. Speed costs money. Next Page