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To hear Chrysler officials tell it, the 1998 Chrysler Concorde was a great virtual car.

In redesigning the Concorde and its sibling, the Dodge Intrepid, designers and engineers made greater use of computer-aided design than ever before, even testing virtual crashes and how sunlight would reflect on the sheet metal.

Now Chrysler hopes the strikingly designed Concorde sedan will fare even better in the real world.

The ’98 Concorde already is ahead of its predecessor in one key indicator. For the first time, the Concorde was a top car in its category in a J.D. Power and Associates Initial Quality Study. The recently released annual study surveys more than 40,000 car owners about their first three months of owning their new vehicle.

The new generation Concorde is impressive in other ways, too.

Beyond its distinctive look, the Concorde is large, with room for three adults in the back seat. Yet it doesn’t look overly big or awkward.

The Concorde drives and handles with a confidence that’s noteworthy, too.

You’ll quickly notice how much is transmitted from the road to the steering wheel. There always seems to be some subtle communication there via the rack-and-pinion steering. The steering wheel doesn’t vibrate or annoy, but it lets you know constantly how those big, 16-inch tires are doing on pavement, even smooth pavement. Some drivers, accustomed to more isolation, might not like it.

What everyone will like are the new aluminum V-6s offered in the Concorde.

“Customers want more performance and more fuel economy,” said John Miller, general manager of the large car platform team at Chrysler.

So, that’s what they get, with performance improved about 20 percent and fuel economy up about 10 percent from the previous engines. The engines are cleaner, too.

The Concorde LXi test car had the more powerful engine — the 225-horsepower, 3.2-liter, 24-valve V-6.

This engine is quiet, and mated to a four-speed electronic automatic transmission, it pulls the car along smoothly and capably. Push hard on the accelerator and you’ll hear — and feel — the engine kicking in. But, again, there are no hard jerks in shifting, the engine tones are pleasing, and you get the sense of a nicely refined powertrain.

There’s good “oomph,” too, when you need it, with torque of 225 pounds-feet at 3,800 revolutions per minute.

The Concorde is 209.1 inches from bumper to bumper now, up 7.6 inches from last year, so it’s not some little thing on the road.

Long highway travel, like a trip from San Jose to Sacramento, is pleasant. And the body is tighter than before, helping those curves and sudden maneuvers come off far better than expected. There’s some body sway in the curves, and the hood dips precipitously in front of you if you slam on the brakes, but the car feels quite tolerant and well-behaved.

Inside, the spaciousness and styling very nearly give the Concorde LXi a sense of elegance and without the awkward ness that arguably, perhaps, accompanied the previous model’s cab-forward emphasis.

Finally, the AM/FM stereo buttons are simplified. Even the fake wood that’s around the door handles is done more nicely than in a lot of other cars.

I wish the rear seat headroom was better; it’s 37.2 inches now, less than what you find in the Buick LeSabre, Chevrolet Lumina and Toyota Avalon. That’s down 0.3 inch from last year’s Concorde because designers wanted the car to have a coupe-like silhouette.

The rear seat “headrests,” if you can call them that, are forms built into the top of the back seats. They’re not adjustable and are positioned so far from my head that I would not get maximum benefit from them in a crash.

I also struggled to parallel park in the Concorde because the rear package shelf curves upward as it approaches the rear window, blocking my view of the rear of the car.

Still, there’s no doubt this former virtual car is worth a look in the real world’s large se n segment.

NUTS AND BOLTS

What we drove: 1998 Chrysler Concorde LXi, a large, four-door sedan with 3.2-liter, single-overhead-cam, 24-valve V-6 and four-speed automatic transmission.

Base price: $21,305

Price as tested (includes options and delivery charge): $25,845

Curb weight: 3,531 pounds

Length: 209.1 inches

Turning circle (curb to curb): 37.6 feet

Standard features: Two front air bags, AM/FM stereo with cassette player, remote trunk release, air conditioning, power windows, mirrors and door locks, cruise control, power driver seat, manual lumbar support adjustment on driver seat, floor mats, rear-seat pass through, tilt steering column, rear defroster.

Options on test vehicle: 3.2-liter V-6, aluminum wheels, customer preferred package 24F includes automatic climate control, anti-lock brakes, gold badging, full-size spare tire, leather-trimmed seats, upgraded stereo, automatic rearview mirror, traction control and security alarm.

EPA figures: 19 mpg (city) 29 mpg (highway)

Fuel: Unleaded regular